Typing on the keyboard has
become very difficult with my left hand wrapped up with an ace bandage
in-between it's baths in ice. My left arm is suffering from some very serious
road rash. All of this plus the miscellaneous muscle pain; I feel as though I
just finished going ten rounds with George Forman. All of this makes typing a
bit difficult.
Friday, I rode the PC over to Surry to visit some of my
friends. I left for home around 4:30 PM by the time I got over the JRB and into
Newport News it was around 5:30 PM or so. I headed up Jefferson Ave, just as I
have done thousands of times before. I didn't know then that three people would
unknowingly conspire to hurt me; someone who enjoyed a good take out meal and
threw their trash out the window, an inattentive driver, and me. My mistake,
which added to this little drama, was being complacent and taking the situation
a little less seriously than I should have.
I commuted back and forth
to the shipyard on a daily basis for many years. I'm no stranger to heavy
Friday afternoon traffic on Jefferson Ave. Riding in heavy traffic requires
that you pay attention all the time to everything, and always try to keep
yourself out the danger zones and blind spots. you have to stay on your guard
at all times.
After passing the intersection with Ivy Farms road, I
moved to the right lane to get past some slower cars, although PC never
exceeded the 45 mph speed limit, I was traveling about 5 mph faster than
surrounding traffic.
Dresdin & Jefferson Ave |
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Just as I passed through the
intersection with Dresdin Dr, the car in the center lane decided to pull into
the first driveway on my right. My front wheel was even with her rear wheel.
The woman driving the car never looked when she turned and pulled right in
front of me. I was very quick on the brakes, the PC's front end dove under the
heavy braking; I felt the rear end rise, but as always the PC never felt out of
control. Thanks to my quick reaction it looked like she was going to get away
with her impromptu turn without us making contact.
I never saw the
flattened aluminum-roasting pan lying in my path of travel. Once the front
wheel which was still under heavy braking came in contact with the aluminum
foil pan, my front wheel stopped turning and locked up. The aluminum foil pan
immediately removed all of the tires traction. The now locked wheel on the foil
pan slid on road surface; violently pulled the front wheel out from under the
PC; sending me to the ground. I slid for about 40 feet and PC slid for over 100
feet before either one of us came to a stop.
Sliding along the road way
isn't all that bad if you're wearing full leathers, it's not so bad if all your
wearing is just an armored jacket; but if you're not, it can really suck.
Unfortunately, for me I wasn't wearing my armored jacket or my full gloves. I
was very lucky most of my injuries are just road rash and it seems my left
thumb may be fractured I'll know more about that come Monday.
I
haven't kissed pavement since 1969, I've been real lucky over the years. I have
managed to survive many very narrow escapes. When you think about it I've gone
so long without an incident that it was bound to catch up with me. After all,
you can't ride around balancing a vehicle on two wheels as long as I have and
not expect to fall over at some point. Remember there are only two kinds of
motorcyclists, those who have crashed and those who are about to...
Would-a, could-a, should-a: I should have worn my armored gear and my full
gloves, had I done that I would be almost road rash free. I should have never
relaxed my guard; I was less than two miles from home... I should have seen
that trash in the road, I don't know why I didn't; perhaps I was too focused on
the car cutting in front of me.
It's amazing there's very little
damage to the PC, but I discovered that there are a lot of places on my body
that were involved in the crash which I didn't feel until a day or so later.
Fear not friends and family, I did manage to protect my pretty face
during the slide on the ground and impact with the curb. I was very aware of
sliding on the ground; I never did feel my arm being ripped up as I slid on it.
However, I do remember pushing my helmet on the ground to keep my face from
making contact with the ground.
I was very lucky, but still would
rather have let some stunt man take my place; maybe next time. I figure It will
be a couple of weeks before I get back on the PC and ride, the thumb really
hurts; and working the clutch lever will be painful if not impossible.
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