Ride your own ride!

[Joe Garfield]

I've heard that there are riders who have crashed, and those that will. I had my first today. I was following a friend and allowed my riding to be influenced. It was 100% reactionary riding, which is 100% how you don't want to be. The attention I spent focused on following my friend was attention that was not spent investigating my surroundings and planning escape routes. One second traffic was going 65mph, the next time I look it's stopped dead, and 2 fingers on the brake lever wasn't enough.

"I guess I'm not gonna make it - I wonder what this is gonna be like..."

Lately I've been noticing that in chaotic situations I somehow tend remain calm. At the moment before I hit, I just kind of relaxed and let nature take its course. I came off the bike over the bars, flipped upside down, and landed against the car on the back of my head and shoulders. I landed, I took a second to confirm I was actually OK, and got up and apologized for causing the accident and damage. The 3 people that stopped to see if I was OK were all freaked out and couldn't believe I wasn't hurt, and that I was so calm. There's not a mark on my leather riding jacket or kevlar padded jeans. My helmet has deep gouges in the back in 2 places. I actually wondered how effective the thin foam in the back of the jacket was, and today I know exactly why it's there.

The damage doesn't look that bad - the forks are bent, obviously some broken plastic, and a few scrapes on the side. The bumper of the car is a little banged up, but the lack of serious damage is what tells me I did slow down quite a bit. But I'm sure it will cost my insurance company the cost of a bumper replacement, and will hit my premium(s).

The bike is financed so it's fully covered, and I haven't spent my recent State return which is just higher than my deductible. It would have been a free tow home, but it was only $50 extra to take it to a reputable shop that I was going to have tune my engine, so that's where I left it. They'll have an estimate on Tuesday.

The big lesson here is not to let anything or anyone influence the way I ride my motorcycle. I am disappointed for making such a rookie mistake, but I am thankful to have learned this lesson at the cost of only my pride and an insurance deductible. I'm also wondering how bad it's gonna hurt in the morning!

I can't wait to have it back, especially with the tune

 

[Steve]

Not good news, Joe.

Your pics don't show. I copied the URL in the properties and pasted them into a new tab. Still could not see the pics because I was not a registered user of that forum.

.

 

[Guest]

Your lucky day!! glad to hear you came aware unscathed. Lessons learned.

 

[GS1150Pilot]

Glad to hear you came away unhurt.

 

[Joe Garfield]

The accident is bad news, me not being injured is miraculous news...
Hopefully the pics are fixed? I've been struggling with loading images on this site lately.

 

[dorkburger]

..... Bike is replaceable, you are not. Glad you're ok.
Dubious welcome to the those that have club.

 

[roeme]

Made a similar mistake just two days ago; got myself distracted in very slow rush-hour traffic, full-grab brake wasn't enough to avoid front car.

While the impact didn't damage car nor bike (very slow speed), lost balance and tipped over (impact wasn't straight-on). That took off the stator cover decal and bent the clutch lever slightly. Laughed my ass off.

 

[GSXR7ED]

Life Riding A Motorcycle

Life Riding A Motorcycle

I've heard that there are riders who have crashed, and those that will. I had my first today. I was following a friend and allowed my riding to be influenced. It was 100% reactionary riding, which is 100% how you don't want to be. The attention I spent focused on following my friend was attention that was not spent investigating my surroundings and planning escape routes. One second traffic was going 65mph, the next time I look it's stopped dead, and 2 fingers on the brake lever wasn't enough.

"I guess I'm not gonna make it - I wonder what this is gonna be like..."

Lately I've been noticing that in chaotic situations I somehow tend remain calm. At the moment before I hit, I just kind of relaxed and let nature take its course. I came off the bike over the bars, flipped upside down, and landed against the car on the back of my head and shoulders. I landed, I took a second to confirm I was actually OK, and got up and apologized for causing the accident and damage. The 3 people that stopped to see if I was OK were all freaked out and couldn't believe I wasn't hurt, and that I was so calm. There's not a mark on my leather riding jacket or kevlar padded jeans. My helmet has deep gouges in the back in 2 places. I actually wondered how effective the thin foam in the back of the jacket was, and today I know exactly why it's there.

The damage doesn't look that bad - the forks are bent, obviously some broken plastic, and a few scrapes on the side. The bumper of the car is a little banged up, but the lack of serious damage is what tells me I did slow down quite a bit. But I'm sure it will cost my insurance company the cost of a bumper replacement, and will hit my premium(s).

The bike is financed so it's fully covered, and I haven't spent my recent State return which is just higher than my deductible. It would have been a free tow home, but it was only $50 extra to take it to a reputable shop that I was going to have tune my engine, so that's where I left it. They'll have an estimate on Tuesday.

The big lesson here is not to let anything or anyone influence the way I ride my motorcycle. I am disappointed for making such a rookie mistake, but I am thankful to have learned this lesson at the cost of only my pride and an insurance deductible. I'm also wondering how bad it's gonna hurt in the morning!

I can't wait to have it back, especially with the tune

I had an experience where I was anticipating a crash but just in that instance, the course of my travel was not altered. In that situation, I was overtaking traffic to merge to the off ramp--I drifted to the right and that's when it happened. The right Frame Slider bounced my Gixxer off the guard rail and I regained the straight line to the signal on the bridge.

What you describe above (underlined) I felt the same way. I even had enough time to think about where and how I'd land. All I did was ease up on the throttle to slow me down...I wasn't looking at the guard rail but I knew I was gonna hit and let the "outcome" takes its course.

I'm glad you were able to walk away from your accident. Allowing yourself to relax at the moment of impact saved your life! That is not a time ONE wants to become TENSE; parts break easy on impact so being FLIMSY is a plus.

You're OK and no one else suffered any injuries. Vehicle/property/medical is what Insurance is for. I'm glad you walked away without serious physical injury. This is not to say there isn't mental thoughts affected by this accident. For some time after the incident, I often played the scenario in my head and wondered how I was so fortunate. You may do the same or not depending on your coping mechanism.

I couldn't see the pics but take your time uploading. Thanks for sharing your story.


Ed

 

[Dogma]

I had more to say in the other thread where this was mentioned, so I'll comment here on the bit about being calm in chaotic situations.

I once heard that engineers often have a slightly elevated score on the test for the autism spectrum disorder. Being fascinated by this, I Googled up a test. Most of the questions have to do with delayed or disconnected emotional response to stimuli. I did have an elevated score, but only about halfway between average and Asperger. One of these days, I'll look up an ADHD test, but I don't have time for that now.

Ride your own ride. It's easy to say, but it's a difficult skill to master.

 

[Joe Garfield]

Yeah I wonder if ADHD has anything to do with it. A lot of people turn their noses at the diagnosis so I didn't mention it. But I tend to get calm when I'm stimulated. I was talking to a guy about top speeds we've gone, and he was saying how he hit 1xx and his heart was pounding. I was thinking to my self, I hit 1yy and was about as calm as I've ever been, just listening to the bike, wind, feeling the (lack of) vibrations, etc.

I used to teach skiing and have been in some bad ski wrecks. It was the same there, where you're supposed to not resist a crash and stay loose. It's probably saved me more than once. I wasn't really sure if that applied to motorcycle crashes, but I didn't have many choices, so that's what I did.

I'm definitely a little banged up today, but not too bad. I've had a constant headache and feel pretty slow so I probably have a mild concussion. My groin hurts, my wrist hurts, my shin hurts, and that's about it.

Thanks for all the warm wishes. I'm curious to see what it's going to be like getting back on the bike, but I'm definitely looking forward to having it back which is a good sign.

 

[GSXR7ED]

Yeah I wonder if ADHD has anything to do with it. A lot of people turn their noses at the diagnosis so I didn't mention it. But I tend to get calm when I'm stimulated. I was talking to a guy about top speeds we've gone, and he was saying how he hit 1xx and his heart was pounding. I was thinking to my self, I hit 1yy and was about as calm as I've ever been, just listening to the bike, wind, feeling the (lack of) vibrations, etc.

I used to teach skiing and have been in some bad ski wrecks. It was the same there, where you're supposed to not resist a crash and stay loose. It's probably saved me more than once. I wasn't really sure if that applied to motorcycle crashes, but I didn't have many choices, so that's what I did.

I'm definitely a little banged up today, but not too bad. I've had a constant headache and feel pretty slow so I probably have a mild concussion. My groin hurts, my wrist hurts, my shin hurts, and that's about it.

Thanks for all the warm wishes. I'm curious to see what it's going to be like getting back on the bike, but I'm definitely looking forward to having it back which is a good sign.

I would schedule a doctor's visit (soonest) if you didn't get checked out by paramedics for concussion...just to be on the safe side.

The body ailments are all part of the trauma your body absorbed while going Airborne. Do as you see best but try not to overexert yourself.


Ed

 

[Redman]

Joe ! Joe !

NOt good.
But great that you escaped injury.
FLying over the bike and back of car was better than smacking into either.

Those gashes in back of helmet would have been serious injurys without helmet.

Keep us updated.

Dave

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[Joe Garfield]

I cannot believe people ride without helmets.

 

[alke46]

Glad to hear you came through this relatively well. This really makes one a believer of ATGATT. Good luck in the future and may you learn from this experience.

 

[Wingsconsin]

I had more to say in the other thread where this was mentioned, so I'll comment here on the bit about being calm in chaotic situations.

I once heard that engineers often have a slightly elevated score on the test for the autism spectrum disorder. Being fascinated by this, I Googled up a test. Most of the questions have to do with delayed or disconnected emotional response to stimuli. I did have an elevated score, but only about halfway between average and Asperger. One of these days, I'll look up an ADHD test, but I don't have time for that now.

Ride your own ride. It's easy to say, but it's a difficult skill to master.

Yeah I wonder if ADHD has anything to do with it. A lot of people turn their noses at the diagnosis so I didn't mention it. But I tend to get calm when I'm stimulated. I was talking to a guy about top speeds we've gone, and he was saying how he hit 1xx and his heart was pounding. I was thinking to my self, I hit 1yy and was about as calm as I've ever been, just listening to the bike, wind, feeling the (lack of) vibrations, etc.

I used to teach skiing and have been in some bad ski wrecks. It was the same there, where you're supposed to not resist a crash and stay loose. It's probably saved me more than once. I wasn't really sure if that applied to motorcycle crashes, but I didn't have many choices, so that's what I did.

I'm definitely a little banged up today, but not too bad. I've had a constant headache and feel pretty slow so I probably have a mild concussion. My groin hurts, my wrist hurts, my shin hurts, and that's about it.

Thanks for all the warm wishes. I'm curious to see what it's going to be like getting back on the bike, but I'm definitely looking forward to having it back which is a good sign.

Perhaps I should find the other thread before commenting -- But if you are talking about ADD/ADHD being the thing that assisted you in being more calm and focused I can tell you there is something to that. (My opinions follow as a Father of an ADD child)
My son has ADD (no Hyperactivity so no H) - but he is at his best when things get chaotic.
Example - He played an online video game called Call of Duty and another called Halo - The competition would get incredibly intense at some of the higher levels.
The more it was 'all over the place" - the better he did - something in the brain of an ADD/ADHD can organize the chaos into recognizable patterns -
He was able to KNOW where the seemingly random action was going to take place before it did - he was so good he got sponsored professionally for a short while. (In Halo)
Fast forward to his driving years - he prefers a manual transmission to help keep from getting bored. He has a penchant for driving fast.
The more things are cluttered and randomized the better he does...
ADHD/ADD is a an unknown -

Glad to hear you are OKAY

 

[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?