Been too long since I wrote one up so let me tell you about how I cracked 3 ribs on my last bike and what that meant to me getting my new bike. I was on the way back from an HD dealership over a Saturday morning. Listened to a band, got a hot dog and browsed the exhaust catalog. That kind of thing - I even won a hat from some drawing they did. Just stuffed it down my boot and got on the bike for a 10 minute drive home. And then it happened.
First of all I realized that I had left the place without strapping on my helmet. I had it on, just didn't do up the strap. The thought crossed my mind to stop and take care of it but what the heck, I was almost home anyway and it is basically a straight shot on a road I've been on 1000 times. That was mistake 1.
Imagine 2 lanes going each way and on both sides of this 4 lane road, Culebra Rd to be exact, there sits a McDonalds. So I'm cruising in my left hand lane, furthest one from where the McDonlalds and other shops have access to this road and this lady in a Nissan Rogue pulls out, crosses a lane of traffic and nails me right behind the front wheel. I was going eastbound and she was trying to cross my side of the road to get to the other side to go west. See what I mean? She was looking to her right for traffic over there but I was coming from her left. She never saw me.
I go flying top side and the bike lands behind me. I remember sliding and just trying to stay out from under the bike. I stop on my hands and knees, helmet has flown off and my bike is under this lady's front bumper. I could have so easily slid into oncoming traffic. Amazing.
A nurse on her way to the lake stops by, checks me out and sticks around till help comes. I remember looking up at the blue sky and seeing a few scattered clouds and wondering if there was any blood. Wife shows up. She was a basket case. Imagine the scene: I'm in the middle of the road on my back, cops, firetruck, ambulance all over the place. But check it out: long story short, I was able to walk away with a couple of cracked ribs and insurance companies to deal with.
1998 Sportster Sport - 1250CC (was bored out by first owner). Man, what a beauty it was. Piggy back shocks, two into one megaphone and that black peanut tank with the HD orange outline of bar and shield. Heck, it was the Central Texas Harley Davidson's shop bike for the first few months of it's life. Miss that little rocket.
This lead the way to my 2007 Fatboy. Louder, beefy, more comfortable for the little lady. I digress.
The road lesson is this: people are going to look everywhere BUT where you are. Assume the asshole my friends, assume the asshole.
