I Just wanna cry

[R@ttlesn@Ke]

I went on a nice all day ride yesterday with my Dad and a friend. Started out at 9 am and road up to Williamsburgh, VA to the Colonial Parkway. We got seperated on the way back, and as I neared my house, which was litterally thirty seconds away, a car pulled out of a 7-11 parking lot, directly in front of me. He would have hit me if I didn't slam on the brakes, which I did. The bike locked up and threw me off, resulting in an ambulance ride to the Hospital. Net result: One concusion, one bruised hip, broken right mirror, severely scraped right fender, a severely damaged right saddlebag, and a broken brake assembly. Not sure what feels worse, me, or knowing I can't afford to fix any of this stuff for awhile.
The worse part is, the officer that came to see me at the Hospital said that there was a witness that told her the car was just sitting at a stoplight and I came up on it too fast and slammed on my brakes. Wish I could find this person AND the driver so I could kick both their asses. I love this bike. It just makes me wanna cry when I look at it now. It was my pride and joy.

[2005GZ250]

Man that sucks, just be glad your still around to tell us about it.

[QuacktheDuck]

God that's horrible...sorry to hear it happen. The officer didn't by any chance give the name of the so called "witness" did she? Frickin people sometimes...

Hope you heal up, glad you're gonna be ok, the bike can be fixed eventually, even if it takes awhile to do so.

[Clint]

I'm sorry about the tough day, bud. I'd draw two conclusions from your account: 1. The car probably stopped upon noticing you, and by the time this "witness" saw the car it appeared as if it hadn't been moving. 2. You might have benefitted from more training and practice on emergency stopping. There's no reason the bike should've, as you put it, thrown you off. Controlled braking and avoidance are paramount for safe street riding. We'll all face inattentive cagers every season.

My first crash came within two months of owning my first bike. I did almost exactly what you did, and ended up in about the same shape. Given the same situation with my current skill set and experience it would've been a non-event.

Heal up and ride again, but make sure you learn something and don't just dwell on the fault of the other driver. It sounds like your bike damage is minor from a rideablity standpoint. Fix the brakes and get back on.

[DrBob]

Heal quick, and get back in the saddle as soon as you can. The brake lever, bags, and mirror can usually be found on EBAY cheap, often from someone who damaged the other side of their bike. The fender is plastic and easy to repair with some bondo and spray cans from Color-rite.com
Being thrown off a bike from a highside caused by a rear wheel skid is common. Practice, practice, practice, and practice some more so you you instictively hit the rear brake without locking it up.

[stp1971]

Sorry to hear about that. Hope you get healed pretty quick. The bike,, well it is repairable it sounds like as Rowdy said. Maybe it will take a while,, but look at it this way. It is almost nearing the end of the season for you up there in VA so at least it isn't like Skullman that wrecked his at the beginning. Evaluate what you could've done to help this situation not happen and learn from it.

Not that I am pointing any fingers at you but you did state you got separated from your riding partners. By any chance you weren't trying to catch up with them were you. Alot of times people get almost this tunnel vision when they get separated from the group and they will do insane things at times such as running red lights, ride at high rates of speed to catch up, ride recklessly, etc. Not that I am accusing you of this but just wondering if you might have been more focused on trying to get back with them that your attention might have been on that versus properly scanning the enviroment.

That is why we stress ALL THE TIME in group rides that if you get separated from the group to ride safely back to them. In most cases if the group realizes you are separated they will start to pull over and wait for you.

Good Luck on it and best wishes.

[R@ttlesn@Ke]

Thanks for the well wishes. No, I can honestly say that I was in no hurry. I had been separated from the others for about 45 minutes, and was actually about 30 seconds from my house, so I was in no hurry. I wasnt even doing the speed limit when Ray Charles swerved back into my lane from the turn lane.

[stp1971]

Well in that case just chock it up to stupid cager and be thankful you are able to tell us about that.. Good ideas from DrBob on the ebay thing. If it appears the cost is going to be too high then maybe looking at a newer used bike might be an option. But from what it sounds like it shouldn't be too expensive unless you go to the stealer for everything.

One idea is to call around to insurance companies and ask where they take the bikes that they total. If you can find where they go you may be able to get in on buying a totaled bike for next to nothing and that will possibly give you the parts you need plus some at a fraction of the cost of buying them new. Just an idea.

[Time4me2ride]

Sorry about bike and the injuries. There is no shortage of stupid or careless cagers. That being said though, you still need to go back mentally and re-evaluate. Ask "what could I have done to overcome the fact that there are stupid or careless cagers on the road every day?" When I had my accident last summer, I spent some time figuring that out. While I did nothing technically wrong, there were things I could have done better that might have avoided being hit: lane position, braking technique, following distance, swerve vs. brake...
I know from experience how frustrating it is to have your ride and your safety jeopardized by a careless cager. My first M50 was totalled. Still, we need to take our safety into our own hands and try our best to overcome the fact that there will always be stupid and careless cagers on the road.

Get well soon and good luck finding parts.

[Rickster]

For what it's worth,I read somewhere that 85% of all accident happen to first year riders.

[stp1971]

Originally Posted by Rickster

For what it's worth,I read somewhere that 85% of all accident happen to first year riders.

Hey,,, look at it this way,,, if you cannot ride until next year then you will no longer be in the first year rider category!!!! I know,,I know,,stupid comment.

[lexxter]

You may want to check with the businesses at that intersection to see if they have a surveillance camera that may have caught the accident. Also, the intersection (DMV maybe?) may have a camera. They are everywhere these days.

[Fishpart]

Sorry to hear about this, but at least your still with us to ride another day (when the bikes fixed)

[Rickster]

Originally Posted by lexxter

You may want to check with the businesses at that intersection to see if they have a surveillance camera that may have caught the accident. Also, the intersection (DMV maybe?) may have a camera. They are everywhere these days.

That's great advice

[nhoel]

I still can't see how you can put the blame on the cage (on any insurance matter)... video camera or not, the cage didn't hit you (no contact)... It was able to stop and unfortunately you lost control. Just charge it to experience and be extra careful next time. There's no need to cry over spilled milk. Although I would cry over milk that was supposed to be breast fed!!!

[R@ttlesn@Ke]

Well, I talked to the officer yesterday that worked my accident, and she said after speaking to me at the Hospital, she went back and re-interviewed the dumbass that almost ran me over. She said he admitted to the improper lane change, and also that he did not look before he pulled out. Good thing for him I wasn't in a huge semi as opposed to my bike.. She said she couldn't give him a ticket due to the fact she had already released him from the scene......HOWEVER...she wrote it in the Police Report as being his fault. At least now I can make a claim against his insurance. Hopefully I can replace all the damaged parts on my bike, get re-imbursed for my medical bills, and for the two days of work I missed. Aside from the week long headache and sore hip, now I feel much better.

[The Teach]

Thank God the truth came out. You got lucky he spilled the beans. G/L getting everything covered and back on the street.

TT

[Time4me2ride]

Glad to hear you are on the mend. Good luck with the insurance company, they are a pain in the butt.

[md2lgyk]

Don't forget to ask for a few thousand for pain and suffering.

[stp1971]

GOOD JOB MAN!!!!!! Good Luck with it!!!! Do I hear new custom paint job needed too????