down for a while

so, it finally happened, i had a bit of a nasty wreck... ::sigh::

it was two weeks ago, on wednesday. i was on my way to work. i was going down the same road i've gone for the past 5 years. doing the same thing i do every day. about half way to work it changes for "in town" to country roads. as i make the transition from one to the next, i usually go from 25 to 50mph. well, that day some guy on a bicycle zipped out of a blind entrance way, turned up the street, turned his head looked back, looked right at me and suddenly shot across the street right in front of me. i don't know whether he didn't see me (even though there no way he couldn't have heard me) or if he was being daring and thought he could make it across. either way, i went from a decent throttle to grabbing as much brake as i could. my tires started screeching, i started swearing, then the front got super wobbly and it felt like the back of the bike started to come up.it happened so damn fast, i ended up flying off and sliding down the road and so did my new baby. lucky for me there was a guy standing at the bus stop who witnessed the whole thing, he introduced himself as gary. he called the cops and helped me gather all my things that were thrown every which way. when i got up, gary told me the guy on the bike never stopped he just peddled away. he stayed with me til his bus came. a few minutes after gary left the cops showed up, the first 2 were nice and helpful the third one was a total dick. there were so many cops because the accident happened between township lines. the first cop ended up calling an ambulance, but they weren't really necessary. they gave me a quick once over, checked my vitals and went on their way. of course they did congratulate me for being the first bike wreck of the year. yay, thanks. it was kinda messed up they looked at all my scraps, but didn't do anything for me. just kinda like "eh , you'll be fine" while i was in the ambulance the cops were measuring my skid marks and how far my bike slide etc. when i was done with the emts the first 2 cops started talking to me getting my info and explaining what the deal was with so many of them and blah blah blah and they were actually really nice and were helping me calm down a bit. that's when the third cop came up and started giving me attitude and basically stopped just short of calling me a flat out liar. i think, in his mind , he just saw a bright red sport bike, and just assumed i was being a reckless douche. according to his report my skid mark was 46ft. long and my bike slid for 353ft. so i must have been going much faster the 50 i told him. in my head that sounds like a lot. so out of curiosity, a couple days later, i did some online research and found a few accident forensic sites that had formulas for skid mark to speed ratios. i plugged in all my info, adding a few variable just to make sure i had a solid average, and all my results showed that i was going between 46-53mph. which is what i told them. the ordeal ended with them towing my bike to karns performance, which is the bike shop about 2 blocks from my house. my sister picked me up, took me home, i tended my wounds and went to work. fast forward to friday i open my mail to find dickhead cop mailed me a ticket, not for speeding, but for not having the bike inspected.

anyways, i'm ok i was scrapped up on both of my knees, my hip and i bashed up my right hand a good bit. my neck and shoulders were bruised from the landing. i was saved by my gear. i always wear a helmet, an armored jacket, and some gloves. they all gave up their lives for mine. i think i'm gonna look into some knee pads to add to my list of must wear gear. limping around for a couple weeks sucks. i'm up in the air about riding shoes. my sneakers stayed on (though may laces blew out on one side). i guess my apprehension with that is if i'm going to work i don't want to have to carry spare shoes with me. i doubt that riding shoes and good for standing and walking around on all day long.

you can see where the one seam blew out, i don't have a pic of the chuck taken out of the shoulder.

the glove on the right was worn down through to the skin. my pinky got kinda mangled, it still hurts like a MFer




i got pretty lucky, all the damage to the bike was on the left side. it basically laid down and slid. the rear foot peg saved the tail.

 

Sorry to hear that, glad you are still here to tell us about it.

 

You survived, that is the important bit, the rest is just temporary annoyances.

 

Ya know. Just like the squid gives us all a bad name, seems this cop does too. I mean shit man. If the law requires you to have your bike inspected and you have not then technically I guess you are guilty as charged. But just what the fuck does that have to do with the accident.

As for that LEO to suggest you were speeding based on the length of your skid marks is way out of line and unprofessional. There are so many variables to consider using any formula to determine speed and because there is braking, sliding both with you on and the bike alone. There could be different surfaces to consider. To properly do that you do many calculations including dragging a tire weight across the surface of that portion of roadway and measure the drag factor to determine the coefficient of friction at that particular point. Knowing the formula simply is not enough for a LEO to make such a comment to someone in the public. Knowing how to use that formula professionally requires several months of training on Accident Reconstruction and doe he have that training.

On the other hand, there is also braking marks on the road that you did not see. It is referred to as brake shadow. You cannot see it with the naked eye but it is visible through a camera lens and many sun-glass lenses. This will add to your speed. The end result is a range of speed and I think your 7 MPH range is being very conservative. In reality it is usually much greater than that. So you may have been going slower or faster than that range.

I wished that you were able to get your paws on the bicyclist. He too gives cyclist a bad name. I am super happy you survived this ordeal rather well as did your bike. I am appreciative to that witness who had the decency to stand by you while you were down. Did you get his contact info.

As for that LEO. I say, eat the ticket and pay it of you are in the wrong on the inspection. But that LEO's performance is lacking making a comment that he did I presume without talking to the witness. He simply did an inadequate job. In law enforcement, only your best is acceptable. His performance needs correcting and his boss should be made aware.

 

Glad you are mostly OK.

That bicyclist is a dirtbag. I have many times thought twice about just hitting the idiot that pulls out in front of me. It's always best to avoid contact with other vehicles, but there are so many times when the instigator of an accident just drives off like nothing happened. I figure if they are going to cause an accident, it's only fair that they feel the pain too. After all, stupid is supposed hurt!

 

Wow ..glad ur semi Ok....I would camp out at the bus stop to find Gary and maybe find the prick on the bike..just may help with insurance......ATGATT....I wear my gear all the time...have some bitchin overpants and sneakers at work..just a thought for you.....no tennies riding

 

thanks for the support guys.

@ randy I understand your point about the break shadow,but the accident happened literally a block from where I turned onto the road. So to me going from 25 to 50 seems pretty legit.I never really flog it on those back roads, there's too many hazards. From: the horse crossing to the retirement community to the school bus parking lot too much stuff going on to really have any fun on those roads. As for the ticket, I don't mind paying it because I know I was passed the 10 day limit. It just surprised me because when he brought it up to me, which was pretty early on, I explain to him that I just got the bike and was planning to take it that weekend and drop it off while i went on vacation. He seemed cool with that as if he was going to let me slide and he never brought it up again. of course, I guess I shouldn't be surprised because after that he was pretty confrontational with me.

@duc everyday on my way to work I look for the both of them. If I see Gary, I will stop and thank him for his assistance. He said he gave his contact info to the dispatcher, so I'm not worried about that. My insurance company, Geico, has been pretty easy to deal with. They're covering all the damages, I'm responsible for my deductible and my gear. Though they do cover my helmet. as for the guy on the bike I don't know what I would say to him. I'll probably just keep driving because I know I would really just want to punch him in the face.

 

Hope you didn't misunderstand me. I was not ragging on you but was to that LEO. He simply should not have made that comment to you based on a quick look at a mark on the road. Even marks on the road need identifying and interpreting. I don't know what that inspections stuff is all about. We don't have that here. I don't have a hate on for police either. I was in Law Enforcement for a long time until I retired from that back in 03. But it does irk me when I see or hear of an officer acting in such a manner that allows people to rightfully complain about their actions. That hurts everyone.

 

Sorry to hear about your crash, I went down recently on a less than optimal road surface and the loss of traction to the front wheel usually ends with the bike on its side! I too came out OK, mostly due to the speed I was going but also due to the gear I was wearing. Glad you were not seriously injured, but wearing the minimal gear was probably a factor that helped.

If you're worried about looking like ‘Ricky Racer’ when riding to and from work/school, there are alternatives. For armor protection below the waist, there are under garments like Bohn ‘Adventure Pants’ or padded shorts, along with some low profile knee/shin guards you should be able to get protection without looking too “bulky”. There are also several boot alternatives to sneakers. TCX makes some really cool low cut boots that look more like street shoes than Space Boots. Dainese, Alpinestars, Joe Rocket, Icon, the list goes on, all of them are coming out with nice alternatives now.

As far as jeans go, there are several makers of Kevlar lined pants now as well, many cost below $100. This along with the armor underneath should give you a much better level of protection than jeans alone. Is this the optimum in protection? Probably not, but it’s a good compromise to wearing plain “street” clothes IMO. Competition Accessories has a brand called ‘Sliders’, they were given a “best buy” award by Motorcycle Consumer News recently and run about $80. I have 3 pairs plus a pair of Joe Rocket I bought just before I read the MCN article.

I use my ’09 as a commuter to go to and from job sites and project meetings, the fore mentioned ensemble is what I’ll typically wear along with an armored jacket. Most people I run into have no idea that I have body armor underneath my pants, let alone the pants are Kevlar lined, only a few savvy people who also ride will recognize some of the gear and put 2 and 2 together. And unless someone really stares at my feet, there is very little to give away that I have motorcycle boots on.

I hope that this all works out for you in the end and that Karma takes care of the bicyclist, leave the punching in the face to the universe, no need to add to any legal infractions!

 

OOTVS. hit it on the nose...what gos around comes around.....KARMA

 

Sorry for your mishaps, glad you are ok. Speedy recovery to you.

 

Glad you made it out ok.

shitty deal about the ticket.

 

Glad your ok and you had a helmet on. Too many people think i'm going slow and won't need one.

 

i stopped by the shop today they've got the parts ordered. they're telling me 1-2 weeks before she's ready. it all ready feels like it's been too long. i've got my little cafe, but no spare helmet. aaaarrrrrgghhh i just can't win right now!

@randy sorry, didn't mean to rant. i guess i'm still annoyed at the whole ordeal.

@ootvs thanks for the suggestions. i'm still trying to figure out which route i'm gonna go. my concerns are basically; if i go the kevlar jeans route, are they comfortable enough to wear all day, same goes for anything like those adventure pants, or if i get some external armor, knee pads or over pants etc. are they convenient enough that they don't feel like a hassle to deal with constantly.

 

In the winter time the Bohn Adventure pants are great and I'll wear them all day under my pants, in the summer they can get a little warm. Although Bohn does make a "mesh" version, but I opted for a pair of Alpinestars compression shorts and Fieldsheer knee/shin guards for the summer instead. Once I get to my destination I take off the knee guards and put them in my top case or my backpack and I leave the compression shorts on. A little warmer but not uncomfortable. As far as the Kevlar pants, the 'Sliders' are totally comfortable but are a little heavier than normal jeans/khakis (I have a pair of all 3 styles, jeans, cargo and the khakis). However, the knee area is a little rough in some spots because the have Velcro closures for the knee armor pockets but nothing that keeps me from wearing them all day. I chose the knee/shin guard that use straps, versus using the "internal" pocket ones, mostly for extra security as they are more likely going to stay in place in a crash. That being said, Knox has some really low profile ones that use the straps and you can even wear those under regular blue jeans without noticing them, but they are a little more than twice the price of the Fieldsheer.

Whenever I do any real sport/spirited riding, I wear my leathers, my Knox back protector with a full face helmet and gloves, however when I do commuting and/or light touring, I use the armor/Kevlar pant combo. It's definitely a compromise but at least I am wearing something more protective than blue jeans and a t-shirt. To me this is an acceptable risk. You and the gear you wear have to be comfortable or it will either bother you to the point that it's distracting or that you stop wearing it. What good is your gear going to do hanging up in your closet? That's may take on it.

Cheers!

 

You can always file a complaint against the officer and his actions. You just have to go to the Police Department to do so. It may be online, but you'll have to look that up. I've filed complaints against officers, shift commanders, just for harassment because I am on two wheels and have one of them bikes that goes really fast.

 

Glad you are OK, and good luck in getting the bike back to normal!

Lately I've been playing the role of "The Dick", so I'm going to continue to do so. You're comment above about being a hassle - seems a little short sighted to me. Now that you've gone down, you of all people should understand the value of gear. It saved your hide. Jeans and sneakers will not do that. Its the old saying "If the only protection your going to wear is a helmet, you better only crash on your head".

There is plenty of gear out there to be had at reasonable prices. See this link below.

FirstGear Mesh Tex Pants - 2011 :: MotorcycleGear.com

All sorts of sizes. I own a pair these pants. Very comfortable. Breath well in the summer. Have a liner for the chilly days. They fit directly over your clothes, so order your normal size. If you're a 38" waist, get a 38" pant. The only suggestion I might make would be to order them a little longer in the inseam. When you sit on your bike, you may find they ride up a little bit. By having 2 inches longer in the inseam, you'll be able to secure them around your riding shoes.

Speaking of shoes:

TCX X-Square Boots :: MotorcycleGear.com

Reasonably priced. Provide some safety features. Comfortable. Have the velcro strap that secures your laces to prevent the blow out (that you experienced with your sneakers).

Many of us are watching our money; I understand that. But your talking a couple hundred bucks to get some decent gear. The "hassle" of having to change in an out of it at work should be a minor inconvenience for the trade off.

But that's just me.

 

@pliskin I don't think that's dickish to say, i totally get it. what I meant by hassle was really more about convenience. Some things are just easier and still effective. I'm trying to see what my options are for lower body protection. I've always worn a helmet and jacket, but never really looked into pants. It's a shame that I have such a thick skull and tend to learn things the hard way. Thanks for the links