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    Fallen off my bike!

    Bollocks!

    Fell off my motorcycle, this morning.

    Nearing an 'accident blackspot' I was actually thinking my usual mantra for that stretch of road of 'Don't go fast or drive too close - the cars often dive off into the garage unexpectedly here' when, after checking my mirror for a split second, I look up to find that the cars in front of me have slammed their brakes on for exactly that reason. I grab my brakes - a little too hard - and despite only doing about 20-25mph the front locks up and goes out from under me. I get thrown off and into the middle of the road. Fortunately there's a 'hatched area' there, so the oncoming traffic isn't aimed straight at my head. I'd scraped my knee up and sprained my ankle - both on my right hand side. Also a bit of bruising from where I rolled once, whilst on the ground.
    So, in other words, nothing too serious at all. Incredibly, my helmet didn't even make contact with the ground - something I'm very glad about. Truth be told, I'm actually still in shock slightly. I can feel that my concentration and thought processes aren't quite right.

    Nevertheless, I was whisked off to the A&E department of the local hospital (lucky that the local hospital still has one, really) courtesy of the three first-aid-qualified people who were the first to attend to me. I couldn't believe it when the second person talking to me was wearing a first aid badge (she worked in Boots, I believe). I'm very grateful to those people, of course. The doctors and nurses at the hospital eventually prodded me, patched me up and gave me a pair of crutches. I'm quadripedal for a few days, then.

    The main pisser for me is, of course, the damage to the bike. It's mainly superficial - panels, lights, mirrors - but I'm just gutted to have dropped the bike when I've only had it for a month or so. It's absurd that as soon as I'd got it, I rode 1100 miles in first five (four, effectively) days that I had it, but then that a simple commute to work can cause such a spill.

    The bottom line is that, although I have to admit that it was ultimately my fault - that I grabbed the brakes too hard when I probably didn't need to - you really can't be watching everything all the time and you certainly can't legislate 100% for people braking harder than you would like them to.

    The upsides to it are that a) I'm not seriously hurt, and b) at least I've still got my 125 hanging around, so I can use that as a 'back-up' while my 600 is off the road. I'm not sure if you'd call the exposure to daytime television I'm about to have 'an upside'. I suppose there's UKTV History (which, criminally, no longer broadcasts in the evening for some reason) but other than that... thank fuck for the internet!

    I want my 600 back! :-(

    #2
    Fallen off my bike!

    you ok?

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      #3
      Fallen off my bike!

      Ouch! good to hear you're not badly hurt, you're spot-on about point (a).

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        #4
        Fallen off my bike!

        Shit, Clive, I'm glad you're all right(ish). Pity you didn't wait a couple of weeks so that you could enjoy Euro '08...

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          #5
          Fallen off my bike!

          Ouch! Glad you're not too badly hurt mate. Get well soon.

          If it makes you feel any better, most accidents happen within the first five minutes of a journey - that whole familiarity breeds contempt thing I suppose.

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            #6
            Fallen off my bike!

            Incredibly, my helmet didn't even make contact with the ground - something I'm very glad about
            Oooh, I bet you are [/Carry On]

            Glad you're unscathed. My brand new, blemish-free scooter fell on its side as I was trying to hoist it up on its centre rest, scraping front and rear side panels, and I practically curled up in a little ball with my hands over my head, much as Basil Fawlty does in that episode where his fragile grip on sanity finally snaps.

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              #7
              Fallen off my bike!

              Yeah, I'll be fine soon. My bank balance will hurt more. :-(

              The ultimate stupid point about it is that today, having left for work in plenty of time, I took 'the scenic route' through some villages and into Guildford the back way. Any other day, I wouldn't have even been there. Double-bollocks!

              Like I said, though - this place where it happened is a bit of a black spot. Three roundabouts in quick succession and people usually misbehaving on at least one of them. I've had several apparent 'attempts on my life' in that stretch of road over the last year. It's the fact that there's a filling station entrance right after one of the roundabouts that makes the place I came off so susceptible to just this kind of incident ...and it was me who was involved in it today. Oh well!

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                #8
                Fallen off my bike!

                Take it easy for a couple of days you might feel basically OK but shock can play tricks on you.

                I stopped motorcycling 15 years ago. 3 reasons, none of which has gone away. Too many cars on the road and the speed of those cars increasing, too many car drivers who have no comprehension or care for the needs of motorcyclists and increasingly shoddy maintenance of our roads.

                The last time I came off, which decided it for me, was on a quiet open road well within the speed limit, a car pulls out in front of me from a farm track and there was a reasonable scattering of loose gravel around the junction, on go the brakes off I come car driver drives on. Thank you very much. If I can come off my bike here it can happen anywhere.

                I just felt that sooner rather than later I would be in another accident and that the odds on me getting away with it unharmed were slim.

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                  #9
                  Fallen off my bike!

                  gt3 wrote:
                  Ouch! Glad you're not too badly hurt mate. Get well soon.

                  If it makes you feel any better, most accidents happen within the first five minutes of a journey - that whole familiarity breeds contempt thing I suppose.
                  Oh, this was after about half an hour in. Similar thing, though - you think you know the patterns of behaviour and then blammo! Someone goes and throws you a complete curveball. In this instance, it was pulling away from having been stopped and braking suddenly - I was just expecting continued (if slow) movement. I can't even blame the person a few cars up who precipitated it all with (presumably) a late decision over the urgency to refill with petrol.

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                    #10
                    Fallen off my bike!

                    GHE:

                    I hear what you're saying - all three points are very true.

                    Strips of gravel/detritus down the middle of country roads are one of my two main nemeses - the other being sidewinds.

                    I believe I'm actually a very careful rider - I'm quite proud of it. I always try to play safe with decision-making on the roads. If anything, today's lack of concentration on my behalf was due to me checking my mirrors. That split-second with my eyes away from the road ahead was all it took for the conditions to change. :-(

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                      #11
                      Fallen off my bike!

                      Glad you're okay, Clive. That's a spooky thing to have happen. Some of my near-misses have had my heart in my throat for hours, with that lovely 'chewing tinfoil' taste in your mouth. Adrenaline, is it?
                      Sorry to hear about the impending budget-busting repairs, but thankfully you've got a spare and the inclination to get back in the saddle again.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Fallen off my bike!

                        Oh, this isn't going to put me off at all. In fact, I can't imagine how bad some incident would have to be in order to put me off riding. For a start I love it so much that, given a choice, I'd spend every waking minute in the saddle and secondly (and perhaps in slight contradiction to my 'bank balance' statement earlier) I can't afford not to ride. I can't drive and there's no way I'm giving those cunts who run the trains and buses (so Stagecoach, then!) any more of my money than I absolutely have to!

                        No, as soon as my ankle starts to hurt a little less, I'll be on the 125, checking out my weight-supporting abilities. Hey, if Jorge Lorenzo can ride to second with two broken ankles after that crash, I'm sure I can manage - both psychologically and physically.

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