I’ve ridden motorcycles for many, many, … many years. Every time I got on a bike, I learned new things about riding, about being a rider, about other riders.

I had stopped riding for a season, “settled down”, got married, divorced, married again. Got involved with Patriot Guard Riders in 2009. At first, I just showed up and held a flag. Then I wanted to be back on a bike and ride escort. Found one, through a friend. Rode that 2005 650 VStar for quite a while, and started riding with the Missing in America Project on that same bike, until I found (with the help of my Pastor) a 2009 Honda VTX1300T. I was in love with a big, beautiful, comfortable cruiser and I showered it with attention and accessories. Added a trunk. Added glow lights. Added marker lights. Upgraded the turn signals to be flashback driving lights also. Added escort flashers.

All through this time, my wife expressed her concern quietly, privately. I assured her that I would ride safely, that I would not get hit.

October 6th, 2021, my Honda let me down. It developed a “speed wobble” or “death wobble” – the neck bearing failed. It was in a curve, and I had no opportunity to correct it. I was thrown. The bike landed left side down in the median ditch. The fairing, tank, engine guard, left saddlebag and trunk were all damaged.

I landed in Kingman Regional Medical Center. My wife was called, and she quickly arranged care for our daughter and drove up to Kingman.

The bike has been totaled by the insurance company; I will be receiving a check for compensation. I was thinking I could fix it, “buff it out”.

What I cannot “buff out” is the look on my wife’s face when she walked into my hospital room. She had almost lost me. If not for God’s hand of grace on me, and the helmet on my head, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be here to write this.

I am not scared to get back on a bike – if I was not healing, I’d be back on one in a heartbeat. Nothing can match the feeling of riding your own motorcycle.

I am scared of the look on my wife’s face. I never want to see that look of sheer, abject fear again. She thought she might have lost me. I will not be riding again as long as she lives, not because I can’t, but because I value her peace of mind over my adrenaline.

Chat ya later…

Thanks for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, and Wear Red on Fridays!

Tweet

Turns out you don’t need to be directly involved in a traccif incident to have medical issues from the incident.

Thursday, May 12, 2016 – I was riding home, minding my own business, when a car driven by an incompetent idiot swerved and slid sideways and backwards across two lanes of traffic, the center turn lane, and part of the oncoming lane of traffic on west bound Glendale Avenue. The back of this moron’s car swiped two oncoming vehicles, and then the idiot took off. In the men time, the traffic ahead of me went from 40 to zero rather quickly. Even though I had a safe following distance, I still felt it prudent to swerve out from behind the car ahead of me to avoid the car behind me smashing into me. In the process of the avoidance, my left foot touched the ground. I was still doing about 25 miles per hour. The bike stayed up, I came to a full and complete and safe stop in the middle turn lane, and I twisted me left knee. Badly.

At a full stop, I realized my knee hurt a lot. I couldn’t put pressure on my left leg to, say, put down the kickstand. Well, not easily. Despite the beautiful weather, I was sweating bullets by the time I got the kickstand down and I had gotten off the bike. My left leg could not take any weight. My knee was quickly swelling to the size of a softball.

It was determined by all involved (the two vehicles headed east that had been hit turned around to see if the guy had stuck around) that the driver had not had human parents. It was also determined that we were all on our own for insurance reasons. I had to get myself and the bike home. Getting back on wasn’t the problem, I could do an off-side mount (think horse riding). Getting the kickstand up was a pain. Literally. Once I got rolling, I thanked the makers of Yamaha for making the heel-and-toe shifter fairly standard equipment on the V-Star line of bikes.

Once I was home, I got inside the house, let the dogs out, and went out to the garage to bring the bike in. Having to back the bike in, under normal conditions, is no problem. Backing in the bike while not being able to use your left leg for strength, stability, or power makes it a little trickier. Doing all this while your wife is watching from the driver’s seat of her vehicle because she happened to pull in as you were in the middle of this, and trying not to show how hurt you really are, is impossible. I cried, real tears, as I finished backing the bike into place. She parked her car, asked me what happened, and decreed that a visit to the ER was in my immediate future.

I was in no position to argue, as I still hadn’t gotten off the bike.

MEG was dispatched into the master closet, where a pair of crutches had been stored from another knee issue many moons ago. At the ER, it was determined that nothing was broken. I left the VA with a knee immobilizing brace. A few weeks later, the MRI showed that while nothing was broken broken, there were bone chips that were healing nicely where the ACL and the MCL were nearly torn from their anchor points. The MRI also showed bone bruising on the inside of the femur where it struck the outside of the tibia. Told you I twisted it badly. The Ortho specialists determined that a hinged knee brace for four weeks, without the crutches, would be sufficient for healing the knee.

My beautiful bride is of the opinion that four weeks is not enough before I get back on the bik, and has determined that eight weeks would be better. Since I love her more than I love the Ortho specialists, I will acquiesce to her requests. The bike remains parked.

Chat ya later…

Thanks for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, and Wear Red on Fridays!

Tweet

Well, it will try, anyway. I’ve been riding a motorcycle for my commute since June. In the early morning hours, here in Phoenix, it is usually hot and dry. Hot enough to make you not wear a jacket while riding a bike. Or gloves. And really, who wants to wear heavy boots all day in an office? Sneakers it is …

It rained last night, a long, soaking rain that we have needed for some time. This morning was warm, but not hot; but very humid. The breeze as I was riding was very enjoyable.

My commute takes me east on Bethany Home Road, and I turn southeast onto Grand Ave. The light was red at Grand, so the turn lane started out from a dead stop. The three vehicles ahead of me made the turn – and stopped. I was into the turn when there was nowhere to go. The pavement, it turns out, was a little damp right there. I have good brakes.

I also now have a scratched up engine guard, some scratches on my helmet, minor scrapes on my right knee and right elbow, and a twisted right ankle. The bike landed on my right foot, the saddlebag kept it at an odd angle. I used my left foot to push the bike up enough to free my right ankle. A guy appeared, asking if I was OK – turns out he was the reason everyone stopped; he was crossing Grand in the crosswalk with the light. He picked up my bike, and pushed it over to the side while I attempted to stand up. My ankle doesn’t seem to be able to take full weight right now; but it’s not broken. I’ll see what a little ice will do for it.

I will also be wearing my riding gear from now on, regardless of weather. Lesson re-learned. (I had gone down a long time ago, low side, and didn’t come out of that one nearly as well off as I did this time.)

Tomorrow morning’s commute will feature yours truly wearing his ballistic jacket, road gloves, and boots. The sneakers will be in the side bag, for use in the office. If I had full leathers, I would wear that, and change once I got to the office.

All The Gear, All The Time.

Chat ya later…

Thanks for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, and Wear Red on Fridays!

Tweet

If you want to be competent – no, really good at something, you have to practice the skills needed for that “something.” Want to be a safe motorcycle rider? Practice riding safely. Want to be fiscally responsible? Practice fiscal responsibility. Want to be an expert shot with a handgun or rifle? Practice shooting.

I started a motorcycle skills class this evening. It runs for six weeks, about two hours per session. It does not teach you how to ride fast in a straight line. Any idiot can do that, and I’m pretty sure you’ve seen those guys zipping by you on their crotch rockets. No, this class teaches slow-speed maneuvers. Actually, it teaches the basic mechanics of slow speed maneuvers, and by combining them you can handle just about any crisis that crops up.

“But Cary” you say. “I though you already knew how to ride?”

Yes, I do. I also know how to shoot (qualified expert on the M-16 and the M-1911 whilst in the Marine Corps – I know how to shoot) and I know how to walk and I know how to draw cabinets in the quasi-CAD program called Cabinet Vision, too, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t more things to learn about any of them. One of the instructors at the skills class (all the instructors are members of the Arizona Precision Motorcycle Team) has been riding for 47 years, and he says he’s still learning.

I also go target shooting when the opportunity arises. I would rather be practicing on a CQ range, but they are expensive. Another aspect of carrying a firearm that a lot of people don’t think about is 1) how to carry it without being obvious that you are carrying it and 2) keeping your mindset in the place it needs to be while you are carrying it. Anyone can strap on a hogleg and strut around. It takes a patient and thoughtful person to carry a loaded weapon at all times, knowing in their mind and in their gut that if called upon by circumstances, they will use it to defend life or property for themselves or for those around them.

Having skills and being able to use those skills are two different things. If you don’t practice your skills, they become rusty and clunky and you are not as effective as you could be. Practicing your slow-speed maneuvers is important, so the muscle memory is developed in case you need to use those maneuvers – at any speed. Shooting and carrying practice is important to develop a different kind of muscle memory, so you can appear to be an unarmed person, but can react and act in a way that will save lives. You have to constantly use skills that you learn on the computer too – or on the drafting table, or in the negotiation meeting, or operating the equipment, or you can go rusty and lose skills, lose opportunities, or lose control. Never lose control.

A piece of advice from the guy who has been riding for 47 years – “Learn the skills, and then practice them. The two best times to practice are when you are alone, and when you are with somebody.”

That goes for any skill you have, at which you want to excel.

Chat ya later…

Thanks for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, and Wear Red on Fridays!

Tweet

My friend Greybeard over at Pitchpull calls his time on a motorcycle “Two Wheel Therapy”. A long time ago, I used to ride often. I have had the opportunity to retune my chops on a street bike over the last four days, and I gotta tell ya that the phrase is truer now than before. It used to be a novelty transportation, something to bust out on the weekends. Using it to do my job yesterday and today, and getting used to it on Saturday and Sunday, woke something up inside me. I gotta get one of these for myself.

A big THANK YOU to my Pastor, Mike. He is letting me borrow his 750 Shadow to see if it will work for work. For the most part, it will. On the rare occasion that I have to carry a part to a job site, it may pose a problem. It’s not normally my job to take parts to a job site, but once in a while it’s been known to happen. Maybe a milk crate tied to the back rest …

The Road Rhino has been eating up a lot of the discretionary income lately. After the new distributor (computerized, thank you for asking) and finally (finally!) figuring out where all the water was going (not into the oil reservoir, in case you were guessing), it has come to a point where I’m looking at either sinking more money into it and hoping it lasts a while before having to sink MORE money into it, or cutting our losses now and biting the bullet to get another vehicle. (another besides a bike, I mean. that’s a given at this point. just finding the right one, at the right price is the question. if you happen to know of a sub-1000cc machine with most of the road gear already on it for under five grand, let me know)

At the same time, I’ve got to sell the Road Rhino. He’s been a good unit, but it’s time. Anyone interested, leave me a message. 205+ thousand miles and mostly trouble free. Needs to have a new water pump and timing chain. The leak that I’ve been chasing (and, as a result, ended up replacing everything BUT the water pump in the process, including the radiator and all the hosing) is in the water pump housing. The water pump covers the timing chain. Both should be done at the same time, according to the generally accepted wisdom around the cracker barrel.

I’m gonna miss the Rhino. But I’m not going to miss the mileage. (18 downhill out of gear with a stiff tailwind, 17 the rest of the time)

Chat ya later…

Thanks for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, and Wear Red on Fridays!

Tweet