Saturday, April 05, 2008

Shortest road trip ever

Well folks, I'm afraid the show's over. At least Act 1 is. The day started out ok, I rode from Eureka to Crescent City. Then the sky opened up and rained on me all the way to Coos Bay, Oregon. This is where the trip ends. Not because it stopped raining. But rather, because traffic in front of me suddenly stopped short. I tried to stop as well, but the bike was not having it. The front wheel locked and tucked, and I smacked it into the back of a pickup truck.

Here are the important details:
I AM OKAY. I have a few bruises, and am sore, but physically ok. Mentally, I'm very, very upset with myself. But they say any crash you can walk away from is a good one. Or something like that. I had on full gear head to toe, so there isn't a scratch on me.

The bike is toast. Front end is all smashed to bits, handlebars rolled forward. Might be all cosmetic though, we shall see. The rear subframe looks bent up, because when it fell down the indestructible pelican cases didn't budge. The brackets and subframe did though. The bike is currently sitting in a Yamaha dealership. The one I fell down right in front of. How is that for irony? I'll go inspect it tomorrow.

Again, I am okay. Thanks to everyone who has called, SMS'd, IM'd or otherwise inquired.

I'm currently in the waiting / snack area of the Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay, OR. Everyone here has been great, I'm set up on a table with the broadband card, and they even brought me dinner from the cafeteria before they closed.

My friend Chris in Portland is on his way here tonight, to get me and my stuff and we're going to stay in this town for tonight. Tomorrow I'll check on the bike, then probaby go to Portland for a day or two to rest up. As for how I am going to get me, my stuff, and my bike home I will figure out tomorrow. The current top idea is a 1-way pickup truck rental from Portland to San Jose, and I swing by Coos Bay to toss the bike in it. Maybe I'll just have the bike crated and shipped back. We'll see, and I'll keep updating the blog.

I still have plenty of time off left, so I will figure out something else to do with it.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

:-( The most important thing is that you are OK.

tonymiley said...

Unbelievable....!

Glad to hear you walked away.

cstatman said...

sack up! fix the bike! At least they speak English here. A little duct tape, a little coat hanger? Maybe?

We can deliver a Royal Enfield to you in < 36 hours.

Whatever you need, you have the support on this side.

Get a good nights sleep, and go re-evaluate tomorrow.

:)

Julie Erdfelt said...

Sorry to hear about your trip but we're glad you are ok!!

techrat said...

Yowza! Well, you're alive, that's what counts. And maybe you need to stop tailgating pickup trucks at 60+ mph....

I was told at my MSF course to leave 5 seconds between me and the guy ahead of me so I have time to react, and to watch at least 12 seconds ahead.

Still have money? Buy another bike, have Yamaha essentially swap the engine into another frame. I'm sure someone can do something about making that legal with the VIN and all.

Unknown said...

Sorry to hear about your accident and glad that you are recovering fine. I hope you feel perfect soon.

Yevgeniy Rombakh said...

Glad you are ok. Full gear is worth it!