My motorcycle accident…

Okay, so I’ve been trying to remember exactly what day it happened, but it was sometime in August or September of 2007. It was the same day that we were doing a Mystery Shop of Six Flags, Kentucky Kingdom. I’ll have to edit the post once I find out the exact day…that’s going to bug me.

Anyway, Blair had gotten his new motorcycle a month or so before, and I had been aching to learn to ride it. I have a thing for speed, and was jealous that I was only able to hang on to him on the back while he had all the fun. So, the morning of the Six Flags shop, we decided to go find an empty parking lot and he’d teach me just a few things to get me started. He started with explaining the shifting and the clutch (I’ve never really driven a stick shift), running me through pretend start-ups and having me practice simply starting the bike. By about 15 minutes later, I was riding around in circles in the parking lot in 1st gear. I was feeling pretty confident and was eager to learn how to shift and practice that! So, he let me!

I had already been riding around the lot and starting and stopping just fine, so I wasn’t worried at all. Then…it happened. I was trying to slow down, and for some reason, when I would pull the hand brake, the bike seemed to go faster. I don’t think it actually DID go faster, but the engine revved or something and it made me think it was speeding up. I got freaked out and just about froze. In a split second, I decided that I wasn’t going to be able to make the turn that was coming up AND focus on stopping at the same time. So, I decided to hop the curb and lay the bike down on the grass. In my mind, this was the best option. So, I did it. I didn’t take into account the difference between a peddle bike and a motorcycle. It’s not even a big bike…just 400 cc’s, but laying a motorcycle down is no small thing. The leg that actually hit the ground was fine. The leg that came up over the other side got pretty torn up. I also had some scraping on my right arm.

I was freaking out. Blair was freaking out. All I could think about was “What did I do to Blair’s ‘new’ bike?!” and all Blair could think was “What was I thinking letting her ride!” Luckily the bike was pretty much fine. It had a couple of bumps and bruises as well. Okay, it had a broken headlight. Luckily the guy who sold it to us gave him some extra parts, and guess what one of the extra parts was…yah, a headlight! Miraculous, I know!

The ride back was the tricky part. I was bleeding (more oozing than bleeding, really) and in much pain, and not much interested in getting back on the bike. But I couldn’t walk home, it was just a bit too far, and so we hopped back on the bike and headed home. I must have had a case of shock or something because I got super dizzy and just about fainted and fell off again. Blair had to drop me off at the park down the street and come back for me with the car. We got home, I lay down for a while before Blair and I did our best to clean and bandage my leg, and then I got in my most comfortable clothes that I dared for a trip to Six Flags, and we headed off. Yah…we still did the shop. I have to say that it wasn’t my most fun day at an amusement park. Good thing we got 4 tickets for doing the shop and were able to go back a month later and actually enjoy it!

One of the first things I said to Blair after it happened was “Don’t tell ANYONE!” I was so embarrassed and knew that one of two things would happen: 1. I would get made fun of for crashing a motorcycle that was going less than 5 miles/hour or 2. there would be a lot of “told you so’s” from those who may have been a little worried about us getting a motorcycle. After all, I still feel like it was a great purchase, and that when used properly with all precautions taken, can be safe enough.

So today I finally decided that it had been long enough to tell the story of my fateful motorcycle accident. Mostly cause I just want to post the pictures of my wounds.

And by the way, You’d better believe I’m going to try again…

The Motorcycle!

As we were considering alternative ways of getting Blair to school without spending so much money on gas, finding him a motorcycle was the obvious choice. Check out the 1980 Honda CM400T that Blair was able to find for only $750.00. Of course, that price doesn’t figure in the helmet, insurance, and other protective gear, but it sure is a fun toy/mode of transportation to have. I’ll have to get a picture of him in his new riding jacket. He looks so cool… (sigh) -Laura