Almost Killed

[KingOfFleece]

www.stayinsafe.com. They have training in CT-not to far from you.
Been twice and it's worth twice what they charge. Made my wife go-she was so-so about-and she thought it was the best thing she ever did in reguards to motorcycling.

 

[Sal Paradise]

THAT LOOKS GOOD. Thanks... by the way, I am in Buffalo occasionally now as my son started this fall at UB. Are there any decent hotels that aren't $200/night near the school?

 

[KingOfFleece]

Yes. A quick google search should work well. North or South campus?
UB grad myself-School of Mgmt.

 

[KingOfFleece]

BTW-lots of Triumph riders here-ride up in spring and we'll take you around. Better plan on Bnnington next June-right around the corner for you. We never miss it-must be a dozen from here who go.

 

[Sal Paradise]

Thanks Guys.

My son is at the North Campus, Amherst.

Bennington, yes I have ridden up their with pals but they have Harleys of course. I've never gone to the the Bennington bash.

One of the real bummer's about this near miss thinking is just the thought that I can't just ride anywhere like I would want to. I am thinking of limiting myself. Bennington should still be fine though, yeah its like an hour and 15 minutes from me.

 

[slowgator]

What Would Jack Do?

One of the real bummer's about this near miss thinking is just the thought that I can't just ride anywhere like I would want to. I am thinking of limiting myself.

From your namesake:

“The best teacher is experience and not through someone's distorted point of view”
― Jack Kerouac, On the Road

Glad it was an "almost" experience for you Sal; no doubt it will make you a better rider... and person. Thanks for sharing the exquisitely written wake-up call! I do most of my riding on back-country roads, staying as far away from traffic as possible.

 

[Kframe]

Damn! Just saw this thread, holy shit you ARE one lucky SOB.
Wow, great write-up too, so vivid I got a little shaky myself reading your fresh words.
Man, just, wow.
Glad you're still with us, Sal.

-K

 

[wobblygong]

Sal, I just picked up on the story of your near miss. Life's been pretty hectic here for past few weeks.
As soon as I read your post I remember back a couple of months when you gave that old street guy some respectful acknowledgement. The big fella upstairs was watching and has now touched you on the shoulder and said, "Thanks man, now go about your life".
We're all thankful you're around to tell the story.

Well done,
Your Aussie mate,
Wobb

 

[RumRunner]

Glad you're OK...

Catch your breath and enjoy your life in whatever capacity you feel is right for you.

 

[slackslider]

Glad you're ok! Crazy, hair-raising story.

I experienced a close call once on a trip home when a large 3500 van with tow mirrors came at me and I barely was able to duck out of the way of the mirror before it swiped my head clean off.

I had to pull into the next parking lot and just catch my breath and check my pants. After these situations, you really have to just stop and sit for a moment. Your senses are so heightened that you seem to hear clouds moving in the sky above you. You can feel your heart beating from your head to your toes and you're in a strange state of being as if extracted from the world around you.

 

[Sal Paradise]

After these situations, you really have to just stop and sit for a moment. Your senses are so heightened that you seem to hear clouds moving in the sky above you. You can feel your heart beating from your head to your toes and you're in a strange state of being as if extracted from the world around you.

+1000 yes exactly. That and more.

Thinking about this is truly like being between a rock and a hard place. You can risk everything for a moment, or give up life's adventures for a chance at the nursing home. There is no sane answer to that dilemma. :mad2:

I am reading a book on Buddhism now and the author states that the knowledge of your certain death is your truest companion. He means that a man should live with that knowledge in his mind , in fact value that knowledge and judge all actions from that perspective. Most people live with an illusion that they will never die and that makes them egotistic and fearful.

The only solace we can take is that in the big picture we are all dead men anyway.

 

[B06Tang]

Try deploying when you have young children looking up to you and a wife left behind to tend to them. It runs through your head each and every day. You learn that there are things you can control and things you can't. We can sanitize our world to completely incorporate a fool-proof safe environment. If you think you have that, then you are taking part in an illusion. The military trains it as Operational Risk Management (ORM) which basically subscribes to the notion of constantly weighing the equation if the action of a certain event makes the result worth it. Everyone's equation is different and people will answer differently when it comes to their personal life. I was hit by the car back in May...bent my frame in three places and tore the bumper and grill right off the SUV that hit me. By a stroke of luck, the point of contact was at my rear tire; a half a second earlier and it would of been right in the middle and I would of ended up as undercoating on the SUV. I walked away from it because I had enough sense to shove the bike away from me as I was going down and just had road rash. Maybe someone elses ORM equation would dictate that riding a bike would quickly be turned into a thing of the past but I can't...my choice is to ride. I'm not here to argue my point, your point...anybody's point. My point is that everybody's ORM equation is different and you need to find the answer that is right for you and weigh in all the factors that make it up.

I am glad it was a near brush and you actually didn't get hurt. Regardless if you ride again or not, be thankful for that.

 

[Sal Paradise]

I am sort of back to normal riding except for big intersections and traffic which freak me the fuck out, but I rode to the bike shop in New Paltz today. I'm just super defensive in traffic.

Thanks again to everyone.

 

[RumRunner]

I am sort of back to normal riding except for big intersections and traffic which freak me the fuck out, but I rode to the bike shop in New Paltz today. I'm just super defensive in traffic.

Thanks again to everyone.

Maybe these sort of things happen sort of like seminars on items that we know... It's just a reminder to think about what we actually know.

 

[Mahart]

This type of accident has been going through my head since yesterday. I was hit by a college boy that "didn't remember" the stop sign he ran. I was lucky to be in my company truck. Side & lumbar airbags are wonderful. I'd probably be missing my left leg or dead if I'd been on the bike. I almost took the bike because I'd thought about taking a day off.

Guess we all have our day to die. I'm appreciating my life now, and thinking of ways to enrich it.

 

[KingOfFleece]

I get razzed by a few riding buds (not all) as I'm always reading a safe riding book of some sort. Two over the road training classes have really helped this 40 years of riding guy, and 10 years as a professional SCUBA diver have really placed the 360 degree awareness factor right in the hot spot in my head.

Learn from this, you, me, everybody. I'll never forget what a old rider (real old) with over 500,000 miles told me: You MUST know what trouble looks like BEFORE it arrives. Simple to say, but critical to know and practice.

 

[FoothillRyder]

I get razzed by a few riding buds (not all) as I'm always reading a safe riding book of some sort. Two over the road training classes have really helped this 40 years of riding guy, and 10 years as a professional SCUBA diver have really placed the 360 degree awareness factor right in the hot spot in my head.

Learn from this, you, me, everybody. I'll never forget what a old rider (real old) with over 500,000 miles told me: You MUST know what trouble looks like BEFORE it arrives. Simple to say, but critical to know and practice.

+1

I credit my time in small aircraft with a similar 'awareness' discipline.

 

[hankmarx]

I'll never forget what a old rider (real old) with over 500,000 miles told me: You MUST know what trouble looks like BEFORE it arrives.

That's the best line I've seen in a while. Truth. The thing is, to recognize it, means seeing it once and surviving it. Pretty damn hard to work off someones else's description.

 

[Sal Paradise]

Guys I have been noticing so many people running red lights since this. If a lane is open a light runner can blow right through. If its a 4 or 6 lane intersection - look the fuck out!!! The risk multiplies at the intersection. The bad thing about a guy running a light is he is really moving - they close on you real fast.

 

[gcrider]

As a bicyclist and a motorcyclist for many years, I attribute my survival on the moto to my time on the bicycle. MUCH more vulnerable = much more aware. Time in traffic on the bicycle has sharpened my Spidey sense considerably.