I’m not 20 anymore A motorcycle ride where I found out that I am not 20 years old. I do not react to the changes on the road as quickly anymore. I am no longer bullet-proof. Three months into ownership of my 650 Burgman motorcycle I am feeling pretty confidant and much younger than I really am. (53) I am driving up to a point on my route that I’ve taken many times before. I am sure I can push the envelope a little faster than my ability so I turned off the main road and on to the long and winding road. But at the third curve I crashed and burned. The curve, I pushed over the top at about 65-70 of a 35-posted speed zone where I did three barrel rolls or more. Ground, Sky, ground, sky, ground, sky. OUCH that hurts, a lot. I received a broken hand and road rash everywhere. Bruised ribs and pain coming from everywhere. The guy following me came running up and said that he called 911. He also told me to say still and not to move. No argument from me. Normally this is not a very busy road, but that day it has thousands of motorists driving by and people are all over the place trying to help. Up to four police cruisers, one fire department truck, the rescue squad, and one ambulance, everything except for the Air Ambulance-Life Star. I simply left the road and rolled around a bit. What’s all the fuss? Although, my hand did not work and I could not stand up. I’m planning to get back up on my motorcycle and drive it home if it’s not too badly broken up and will start. Every official that came up to me wanted me to tell him what happened. I must have told the same story 10-20 times. The cops kept asking if I’d been racing with another bike. Others kept asking if I had been drinking. “I had not been drinking, and I had not been racing.” Another motorcyclist stopped at the scene to lend a hand. He gets accused of racing with me from the cops and jail is threatened. “Sorry Dude.” Thanks to the first person on the scene, he informed the cops that he was right behind me and saw the whole thing. He could assure them that I just took the corner too fast and lost control. Thankfully he did not mention that I was flying down the road at twice the speed limit and it appeared that I was looking off the road at something else. The split second that took my attention away from driving my bike way too fast for the conditions of the curve. That was all it took. I rode into the curve distracted and did not set up for the proper lean. One of the cops said that I would not be to be driving anywhere tonight. He wasn’t talking about the bike. He is talking about the condition of me. Also they wanted to get a blood count to see if I was driving impaired. For the next 6 hours I am in and out of x-ray at the local hospital and they finally said that I am going to hurt plenty in the morning and I needed to call someone to come and get me. Lots of bruises and a broken hand along with more road rash than I care to mention but I am in one piece. Two days later I had a friend come with me to check on the bike. He rode it back to the repair shop where it awaited the insurance work. I am considering a new nickname for my Burgman…I think, I’ll start calling it TIMEX. Other than a few broken parts and lots of outer skin replacement the Burgman still runs like a champ. For me I think I’ll take a few weeks off and recoup a little. I will get back on and ride again but, with a change in perceived age and more wisdom. I am not a kid and I need to stop acting like one. Ride safe and wear your leathers.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 03:38:06 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015