Hiromi_X
Near Death Experience
My motorcycle Godfather gave me this amulet of the patron saint of motorcyclists, St. Columbanus. It's draped over my bike's right grip in the photo. Note also the presence of a (pooh) bear.
That amulet is what I have in lieu of health insurance right now (I'll be getting health insurance when I move in June). I wear it next to my heart when I sleep at night so it can "charge" with good karma, and I always wear it except when I'm showering or exercising.
However, I emptied my good karma bank this weekend, when it was proven to me that there is no end to the stupid shit that cagers can pull.
While riding down an extremely busy two-lane road (one lane in each direction), I flicked on my right turn signal and braked, getting ready to turn. Just as I was about to turn right, the car behind me passed me on the right.
I saw the car coming up on my right from the corner of my eye. I straightened up the bike, let the car pass, and then finished turning right. I stalled the bike in the driveway I pulled into and had trouble getting it started again since my heart was hammering in my chest. But in a show of mad skillz and cool-headedness, I kept my shit under control and didn't drop the bike. I rode it some distance, parked, and inspected the brake lights and turn signals (they were in perfect working order). The driver was decent enough to park, walk over, and apologize profusely. I didn't yell; we both almost had tears in our eyes. As she walked off, I paused, pulled the medal out of my shirt, and kissed it.
I'm looking at some temporary insurance, though. I may not be so lucky next time.
Comments
Catholics fuck up a lot of things, but they are the bomb when it comes to graven images and idolatry and other powerful mystical shit.
1. Posted by Ray on March 24, 2008
Bloody hell.
Glad you are unhurt and still with us. I can only suggest you try and kit your bike out in full armour or something.
Or just get yourself an abrams tank or something.
Hope Lady luck sticks with you. Best wishes.
2. Posted by Boy/Man on March 24, 2008
Glad it worked out okay! I've never had someone in a cage actually apologize, even after they'd actually hit me!
3. Posted by Tina Marie on March 25, 2008
i was involved in an accident on sunday 3/2,i was hit by a 61 year old man who never saw me.the bike is totaled ,i have a broken arm and a banged up hip.i was taken away to the hospital so the old guy was the only input for the accident report,based on the accident report his insurance company has determined i am the sole proximate cause of the accident.and i tried to give you advice,do i feel dumb.
4. Posted by gene on March 25, 2008
Ya know, Ray, it's only the rich and arcane iconography of catholicism that sometimes makes me look fondly on religion. Staunch atheism kind of gets in the way there, otherwise I'd have celtic cross tattoos.
Hiromi, as usual, glad you survived another one un-scathed. Any ride that ends with everything un-scratched is a good one.
The unfortunate truth is that these things are part of riding. Cagers, thought they would never admit to it, seem to want to kill us.
One has to live the adage 'ride like you're invisible'. They don't see us, they don't see our little turn signals. No matter how obvious we think we are, they continue to look around or past or through us.
It's worse, unfortunately, for you; you have a small, low bike. My best advice is to consider louder pipes (they do make a difference), wear a bright vest, and in some cases, resort to hand signals.
Never assume they see your turn signals; they're a courtesy, but generally a wasted one. I typically rely on a motorcycle's ability to blast ahead and cut between, and just *go*, getting out of the cager's way as quickly as I can. Your speed and agility are your weapons, and the habit of always thinking about where you're going if things go wrong will save your life almost every day on a motorcycle.
The good thing? YOu handled it. YOu're getting there. You'll come to a point where these things don't do more than make you curse; after a while they mostly stop freaking you out. That takes a while, and the key *then* is to never relax.
5. Posted by elvis on March 25, 2008
Ray, personally, I love the pageantry, the clothes, the swinging incense censors. I'm mystified as to why the church doesn't do Latin mass all the time.
Thanks, Boy/Man. I'm glad I'm in one piece, too!
Gene, I'm sorry to hear that. That really sucks, especially with the added insult of the insurance company.
Karl, my jacket is a very bright red, and I have a silver helmet, so I think I'm fairly bright. Luckily, around where I live, there are tons of motorcycles, scooters, cyclists, and pedestrians, so people I think tend to be aware. Although the other day, I overhead a conversation with this guy who looked like he'd been badly mugged and beaten. He was also limping pretty badly. No, he was a cyclist who got nailed by a cager. He had been flipped into the guy's windshield. Sometimes, I wonder if I'm crazy to be doing this.
6. Posted by Hiromi on March 25, 2008
Good, you're doing the right stuff WRT visibility; you can only do what you can do.
Loud pipes next.
But in the end, you still need to ride like you're invisible; in almost all cases where the cager is at least partly at fault, the cager 'didn't see them'. You just have to assume they won't. My one big accident was exactly that, guy didn't see the light was red, didn't see me stopped at said light, hit the brake too late, folded my Kawasaki Vulcan in half and pitched yours truly over the bars onto the trunk of the car in front. My error: assuming I was safe stopped in traffic. I should have been in gear and off to the side of the lane, not dead middle, feet on ground, hands off bars. I know better.
Yeah, you are crazy; but that's one of your good things B^)
7. Posted by Karl Elvis on March 25, 2008
Holy shit, Karl. Were you injured?
I've heard more than once to keep an eye on your mirrors when you stop at a light. Thanks for the reminder.
8. Posted by Hiromi on March 25, 2008
I was beat up and bruised, wrenched my back real bad.
But I didn't feel it at the time; imagine me, though, coming off the trunk of that car. Full leathers head to toe (biker leathers, meaning chaps), helmet in my hand, SCREAMING at the guy -
"Son of a BITCH! MotherFUCKER! YOU KILLED MY FUCKING BIKE!"
I was actually surprised he didn't have a coronary right there.
Bike was a total loss; I knew if I didn't get a new bike right away, I'd never get on again. Went out the next week and bough a Yamaha fj1200.
9. Posted by Karl Elvis on March 25, 2008
Leather chaps!
:D
Okay, I think I've talked enough about the minuses of bike ownership. I'm *so* looking forward to the day I can afford leathers. There's a company that does leather in other colors besides basic black; I'd love to have a classic biker set and a girly set, too.
10. Posted by Hiromi on March 25, 2008
You're riding w/o chaps? Craigslist for Austin, posted March 25, $25, ladies chaps size 8.
Buy them used if you have to, you can cut length down with just a pair of scissors (if you have to)... You shouldn't be riding without chaps. One good lay-down and your legs will be toast.
Even though I'm a cager and I watch out for bikes, I've known way too many people who don't. Including family members. You're not crazy for riding, but hell.... There's even a commercial now for an insurance company (no names mentioned) who liken being in a car to being in an extension of a house, although it moves. And it's true. People tend to think they're the only ones on the road, safe in the little box.
11. Posted by darkneuro on March 26, 2008