Wake up call for all the riders

[Crusty Old Shellback]

Just had a wakeup call this weekend while out riding with a group. Had two of the riders collide and go down. One was released from the hospital with a bruised hip and sore back. The other has a broken elbow, bruised sholder and was complaining of severe back pain. They were taking her in for a CAT scan when we left the hospital.

Both were experienced riders. Still not sure what happened. But it was a serious wake up call for the group, espically when I got to the one rider and all I saw was her eye's glazed over and she wasn't breathing and there was blood coming out of her mouth. She started breathing on her own and the blood wound up being becaues she bit her lip. Still a scary situation.

On thing I found out while trying to get the bikes out of the road was that her front brake did not work. Don't know if she lost it and that was what caused the accident or not. She dosen't remember what happened. She is an older woman and has been riding most of her life so I'm going to assume that the brakes worked before the accident.

But to all of my brother and sisters out there who ride, PLEASE check your gear before you take off on a ride. Know your limits and do not excede them, the rest of the group will wait for you. If they don't then find another group to ride with. Take a saftey course if you can, even us old timers can still learn a thing or too from the course. Be safe and have a emergency plan.

AND HAVE FUN.

Just needed to get this out. It was a seriuos wakup call for me and the rest of the group. So check everything and be as prepared as you can. Have a great day.

[fat-tony]

that's one of my bigger pet peaves about riders. They always bunch up too much which not only is dangerous but I "think" is against the law to be side-side

[TheBimbo]

I am glad that everyone involved is going to be okay. This is a scary thing for sure, we don't own a bike although we'd considered it several times. A good friend of ours was in a serious bike accident and he lost his leg b/c of it, he's got a prosthetic leg now and still has a bike and a quad and uses both all of the time!!! He says he's lucky to be alive and thankful for his helmet...


We do own 2 quads and just got rid of a dirt bike a while back. Helmets are a necessity and should always be worn, I shake my head when seeing bikers w/o them . I am NOT judging anyone b/c we all have a choice in Pa now, but I personally would not get on a motorcycle w/o one...




Christy...

[Minuteman]

I was thinking about this last night on my bi-weekly 3 hour ride to/from DC. If my gear suddenly chose to quit working will at speed in the middle of HEAVY trafffic really late at night, I'd have virtually zero chance of not getting crushed under traffic, much less surviving.

It's sobering to think about...

[joeychitwood]

Thankfully, no one in my riding groups has ever been injured, but we've had a few close calls with deer. It must have been very frightening for everyone.

My Harley is in the shop getting a 5,000 mile service and a new front tire. I probably had 2,000-3,000 miles left on the tire, but with the trips I have planned for this summer, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

[Nina51]

when i think of all the times i took chances on my bike and it wasn't because i wasn't a safe rider...we took the safety course every spring for years...it was more because i rode in heavy traffic a lot including interstate where, if you weren't doing 80, it was like you were standing still. i shudder to think that i probably had close calls i didn't even know about what with semi trucks and stupid people in cars who don't have a clue there are even bikes on the road.

glad to know everything came out okay for your group. i agree with the helmet thing and no matter how hot it was, i never got on my bike without leathers. i see people riding in shorts, tank tops and FLIP FLOPS and, well, severe road rash (not to mention death) comes to mind. laying a bike down sitting at a stop sign would be bad enough with shorts/flip flops/tank top but can you imagine going down at 80??

[TheBimbo]

Originally posted by Nina51


glad to know everything came out okay for your group. i agree with the helmet thing and no matter how hot it was, i never got on my bike without leathers. i see people riding in shorts, tank tops and FLIP FLOPS and, well, severe road rash (not to mention death) comes to mind. laying a bike down sitting at a stop sign would be bad enough with shorts/flip flops/tank top but can you imagine going down at 80??

Okay that just gave me the chills just thinking about how that would feel ...



Christy...

[Crusty Old Shellback]

Originally posted by fat-tony
that's one of my bigger pet peaves about riders. They always bunch up too much which not only is dangerous but I "think" is against the law to be side-side

We wre not bunched up or at speed. I was leading a group of 5 bikes. Pulled over into the left tunr lane and was stopped waiting for the rest of the group to catch up so we could make a left turn. Second bike pulled up next to me and stopped. Third bike pulled up a little late and pulled up in front of us on the right at an angle. Fourth bike came up between second and third bike. I heard her tire skidding and saw her on my right, clipped the third bike on his left side and they went down. Fifth bike pulled in behind me.

As I said, not sure if her front brake went out or not as she dosen't remember anythging. She was on a Dyna and he was on a road king. We had brieffed the ride before hand and talked about our planned stops. I also talked about making sure to use their brakes and turn signals so that the rider behind them knows what they are doing. We were spread out some as we had just came up a long grade. We pretty much kept or 2 second spacing for the most part. This turn was not planned originally. Maybe it was my fault for taking the unplanned turn because the second rider had said he needed a pit stop. I don't know. But still three of us had stopped.

Maybe her brakes did give out. Maybe she zoned some because of the beauty of where we were riding. We had gone about 60 miles, all up in the mountains back roads as that's where we like to ride. Speed limit was 55 and that's what I was doing. I know because I kept an eye on it as there are tons of cops in that area and the last rider would fall back on occasion so I was trying to keep sight of him and keep us together.

Good thing is we're all safe. It was a wake up call for me and so I just wanted to let everyone else know so that they can try to plan ahead and ride safe.

[Satori]

Originally posted by fat-tony
that's one of my bigger pet peaves about riders. They always bunch up too much which not only is dangerous but I "think" is against the law to be side-side

It's not against the law to ride side by side. In fact, in a group it's safer. Cars get impatient and want to pass or merge. If you have 20 bikes all single file, the car is more likely to try to get into the middle of the group.

Blown, Hope your friends recover well.

[Minuteman]

Riding side-by-side is not safer, IMHO. It leaves you less room to maneuver when something shows up in your "lane within a lane". Staggered is the only way to ride...

[stereomandan]

I always wanted a bike until my friend died on one in college. (older man put on turn signal to turn right, friend went around on left, old guy turned left instead of right. Friend T-boned the car)

Never considered one after that.

It is not me I'm worried about, it's all the other drivers that aren't used to looking out for riders.

Dan

[Crusty Old Shellback]

Got a call last night. She is still in the hospital in ICU. They are saying she may have a bruise on her brain. I also found out that she has been in and out of the hospital lately and not been in the best of health.

Keep her in your prayers. She's and tough old goat (like Nenner) and should pull thru but a little prayer wont hurt.

[dc]

Well besides the yer gonna die part. Thank goodness, it could have been so much worse. Possibly she wasn't in her best thinking mood. Which could be another wake up call. Know when you shouldn't be on them.

I never see them bunched up and we get a lot of riders through here as we are just off interstate 80. They are always straddled.


Hopefully she will be ok.

[TheBimbo]

Thanks for the update, maybe she had some type of an 'episode' or something that may have caused her to lose her abilities in some way. (that totally sounds weird but I can't think of another way to word it )



Christy...

[Crusty Old Shellback]

Thanks everyone. That's what keeps going thru my mind as well. Did something happen to her? Did something happen to her bike?

It just bugs me still. I do know that she had her rear brake locked as I heard her tire skidding. But for the life of me, I could not get her front brake to work nor did the LEO or I find any leaks or pinched lines to the brake system that might have been caused by the accident.

Oh and Debi, that comment was meant in a good way with what all she's been going thru too.

[snulma1]

I went on a group ride when I was living in Annapolis, and before the ride, it was EXPLICITLY stated, do not bunch up. If at speed, leave ample distance.

Well of course, 20 min into the ride, right around a fairly sharp turn, a car was stopped in the road. Well I stopped, but the guy behind me didn't, and nailed my bike. Nobody got hurt, luckily, but new plastics and a new exhaust can hurt my wallet!

[Nina51]

old goat, huh? well, despite that, your friend will be in my prayers. we old goats are definitely tough!

[Crusty Old Shellback]

Yea, I figured that was better than old broad.

[dc]

I think it's a toss up.

[BigSkyBart]

Hope your tough old goat gal gets on the mend quickly

I sold my last bike 20ish years ago. I had just finished building a vtwin custom... HOT ROD!. 3 times in a week, I pegged out the speedo cruising @ 150 & it felt good...
What is the nice highway with all the twists & curves out of Ventura up the hill toward Oaji? 33?
In the same week as above I was on a friends scooter, we were going up to the "wheel in"? for a burger & a beer, I pulled his bike up on one wheel about 3-4 times in excess of a 100 (125 once)
I knew there was a body bag with my name just waiting to be filled
i liked adreneline when I was younger, still do, but I like life more now

[Scuba_Dave]

Originally posted by Nina51
tank top but can you imagine going down at 80??

I had to read this twice....80 mph ...right?

I've always replaced the tires on my bike with tread left
One guy at the shop even commented that one tire was still good. I said it wasn't good enough for me

I was in the habit of simply getting on the bike & going
Travelling into Boston one day traffic stopped fairly quickly, guy behind me (car) was jamming on the brakes

Once I arrived I checked the bike out, rear brake light was out...lucky he didn't hit me

I had a friend hot me while he was pulling a wheelie
I was not happy, but my bike was OK
I prefer to be at the back now....

[Satori]

I guess the M/C mentality is just different. We ride fast and close. Everywhere is 90mph, side by side, and within 5 feet of the tire in front of you. That's the way all real Motorcycle Clubs ride out here.

I've seen wrecks, injuries, and a couple of deaths, but never as a result of riding fast and close. We've come up on hairy situations and we've reacted accordingly. I take it easy and enjoy the scenery when I'm out by myself, but when it comes to the Club, there's no option.

This is one more reason why Motor Cycle Clubs aren't for everyone.

[vonodie1]

You AZ people are nuts on bikes!

In all seriousness, I went through AZ a few of weekends ago can't remember the town but it was on I-10 cause we were headed to CA, and a group of bikers were not being very smart and were not wearing helmets. I bet you they were doing at least 90 cause we were doing 70 and they zoomed by us-pulled over to the shoulder to wait on a few more and zoomed by us again. (they did that several times).

I know that it is probably legal for the bikers to ride the center line, but that freaks me out. You just never know when a car is going to change lanes and the biker is going so fast they collide. I have that fear when I see them do that.

I am just glad that I don't drive on road trips with trailers on the back end of our vehicle.

[redawg]

Well, after reading this I am worried. My husband is on his way to Tampa as I write this. I know he speeds, and I asked him to please keep it to a minimum. I ALWAYS worry when he goes to Tampa or Miami, and am on pins and needles until he calls to let me know he's safe.
He is not in a group, it is night, and fairly late at that, and he worked for twelve hours before leaving. He is going for work. I asked him to please take the truck, but he said he'd rather be on the bike. We only have a truck and a bike, and I think he did not want me to be stuck on the bike for two days.

I really hope your friend heals quickly and fully. I hate to hear these types of stories, but when I do, it REALLY keeps bike safety in my mind while I'm driving.

[dkh0331]