Friend went down in the twisties yesterday

[hyphen]

So, I can't help but feel extremely responsible for this incident so I'd like to vent here.  Basically, I agreed to go riding with a friend of mine and he asked if he could bring a friend of his who just got a bike.  I said sure and we set off.  This was his first time in the canyons and we went over some rules and tips for him to keep the plastic off the ground and his head off of the pavement.  The whole morning he was doing well.  We went through kanan, the pch and mulholland.  Towards 12pm we were going to grab some lunch at the Rock Store and decided to take Piuma across.  On the way downhill we ran into some dense fog that was rolling over.  I felt that since I was the guy in the middle that I should tell the new guy to slow down, so I gave him the signal.  He was good about keeping his pace even if we were far ahead of him and we'd slow eventually to wait up.   Well, we slowed and he didnt show up, which was odd because he was generally only about 5-10 seconds behind us.   

My buddy turned around and said that if he didn't come back that I should turn around.  I waited a couple minutes and I had a feeling something went wrong so I went up.  Lo and behold, the new guy low sided his bike and was laying next to the guard rail.  Anyway, he fractured his collar bone, shattered his ankle and had some cuts.  He went into the turn too fast and apparently grabbed a fistful of brakes mid-lean.  But I feel like I'm somewhat to blame for this.   Would he have crashed if I had slowed down and he was able to see how fast I was taking the turn and how much of a lean I was putting into the bike?  Rather than leaving him behind knowing well that he didn't understand the pace of the turns, should I have stayed back?

I mean, because of this incident he won't be able to do jiujitsu, ride his bike, or do any active sport for at least a few months.  Not to mention he may be totally turned away from riding as a whole.   Was I wrong?

[Grampa]

I say.... no harm no foul on your end. sometimes people need to eat a lil pavement to learn a lesson. I've been there done that.

[ICON]

Not your fault brother. I've been in the same situation. You can only do your best in telling the newbie's to watch their speed and ride at their own pace.

In time he will heal and if he truly loves riding, he'll be back.

Ride safe.

[erkishhorde]

I kinda know how you feel. I made an error on the other side and babied my friend too much and went too slow on a banked hairpin. I also took a crappy line but managed to hang through it but my friend panicked and tried to stop and fell over. No injuries and only scrapes for his bike but it was my fault that he fell. But I don't feel that your case is the same. I don't think it's your fault.

Your friend brought the newbie so it's more his job to babysit him than yours. The new rider should have known to slow down with the fog too. Accidents suck but an accident is an accident and holding yourself responsible doesn't help fix it. Just be grateful he wasn't hurt worse and ways laying next to the railing rather than under it or worse.

[gm2]

it sucks but it's really not your fault at all.

[Privateer]

understandable to feel the way you do, but he's a grown man.  Like Ice Cube said "..I'm grown, can't nobody get me in trouble."


Andy

[M(*)nster]

The fact that you are questioning your own judgment and even laying out a more thoughtful option might give you insight into what your conscience is telling you.  Of course, everyone here will pat you on the back and tell you to brush it off.  But, come on.  If you had an inkling to do what was more prudent and didn't act on it, then you're not completely blameless.

Not trying to be a dick, just looking at it from another perspective.  I'm NOT saying it's your fault that it happened.  Not at all.  I'm just saying perhaps you could have helped reduced the risk of it happening.  Kind of like when you see a kid about to cross the street into oncoming traffic.  Do you pull him back or just shrug your shoulders and think, "dumb ass?"

That is all.  So, if you have a hot girlfriend or wife, I suggest you show naked pictures of her to your downed friend to absolve you of some of this guilt you are feeling.  

[Ciao Fun]

Unless you had at some point during the day committed to remain close and provide instruction to the guy, only the rider is responsible and accountable for his riding.  Honestly, if he couldn't see your speed/ line and he was not familiar with the roads, he should have exercised some prudence and SLOWED DOWN.

Lester

[lucazuma]

...you have no fault at all...its too bad for your friend's friend    (of course) but nothing more couold or should have been done on your side...

on the other hand why was his friend in front of you and not waiting/taking care of him?

it hapens way too often IMO, that folks meet up for a ride, bring a friend and then "leave" him/her to you "the expert" to take care of them...not cool

i think your buddy should have stayed behind with him, not you...(if anyone, we are all grown ups after all)

im sure your buddies friend has no hard feelings towards you at all...i would be surprised if he did

ciao 

[hyphen]

I guess I'm not totally at fault, but as was said by someone, I probably could have reduced the chances.  The reason my friend was in front of me was because he planned the trip and knew the routes we were taking.  But I know he didn't mean to leave any sort of responsibility unto me. 

I just hope the guy doesn't stop riding because of this incident. 

[lucazuma]

I just hope the guy doesn't stop riding because of this incident. 

..me neither

[erkishhorde]

Accidents like that tell you how much you love riding whether they happen to you or not. My roommate stopped riding as much after I got in my accident. He was in the car behind me and didn't see the exact moment of the accident but saw everything after. Scared him pretty good. I still get paranoid of cars coming out of driveways or making left turns in front of me. 

[Ducatiloo]

I guess I'm not totally at fault, but as was said by someone, I probably could have reduced the chances.  The reason my friend was in front of me was because he planned the trip and knew the routes we were taking.  But I know he didn't mean to leave any sort of responsibility unto me. 

I just hope the guy doesn't stop riding because of this incident. 

+1  your friend wanted to take the n00b, and you took the extra time to signal when he needed to slow down.
It was the n00bs fault and if anyone should have babysat it the your friend.   I say 100% not your fault and 100% good guy for giving the n00b input and felling bad about the situation

[Fox]

I feel I have some a couple of qualifications to help answer your question. 1) I am a noob 2) I just had a much faster friend, who did not wait for me, take me out to decker/deer creek and latigo three weeks ago.

You did not do anything wrong.  The noob controls his own speed and if he/she is not able to understand their limits its not your fault. I set my own pace and took it easy and as I feel more comfortable I slowly increase my speed.

Out of curiosity, was he/she wearing protective gear?

[arai_speed]

No blame on you, the guy is an adult (I assume) so he needed to take his own skill set into account.  A kid crossing the street is different, the kid probably doesn't know or can't fully comprehend the danger, but an adult who made a conscious decision to buy a motorcycle I think is a different story.

I agree with bobspapa, sometimes a lil pavement will drive the lesson home.  It's unfortunate that he got hurt BUT it could have been worst.