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/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> The Cafe >> I joined the crash club.....dang! /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1497960908 Message started by raydawg on 06/20/17 at 05:15:08 |
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Title: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by raydawg on 06/20/17 at 05:15:08 What is so weird is that it happened in a split second, honestly...... I was taking my normal route home. I was in a diagonal single lane road that enters a 50 mph highway at a 45 degree Y branch. Once you get up to the crosswalk, you glance to see oncoming traffic over your left shoulder. The visibility is ok, not great, some obstacles, etc, but it can be done safely. I was behind a car, he would be first to enter the highway. At this point I am only watching him. I see he decides to go. I see him move out. I then glance/look to my left to see if I too can go in this traffic break he decided to enter. I conclude, yes, and start to give it throttle as I turn back to focus forward now and complete my entry into the highway.... WTF...... This guy decided to stop! I quickly take evasive actions, from throttle to break and change my steering direction. It was slow motion at this point..... I knew I could not avoid him, so I went for minimal damage, impact. I was able to just clip his left rear bumper with my foot brake and peg. Bent it a tad, and got a small bump on my ankle, no blood ;D I was quite impressed with my reflex at my old ripe age of 64 and a 1/2.... I didn't even kill the engine :D He got out and apologize, but I told him it was my own fault.... I should have KNOWN my path I was committing myself to, yes! It is one of those episodes where if you are not 100 percent on your game, you elevate your risk. I had lots of information to process at this junction, to be as safe as I can assure myself, and I missed one. Thank goodness it was not a dead center bumper hump, the gal would be bent and so would I have been. Heads up guys, really, it was that quick, be on your game at all times! |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by justin_o_guy2 on 06/20/17 at 05:35:34 That's such an easy bear trap to step in. It's a good reminder to Not be so certain that someone is gonna do something just because they start to. You, on a bike, realize that the visibility is sketchy there. In a car, belted in, surrounded by cage, it might be pretty easy to think about going and be forced to abort at the last instant. But I guess you know that now. Glad your old Ass didn't get injured and thanks for the reminder. |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by Gary_in_NJ on 06/20/17 at 05:44:31 It could have been worse. I'm sure you're shook up and seconded guessing things, which is normal. Get back in the saddle and enjoy the ride. |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by Dave on 06/20/17 at 05:46:31 I am glad you got away basically undamaged. That one is sooooooo easy to step in. You see the person in front of you accelerate away, and assume they are going to keep going as there is no reason to slow down or stop - but they do! |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by raydawg on 06/20/17 at 06:43:57 You guys are right, it was so easy to step into that one, however, I had to step into it for it to happen. I can't blame others expecting that to absolve me of my own culpability, arg. What I really want to drive home ( pun intended ) is that our minds can NOT think in split seconds rationally, no. Just because you have been doing a certain thing for so long does NOT remove the risk associated with it. In fact, complacency is most likely a mitigating fact in the outcome when just one factor changes in the routine. That is what I have come to understand re: my first, and last, I hope, crash. I will gladly except this as a winning moment of learning, and I hope passing it on to you guys, you can see how important it is to be 100 percent aware of everything you are doing while mounted and riding, motorcycles. I rode in a much wiser man, and way more appreciative of what we can do in our lives to minimize risk, we all take daily.... |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by stewmills on 06/20/17 at 06:59:41 Glad you made it out with the limited damage to you and the bike. I have committed that sin in a vehicle a few times and it is one that just jumps up and bites you. |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by verslagen1 on 06/20/17 at 07:31:16 I learned that lesson while driving, never take your eyes off the guy in front of you. |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by Rodger on 06/20/17 at 07:45:30 VERY glad you weren't injured, Raydawg. Could have been much worse. |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by springman on 06/20/17 at 09:02:18 Glad to hear you are OK. And thanks for sharing, it helps us all be better riders. |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by Ruttly on 06/20/17 at 10:20:20 It happens to the best of riders. Glad your ok , your man enough to admit it . Tell me you didn't even get a run in your nylons ! ;D ;D ;D |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by justin_o_guy2 on 06/20/17 at 10:44:54 How many years and miles have you been riding? |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by raydawg on 06/20/17 at 11:22:30 6 years, about 40,000 would be a fair guess. |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by justin_o_guy2 on 06/20/17 at 12:37:36 Dude, you Touched something. Got a boo boo on your ankle. You haven't Crashed until you've got to get up off the ground. That's a Really Good batting average. |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by LANCER on 06/20/17 at 15:04:49 I've had one bike incident and one full accident and both times they happened in a split second. Time does move slowly as the thing happens and reactions may or may not have time to happen, but you can see things as they happen whether you can do anything about them or not. I had one car accident 1975 and the detailed mind photo is still there. I hit black ice and was sliding with no control at all and closing on the vehicle in front. I knew I would hit him and remember bracing my arms on the wheel...the next instant was impact as my chest hit the steering wheel center and my neck the top of the wheel. I did not feel or even know that my hands smashed into the dash and my knees into the bottom of it. The very next moment was after impact when I could not breath, I unbuckled and rolled out of the car and was on my knees trying to get breath back into my lungs. In '75 I was a young 27 and was very strong and had superb reflexes. I fully expected to be able to hold myself back with my arms...foolish youth I was. Even with the surge of adrenaline at that moment and a closure rate of about 35 mph the impact was so sudden and strong I might as well have just been sitting there doing nothing. My bike accident was a sudden thing as well. Riding normally one instant then the next seeing a problem and having an instant to correct at 50 mph, then everything goes out of my control as the front wheel hits a hole and all forward motion from 50 mph stops and all of that energy is transferred into a vertical direction. My spine is jammed, partially crushing one vertebrae while breaking pieces of 5 others as I go flying in the air. Landed flat on my back; searing pain; no breath; can't move anything and yet trying to force my body to breath; finally as unconsciousness approaches a breath, then another small one, and another, and I am breathing. The pain was completely paralyzingly, could not speak. 3 People gather around me, a woman asking who she can call, a man calling 911, and another man (an EMT) stabilizing my head. They were there in seconds from when I hit the ground. GOD PROVIDED. I could move my arms and legs, my head still immobilized. Broken bones in the back, broken ribs, severely bruised internal organs. 1 year recovery to 90%, 1.5 years to full recovery. But I went on a Dragon ride at 5 months while still wearing a clamshell back brace. ;D ;D ;D 8-) [ch127949][ch127949][ch127949] (Yes, that was a VERY careful, gentle and sensitive ride for me) This year marks 50 years riding. OOOH RAAW !!! |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by Ruttly on 06/20/17 at 15:13:37 As OLD as he is we should give him that one as a crash. But indeed a crash is busted bones & road rash , bloody limbs , been there done all three , NO FUN !!! Won't be long till mama takes it away for good ! If she finds those shredded pantyhose! ;D ;D ;D |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by raydawg on 06/20/17 at 15:13:45 UPDATE: Well, I rode my route home, not home just yet, on ferry.... But I got to look at distance now, trying to gauge it all. My best guess is, I was 25 feet from the the boulevard stop, with the car in front. He goes, rolling through the stop. Another 15 feet of so called shoulder exsist before you are really in the travel lane of the new road we are entering.... And we are taking that an a angle as well, so it really is a nice cushion, or time to change your mind, like him. I figured I traveled close to 20 feet, increasing my throttle, maybe 5 to 10 mph, with about 5 to 8 feet to maneuver once I realized the pooch was waiting for me..... Final thought. I really let my judgement slip. I had more that enough room to enter the flow of traffic if I stick to a safe game plan. Trying to jump into the game quicker that I needed was a major failure on my part. |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by Serowbot on 06/20/17 at 16:41:11 30233B26233525420 wrote:
PS... God's listening... :-/ |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by LANCER on 06/20/17 at 16:50:53 2F392E332B3E33285C0 wrote:
PS... God's listening... :-/[/quote] HE is there watching and listening, ALL THE TIME, everything you do,say or think; every intention of the heart. |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by raydawg on 06/20/17 at 17:39:48 1107100D15000D16620 wrote:
PS... God's listening... :-/[/quote] Glad you got your dig in Bot, feel better little man? Why don't you keep politics and religion in the appropriate board? The question was rhetorical, no answer needed punkin :-* |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by Ruttly on 06/20/17 at 18:56:03 Ray , All kidding a side, sincerely glad your OK ! |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by MMRanch on 06/20/17 at 21:31:04 So Ray , what was his reason for STOPING so unexpectedly ? You know we all share the road and doing unexpected things is against the unspoken code ... :-? Don't take all the blame on yourself , but watching for screw-balls is part of bike ridding ! ;) me and you are the same age ... you a Feb. baby ? |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by raydawg on 06/21/17 at 05:14:59 I got you by a month boss, January ;D He said he just thought he didn't have enough traffic break to get in safely... Thanks for being on my side of the event, but I should have made dang sure I had a clear path. After reading what a real crash is here, I am almost thinking my cherry is still in tact. My honeymoon night still untainted with the shear joy of bringing a complete body to the joyous occasion ;D |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by Eegore on 06/21/17 at 08:07:12 Has anyone been intentionally hit by someone? It happened to me once, and a guy riding in front of me once. I went to court as a witness for the other guy. He was passing a Chevy Luv and the driver swerved to stop him and he crashed into the rear driver side launching the rider across the oncoming lane off the road. I rode up got the plate number and went back to assist the rider. In my situation a Bronco swerved sharply into a right hand turn lane clipping my rear tire. We were both stopped and the driver clipped me as the light changed then returned to their original lane. That was a hit and run, never found out who did it. |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by LANCER on 06/21/17 at 09:40:54 6545474F5245200 wrote:
Makes you want to reach out and touch someone ![ch128544] |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by springman on 06/21/17 at 10:26:58 I went down once somewhere in Tennessee after riding the Dragon. I was with a bunch of the guys from this site. I figure I hit the ground at no more than 25 mph and due to protective gear only got a bit of road rash on my wrist where the road ate a hole through my mesh jacket and just a bit of rash on my knees from them rubbing against my knee guards. My full face helmet suffered rash on the front left side. Not fun. I was definitely shaken up but the guys provided first aid for both myself and my bike. I never did tell anybody though I had a terrible headache the rest of the day. I have had at least 3 different fools swerve into me, 2 on purpose, but I had anticipated they were going to do something stupid and I was able to get out of the way. I hope and pray this is the worst that ever happens. |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by Dave on 06/21/17 at 10:51:38 6467657E79707A7679170 wrote:
This may sound a bit ironic - the name of the road where you went down is "'Happy Valley Road"! :-? Does this steep downhill curve look familiar? http://i67.tinypic.com/nnqgir.jpg |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by verslagen1 on 06/21/17 at 11:59:47 That death head shadow must be the killer turtle we past... or is that what got you springy? |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by springman on 06/21/17 at 12:35:56 Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrgh! |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by Ruttly on 06/21/17 at 20:40:13 Narrow downhill twisties are the hardest to judge. Your focused on the road as you should be , but doesn't leave much time to glance at speedo. Downhills you are almost always going faster than you think , excellent time to use trail braking and sooner the better. I bet that turn being somewhat blind has eaten many a rider , looks like marbles on both sides and bad shading at different times of day. Shade throws off your depth perception off and the OLDER you are the longer it takes for you eyes to adjust from sun to shade. Not picking on you Springman , talking to all including myself. Just a few things to keep in mind. Ride smart , ride safe ! I crashed on a road I had ridden up and down hundreds of times. Up was easy to go really fast but down was the bigger thrill/challenge. Huddart Park Road in Woodside CA. Riding a 78 Yamaha SR500 pumped to a 540cc with carb ,cam ,header , shocks on PIrelli Phamtoms. Just finished warming up the tires going up the road as a old pickup was coming down off of Skyline Hwy 35 pulled over for a minute so the truck could get down the hill and not slow me down. Very narrow two lane super twisty and heavily shaded. Turn around head down hill after the first 4 or 5 turns I start smelling gas , slow to look at my carb nothing leaking back on the gas , then I see it to road is glazed with gas from the pickup that had no gas cap. Too late the bike is side ways right and road turning right and going way to fast but managed to rear brake it and get thru the turn but now bike is sideways left and road now turning left , my tires are melting into butter from the gas , unable to save it this time road going left solid rock cliff straight ahead with a ditch before it,time to put her down as bike is almost straight made the snap decision grab the front brake and lay is down on the left side and get away from it. Sliding down the road looking for cars coming from behind while sliding to a stop looking at the SR sliding into the ditch. Totally amazed I didn't start a fire. Minor bent clutch lever and a couple grind marks here and there. Me didn't feel a thing but the adrenaline rush till I stood my bike up and my left little finger mangled by the clutch lever, next day I find out broken in two spots , but that day pulled it straight and rode to the nearest liquor store a half pint of I forget what and a forty. Moral of that long a$$ story is I couldn't see that gas glazed road in the shaded areas and smell gas slow down ! |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by springman on 06/21/17 at 22:01:40 No offense taken Ruttly. I will hit 60 this year and as much as I hate to admit it, the years have definitely had their effect on my. I liked your story though. It would appear you are a much more accomplished rider than myself. I feel I would have fared much worse in your situation. So thanks for the riding tips and thanks for the pain killer tips! ;D |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by justin_o_guy2 on 06/21/17 at 22:53:45 282B2932353C363A355B0 wrote:
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by raydawg on 06/22/17 at 04:11:56 The thing I have to reign in is that, slower is better.... Not sure why, but we get in a hurry riding. Its like eating to fast or just a wham, bam, thank you mame, sex romp.... OK, that might be a bad comparison ;D But slow down, enjoy it. Who ever said pushing it was better? More macho? What? If I would have waited on the next opening, this post/tread would have never been spawned. Whats the rush? |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by Dave on 06/22/17 at 04:57:12 When I am riding the motorcycle I see that a lot of folks pull up to the STOP signs and never really come to a stop and look - they take a quick glance up the road......and that is one of the things that is really dangerous for motorcycles as those glances don't always allow the drivers to see the small motorcycle and rider coming. Yesterday on the way to work I just stayed in the left lane - the speed limit is 55 mph and most folks drive 60 mph....and that is fast enough. There was a fellow in a huge diesel pickup that felt he needed to be going faster, and he was getting right behind folks in an attempt to intimidate them to speed up or change lanes, then when he got an opening he would swerve to the other lane and pass....but after a few car lengths there were other cars blocking his progress. In the 4 miles we were on that road he never got far enough ahead that I couldn't see him, and at the traffic lights I generally caught up to him. All of his excitement and rude behavior never got him any significant progress. I am sure I had a much more relaxed and safer drive to work than he did.......and I find that I am becoming a much more relaxed driver as I age. |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by raydawg on 06/22/17 at 05:13:12 Dave, that is so key to driving in traffic areas. I never tailgate, I try not to use my brake in stop and go traffic. This behavior is what causes traffic jams for folk are reacting to brake lights, a domino effect, if you will. But selfishness is just too prevelant in life, and its extends itself through many actions I am afraid, under many different causes and effects :-[ |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by Rodger on 06/22/17 at 05:49:50 Here in Colorado Springs, the speed limits are ignored, by & large. In my car, I keep to the speed limit, but on the S40 I "go with the flow." Otherwise, I'd be like a rock in a rushing river....and a vulnerable rock, at that! Dave, I've seen many of the "street racers," car & bike, swerving between lanes...and find them only 2-3 cars ahead of me at the next red light...ahhh, "What fools these mortals be..." |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by springman on 06/22/17 at 08:19:09 Dang! You got me JOG!! ;D I actually meant to say "me". But yeah, memory has been affected also. |
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Title: Re: I joined the crash club.....dang! Post by justin_o_guy2 on 06/22/17 at 08:37:04 That's a good thing. When I continue to harass you, you'll think every event is the first time and you won't get mad. |
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