Ride your own ride!

[Charlie G]

Glad you came out of it in relativly good shape! Heal up & ride the Gs for awhile!

[bobgroger]

Sorry Joe. You were so happy to have gotten your dream bike. That type of accident is very common in city traffic. You are going 60, truck in front of you suddenly changes lanes leaving you staring at a line of stopped cars. So much so that forward seeing radar is pretty standard on new cars. Get the bike fixed, get yourself fixed, and ride carefully on your way out if town.

[Joe Garfield]

I haven't been great about ATGATT, but this experience definitely has an influence. I've been wearing full gear when I'm going for a ride and know I'll be riding closer to my limits. For the low speed commute to work it's just been the helmet, jacket, and gloves. Now I'm considering the padded kevlar khakis so I can wear gear to work, and I'll see what they have for work-appropriate shoes. I don't know why but I feel like my riding shoes helped.

I can relate to the above post, too, especially around driving. I used to drive insanely fast (not proud of it now) and still need to drive 14mph over the speed limit to keep from getting bored, still drive a M/T, etc. I was afraid to start taking ADD meds because it might affect my riding - my perception, awareness, etc. Fortunately that hasn't been the case. And even with the meds, when I get on a bike, all the stuff going on really seems to calm me down, like it scratches some kind of itch in my brain.

Of course I say that 2 days after I hit a stopped car I was just writing something else which was making me reflect on what had happened, and why. Until now I didn't consciously realize that traffic only stopped in the left lane - we were in the HOV/carpool lane (which motorcycles are allowed in CA). I chose not to swerve to the right was because there was a car in my blind spot and traffic in that lane wasn't slowing down - being between lanes with unequal traffic flow in an emergency situation seemed like a worse choice, and honestly if I did it over again I'd do the same thing (now with the higher friction brake pads I ordered the night before!). It happens quite a bit where traffic in the right 3 lanes is moving fine, and people in the HOV lane are having to lay on the brakes. I was already in the right side of my lane so a hard swerve to the shoulder which is full of gravel and wreckage was also risky.

It's amazing how much brain processing went on - all that above, plus thoughts about front/rear brakes and how hard to apply them, what to do at impact, etc. And really it's just good for me to think through all this, so I can understand what happened and learn from it.

For me, the big lesson is to forget about trying to keep up with anyone. Next time I'll ask about the route, where to meet, etc instead of blindly following someone (who happened to already be in a hurry).

[Joe Garfield]

Thanks everyone! I have full coverage so hopefully it will come out relatively like-new, and I'm eager to have it back. And I'm working on the GS - I just started a top-end refresh and hope to have parts on order tonight or tomorrow, so maybe 2wks and I'll have the 1100 on the road.

[Redman]

how are you feeling today? Any injurys more noticeable today?

[roeme]

(...) For the low speed commute to work it's just been the helmet, jacket, and gloves. Now I'm considering the padded kevlar khakis so I can wear gear to work, and I'll see what they have for work-appropriate shoes. (...)

Why not change clothes at your workplace? It's what I do.

[Gorminrider]

Thanks for this cautionary tale!

"The attention I spent focused on following my friend was attention that was not spent investigating my surroundings and planning es cape routes."

It is so easy to space out riding in company- just as you say- it needs extra attention. Glad you're in good enough shape to tell us about it! (Statistics are all very well, but they don't tell the Real Story.)

[Redman]

.....
........... And I'm working on the GS - I just started a top-end refresh and hope to have parts on order tonight or tomorrow, so maybe 2wks and I'll have the 1100 on the road.

Good, will not need full coverage insurance on that.

.

[dorkburger]

Definitely interesting about the ADD question, and noted observation. My 11 year old has it, and quizzing him for school tests school is a 3 ring circus. Typically the TV is on, he may be looking at a handheld game or phone, and answering questions, usually correctly. His mind is always on, always picking up on multiple things. My wife and me have goofed ourselves more then once by discussing things in another room that he has picked up on without us knowing until later. So, yes, I would believe it if you think it helped lessen the severity of your crash. Maybe ADD patients should be perscribed bikes..... or maybe they are drawn to them. My son does love puttering around the neighborhood on my scooter. Walking around with him and observing the world thru his eyes is pure joy and entertainment. I suspect I would have it as well if tested. He and I are very similar. I was hesitant about his diagnosis at the beginning, but am a believer now.

Anyway, sorry for the diversion.....

[GS1150Pilot]

Not sure about it being an asset for riding/driving. Granted, most of the literature addresses ADHD, but ...

"ADHD participants reported significantly more Violations and Lapses on the DBQ than control participants and significantly more accidents. Average speed and speeding were also higher but did not interact with route type. ADHD participants showed poorer vehicle control, greater levels of frustration with other road users (including greater frequencies of negative comments) and a trend for less safe driving when changing lanes/overtaking on the motorway."

http://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-015-0566-y

[Joe Garfield]

Not sure about it being an asset for riding/driving. Granted, most of the literature addresses ADHD, but ...

"ADHD participants reported significantly more Violations and Lapses on the DBQ than control participants and significantly more accidents. Average speed and speeding were also higher but did not interact with route type. ADHD participants showed poorer vehicle control, greater levels of frustration with other road users (including greater frequencies of negative comments) and a trend for less safe driving when changing lanes/overtaking on the motorway."

http://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.c...888-015-0566-y

Good points. I know most people think they are above-average riders/drivers, so maybe take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt I believe I'm a 'better' driver than the average person. I believe I'm more in tune with what the vehicle is doing - traction, current engine speed, what's going on around me, etc. However, I drive fast and take more chances. In a test for 'safe' or 'normal' driving, being fast and taking chances obviously hurts the score and shows up as risky. So there are pros and cons - maybe being a 'better' driver is negated by taking more chances, who knows. I've been in 2 accidents in my life: one at 18, distracted by changing the radio station and rear-ended a stopped car, and one at 39, distracted by a fellow rider and rear-ended a stopped car. But how often do I avoid accidents? I can't count on one hand the number of times I've had people tell me how they were amazed I avoided hitting something, and those are the only situations where I had a passenger or stopped to talk to someone.

[Joe Garfield]

how are you feeling today? Any injurys more noticeable today?

I guess it seems to be getting better through the day. I'm on day 3 of the headache and feeling slow and nauseated. My shoulders are sore today, my wrist hurts a lot more, and the groin pain has spread to the thighs and hamstrings.

I have an appointment at 4pm to see the doctor.

All that said, I haven't taken Tylenol since this morning so that's a pretty good sign. Also I'm looking at triple-redundant hydraulic schematics for airplanes and am able to make sense of them, albeit slowly, so my brain can't be that hurt!

[cowboyup3371]

To add to the comments about your gear, I wear my gloves, a Joe Rocket Alter Ego jacket over a nice polo/button-down shirt, and a set of Tourmaster riding pants over my work slacks and my normal riding boots when I work at the hospital. Once there, I change out of my gear and swap my riding boots with my cowboy boots that I always wear when I'm not working in the garage. Never once get weird looks from any of the hospital management and even have had major discussions with the hospital's Chief of Medicine while in the elevator.

[Joe Garfield]

Thanks! I'm not worried about looks, just comfort (heat and bulk) and where to keep my stuff. I can figure all that out though. I think I have a couple of pairs of over pants - one is bulky and hot, the other I seem to have out-grown before really getting to use it. I honestly don't mind an excuse to pick up a few pairs of kevlar khakis though! But we'll see, I have time to figure that out.

Remembering now, I have the over pants and a mesh jacket. I really, really disliked riding with that crap on! It made me not want to ride much. I think that had a lot to do with why I sold the Triumph and stopped riding for a few years. When I started again, I said 'eff the gear' if it's not gonna be fun. That didn't last, but thankfully I found one or two brands of leather jackets that fit great, and the kevlar jeans and pants. I want to get some leather pants for when I decide to go out and push it.

First things first, I need to bring my helmet to Shoei and get it inspected.

[Joe Garfield]

Oh and so I definitely have a concussion (and a sprained wrist). I'm not supposed to work until I get evaluated again on Monday - I'm not supposed to read, stare at screens, exercise... geez! But I should be able to keep working on my 1100 as long as I don't spend too much time reading the manual. And I guess I need to sign off now