I heard someone say that most accidents occur within 5 miles of your home. I'm not sure why that is, unless that's where we do most of our driving. But it could be that when we start to feel we are close to home we loosen our caution a bit.
My husband drove his motorcycle out to Utah. I believe his odometer read that he had gone something like 752 miles when he reached a place that was within about 15 miles of my parents' home. He was going over the mountain with trucks bearing down on him, urging him to go faster. So he was going a little faster than he should, and was going around some sharp turns. As he made one of the last sharp turns, he was hugging the shoulder of the road a little too much and hit some gravel. He lost control of the bike, but tried to correct. But then he lost control again and knew he was going to go down, so pulled his leg out from under the bike and let it go. The bike tumbled, and he tumbled, but he wasn't seriously hurt.
A german tourist man saw the accident happen and stopped his car. My husband got up and the man came over and shook his hand and said, "Sir, I am glad that you are alive!". My husband said, "Me too!". Another car of German tourists stopped and offered him a ride in to town. He was covered in mud (and probably part of the deer carcass that was right where he slid), but they gave him a ride the last 15 miles in to town.
I was standing in my parent's home looking at the clock and I said, "How much time do I give my husband before I go......" when just at that moment my husband came in to the house. He told us, "I layed down the bike". He said that he wasn't seriously hurt. I asked about the bike and in his state of shock he said, "It's totalled". We all decided he should take the truck back and get the bike. My brothers went with him to help. When they got there, lo and behold there was another truck, with a trailer, and about 8 vultures...erm...sorry, I mean men....standing around the bike. My husband got out of the truck and said, "I'm the rider.", and the men drove away. My brother went over and said, "Have you tried to start this? Because it looks like it will start.". My husband started it up and checked it over to find that it wasn't any more damaged than him. We feel very blessed that he was protected, and that the bike wasn't more seriously damaged.
My husband thought a lot about this experience and wondered if maybe this meant he wasn't supposed to have a bike. He has ridden alot in his life, and really enjoys it, but he recognized the danger. He wondered what lesson he was supposed to learn from this. My sister in law said, "Well, the lesson is to be more careful.". He thought about that and came to the conclusion that yes it is okay for him to have a bike, but he does need to be more careful.
If you are wondering about me, I did take a ride with him after the accident. He wanted to take me for a ride out near Bryce Canyon. It was a beautiful ride, and I enjoyed riding with my husband, but I don't think I'm ever going to become a biker babe. For one, straddling for that long of time isn't the easiest for me at my age. For two, I got numb in places I didn't know could go numb. :P I don't mind going on an occasional ride, but I couldn't do it long distance. Besides, I'm not sure if the wife is supposed to go along on the midlife crisis. :P lol
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7 comments:
you should get your own motorcycle and then go ride together...that's what I want to do. I want a Ducati Sport 1000 biposto....
I am amazed that he was able to think fast enough to pull his leg out and ride the bike out---pretty good reflkexes for someone having a mid-life crisis---maybe it is something else.
I agree with gilbert girl, the only way to enjoy riding is to get your own and take lessons on it. Dot has her own ATV, and does really great on the trails. I put over 70,000 miles on my Harley (1948 springer front end) and had a blast, but that was when there wasnt as many cars on the road, still I would have a new one in a heart beat if she would ride with me, and she wont ride a motorcycle by herself...love and blessings ...Lonehawk
Gilbert Girl, you're not the only one who wants a Ducati. I want a Superbike, but have to wait until I have an extra $15K lying around.
At least he WANTS you along on his midlife crisis instead of alot of men who want the younger women to go with their older selves LOL and I too am impressed that he had enough thought and quick reactions to pull his leg out, and glad both he and the bike were okay! :)
Oh, I remember the good old days when for about 3 summers I practically lived on the back of a motorcycle. What a blast! But old age has set in and so has fear, so I will leave them alone. But I sure do wish I had another ATV!
I would love for my husband to get a bike. He doesn't think they'd be that much fun. I'd love to go to Yellowstone and some of the very pretty, scenic routes on one. I'm really glad your husband had quick enough reflexes to avoid injuring himself more than he did. *L*
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