Biker Down

Everybody goes down.
Some get up.
Some don't.
Some can't.

I was the biker down in the heading. Went down all by my lonesome self, in front of witnesses, because i couldn't control my bike, because i wasn't paying attention.

I also went down right outside a fire station, sat down on the kerbstone and about 20 medics were all coming to see what happened, yes, serendipitous i know. It happened in Edenvale before the Toyrun meeting, so after a few minutes friends arrived, and a few more minutes a bakkie arrived to take the damaged bike home. Like a very strange dream. Imagine sitting half naked in an ambulance, and your friends wander up and offer you the ice cream they had just bought for you ...

Yes.

As with any "accident" it wasn't one specific thing that went wrong, but a few minor factors that lined up in a perfect bad scenario. A car full of distracted people pulled forward into the next intersection. I shouldn't have gone down, i should have done what i usually do: head up, lightly on brake, back brake, headlight beam and hooter if need be. It was completely avoidable.

Instead i was distracted, braked sloppily, locked the front wheel and then panicked ... that's when the bike threw me off the left into the ground. I don't remember falling, i remember spinning wildy around and around. It was kind off spin *flap* spin *flap* but then i pulled my arms against my chest and spun a few more times. Fortunately the guy had stopped, so instead of riding over me he enjoyed a rather particular show.

My damages: left knee has holes in, and a pulled something or other, right ankle where the left boot banged it, left shoulder quite a nasty roasty, and my left little finger and right thumb. Now here's the thing: I was wearing full gear at the time. My left safety boot was scraped to the metal, my easy overs had 2 holes in them, and my jacket also had holes rubbed in the arm, my helmet had a few light scratches. 3 weeks later my thumb is still sore, and my left knee pains sometimes especially if i bang it. Full gear, maybe 50km/h.

Bike is scratched all along the left, with the headlight assembly badly ruined, front forks bent so not ridable at all. Waiting for insurance *stuff* to go through.

All in all not a bad crash, walked away albeit in pain, but nothing broken. Didn't take long for me to climb on the 250Gn i keep around, and i've been riding that ever since to work and back. 115km/h downhill, 80 uphill, 23 km.l and a fat smile on my face. Since riding her to work very day and especially in the rain i've christened her "The Drunken Squirrel", because she is. If you could imagine clinging to the back of a squirrel (yes you can be a small human for this) which had a little bit too much to drink and being chased by *something* down the road, and if you really need to stop, plan ahead 3 months and confirm the week beforehand kind of planning.

I meant it about the smile :D

The best thing about the Drunken Squirrel is that it's not a car. Don't take this he wrong way, but cars are the dumbest, stupidest, thickest, daftest invention on earth. For getting to work around Joburg at least. Multiple lanes of insanity on an industrial level, each idiot try to beat the idiot in front of him to get somewhere else. Each idiot has chosen a truly unique vehicle, colour, engine size, fuel type, make model and doucheplate to seemlessly merge with the rest of the baubled bunglers. Thousands of individualistic self important suckers who feel some kind of superiority over the similarly suckered suckers surrounding them. Descending to that level of blank eyed staring at the back end of the car in front of you is akin to having a unanethatised lobotomy while on the way to work, every morning. I used the donkey cart for 3 days (not a real donkey cart ok? An old hyundai vroomwagon which i'm quite fond of, but looks like SHEET) and was traumatised each and every time i tried to get somewhere. Fortunately i wasn't actually afraid to drive into other cars, and i think my aura crept ahead of me and tapped people on the shoulder. Useful.

I'm up and alive and looking for something to kick, can't kick myself yet 'cause of the knee, but i'm really patient. There's no doubt i will get another bike, or use the gn, or ANYTHING other than a bloody motor car, but it dawned on me that people using cars and bikes have a very important thing in common: Commuting is a traumatic experience. No way round that, to get to work and home again is a life threatening hell run that will fortunately be forgotten as soon as the petrol runs out.

PS since then i have a certain sympathy with car crash victims, but when i see a car on its roof i have a certain awe for the driver. How did he do that? How on earth ... ?

peace and love and safe roads