Brain Droppings: On the Perils of Riding

With the hog on a happier day. Photo: C LoBuono

A few weeks back I extolled the virtues of riding the hog in one of my blog entries. To my way of thinking, when it's right, it's pure, simple pleasure. However, like most things in life, if there's an upside then there is a down, too. And Cat and I experienced the down side this past Saturday evening. While riding home from dinner with a friend, on a beautiful country rode, a young guy (18) attempting to make a left-hand turn in front of us decided to try and beat us across the intersection. So, instead of coming into the intersection, waiting for us to pass, he cut the corner hard, in front of us, causing me to jam on my breaks and take evasive action. We barely missed "t-boning" him. However, the sudden breaking and subsequent swerving action of the bike caused us to dump!

The bike was not badly damaged and neither were we, although I have to admit that I'm sore as shit today! I took most of the weight of the bike and Catherine on my right side, causing some nasty "road rash" and bruising. Since Cat was buffered somewhat by me, she is a little less banged up then I am. In addition to the cuts and scrapes, the handle bar must have jammed into my right thigh as I have a deep bruise there. Kissing the asphalt at ANY speed is NEVER pleasant! Miraculously, the hog suffered minimal damage. In fact, it's a lot less scraped up than I am! Thank god for SMALL FAVORS. But the BIG FAVOR is that, ultimately WE came out of it all right.

The kid was mortified by what he caused and immediately came running back to help us. He stayed there for the cops and ambulance to arrive and was supportive throughout the ordeal. It turns out that lived only 2 blocks away from where the accident happened and he was rushing to get home. Cat said it best to him when she said sternly that "rushing nearly cost 2 people there lives"! Hopefully he got the message and he'll be a more careful driver!

This is the second time a young man has "blitzed" me on my machine when I completely had the right of way and was minding my own business. The first time landed me in the emergency room. This one was not as severe. Still, it left me with the feeling that maybe I getting TOO OLD FOR THIS SHIT! People have no respect for bikes and what it takes to operate them. So, they constantly challenge us by taking unnecessary chances and driving over aggressively. There were at least 2 other occasions this week alone where cars cut me off unnecessarily and aggressively.

Anyway, it'll take a few days to heal up and, hopefully, get back on the machine without fear. I won't know exactly how I feel until that time. But I have a few days, because the way I feel, I'm not going too far too fast - I TOO DAMNED SORE! :)