*bimjo

The journey continues...

...into pain and sorrow.

Friday July 11th 2008 was a sad day in my life. I had another motorcycle accident. Though not as physically painful as my crash on September 1st 2007, it was perhaps even more devastating emotionally.

Why? All spring after buying the new bike I have fought with it. It was a mental issue, nothing mechanical. Rather than flow with the bike I've been fighting it and not really enjoying my recreational riding ( I also commute 100 miles round trip every day ).

On Friday I finally pulled my head from my rectum and started working with the bike instead of against it. Corners flowed as they should and the sweepers were a pure joy. Nice crisp lines instead of several course corrections. Oh Joy! Finally!

Unfortunately it all came to a grinding end at 11:35 am when I dropped the bike trying to avoid a car. I was following a rural mail carrier down the road at 50 mph. When she slowed and appeared to be moving to the right I assumed she was delivering mail to a mailbox on that side of the road. I moved into the oncoming lane to pass her. As it turns out she was only setting up for a left turn into a side road.

When she was approximately 30-35 yards ahead of me she executed the left turn in front of me. I braked aggressively and tried to steer behind her, but it was asking too much of the bike and the front wheel tucked and the bike fell onto its right side.

I was slammed to the road and rolled several times, beating my ribs near to death and giving myself some minor road rash even though I was wearing a riding jacket and pants. The worst is a hole in my right forearm that needed stitches and a drain. And my little finger is either broken or dislocated. It's still too swollen to tell.

So, this time the bike is much worse off than I am, which I guess is an improvement. Seems that I still fly okay, but my landings need a lot of work. But, going with the old pilot axiom that "any landing you can walk away from is a good one" I'm calling this one good and letting it go at that.

The bike is in the hands of the insurance adjuster, I'll know sometime next week what the verdict is.

And so I move (at a slightly reduced rate)...

...onward and upward.