April 21, 2014

     My brother-in-law called and said he was riding up from Fort Worth to visit mom.  He has a newer Harley-Bago that he was itching to get out and ride.  Sounded good to me and I arranged to take the coming Friday off to go down and visit.

     My ride over was a good one.  The temps are getting warmer and it went quick.  I pulled in and parked next to Harley's offering to the world of motorcycling and got in a few jabs at my brother-in-law about how his Winnebago was missing most of it's wheels.  We visited for a while and decided to make a run through the hills.  We managed about a hundred miles in really great weather.  The traffic was light and the roads were fun.  I headed back to the house and a really good ride.  It was just a great day for getting out and putting on the miles.

     On Saturday I spent the day working on a couple of project bikes.  I actually made some progress on one of them.  The other not so much.  I'll have to get it to the shop where they have more specialized tools.  I made arrangements for the shop and call Saturday a day.

    Sunday I gave mom a call to check on her and see how she was holding up under a house full of visitors.  I also wanted to find out when my brother-in-law Ray was heading back.  Mom said she was doing pretty good but Ray was going to be staying for a while.  Ray got on the phone and explained that he'd went out riding and managed to roll his Ultra Classic.  Nine broken ribs.  One broken ankle and several staples in his head.  Apparently Ray forgot that the curves here are a tad bit different than what he was used to in Texas.  The next morning I saddled up and headed down to moms to check on everybody in person.  This just seemed a little wild to me for some reason.  I had a good run through the hills and even managed to stop and visit with my Norton riding Doctor. 

     I pulled into moms drive and saw quite a sight.  On one hand a regular sight in this area....Harley on a trailer.  On the other hand I can't remember ever seeing one of Rays bikes on a trailer.  Or all torn up either.  From the looks of things most of the damage was cosmetic.  I looked it all over and there didn't seem to be any damage to the bike itself.  From the looks of everything the crash bars and saddle bags took the most of the wreck.  From what I could find out from a couple of shops in the area and different people, probably around $10,000 in cosmetic damage and shop time.  I didn't get to see Ray as they had taken him back to the hospital for further checking.  I visited with mom and then headed back to the house.

  

     This early spring in the hills makes for some great riding.  People come from all walks of life to vacation and ride through our mountains.  They create memories that last a life time on a motorcycle....Just like my luck as hell brother-in-law Ray.

remember the next ride is just a kick or two away....

Things that go bump on the road

365 Group


Friday 2/20/09
Today was nice and warm with snow in the overnight forecast.
I had the day off and rode up to Luther's and borrowed his shop. My chain had been all but sending up sparks from the pavement it was so loose.
I need to do a bit of maintenance on my bike but I just opted for tightening the chain. Other things could wait a bit longer.
Luther pitched in and gave me a hand and I was done before I realized that I had even started.
We visited for a while and I headed out to town,
Running down the mountain the bike seemed to ride some better and I didn't notice the chain vibration as bad.
Turning on to Highway 45 I headed east toward Fayetteville. My plan was to meet a guy from work for a sandwich and beer at Penguin Ed's.
Traffic was light and most of the brush had been cleaned off the shoulders of the road. Things were almost back to normal from the ice storm. I was making good time and figured that I would stop by the Grocery store and pick up some Carburetor cleaner and top off my tank.
I turned on my signal and pulled into the turn lane just before Highway 265 at The Bank of Fayetteville and Bizy's .
A couple of cars were coming and as I waited I was slowly rolling forward in anticipation of making my turn. This is probably what helped me the most. A small pickup truck came over the hill and punched me from behind. I had the front wheel cocked just enough for the turn I was going to make that it cause the bike to flip over. I now know how a rag doll feels when it's owner throws a tantrum and tosses it.
I got thrown off over the front of the bike and landed a few feet from it. The bike landed in oncoming traffic on it's side. Even though I knew I wasn't hurt I took my time getting up and made sure. I walked over to my bike and looked to see how bad it was broken. I got lucky in that it just had a few scratches and some new character marks. The crash bar/ cruising pegs took the impact and they had the clamp broken and were loose. A nice lady stopped and blocked traffic while I rocked it back up right. I put it on the stand and asked her to call the cops and then walked over to the truck that had hit me to see if they were OK. The guy driving was sort of freaking out saying he didnt see me. Finally I got him to clam a little and he said he was alright and asked what he needed to do. I told him to pull over into the parking lot and wait on the cops. Going back to my bike I noticed that traffic was piling up and told the woman that she could go on after I rolled my bike across the road. I got up enough speed that I coasted almost all the way up the drive to the bank and Bizys. The guy that hit me helped me push it on up out of the drive and we looked it over.
When the cops showed up the guy told them that he pulled over to turn in here and just didn't see me sitting there. The cop asked me if that's what happened. I told the cop that I believed the guy. He wasn't going all that fast when he hit me. After all the politics and back and forthing with the cop it worked out that If I didn't have to go to the Doctor and the trucks driver made good on repairs to my bike he would he wouldn't do an all out accident report. Basically we just exchanged information and let it go at that.
I didn't make it for the sandwich. It took what seemed like an hour to get the bike started and when I did I just headed back to the house.
Back home I looked over everything and really all I could find was the bent peg and broken clamp. About $3 dollars damage. I think I'll take it back to Luther's shop tomorrow and really look it over and then call the cop and give him the damage estimate.

Did you see me? I was on the road, literally.