Last Sunday, as the title implies, we were riding some local Texas hill country roads (out near Kerrville, for you Texans, on 16 to be specific) when I came into a decreasing radius turn a little hot.
See, what happened is that I came into a corner too slow after reading the 30 mph suggested sign. What I did at this point, judging the corner to be a little bit wider and easier to handle than a suggested 30 mph corner, is accelerate through it, only to come to the realization that the radius decreased by 1/4 to 1/2 at the end of the turn. As soon as I saw this I knew there was no way I was going to make it, and I panicked, locked the brakes up, then the bike went down and skidded into a guard rail. My body (my head actually) slid and made serious contact with the guard rail hard enough to knock me senseless for a good 10 minutes. At this point I thought I was moments from death and it seemed like hours before the next rider in our group approached. I was dazed, and unable to see anything besides vast, infinite white-ness everywhere. I don't remember losing consciousness, but then again, you never do. If I did, it was very briefly and was several minutes after the accident. So I was definately riding over my head, but not by far at all. You all have to remember that this could be any of us at any given time, I'm not saying that anyone else would ride that way, but all it takes is a split second. I usually ride very carefullly, and I usually look as far through turns as the road allows, but all it takes is a split second lapse in judgement and you kiss the guardrail with your head. Fortunately, I am okay, and I can't wait until the bike is fixed so I can ride again.
I'm okay but I can hardly walk right now. Putting weight on my right foot is a big no-no, and for some reason my entire rib-cage and chest is sore. It's been kind of tight trying to breathe and everything... but overall, I'm okay. The rash on my knee has turned into bruises and It's not helping my efforts to walk. For some reason my left upper arm hurts extremely, and is almost as stiff and reluctant to move as my foot/ankle. They did suggest I went to the hospital, and I don't know about all your views on saving money and the like, but I didn't want to take my chances. I'd rather go down there and find out my head/neck is fine, than drop dead 3 hours later from hemmhoraging. That's just my luck, you know? I did hit my head on that guardrail hard enough to cause dizzyness, loss of vision, etc.
Sucks, but it happens to us all sooner or later. I am kind of new to these boards, so if anyone can help with parts, shoot me an email @ snowbound@satx.rr.com or PM me!
See, what happened is that I came into a corner too slow after reading the 30 mph suggested sign. What I did at this point, judging the corner to be a little bit wider and easier to handle than a suggested 30 mph corner, is accelerate through it, only to come to the realization that the radius decreased by 1/4 to 1/2 at the end of the turn. As soon as I saw this I knew there was no way I was going to make it, and I panicked, locked the brakes up, then the bike went down and skidded into a guard rail. My body (my head actually) slid and made serious contact with the guard rail hard enough to knock me senseless for a good 10 minutes. At this point I thought I was moments from death and it seemed like hours before the next rider in our group approached. I was dazed, and unable to see anything besides vast, infinite white-ness everywhere. I don't remember losing consciousness, but then again, you never do. If I did, it was very briefly and was several minutes after the accident. So I was definately riding over my head, but not by far at all. You all have to remember that this could be any of us at any given time, I'm not saying that anyone else would ride that way, but all it takes is a split second. I usually ride very carefullly, and I usually look as far through turns as the road allows, but all it takes is a split second lapse in judgement and you kiss the guardrail with your head. Fortunately, I am okay, and I can't wait until the bike is fixed so I can ride again.
I'm okay but I can hardly walk right now. Putting weight on my right foot is a big no-no, and for some reason my entire rib-cage and chest is sore. It's been kind of tight trying to breathe and everything... but overall, I'm okay. The rash on my knee has turned into bruises and It's not helping my efforts to walk. For some reason my left upper arm hurts extremely, and is almost as stiff and reluctant to move as my foot/ankle. They did suggest I went to the hospital, and I don't know about all your views on saving money and the like, but I didn't want to take my chances. I'd rather go down there and find out my head/neck is fine, than drop dead 3 hours later from hemmhoraging. That's just my luck, you know? I did hit my head on that guardrail hard enough to cause dizzyness, loss of vision, etc.
Sucks, but it happens to us all sooner or later. I am kind of new to these boards, so if anyone can help with parts, shoot me an email @ snowbound@satx.rr.com or PM me!