Well, as the saying goes "There are two types of motorcyclists, those who have crashed and those who will". I've now joined the first group and experienced what a crash is like, and while it could have been much worse I certainly hope to avoid experiencing it again, at least in the near future.
What Happened:
I met up with my uncle and a friend in Colorado Springs (I'm from Denver) on Saturday morning for a day of riding. The weather was perfect - sunny with a few scattered clouds, and we decided to head out towards Bishop's Castle as I had never been out there. We took 115 south to Florence where we got on 67 south towards Wetmore. I was taking it fairly easy since I hadn't done much real riding since last year (riding around town not counting). We hit a nice short section of twisties on 67, and I started to pick up the pace. I was feeling pretty good - got a knee down in a couple of spots and was seeing my lines. I had headphones in and was listening to some music. The twisties ended pretty quickly, and as the road transitioned to some nice sweeping curves I began thinking back about the run and what I could do to improve my technique.
Well, in my great brilliance I neglected to pay attention to the road. After all, it wasn't a technical section and I could afford to be inattentive, right?
I was in the middle, with my uncle following close behind me. As we approached a long, sweeping left-hand turn I started to drift wide, and it wasn't until I was 3/4 of the way through the turn that I realized that my current course would send me into the ditch on the side of the road. I leaned the bike over a little further, but happened to hit a patch of sand and felt the back end start to slip. Instead of trusting my bike, getting a knee down, and turning my head and looking through the turn (which would likely have allowed me to complete the turn without anything worse than a little wiggle at the rear tire) I immediately began searching for a place where I could go off the road with as little damage as possible.
There was a gravel road that terminated in a barbed wire fence (ouch!) and just past it a sandy section about 4-feet wide that bordered the road for about 20 feet. I decided to aim for the sand. I knew better than to make any sudden steering or power changes while on the sand, but I thought that if I could slow the bike down enough I might be able to ride it out and then steer it back onto the road. At this point I stood the bike up and got on both brakes, with the idea of scrubbing off as much speed as possible before hitting the sand. Immediately before I went off the road I released the brakes, downshifted, and got back on the throttle very slowly.
I had probably gotten my speed down to around 35-40mph when I went off the road and hit the sand, and at first I thought that my idea might work. The back end started slipping around a bit, but nothing that I couldn't handle. Then
IT happened.
Contrary to appearance the sand was actually 6-8 inches deep, and wet. My back tire immediately sunk deeply into the sand, and then bucked up and to the right. I held on for all I was worth, hoping against hope to be able stabilize it once it came back down. The back tire slammed back into the ground and then bucked once again, this time to the left. The bike came up to almost a 60-degree angle, launching me up over the handlebars and into the road. I let go at the very last minute and found myself doing a very poor superman imitation.
I very distinctly remember four things going through my mind as I was flying through space: First I thought, “Hmm, my music is still playing. I can’t believe that I am listening to this right now (I was listening to the soundtrack from Casino Royale, and the track where Bond wrecks the Aston Martin had just come on
)”. Second, “You know, this would be kind of fun if it wasn’t for the impact I know is coming.” Third, “Impact? O, shoot, I’d better prepare myself!” Fourth, a brief prayer, “O, Lord, please don’t let this hurt too bad – and please let my bike be ok!”
I was already twisting as I flew through the air, and I did my best to tuck in my arms and head and prepare to roll once I hit the ground. I landed hard on my right hip, immediately tumbling onto my back and then my left side - wrenching my left shoulder, as I had been unable to get my left arm down in time. I came to a stop on my back, with my head and body from the waist-up in the road, my legs in the ditch. I did a quick assessment to make sure that I was actually stopped and that I could feel all my extremities, then rolled out of the road and looked back at my bike.
The bike had fallen on its right side about 20-feet from where I had stopped rolling. The right side of the handlebar had buried itself in the sand causing the throttle to stick wide open. This caused the bike to pivot around on the handlebar until the bike was facing the road - with the rear tire doing its best to propel the now horizontal bike back onto the road it had so recently left through contact with thin air alone. I slowly got to my feet and made my way back to the bike, hitting the kill switch and then turning the key off.
By this point my uncle and friend had circled back, parked their bikes, and assisted me in getting my beloved Ducati across the road to a flat spot where we could assess the damage. Other than the bent handlebar, a scratched bar-end mirror, and a bent rear brake lever the only damage was to my low-mount Termi exhaust. When the bike fell over it bent the right pipe in towards the rear wheel, splitting the seam at the base of the pipe where it attaches to the header. I plan to take the bike in to a shop that my uncle recommended and see if he can bend the exhaust back out and then weld a bead across the split. My frame-sliders performed admirably with no damage to the tank or the frame.
For myself, I ended up with some broken blood vessels and a golf-ball-sized bruise on my right hip from the impact, and a sore left shoulder from overextension when I was tumbling. Gratefully I was wearing the proper gear: a black Alpinestars GP-Plus jacket (with a Dainese Wave G Back Protector insert), zipped to a pair of black Alpinestars track pants, Alpinestars SMX Plus boots, a Shoe X-11 helmet, and a pair of Held Steve gloves. The pants and jacket both are pretty scraped up but are definitely still serviceable. The helmet never contacted the ground – both based on my memory and a detailed visual inspection, so I plan to continue using it. I am certain that if I had not been wearing the proper gear I would be laying in a hospital bed having gravel scrubbed out of my flesh and very possibly had broken bones as well right now. Instead I am sitting in a coffee shop two days later with nothing more than a slightly stiff shoulder and a bruise on my hip that I only remember I have whenever I bump it.
Lessons Learned:
-
Always wear proper gear. Up till now I have typically worn all my gear when I ride around town with the exception of the pants – I typically have worn jeans. This incident has motivated me to research protective pants that I can wear over my jeans/slacks when running errands.
-
Never lose focus. Even “easy” roads can quickly become dangerous if you are not paying attention.
-
Always look through your turn. I failed to do this and instead was contemplating the side of the road, which is precisely where I went. Your body naturally follows your eyes, so look where you want to go and never become fixated on distracting elements around you.
- If, God forbid, I ever find myself ¾ the way through a turn and I have drifted wide, it is far better to lean the bike over hard and attempt to save the turn. The worst that could happen is that the back tire slides out and I low-side, as opposed to playing superman and being launched through the air.
Ride safe, and I hope to see you guys (and gals!) on the road!
NateDog
