After The Crash

The accident was a lesson in what happens when a rider doesn't always practice the basic rules of riding. It drove home the importance of not allowing attention to waver, of focusing on the task at hand during every moment of the ride. I knew before, but now I really know that I need to do some serious practice on more aggressive turning and emergency maneuvers. I need to learn to trust the capabilities of my bike and gain confidence in my own abilities. Too little confidence can be just as deadly as too much confidence.

The accident did not deter me from riding. It gave me free time while healing to read the books I ordered before the accident: Proficient Motorcycling by David Hough and Total Control by Lee Parks.

The ER doctor said my shoulder would take 4-6 weeks to heal. When I had my follow up visit at the fracture clinic I was told it would be more like 3-4 months. They were right. It wasn't until late in October that I felt comfortable putting any amount of strain on my shoulder. So I missed three months of prime riding weather. Such is the price of letting one's attention wander.

Even so, I managed to ride 3,600 miles this first season on the new bike. I had planned to do a number of multi-day trips in preparation for more extended trips next year. But I was able to get in only one three day, two night trip before the weather turned bad. The rains early on were not too severe and I thought about chancing some additional extended trips but decided against it.

It’ now December and the weather, for the most part, rules out any serious riding. So I'm preparing to start doing some upgrades to the ZR-7 and working to get the GL1000 running.

for health

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