2 Lessons re: mud & cell phone - Motorcycle-Journal Forums

ZukiChaos · 10-30-2006, 08:53 PM

Earlier this October I went for my first long trip - from Harrisburg, PA to Seneca Rocks, WV. It was an amazing trip, but I'm not using this thread to tell that tale. I want to share some insights so you folks don't have to endure a cracked rib & damaged cartlidge that hurts like heck for the first 2 weeks.

So I was riding with my buddy--she on her Hog & I was on my C50. We were in full gear. We had riden through rain the night before, and it was still cool out this early afternoon. After seeing Seneca Rocks, we pulled off the side a few times to take pictures. I pulled us into an abandoned house (or so I thought). The driveway was an overgrown grassy/ gravel mix. I took some great pictures, got back on the bike and started across the "driveway" back to the road. I saw a slight patch of mud, but really didn't think much of it, but I should have as it was mushier than it looked.

My front wheel wiggled like crazy. I decided to gas it a little to help straighten the bike. That was a stupid idea. The rear wheel basically spun itself to the side. Luckily, I had saddlebags and full gear. My whole body fell to the left and landed on the CE armor. My foot was squished from the floorboard smashing up against the bike. I had tough Harley boots on so I wiggled my foot out, got up and felt like I had the wind knocked out of me.

The bike was ok. I had to bend back the turnsignal. I had to hammer the floorboard back into place. And, I now have a tear in my rubber clutch cover, along with many, but minor scracthes on the clutch and moreso (unfortunately) on the front fender. I had mud on a lot of stuff too. The saddlebags worked well in keeping me & my stuff protected. I highly recommend the TourMaster Cruiser bags.

Ok, so what cracked my rib next to my shoulder blade from the weight of my body falling down. But the lessons here...We all know we are going to go down (this was my first time with about 3,000 miles & a safety course under my belt) but I never thought it would be in mud...I just didn't think I would ever be in "that" condition. But ya never know what surface you may be driving across. The other lesson--the one I hope will spare you of crushed cartlidge (which hurts MORE than a broken rib) is keep hard objects out of your pockets. I had my candy bar cell phone in my jacket. It was a perfect fit, but when I went down the force of the impact jammed the phone up into my ribs. Rib cartlidge by nature has tons of nerves so when there's damage, it hurts like heck.

I'm better. The bike is fantastic and I admire it even more after our bonding trip. I rode about 200 miles after my fall. The scenery and adrenaline kept me riding. By the 2nd day back at work, I was a hurtin' pup so I went to the doc to see what was wrong. That was when I realized the damage. Well, I'm moving around just fine, barely taking painkillers and riding to work when the weather permits.

READER'S DIGEST VERSION: Keep those hard objects out of your pockets and only ride on paved surfaces.