Saturday, June 9, 2007
Shit happens (again)
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.
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.
Comments:
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Two bikes totaled. Riders in full gear and helmets relatively
unscathed. Any questions?
Glad you're OK Peter. Mark, continue the healing!
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unscathed. Any questions?
Glad you're OK Peter. Mark, continue the healing!
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