Splat….
Saturday, July 5, 2008
After seven years of gloriously incident free riding, including multiple visits to racetracks and many miles on the twisty roads of Northern California I experienced a rather unpleasant convergence of three things:
Gravity
Traction (of lack thereof)
Momentum
Perhaps a little bit of hubris on the side, to be honest. I had taken a nice ride (what other kind is there, really?) over the hill and through 236 and the amazing redwoods in Big Basin State Park.
I was tooling down Pine Flat Road and realized that I had missed a turn off. No big deal, just a quick U-turn and on with the ride. I slowed to around 20mph and turned into a nice big driveway and before I could even react I was on the ground and sliding.
A little patch of gravel, combined with an off-camber transition as I leaned right to exit the road from an on-camber left turn while on the brakes led to an immediate lowside.
What does that mean? Bad luck mostly, but also rider error. In my opinion pretty much ANY crash can be traced back to the rider. I was on the brakes and didn’t spot the gravel. A car would have not even noticed it, but when your braking force is concentrated on a credit card (at most) patch of rubber you MUST know what’s under it.
So, my beloved bike hit the asphalt and hard at that. 20mph and basically anything on the ride side of the bike is damaged. We’re talking nearly $4,500 worth of repairs! Thankfully State Farm has been VERY helpful and repairs should start soon.
Here’s the good news. People rock. That driveway I chose to surf on? It belongs to the Beauregard Winery owners. Tim and Amy happened to be pulling up to their home just as I picked up the bike (and in their words “you were still ranting and raving”).
*embarrassed cough*
These people allowed me, a complete stranger wearing full leathers into their home and let me intrude on their dinner plans with nary a complaint. Tim even offered me use of HIS motorcycle to get home and then insisted I leave my bike in their driveway overnight because I could not arrange for a tow.
Oh – thanks for NOTHING Honda Roadside Assistance. “We can’t find anyone to tow you”. Yeah, that’s worth 7+ years of $39.99 membership dues. Cancel.
So these nice folks showed me trust and kindness – it’s heartwarming to see that these days. The recent fires had given them plenty to worry about, so I hope nothing happens to his vines or her horses. Really great folks – buy some of their wine. I can confirm the Chardonnay is excellent.
Also on my “you kick butt” list, my buddy Ben. He took hours out of his Monday to schlep his trailer up into the hills and get my bike to the dealer. Totally rocked.
I’m fine. My shoulder got a bit pranged, but my leathers did their job so I walked away. Poor Mabel got that call I never want to make and drove up to get me. Yeah I got some funny looks behind the wheel of the Escape in full leathers. There are worse things.
Will ride again and I’ll be watching for gravel.