CRASH and BURN

[the_MAC]

so here we go again...despite all the constant preaching that many people have done regarding riding within your ability, today we suffered yet another incident based on excessive speed in a rural setting. prior to the unfortunate event, the rider was displaying the typical riding style of someone who was about to bite it: i.e., trying to keep up with people (while riding obviously outdated equipment...), carrying erratic lines through corners, and frequently crossing the yellow line (sometimes in blind corners...). nothing against the guy, but many people called this one before it happened. i think i speak for everyone when i say that i hope everything goes ok for him and that he recovers fully.

on to the accident...

upon approaching the corner at an obviously excessive rate of speed, the rider failed to slow to a safe speed to execute the turn. instead of trying to negotiate it anyway, a probable case of target fixation led him straight off the road, through a metal-wired fence, and then into a group of pine trees that failed to move to the side for the oncoming rider. other rider's that ran to his aide found him conscious, laying on his back, and moaning in pain. to make matters worse, he wasn't cooperating very well with the individuals who were trying to make sure he didn't further injur himself by not allowing him to take off his helmet or move. he kept saying "my back and neck are fine, i just hurt my arm. let me get up and get my helmet off". since this is not typically the recommended procedure for first reponse to an accident scene, especially one involving a motorcycle, those around the victim remained dilligent in their efforts at keeping him immobile, and for good reason...

the injuries...

i obtained this information 2nd or 3rd hand, so i'm sure there is more, but the rider suffered a broken lower left arm (both bones), a fractured pelvic bone that will be operated on either tonight or tomorrow morning by the knowledgable folks at trident medical center, and some other kind of skeletal spine injury. i haven't recieved any word regarding recovery time or prognosis, but i'm sure that will come after the pending surgery, so i will try to keep everyone posted for the sake of keeping up with one of our fellow riders.

the moral of the story...

i suppose we can beat this dead horse some more and tell everyone to RIDE YOUR OWN RIDE and remember that this is the street we are riding on! yes, people break speed limits and such, but there is nothing that says you can't do it safely!! we all ride with a very talented group of people, so trust me when i tell you that nothing you do on a motorcycle will be cause for anyone to be greatly impressed. furthermore, if you are unfortunate enough to be caught up in an accident, LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO HELP YOU! many of us have wrecked before and know what its like to be in the situation, and some even have emt or other similar medical training, so listen to them when they tell you to leave your helmet on and stay still. regardless of how good you feel lying on the ground, you will never know if you have a neck/spine injury until you get x-rayed at the hospital. none of these people are purposefully trying to be an asshole to you by making you lay on the hot ground in your jacket until the ambulance gets there, but instead they are trying to keep your ass alive so you live to ride another day.

thankfully, this guy should hopefully be riding again before the summer is over, but in the meantime our thoughts and prayers should be with him. not to use his situation as an example, but if it is cause for other riders to think twice and back off the throttle a bit, then we can say that it wasn't for nothing. :wtg:

[burns]

That same rider was at KWS not long ago when I told him about the folk that gather at the tree. I also told him to not go out there and try to impress the others. He even said he is not like that. Mabey next time he will listen. Sorry to hear it happened. :zap:

[SUM650]

Mac, boy did you hit the nail on the head again. Everything you said is so true. I did talk to this guy a couple of times. I too knew that he had a prearranged date with the pavment. What can I say, Mac has really said it all. I should print out a copy and give it to every new biker that we meet at the tree. I'll be the first to admit that riding fast is fun. However it is really stupid to do this on the street. Myself, Mac, and tons of people on this board will tell you this same thing. Trust me, we tell you this from first had experience. This high speed dangerous riding above your limits will land you in one or all of these three places. The jail, hospital, or the morgue. I really hope that everything works out for this guy and his family. Stuff like this really makes the group look bad. This is what were trying to get away from. Remember experienced riders, it's up to us to say something to our fellow newbie riders.

[Mike]

Great post Mac, too freakin' bad it was needed, and worse still, that it's not the last one of its kind.

Good luck to the fallen rider, and I hope you get back to riding with a little more sense knocked into you by the apparently necessary use of force. Let's hope others learn from your and our collective mistakes, keeping Darwin at bay...

[crash]

Well I would like to say I helped out as much as possible when he wanted to take his jacket off instead of cutting it off. He said that his wife would castrate him if he lost the helmet and the jacket to the crash so I asked if he had kids and the reply was yes. I then proceeded to tell him it would be ok then if we cut his jacket off. All kidding aside I agree with all that has been said and I guess it would make sense to tell any new rider that shows up this. I would also like to say that when we go to Savannah next weekend that we follow these guys and not too closely as we have no idea how good they can ride either.

[Dmaniiz]

A little something for Mac, PREACH ON BROTHA!!! I can totally relate to how you feel about singing the same song and dance to what seems to be deaf ears. But if only one person walks away enlightened with either a tip on pre-ride maintenance or how to properly engage a new riding group, it makes it all worth it.
I hope a speedy recovery to the unfortunate rider, and I have to say I'm eager to see what kind of spin he puts on future pre-ride safety conversations.

[iamnsxtc]

All things being equal, we set a PACE for the day. Several people led thoughout the run and everytime he was right there in the front or very close....Rider skill..Questioned at all times. There was no reason to pass the leader, as we all know, unless that lead person waves you by. For years this is how we have riden. Always respect the led guy. Just becuase he not going fast does NOT mean he is not fast. Sum, Crash, MAC We try to preach this every ride.

As MAC stated what would you rather have..... go off at 150 or at least try and make the turn.....MAKE THE TURN. I wish him a speedy recovery. I hope he gets another bike to ride with us.

[the_MAC]

ok, sorry for anyone sick of hearing from me, but i have to submit one more tid-bit of information that has been touched on a few times by all of us but not quite explained so that 'joe-shmoe' who just bought a bike can comprehend. we keep telling everyone that when in doubt, you should ALWAYS try to make the turn, and this is for a few very good reasons. first and foremost, if you at least try to go in the same direction that the road is trying to take you, then you're that much closer to staying on the pavement. if you just freeze and go straight, well then obviously you don't stand a chance and you can count yourself among the ranks of those insane moto-cross guys. second, by at least attempting to make the turn, you will be scrubbing off that much more speed while your tires are trying to turn you and the bike. refer to newton's third law of motion for futher guidance, and get back to me if you don't understand it. last, chances are the bike is physically capable of executing the turn, its just a matter of whether or not you give it the correct inputs. you may scare the sh*t out of yourself, but you'll hopefully make it through the turn, and if not, a lowside is the probable outcome because you'd tuck the front end. in any accident, i'd take a lowside over a highside any day. our friend on sunday suffered from a highside, which is always a gamble because unlike lowsiding where you normally just slide to a stop, a highside launches your ass into the air, causing more and more injuries each time you bounce. in any case, all of this can be controlled by how much rotational force you are applying to your right hand (a.k.a your 'throttle hand'...), so give it a though the next time you're putting around.

[the_MAC]

ok, sorry for anyone sick of hearing from me, but i have to submit one more tid-bit of information that has been touched on a few times by all of us but not quite explained so that 'joe-shmoe' who just bought a bike can comprehend. we keep telling everyone that when in doubt, you should ALWAYS try to make the turn, and this is for a few very good reasons. first and foremost, if you at least try to go in the same direction that the road is trying to take you, then you're that much closer to staying on the pavement. if you just freeze and go straight, well then obviously you don't stand a chance and you can count yourself among the ranks of those insane moto-cross guys. second, by at least attempting to make the turn, you will be scrubbing off that much more speed while your tires are trying to turn you and the bike. refer to newton's third law of motion for futher guidance, and get back to me if you don't understand it. last, chances are the bike is physically capable of executing the turn, its just a matter of whether or not you give it the correct inputs. you may scare the sh*t out of yourself, but you'll hopefully make it through the turn, and if not, a lowside is the probable outcome because you'd tuck the front end. in any accident, i'd take a lowside over a highside any day. our friend on sunday suffered from a highside, which is always a gamble because unlike lowsiding where you normally just slide to a stop, a highside launches your ass into the air, causing more and more injuries each time you bounce. in any case, all of this can be controlled by how much rotational force you are applying to your right hand (a.k.a your 'throttle hand'...), so give it a though the next time you're putting around.

[the_MAC]

oops...i accidently sent it twice

[Nash]

Sounds like the guy is going to be ok which is a huge relief. Charleston has seen its fair share of motorcycle injuries and deaths. Hell, which town has not? It's all in us to be competitive, but being competitive on the streets can lead to a serious accident.

I've ridden in these necks of the woods for many years and as my competitive spirit overtakes my 'I'm just going to take it easy today ride', next thing I know I'm running a bit over the speed limit which at times did become very dangerous. I tell myself, I'm a good enough rider to over come a missed judged corner or can stop in an instant as a car pulls from a blind driveway. But really, can I? Maybe......but what scares me and should scare everyone else is...MAYBE NOT. When we first started this group ride thing there was not one ounce of organization. Sounds like is a bit more now but it's still hard to tell someone just starting out riding to take it easy, UNTIL they've either seen someone get hurt or they've been hurt themselves. The later being the most effective and I hope none of us will have to experience.

Back in '98 or '99, not sure exactly, we met up to ride on a Sunday afternoon just like everyone does now. We weren't meeting at the tree like we do now; we met at Jeff's apartment. Since it was at his place, most of time the guys that rode with us we either knew or someone in the group knew, which made it a bit more of a social group rather than a public ride. Anyway, there was this really nice fella that just bought a Honda Blackbird. I think he may have had it about a month. He had traded in a Hurricane or Katana for the Blackbird. I know you all could care less what he traded in but I wanted you to realize he had some sort of riding experience. I don't even remember who brought him along. As we went off on the ride, Chris V. led us to his neck of the woods. He said the roads were smooth and the corners were plenty. Once we got close to the area we stopped for gas and munchies. I guess there were about 12 to 15 of us and you know what? All of those A-holes left me at the gas station while I was still pumping gas except one guy on the Blackbird. He said "man, I didn't want to leave you alone". At the time I didn't think much of it, but later I just couldn't get those words out of my head. About 20 minutes later he was being airlifted to MUSC. What happened was, there was a long straight with a sweeping right turn. Nothing that I would ever think anyone would have trouble navigating. This guy did and crashed. Looked like he only skidded for about 15 feet or so then hit the ditch and because he was traveling at such a high rate of speed, it threw him at least 75 feet into the woods. When we reached him he was conscious but he was saying he was cold and didn't want to die. It was really freaking me out because this guy was so afraid, and so was I. We comforted him the best we could, telling him everything would be alright. Once the medics arrived, they did their magic and put him in the ambulance. It seemed like he'd be ok. He had to be ok, he was speaking to us and knew very well what had happened. He was even asking about his bike, but once he was put in the ambulance that was the last time I saw him. Jeff called me that evening and told me he died of internal injuries while being airlifted to MUSC. I was shocked; I wanted to stop riding that moment. I even told my girlfriend that I was putting the bike up sale the following day. Such a nice guy and such a waste. He left behind a wife and a daughter. It's very sad and it still bothers me today.

Did it slow me down? A little. I started going to the track more often which helped my riding in every aspect. I can't recommend it enough. Even if you're as slow as Barry and Mac! But for a longtime I wouldn't ride with a group of guys I didn't know. There's not really a moral to this story. It's just a story I wanted to share. And I don't want that to happen to any of you guys. Still, it can happen to anyone anytime anywhere and we here at Charleston aren't immune. At least I'm not.

[SUM650]

This was a great testimonial story Dave. I'm glad that you shared it with everyone. I am really sick of people saying that the group that meets at the mall is really dangerous. Last week's accident didn't help our cause to turn things around. I heard that on top of the accident, the guy didn't have a motorcycle permit or insurance. I would like to see the group continuing to grow into a organized, safe, and fun group to ride with. It can be done.

[iamnsxtc]

I remember that. I didn't ride that day.

Bit of HISTORY......For those of you that do not know why we started meeting at the tree. Jeff's apartment manager started raising holy hell about the number of bikes meeting at his house. So, the group decided to meet at a public place...So the tree begins. Centrally located - close to gas and food. Everybody and their momma knows about Sears. So, it's east to find and direct people.

For the Newbies, As Nash put it...ALOT of US have been riding together for a long time...together... If we get close into a corner, we know that rider. You will not see me or anyone of us get anywhere near someone I do not know. I see it too much where a rider is commited to a corner and they have the eyes in the mirrors. I do not want this tread to turn into a riding lesson, but please look ahead where you want to be. Not behind you where you were.........UNLESS you're doing a U-turn.

BE safe

[Nash]

This was a great testimonial story Dave. I'm glad that you shared it with everyone. I am really sick of people saying that the group that meets at the mall is really dangerous. Last week's accident didn't help our cause to turn things around. I heard that on top of the accident, the guy didn't have a motorcycle permit or insurance. I would like to see the group continuing to grow into a organized, safe, and fun group to ride with. It can be done.

Yeah, the Tree group as gotten a bad rap. Most of it is true and most of the time it was a rat race. I myself would endulge, so I'm not blaming anyone. It's what you do when you buy a performace bike....you like to go fast. And nothing different than a pickup game of basketball except you can die!

As most of you older guys can confirm, I never did like riding with the public because of the inexperience, not that there is anything wrong with inexperience, it's just I knew what we would be doing in the back woods and no one would watch out for these green riders, again, myself included. I would have rather kept it a social group. Don't get me wrong, I love chatting with everyone at the tree, telling stories, looking at everyones bikes. Hell it's like being at a bike show every weekend. For a while it was like a Honda RC51 Hoot. Damn you guys buying the RC after me! :shrug: But once the ride started I always said a prayer under my helmet for me and everyone else because I knew we be kickin' it up.

And Shane, don't think I haven't forgotten that crash on Goat Balls Corner. You scared the livin' hell out of me when that helicopter landed to airlift your ass. Can you please tell the forum what you broke during that crash that sooo needed a airlift? :chin: Ha ha!!

[mccutch2u]

hat is the same corner that the rider this week crashed in and to let everyone know he is doing ok a couple of broken bones and a fracture vertabra..how ever you spell it ...........but anyways he called me and said that he was getting out of the hospital

[Mike]

Thanks for the update Chris. Good to know that he got off fairly light, considering.




Did someone clue this rider in on this site? Hope so...

[Nash]

hat is the same corner that the rider this week crashed in and to let everyone know he is doing ok a couple of broken bones and a fracture vertabra..how ever you spell it ...........but anyways he called me and said that he was getting out of the hospital

That is a pretty tight corner, and a pretty fun corner but I bet the owners were pissed. They had a fit when Shane crashed and I've heard of a couple of other incidents there, so I can imagine how they were on Sunday.

[mccutch2u]

they weren't too bad but they were upset which can be expected we came out lucky because the cops were pretty cool about it all

[ccs273]

Yes, I remember that f@cking coner rather well. It was Sunday Nov.27 '99. We were riding for a while & I was doing pretty good, Then we went down this road , That I,ve never been on. Some how I got a wild hair up my ass to beat this guy that has been next to me all day, Mistake #1. I started riding out of my limits, faster & faster, which I din't realize how stupid I was being, Mistake #2. I hit the decreasing radius turn at 120 mph, I started to turn in, Damn that edge was coming up fast, I tried to slow down while in the turn, which I knew I was f@cked. As I got down to 105mph, I remember, both tires going off the pavment the same time,the bike stood up & I said to myself, " Oh, God this is going to hurt". After that I, stil only remember waking up 8 minutes later, laying face down in goat shit, hand hurting were I broke my thumb in 4 places, Also had whip lash, & several popped joints in my body. I did end up getting a ride in the LifeFlight that day. & I had to see that the goat really did have big balls from the video tape. Point is Make sure you know the area your riding in, if you don't take extra caution, & Ride your Ride. You aren't going to impress my because you go faster than anyone else on the street. I remember people telling me they thought I was dead that day, to all you guys thank you for helping me out that day.
I'm sorry that the guy got hurt in my corner. I hope he is better soon, but you can't ride a piece of shit & think you can keep up with bikes & riders that are way better than you. Maybe he'll learn his lesson, like I did, may years ago.

[iamnsxtc]

After that I, stil only remember waking up 8 minutes later, laying face down in goat shit, hand hurting were I broke my thumb in 4 places, Also had whip lash, & several popped joints in my body.

Don't forget about Will that got object fixed on you and went off with you.

BTW that goat did have some big A$$ balls :lmao:

Seriously you scared the $hit out of us.

NASH what do you mean after U on the RC? We always had :balloons: some RC in us

[mandingo]

gee, shane, who were you following? :shrug: i believe i was riding an fzr that day :chin: