torrey.smith
)'(
This follows a post I made in the General section asking for assistance. Many thanks to Enchanter & friend (for the van), and SuperSixFour for a lot of help in the last few days! SuperSixFour drove all the way from Santa Cruz to pick us up from the hospital, and Enchanter picked me up from work, drove me to Sonoma to get the bike, dropped me off at work, and finally, dropped the bike off for me at Santa Clara Cycle Accessories for a repair estimate.
We were 4 people on 2 bikes (I was following), headed west on 12. We intended to turn left onto Trinity. A car was following at a good distance and had been for several miles.
When we came up on Trinity, there were several cars in the oncoming lane. We put on left turn blinkers and came to a stop so the cars could pass by. As my buddy (on the left) began his turn, I looked into the rear view to see it filling up with Pontiac :wtf and heard the screeching tires.
I immediately gunned it and took off, all of this having occurred in a straight line headed down 12. He struck us from behind at a pretty good speed, I would guess as high as 50 mph. I had achieved maybe 25 mph myself at the point of collision. My buddy had barely completed his turn and was missed by a few feet.
My girlfriend and I were thrown to either side of the bike. I did a Superman to the left, and she did a Reverse Superman to the right and ended up on her back with her right leg in between the pipe and the still spinning tire. I killed the engine and helped get her leg out. There were many people already out of their cars to help us by that point. We were both immediately walking and fully functional.
My gear:
Spidi Slider full leather suit with speed hump
Arai RX-7
Dainese aluminum honeycomb spine protection
Joe Rocket Spine Pad, flipped upside down and shoved down for lower spine and ass protection
Alpinestarts SMX+ boots
Alpinestars GP+ gloves with joined pinky and wrist pad
My girlfriend's gear:
Frank Thomas jacket
Icon Field Armor spine protection with chest plate
Arai Quantum 2
Leather (non-moto) calf-high boots
Jeans (non-moto)
Triumph all-weather gloves
My injuries:
None, sore neck the next day
My girlfriend's injuries:
Bruised coccyx (tailbone)
Minor abrasions and burns on right leg
Minor bruises on legs
Sore neck the next day
My 2002 Hayabusa's injuries:
TBD by Santa Clara Cycle Accessories. Appears to be repairable, but I will see what the guy's insurance has to say about fixing/totaling it.
She was taken via fire ambulance to Sonoma Valley Hospital to check out her tailbone. The x-rays came back looking good. I went with her, with the Sheriff saying that CHP would gather all info and meet us at the hospital.
Lessons learned:
1) DO NOT come to a stop without actively engaging the drivers behind you and gradually slowing down with them responding in turn.
2) If you don't have time to make your turn while following lesson 1, pull off to the side and do a U-turn when it's safe.
3) DO NOT just follow another rider and assume you're safe. Ride independently and be responsible for your own safety.
4) Gear your girlfriend up to the max, just like yourself.
5) Get the other persons insurance info yourself so you don't have to wait for the CHP report, even if they are telling you to go.
6) Check your six at all times!
Please let me know what I can do better to avoid repeating this. We are all incredibly lucky to be alive at this point!
We were 4 people on 2 bikes (I was following), headed west on 12. We intended to turn left onto Trinity. A car was following at a good distance and had been for several miles.
When we came up on Trinity, there were several cars in the oncoming lane. We put on left turn blinkers and came to a stop so the cars could pass by. As my buddy (on the left) began his turn, I looked into the rear view to see it filling up with Pontiac :wtf and heard the screeching tires.
I immediately gunned it and took off, all of this having occurred in a straight line headed down 12. He struck us from behind at a pretty good speed, I would guess as high as 50 mph. I had achieved maybe 25 mph myself at the point of collision. My buddy had barely completed his turn and was missed by a few feet.
My girlfriend and I were thrown to either side of the bike. I did a Superman to the left, and she did a Reverse Superman to the right and ended up on her back with her right leg in between the pipe and the still spinning tire. I killed the engine and helped get her leg out. There were many people already out of their cars to help us by that point. We were both immediately walking and fully functional.
My gear:
Spidi Slider full leather suit with speed hump
Arai RX-7
Dainese aluminum honeycomb spine protection
Joe Rocket Spine Pad, flipped upside down and shoved down for lower spine and ass protection
Alpinestarts SMX+ boots
Alpinestars GP+ gloves with joined pinky and wrist pad
My girlfriend's gear:
Frank Thomas jacket
Icon Field Armor spine protection with chest plate
Arai Quantum 2
Leather (non-moto) calf-high boots
Jeans (non-moto)
Triumph all-weather gloves
My injuries:
None, sore neck the next day
My girlfriend's injuries:
Bruised coccyx (tailbone)
Minor abrasions and burns on right leg
Minor bruises on legs
Sore neck the next day
My 2002 Hayabusa's injuries:
TBD by Santa Clara Cycle Accessories. Appears to be repairable, but I will see what the guy's insurance has to say about fixing/totaling it.
She was taken via fire ambulance to Sonoma Valley Hospital to check out her tailbone. The x-rays came back looking good. I went with her, with the Sheriff saying that CHP would gather all info and meet us at the hospital.
Lessons learned:
1) DO NOT come to a stop without actively engaging the drivers behind you and gradually slowing down with them responding in turn.
2) If you don't have time to make your turn while following lesson 1, pull off to the side and do a U-turn when it's safe.
3) DO NOT just follow another rider and assume you're safe. Ride independently and be responsible for your own safety.
4) Gear your girlfriend up to the max, just like yourself.
5) Get the other persons insurance info yourself so you don't have to wait for the CHP report, even if they are telling you to go.
6) Check your six at all times!
Please let me know what I can do better to avoid repeating this. We are all incredibly lucky to be alive at this point!
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