I posted on here back in May about a group ride nightmare. Two bikes down and a young man ended up dying from a head injury a week later. The accident happened right in front of me. I was pretty shook up over that for some time but continued riding and still enjoyed it. Saturday I went for a ride with my cousin and good friend Greg. He was on a borrowed Victory Cross Country. We both know the guy who owns the Victory well and he (the owner) asked me to try it out during our ride as he had some work done to it and it was making more power. About 20 minutes into our ride I pull over and we trade off. I drove it for about 15 miles and then decided to find a place to pull over and swap back. We were going up a hill in a 35mph zone and as I crested the hill I saw a driveway that met the road we were on and signaled to pull over. I was actually doing less than 35 when I signaled. As I gradually slowed to pull over and stop I hear a skid and then a loud crash. I turned my head to look back and there was Greg and my bike side by side sliding down the middle of the road! Got the Victory stopped and ran out to him thinking MY GOD! IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING AGAIN! Except this time it is someone that I know and love. He was unconscious when I got to him and looked to be in pretty bad shape. Did not appear to be breathing but thank god after about a minute he started coming around. It felt like 1000 lbs had been lifted off me. He actually sat up and started apologizing to me for putting my bike down. I told him not to worry about it as it is just a piece of machinery. Anyhow, he gets hauled off to the hospital and will be there for 4 days with a broken right collarbone, 8 broken ribs out of 12 (right side), punctured right lung, small fracture in his lower back, mild concussion and some nasty road rash on the back of his right shoulder. Thank God he had a helmet on as it was scraped up pretty good and it could have been much worse. He has no memory of what caused him to do a panic stop. I believe he may have been looking in another direction when I was slowing and then tried to stop too quickly. I also believe that he used the rear brake only, locked the rear tire and then went down (looking at the length of the skid mark and doing only 30mph). Greg has had a mc license for 20 years but hasn't ridden much during the past 15. Inexperience obviously played a huge role but I thought he had more riding skills. My bike has some significant damage to it but was actually drivable after I removed and bent a few things. Got it home and will wait and see what the adjuster has to say. The frame may have been compromised. This is the second time my bike has been down ( first time a 50 mph crash with me driving because of a startled moose). My mind is not in a good place right now when it comes to riding. I was really getting to enjoy it now that I am much more confident with my riding skills. I've been riding for 8 years. Greg is going to be alright and I thank God for that but these two incidents keep replaying in my mind and has me wondering if the reward is worth the risk. By the time my ride is fixed (if it isn't totaled) I will have had some time off with time to reflect and maybe that will help. I don't think I would enjoy riding at all at the present time. I need a break from this bad juju ****!!!

 

That's not what you want to see! But, as you said your friend Greg is going to be OK and the accident was an error due to rider skill. You might feel better about this by the time you have your bike back in shape and Greg is also on the mend.

 

you are over thinking this...did you help cause the accident? the rider tops the hill and there you are with your brake lights on trying to pull over--he over reacts and locks up his brakes and down he goes--could be that you contributed by stopping over a hill crest, but the other rider was not paying enough attention to his surroundings and thinking "what if". riding some one else's bike could also have been part of the equatiion...not totally used to the handling and controls. even small group rides have more potential for problems that riding alone.

you live in maine, and probably have a short riding season...your 8 years of riding is really a lot less than that. plenty of people take several trips a year that are each longer than what you accumulate in a year of riding. so you are a relative newby.

take an advanced rider course or two. study some videos, and practice you riding skills. with your present attitude, you are a hazard to your self and others. think long and hard about whether this riding thing is that important to you...you are not going to enjoy riding until your mind is at ease with your skill level. good luck with what ever you decide.

 

Rider error accidents are avoidable. If wrecks were all due to uncontrollable reasons then I might start thinking twice about riding.

I've seen a couple near misses that were like your situation. One that was my fault when I was new and another where I almost got crashed into.

Not for nothing, but if he was paying attention it wouldn't have happened. Glad he's ok.

 

Dude I'm not worried about what could have caused the accident.
I'm not over thinking about what could have caused the accident. I know what caused it. Inexperience and lack of skills. I'm not sure why you are going in the direction you are. I was 100 yards past the top of the hill when I signaled to pull over and at 30mph I'm pretty sure that it wasn't a factor in the crash. I was not responsible because of my decision where to pull over or being "a relative newbie". Inattentiveness and inexperience was. I do 7-8 thousand a year and while that pales in comparison to some other riders I feel confident with my skills but not cocky or overconfident. I know there are better riders out there than me but I consider myself a pretty decent rider. The point I was trying to make was that witnessing two bad accidents in the past 6 weeks causes some mental trauma. Believe me. I will not saddle up again unless I feel "right" about doing it!

 

OP...I'm sitting here right now with a bunch of rods sticking out of my leg, because of two idiots in cages. If I could bend my knee and shift, I would still be riding.

You are in a rough period. Fall back, ride for yourself, and stay away from groups with varying skills. You hang around this business long enough, you'll see and experience this stuff. Learn from it and carry on. Everybody dies sometime. For you and me...not today.

 

We take chances every second we ride....regardless of fault.....It's just ''out there'' waiting for us.......rider error is not bad ju-ju, it's uneducated.experience. plain an simple. I however will not ride in a group, I too have had way too many ''bad'' things happen to actually enjoy that type of riding........I'll ''do'' a ride sure, but just tell me where the meet point is, I'll be fine riding my own ride......another thing which was over looked , Greg was on a ride he clearly was not familiar with. Another contributing factor........I'm relieved to hear every one is still breathing today.

 

Side note:

paragraphs. This was tough for me to read because of the lack of.

 

Don't take this wrong but if I were you, I would avoid riding with new riders or even inexperienced riders with years off the saddle.


I have always tried to ride with the same group of friends and we keep it tight knit however, once in a while someone brings another guy along without much experience and usually make up an excuse and stay home.
Mostly because I don't want to meet anyone knew but the possibility of someone hitting the pavement or hitting me is always in my head.


couple months back at the request of my wife I went on a ride with a bunch of people I didn't know.... Leaving the meeting place someone dropped their bike in the damn parking lot. I immediately rode away and told the wife no damn way was I going to put our lives in danger with a bunch of people that recently bought bikes.

That very same rider was killed over the weekend taking a corner too fast and went into a ditch.. Now, she understand exactly what I mean.
You have to draw the line somewhere, if you don't ride with people you have complete trust in, it may be time to find some new friends.

I hope your buddy recovers soon.

OS

 

I'm glad every one is alright. Things happen, that's the nature of the beast. Hang in there, it gets better.That's all I have to say on this subject.

Now, just a word on long subject matter. Please break it up into paragraphs. I know it was said already but I see this all the time now. I'm reading your thread on a 70" wide screen and I'm still having a hard time focusing on each sentence.