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A crash, and a testimonial
Last Saturday, it was a beautiful day here in Northern Virginia. I took my new ST out on another "getting to know you" ride... I've got barely over 100 miles on it. I was on a windy road in a wooded area, and on a curve I came upon a long stretch of loose gravel left over from a pothole repair, dead-center of the lane. My front two wheels straddled it but the back one caught it. There was a quick moment of kick-out by the rear tire, but with both front wheels secure on pavement, I regained control almost instantly, and went on my merry way. I thought to myself, "Man, I'm glad I'm on three wheels. That would have been bad for two."
Later that day, on my return home, I was going down the same road, but from the other direction. As I approached that same curve with the gravel, a BMW motorcycle coming the other way, at a pretty good clip (35-40 mph) hit the gravel strip, and in his attempt to regain control, came right over into my lane... not partially mind you... nose to nose with me. We couldn't have been but a few feet apart when he completely lost control and started to lay it down. In that fraction of a second when the mind works at super-speed, I had the choice to stay straight and run right into him, or make a hard cut to the right... into the woods. I made the cut to the right... down an embankment and right into a tree. He slid by me on his side... probably missing each other by a fraction of an inch.
I was, at the last second, able to keep my nose from hitting the tree, and caught it between my nose and the left front wheel. I took a lovely summersault over the throttle side, and landed, luckily, on some dirt. Here's the kicker... if I had been driving a car, the other guy would be dead. No way that quick turn could have been made. If I had been on a two-wheeler, we'd both probably be dead... or at least spending a long stay in the local hospital. As it was, we both walked away. He was in full armor... and, the cycle he was on... had 7 miles on it. He was literally driving it home from the dealership!
After a friendly local helped pull my bike out of the woods, believe it or not, I was able to DRIVE it home! Later that day I limped it to the local Can Am dealer, and I got the repair estimate back today. While pricey, there was no major structural damage. Even though one wheel ended up pointed in a different direction than the other, no sway bar, struts or steering problems. Most of the damage was cosmetic... fenders, front bumper, lights, etc. I'll get an alignment too, of course.
Gotta say... the Spyder is a tough machine. Took a likin' and kept on tickin'... and saved the life of an out-of-control biker in the process.
I'm still nursing my wounds... mostly just strained muscles and bruises. 53-year-old bodies apparently don't like flying through the air and landing on their backs. But, I'm fine, and my Spyder and I will be back on the roads in a few days.
Keep ryding friends.
