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Ow.

CaptainAwesome

CaptainAwesome

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Tens of thousands of miles, over a decade of riding, and today I finally dumped it for the first time.... well since my very first time on a bike lol

Backroad 90 degree corner, another car was coming (not pictured, that car is from a gentleman making sure I was ok), we hit the apex at about the same time, me on the outside, doing about 20mph. What I couldn't see was how much gravel had been pushed into the road from a connecting gravel driveway, and down I went.
The gravel in the picture isn't even what I hit, by that time the bike was already on the ground, you can see the frame slider grind marks in black. I had picked up the bike and moved it out of the road by the time I took this picture.

Frame slider saved the bike to just a few scraps and a bent shifter. Leather jacket and gloves saved most my skin, though the jacket road up and I got some road rash on my stomachs side. Would have been my whole left arm, side and all of the left side of my back without the jacket. Bloodied my knee but didnt even damage the jeans I had. Work Boots did their job, looking at the grind marks on it I don't know how anyone could wear tennis shoes or worse sandals on a bike, Right wrist got jambed from the handle bars snapping back and forth, left shoulder is sore. (This is why Ive put up with people telling me I could get away with not wearing the gear, that it's more fun without it, dont even have to legally wear a helmet out here. Yes people, it makes a difference. Huge. )

But managed to ride it back.

Stay safe, wear your gear. Sh*t happens.
 
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CaptainAwesome said:
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Tens of thousands of miles, over a decade of riding, and today I finally dumped it for the first time.... well since my very first time on a bike lol

Backroad 90 degree corner, another car was coming (not pictured, that car is from a gentleman making sure I was ok), we hit the apex at about the same time, me on the outside, doing about 20mph. What I couldn't see was how much gravel had been pushed into the road from a connecting gravel driveway, and down I went.
The gravel in the picture isn't even what I hit, by that time the bike was already on the ground, you can see the frame slider grind marks in black. I had picked up the bike and moved it out of the road by the time I took this picture.

Frame slider saved the bike to just a few scraps and a bent shifter. Leather jacket and gloves saved most my skin, though the jacket road up and I got some road rash on my stomachs side. Would have been my whole left arm, side and all of the left side of my back without the jacket. Bloodied my knee but didnt even damage the jeans I had. Work Boots did their job, looking at the grind marks on it I don't know how anyone could wear tennis shoes or worse sandals on a bike, Right wrist got jambed from the handle bars snapping back and forth, left shoulder is sore. (This is why Ive put up with people telling me I could get away with not wearing the gear, that it's more fun without it, dont even have to legally wear a helmet out here. Yes people, it makes a difference. Huge. )

But managed to ride it back.

Stay safe, wear your gear. Sh*t happens.
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Bummer man, every story like that is a learning experience for everybody. Thanks for sharing. Glad you’re OK.
 
Thanks guys.

Yeah real possibility i might have broken my wrist. Annoying.
Mixed with my other shoulder muscles not wanting to bend at all it's proving to be very interesting accomplishing anything.

Well, doing well to post about it online out of boredom. I'm just glad I was wearing my jacket, if I had to have gravel wire brushed out of half my body this would be a hospital thing.

And I must laugh cause this topic was my 100th post and I got a trophy called "Can't Stop"
 
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CaptainAwesome said:
Thanks guys.

Yeah real possibility i might have broken my wrist. Annoying.
Mixed with my other shoulder muscles not wanting to bend at all it's proving to be very interesting accomplishing anything.

Well, doing well to post about it online out of boredom. I'm just glad I was wearing my jacket, if I had to have gravel wire brushed out of half my body this would be a hospital thing.
Click to expand...
Sorry about the wrist. Annoying is the word.
 
I have the capability to zip my jacket and pants with both my mesh and leather gear but I never do……. but should. I’ve had at least two maybe three get offs due to loose road surface. I’d like to experience how ABS feels/handles that hazard.
 
Not sure ABS would help. My other bike has it and it only kicks on if you slam the brakes. I've used it maybe twice in 25,000 miles on that bike.

Traction control, maybe?

This circumstance I dont think anything would have helped. Clutch was in and I was just trying to lightly coast through the corner cause I knew there was some gravel, just nothing to that extent. Not much you can do about a half inch of gravel on asphalt in a corner, except have 4 wheels.
 
Gravel on asphalt is scary stuff. My usual route has a couple corners like that and I must admit that I go obnoxiously slow around them to avoid disaster. Hearing your story makes me want to get frame sliders on my bike. I've actually wanted them for a while, just never got around to buying and installing them. Anyway, glad to hear you didn't get hurt too bad. Did you get your wrist checked out?
 
Yeah the frame slider definitely saved the bike. Some minor paint scratches on some of the edges but that's about it. I'm more happy that it kept the bike off my leg.

Wrist isn't broken, but I did jamb it about as bad as you can before breaking something. Swelling is down now, just bruising on the bone I have to be careful with. Left shoulder tendons are needing to be careful with, they're fine unless I lift my shoulder up too high. Thankfully getting better everyday. It wasn't that big of a crash but you don't realize what it's like to deal with a dozen problems at once till you try to do something everyday, like brush your teeth.
 
Glad you're OK!

Not much you can do with gravel. This is precisely why I don't ride aggressively on unknown roads, even if not riding aggressively it seems there's not much you could have done.
 
They always say dress for the crash not for the ride. I don't pull out of my driveway without full gear no matter the weather.
This is a picture of my leg and side from a dirt bike crash in the mountains last year with my son. Leg didnt hurt that bad it was the 2 broken ribs and bruised insides that hurt ! I was off the bike for about 5 months. I was wearing full gear helmet,goggles,gloves,motorcross boots,pants and chest protector. I'm 54 and don't mend as fast as I used too!! Lol
Glad you and the bike are OK for the most part. Heal up and get back on the road.
 

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