In which I test the limits of my safety gear.

Sunday started out great. Met a couple of riding buddies for coffee around 10. Left the coffee shop and headed out to meet a couple of other riders.

Turns out some people had told some people, who had told some more people, and next thing I knew there was a pack of 17 sportbike riders leaving from a friends house for a jaunt through the woods.

The pace was pretty spirited, but by and large it wasn't a bad ride. The worst part of the first half was catching a grasshopper square in the visor, just in front of the left side of my nose. The ride was a little faster than I normally go, but the accordion effect of having such a large group meant that there was some leeway. There were 2 riders behind me, one of the organizers and one of the friends I'd rallied with at the coffee shop.

After probably 40 or 45 miles we came to a downhill left-hander that was apparently too much for me. If you type North Buckfield, ME into Google Maps, the arrow will point right about at the spot where I came to rest. I rode out most of the corner, but about 2/3 the way through I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep in on the pavement. There's no real shoulder to speak of, just a sandy ditch about 12 or 15 feet wide, 4 or 5 feet deep at the deepest. As I ran into the sand, the front tire dug and I'm guessing thats when I made my exit. I'm not really sure, I just remember the jolt of the tire hitting soft sand and slowing, and then I landed on my left shoulder and hip on the pavement. Best estimate puts me somewhere between 45 and 60 mph. Hard to say.

I felt myself start to log-roll and I remember pulling my hands in toward my chest and thinking "TUCK AND ROLL!" Then I rolled. And I rolled again. And then I remember thinking, "Okay, you're done now, right? You're coming to a stop?" And then I rolled again. And I believe once more, as well, but I was more just waiting, not really counting.

Eventually I stopped and did a quick assessment. Fingers wiggle. Toes wiggle. No areas of serious pain. Hopped up to check on the bike. Literally, hopped up. I jumped off the pavement. The bike was in the ditch at the edge of the pavement, facing back the way I'd come, still running. I hit the kill switch and turned the key. Right about then the two people who'd been at the back of the group with me came running over to make sure I was okay. So far, looks like I'm okay. My left shoulder is a little stiff, my left thigh will turn all sorts of great colors, and I've got a scrape the size of a nickel on my right knee. Given the possible alternatives, I'm not pregnant doging.

We picked the bike up and did a quick assessment. The biggest thing wrong was the shifter lever, which had been twisted down and back. I'm guessing that when the bike tipped the lever caught on the sand and that's what spun the bike around. Otherwise, there's a scuff on the left front turn signal and there was some grit in the headlight/turn signal control cluster. Theres some minor scuffs in the paint on the left side of the tank but nothing made it all the way through the clear coat. There's a single scratch on the engine cover. The ball end on the clutch lever is worn down some, and there's a scuff on the seat and cowl. The left clip on got rotated a bit counter clockwise, as well, but it doesn't appear to be bent at all. The bike fired up just fine and the shifter still works, so after the paramedics did a quick check that I was okay (What day is it? Who's the president? What's the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?) and the sheriff's officer checked that my registration and license were legit I rode the bike home.

I was wearing all my gear, and I'm glad I was. Tour Master Coaster II jacket took the brunt of it, and some Cortech riding jeans valliantly gave their life. When I hit, I landed pretty much directly on top of the cell phone in my left pocket, which shredded the jeans over the pocket but the phone is fine and the pocket itself is still intact. The jacket has a hole between the left shoulder pad and the collar and both sleeves/shoulders are pretty rashed. There are distinct outlines on the leather where the hard-shelled pads took the energy transfer. The only one I can't figure out is the one on the top of the left shoulder. Also, the seam holding the zipper to the back vent on the left side gave. I'll post pics soon.

Sparx S-07 helmet got dinged up. Looks like just surface scratches but its done for. One patch above my left eyebrow and one at the bottom left side of the visor and onto the chin bar. As soon as I get a copy of the police report I'll be sending it off to Sparx to take advantage of their Crashed Helmet Replacement Policy. Yay! New helmet for the cost of shipping.

All in all, I expect it to cost more to replace my jacket than to fix my bike. I'm okay with that.

What I learned:

1) I'm an idiot. I knew those guys were much faster than I was and I tried to keep up. Stupid ego.

2) Good gear, like divorce, is expensive because its worth it.

3) I could have made that corner. I still have chicken strips on my tires. I had probably another 10-15 degrees of lean angle before I risked low-siding.

What I did wrong:

1) Rode faster than I was comfortable with, on unfamiliar roads.

2) I looked at the ditch, not the road.

3) When I looked at the ditch, I rolled off the throttle.

Add them all up and you've got one embarrassed, and damned lucky, noob. The bike will be fixed long before my pride heals. That being said, anyone got a line on a spare shift lever?