I'm alive and that means I'm one lucky sonovabeyotch. That sentence would never have gotten typed if it weren't for how lucky I am. Headed on a 2000 mile ride to Vegas via Yosemite and Tioga pass in the middle of summer was going to be one hell of high point to one hell of a summer. I was really excited about this ride - I went out and bought myself a full riding suit from Triumph in Mountain View. That turned out to be one of the best things I ever did for myself and my family.
Doonga and I set of early in the AM from Redwood City. We rode east over the Dumbarton into Fremont, on 880/680 and from there thru Livermore onto Manteca. The traffic heavy due to the big weekend, the riding conditions got better past Manteca. Riding towards oakdale on 120, the road turns into a beautiful ribbon of ashen satin, it curves around hills and cliffs and makes for some wonderful riding. The traffic conditions get busier and the road is narrow and makes for frustrating riding for several hours. Finally we pass Chinese Camp and the road opens up. I gun the throttle and the Rocket takes off .... its heaven, the cool air, the hot sun, the smell of brakes .. this is what riding is all about.
I ride up a hill and the road banks to the right .... and there she is about to run across the road, a doe ... she freezes .. I brake ... she runs across the lane and freezes again ... I turn to avoid her and my front wheel locks up .... I feel my rear wheel rise up WHAM! tumble roll fall fly ...... 1050 yards careening at 50 MPH next to a bike on its side as it sparks fly out from the friction I come to a stop.
I cant breathe - I'm choking ..... my helment gotta get it off ... choke ... I cant see .. everything is WHITE ... I cant hear .. sight sound smell everything has blended into a massive bright white noise ..... Cough Cough .... Cough and a few minutes later I come back ... Doonga is yelling at me - "Are you ok? Jeezus christ, thank god .. are you ok?"
A weird old man rides up on a ancient harley and asks what happened.. I tell him I braked for a deer. He tells me lucky it wasn't a grizzly. A couple of weeks back, a friend of his ran smack into a grizzly right here. He totaled the bike and killed the grizzly in the process (luckily for him!).
A kind lady gives me Gatorade .. I still cant see too clearly. Two liters of Gatorade later, I can see. I'm numb, dumb, and blank. There's police cars (the California Highway patrol got there in 15mins - WOW) and the medics arrive. My right shoulder hurts like a bitch.
The medics make me rotate my arm. The officer asks what happened. I tell him I braked for a deer. A lady concurs and says she was driving behind and called 911 when I crashed the bike. The medics think I should be OK - they cant believe I survived after inspecting my bike and helmet. "That's one great riding suit you have there - saved your life, we'd have to scrape you off the highway otherwise" says the police officer.
A tow truck pulls in and 30 minutes later I'm riding to Sonora in the front of the tow truck. Mike the driver talks to me about his Hayabusa and crashing and burning in the hills. "Its not a question of If it'll happen" he says "its When" he says sagely. I take a look at my bike and wonder if she's totaled. She kinda looks like Harvey Dent. The left side of her is completely smashed ... the right side as pristine as the day she rolled out of the line in Hinkley.
I look at her and wonder if I'll ever ride her again ....
