Labels: updates

The following is taken from Jeff's site:

The diagrams above show the impact areas on crash-involved motorcycle helmets. (Source: Dietmar Otte, Hannover Medical University, Dept. of Traffic Accident Research, Germany.) Note that 35% of all crashes showed major impact on the chin-bar area. This means that if you ride with an open-face helmet, you are accepting only 65% of the protection that could be available to your head.

If you ride with a shorty or half helmet, you are accepting only 39% of the protection you could obtain. You are literally throwing away 61% of the protection you would have had had you chosen a full-face helmet.

And, of course, if you ride wearing a novelty helmet or no helmet at all then you have none of the protection you could have chosen.

Here are a couple of other interesting statistics in see-if-you-can-guess-the-answer format...

QUESTION:

1) What simple thing can many motorcyclists do to reduce their collision chances by 24%?

2) What can a rider do to lower his risk of crash-related injuries by 37% over other motorcyclists?

ANSWER: (use your mouse to highlight the answers below)

1) Always wear a WHITE helmet when riding!

2) Always wear reflective or fluorescent clothing when riding!

Labels: accident, gear, helmets, safety

Labels: DMV, insurance, license plate, rant

Got a call from my Allstate adjuster this morning. They've determined the bike is salvageable and are paying for all repairs save my $500 deductible. It appears that almost everything except for the powerplant will be replaced, including the frame. I haven't seen the parts list yet but I'm told it's in the $13,000 range.

So now on to the big question: After our luck, should I let Mark drive her to Seattle?!? Probably best if I pay to have her put on a truck and shipped...

:)

Labels: accident, updates

Labels: therapy

Labels: friends, starbucks, Steamboat Springs

A few days ago I decided to leave Chance in Denver and fly back to Seattle on Sunday night. My plan was to leave the bike with Mark, which would solve his transportation problem, and then he would ride back to Seattle in a few months, filming and blogging along the way. Thus, we would complete the RideA2B story.

Mark's insurance company had agreed to provide him with a rental car for a few weeks. We drove over to Enterprise yesterday, and on the way back, just one block from the rental car company I was involved in a collision. As I entered an intersection the driver of the oncoming car failed to yield and turned left right in front of me. I had no where to go and no time to react. My front wheel struck her front tire. The bike halted abruptly, I was slammed into the tank, and I fell over. I immediately got to my feet, and the driver emerged, crying hysterically. She was only 17. "Oh my god, oh my god, are you OK" she cried. "It's OK," I said, "everything is OK. Just calm down and breathe for a second." She continued to cry and I grabbed her by the shoulders and hugged her in the middle of the intersection. "It's OK," I kept saying. "No one is hurt."

I walked over to Chance, laying in the middle of the 5-lane road. I struggled to pick her up and move her. The steering was locked and the bottom of the fairing was scraping on the ground. I was able to move the bike to the far side of the intersection and out of the road.

The story is pretty typical from there. The police arrived, and with no remaining witnesses, no citations were issued. The guys from BMW of Denver brought the trailer over and we struggled to get the bike in the truck. We drove the short distance to the dealership and rolled her off the truck.

There she sits, behind the service department of BMW of Denver, right next to Mark's broken bike. They're both totaled, no doubt. The duolever (forks) on Chance snapped in two, which probably saved me, because it absorbed most of the force of the impact.

She's a goner, but I'm still here. I was wearing my helmet and full armor as well. I sustained a small cut on my index finger and my wrist is probably sprained, but other than that I'm fine.

No doubt I'll have something far more philosophical to share about this once I'm done processing it. For now I just wanted to spit it out as I remember it.

Here are some pictures of my poor girl.

Labels: accident, updates

Labels: Boulder, photoshoot, Red Rocks, starbucks

Click to view...

Labels: maps

After grabbing Starbucks this morning, we stopped by BMW of Denver to assess the damage sustained by my bike (see the video above).

Here you can see some of the damage to the engine and frame.


Here I am sitting on my K1200R one last time. It truly breaks the heart parting with her. I'll be hard-pressed to find another bike as awesome as she was.

Labels: accident, starbucks

After a quick breakfast at the hotel Chance & I headed south on WY 191, aiming toward Denver. Google Maps told me it was 528 miles at the shortest, so I knew I was in for a long day. The two-lane highway wound its way along several smaller rivers that ultimately feed the Snake and I was treated to magnificent views of the canyon wall. After 20 minutes of this we spilled out into the flat part of Wyoming; sand, sagebrush, and absent of human activity. There were no other cars, and I wanted to make good time, so I slammed the throttle down and we sped through the desert.

Unfortunately this was the most tedious part of the entire trip, and if you've driven through Wyoming you know why. There is nothing but nothing out there. The only humans are those that are like me; on their way to someplace else. It feels like you're on another planet.

WY 191 intersects with Interstate 80 at Rock Springs and I stopped for lunch at the "Renegade", fine American cuisine. After a decent omelet we rolled on, jumping on I80 east. The wind was fierce yesterday - this part of Wyoming is subject to high winds since the land is so flat, and the winds typically run North/South, perpendicular to I80. Between the wind and the wake left by semi trucks I spent the other part of an hour struggling to keep the bike on the road. To keep on the road I had to crab the bike into the wind, seemingly as much as at a 15-degree angle at times. I was really scared, fearing I'd be drawn into the back of a semi or pushed off the road completely, and the wind was buffeting me so badly I was getting tired. So I started saying to myself, over and over, "I am the wind, I am a feather, I am the wind, I am a feather..." And that centered me and after a while I wasn't thinking about it anymore.

The next several hundred were pretty boring and aren't really worth writing about. Sand, wind, sagebrush, no humanity to speak of. The last part was the best though; crossing the Rockies. Heading out of Steamboat Springs, CO we began a rapid and windy ascent. Alpine meadows and snow-capped mountains danced in my periphery as the ambient temperature dropped. At one point I noted 47-degrees. This was some of the best riding of the trip, and I stopped to shoot these pictures.




















After 560.6 grueling miles I pulled up to Mark's place at 10:30 PM. It was great to see my old friend after all the planning, miles, and drama. We stayed up all night talking about the ride, watching the footage I'd taken, and b.s.'ing.

Today we'll going to the BMW of Denver shop to check out the bike and then spend a relaxing, low-mileage day.

Labels: updates

Jackson, WY is a town without a soul surrounded by a state with a lot of heart. There are too many tourists here, and they pack their east/west coast attitudes along with them. Unlike the rest of this part of the country I've seen, people here are in a hurry, the service is bad, and no one seems to be having a good time.

I'm out of here. Denver is about 530 miles and I'm aiming for it. I'm in serious need of being around someone I know right now.

Labels: updates

Labels: snapshots, updates

I met with my attorney today. Apparently that's all I'm allowed to say.

Labels: attorney

Hey gang -

Made it to Jackson finally. The ride up was very enjoyable; lots of twists & turns. I'm chilling for a while with a cup of coffee and then will get some food for the campsite tonight. I'm exhausted right now. Pictures & more coming soon.

----
Sent from my wireless handheld device

After blowing off steam to my friend about the forgotten/stolen camera her advice was this:

Your day has been rough enough. Forget about Jackson Hole. Go to Idaho Falls, buy another camera, check in to a hotel, and relax. And while you're at it, make a checklist and look at it every time you get on your bike.

So that's what I did. And she was right; I felt a lot better after a hot shower. Nini at the front desk was really nice too - she even got Bill the maintenance man to shuttle me over to the Best Buy. It was like my own personal taxi service. Here she is blushing because I'm taking her picture, but check out what she's holding!



















And here's the checklist. It's on top of my tank bag now.


















So now that my little temper tantrum is over I'm feeling much better and am looking forward to Jackson and the Grand Tetons tomorrow. And I guess I'll be road-testing the new camera too, but hell, what else is knew? It wouldn't be A2B if we'd worked all the bugs out...

Labels: updates

Sing this to the tune of your favorite country song.

* I woke up with a pimple on my nose.
* I have a nasty blister on my foot.
* Reached the dead end of a state highway, had to turn around and backtrack 20 miles.
* Ate one bite of lunch because it was so inedible. Also, the ice in my Sprite had something in it.
* A bug exploded into my nostril at 90mph.
* I got sunburned.
* I stupidly left the video camera at a rest area, backtracked to recover, but it had been lifted. I lost footage from yesterday with it, and my tripod too.
* I never got out of Idaho.

I'm giving up on Jackson Hole for the day. I am going to stay in Idaho Falls tonight, buy a new camera, and get my shit together.

(insert all my other favorite curse words here, fade on the chorus)

Labels: rant

I stayed the night in Twin Falls, Idaho, our original rendezvous point. Today I'll be heading for northern Wyoming to visit Jackson Hole and the Grand Teton National Park. Having said that, I likely will not have cell service or Internet access, so I may not be able to make an update until Monday evening. For now I'll leave you with a few random pictures from yesterday...

Labels: updates

Fate has a wicked sense of humor sometimes. Meandering my way across southern Idaho I reached behind me to ensure my tent and sleeping bag were still with me - I am using some low-budget straps to tie them down. When I checked the bag was there, the tent was not.

I stopped, looked at the odometer, and decided I'd backtrack 5 miles. Just then Coldplay's "Everything's not lost" came on my iPod.

Exactly 5 miles later I gave up the search. Guess what street I turned around in? Cutoff Road.

I'm not making this up, I promise I'm not that clever.

-------------
Sent from my wireless handheld device

On Thursday I called to check in with Mark. He seemed to be in better spirits than during our previous conversations, albeit very sore still. We chatted a bit about where I was, his foot, etc. and what my plan was for getting to Denver. After I heard about the accident I had planned to drive straight through to see him, but when we spoke he encouraged me to take my time and see a bit of the country. "I'm not going anywhere," he said. "Take your time."

Yesterday, after a quick breakfast I left Ontario, Oregon for the short ride to Boise. Once in Boise I got a cup of coffee and called my friend Brad for directions to his house. Brad, his wife Amber, and son Jack live in a fantastic mansion on the outskirts of Boise. Many thousand square feet, a great pool, and a wonderful view of the foothills off the back patio. It had been more than ten years since we'd seen each other so we had a lot to catch up on. Sitting poolside and chatting, it was nice to take it easy after the previous day's ride.

On my way to Boise that morning I thought I might change my plans a little. Mark & I had planned to stay in hotels for the entire trip so we could keep the bikes light on gear and also make regular updates to the site. Also, I hate camping, or at least I thought I did. Then I started to think about that - why do I hate camping? I couldn't really come up with a good reason. So after I said my goodbyes to Brad I drove to REI (got lost along the way, a 20 minute drive turned out to be an hour) and geared up with a tent, a sleeping bag, and some straps to keep it down. Earlier in the day I'd run in to a few French guys who told me that Redfish Lake and the drive up to it was spectacular and that it should not be missed. I made it my destination for the day.

The ride on ID 21 was fantastic. I was 15 minutes outside of Boise and the road went to 2 lanes that followed a meandering creek. The road was full of switchbacks and hairpin turns - I think I might have scraped a peg once or twice. Did I mention I love the GT?















Another 30 miles and I arrived in Idaho City, which from the name you'd think it was a metropolis, but it's actually quite tiny. Not sure I'd even call it a town. I stopped at the general store to get some food for the night and outside I met a few guys on dirt motorcycles. They explained to me that this was a big weekend for Idaho City, as it was the starting point of the final qualifier for the American Motocross circuit. 300 of the best dirt bike riders in the country were there, attempting to qualify to represent the US Team in Chile this year. Think of it as the Olympics for dirt bikes. What luck, I thought, that I would happen to be passing through right at the same time!

I drove a few (short) blocks to the check-in building and was directed to a man named Gunny, the AMA representative. I sat with him for 10 minutes and he explained the whole thing, the structure of the race, the intensity level and endurance the riders have, and the economics of the circuit. I filmed the interview - you'll have to wait for the RideA2B DVD to see it!

On the road again and aiming for Redfish Lake, but with 40 miles to go it was getting dark and I didn't want to set up camp by flashlight. I found a campsite on the side of the road and followed the path down to the river. Someone had been nice enough to leave a perfect fire pit for me too, so I built a fire, set up the tent, and had some dinner.















Well, dinner is a stretch - Doritos, applesauce, and pineapple rings.






















After the fire died I sat by the river and watched the stars come out. It was so peaceful. I tucked in around 11 and it was still pretty warm, maybe in the high 60's. I woke up at 6:10 and it was 41 - in my birthday suit and shivering, I tiptoed my way to my panniers and found some warm clothes, then hustled to break down camp. I was back on the road by 7.

The ride from camp to the lake was unbelievable. This is not a heavily trafficked road anyway as there is no civilization to speak of but at 7 in the morning there was even less. Switchbacks and long stretches broke the ride up nicely, and I watched the sun rise over Emile Grandjean peak.















I arrived in Stanley, ID 40 minutes later, a town with no paved roads. Chance does not handle well on dirt, especially when loaded up like she is right now, so I bailed out of there in search of an open restaurant and gas. With both of us filled I pushed on toward Redfish.

This was a bit of an anti-climax to be honest. Everyone along the way talked it up so much, and I was expecting it to be a lot bigger than it is. I mean, it's beautiful and serene, but so are a lot of lakes. One thing I will say: since it's glacier-fed the water is very clear, so you can see the fish swimming right next to the shore. That was pretty cool.















Galena Pass was my next stop. Again, everyone I talked to spoke highly of it, and it was AMAZING. Reaching more than 8,000 feet at the summit, the lookout spot is at 7,000 or so, but the entire valley and the mountains that tower above it are all in view. It was incredible.















I met Tom (from Olympia, WA) and his daughter Kristy (from Sun Valley) and we chatted for a while. Kristy gave me some pointers about Sun Valley and guided me to the Starbucks. Most of you know I get cranky without my coffee.














25 minutes later I rolled in to Sun Valley, the favorite wintertime destination of the stars I'm told. That much is clear by the multi-million dollar homes and golf courses that abound. Quite a bit different from the Idaho I've seen so far.

I'm not sure where I'll end up tonight. I want to camp again but I'm in need of a shower too, so we'll see.

More pics in the gallery...

Labels: updates

Labels: accident, thank you

Labels: accident, rant