So every rider I have ever spoken to has always said "its not if you wreck, its when". Well...I no longer have to ask myself the question of when. Here's what happened:
Last night I rode up to a buddy's house in Maryland. The ride was long because I fought rush hour traffic to get there, but we were supposed to be going to his parents house in the country that night so it was going to be worth it. Well I get there, we saddle up for the ride to his parents house (another 45 minutes to an hour) and go to get gas. As we left the gas station we took a back way to the road out by his house, as it was the way we needed to go to start our journey. We were riding well enough apart so that we had time to react to anything because the roads were a little damp from a rain that had already subsided. As we top the crest of a hill we see a Blue Aveo (I hate these cars) attempting to turn left. He stalled his car and the impatient guy behind him took the turn between myself and the rider ahead of me. The guy in the Aveo started his car and attempted to cut the turn right in front of me but had started off in third gear (I would later learn from the cops) and stalled again. At this point I had nowhere to go, and nothing else to do, so as i slid (I was on my brakes to hard) I turned my skid into a high slide. I ejected from the bike going about 30 miles an hour, slid for about 15-20 feet while my bike went slamming into the front end of the Aveo, subsequently lodging it underneath his car. As soon as my slide was over I stood up and looked around. I checked myself out, no injuries (Thank God). My jacket was ruined and my bike looked to be in bad shape, but I was ok. My riding buddy had pulled a quick U Turn and was arriving as I got up. The guy driving the Aveo was running towards me asking me if I was alright, if I was hurt. Meanwhile my riding buddy began to verbally berate him on his inablity to drive.
So now we have both made a claim on his insurance. His insurance couldn't tell me legally what he said, but there is no question about liablity and I shouldnt have a problem getting my bike repaired/replaced. No pictures were taken by the police, but my buddy did manage to get some that night and earlier today. I will post them as soon as I can. In the mean time, I'm no expert but I think my bike is totalled. The whole front end is pretty much gone. It became lodged underneath the guys car and when he pulled his car off, the whole front end (plastics, lights, some tubes) ripped off. My bike is now leaking what looks like oil and brake fluid, the oil cooler is hanging on by a thread, the tank is dented and scratched to hell, the pipe is hust as bad, just about every piece of plastic on the bike (with the exception of the one piece on the tail on the opposite side of the slide) needs to be replaced. Also the clutch cable might be broken or something worse because we couldn't get it into neutral to move it, with or without the clutch. I'm hoping they total the bike out, pay off the lien and allow me to buy something new.
I wont know anything till Monday, but I wanted to share this experience with all of you. You never know when its coming, and believe me, I'm walking talking proof that if you wear your gear the likelihood of you walking away from an accident are much greater.
I'll post pics soon.
Last night I rode up to a buddy's house in Maryland. The ride was long because I fought rush hour traffic to get there, but we were supposed to be going to his parents house in the country that night so it was going to be worth it. Well I get there, we saddle up for the ride to his parents house (another 45 minutes to an hour) and go to get gas. As we left the gas station we took a back way to the road out by his house, as it was the way we needed to go to start our journey. We were riding well enough apart so that we had time to react to anything because the roads were a little damp from a rain that had already subsided. As we top the crest of a hill we see a Blue Aveo (I hate these cars) attempting to turn left. He stalled his car and the impatient guy behind him took the turn between myself and the rider ahead of me. The guy in the Aveo started his car and attempted to cut the turn right in front of me but had started off in third gear (I would later learn from the cops) and stalled again. At this point I had nowhere to go, and nothing else to do, so as i slid (I was on my brakes to hard) I turned my skid into a high slide. I ejected from the bike going about 30 miles an hour, slid for about 15-20 feet while my bike went slamming into the front end of the Aveo, subsequently lodging it underneath his car. As soon as my slide was over I stood up and looked around. I checked myself out, no injuries (Thank God). My jacket was ruined and my bike looked to be in bad shape, but I was ok. My riding buddy had pulled a quick U Turn and was arriving as I got up. The guy driving the Aveo was running towards me asking me if I was alright, if I was hurt. Meanwhile my riding buddy began to verbally berate him on his inablity to drive.
So now we have both made a claim on his insurance. His insurance couldn't tell me legally what he said, but there is no question about liablity and I shouldnt have a problem getting my bike repaired/replaced. No pictures were taken by the police, but my buddy did manage to get some that night and earlier today. I will post them as soon as I can. In the mean time, I'm no expert but I think my bike is totalled. The whole front end is pretty much gone. It became lodged underneath the guys car and when he pulled his car off, the whole front end (plastics, lights, some tubes) ripped off. My bike is now leaking what looks like oil and brake fluid, the oil cooler is hanging on by a thread, the tank is dented and scratched to hell, the pipe is hust as bad, just about every piece of plastic on the bike (with the exception of the one piece on the tail on the opposite side of the slide) needs to be replaced. Also the clutch cable might be broken or something worse because we couldn't get it into neutral to move it, with or without the clutch. I'm hoping they total the bike out, pay off the lien and allow me to buy something new.
I wont know anything till Monday, but I wanted to share this experience with all of you. You never know when its coming, and believe me, I'm walking talking proof that if you wear your gear the likelihood of you walking away from an accident are much greater.
I'll post pics soon.
