UGH! Ines and I took a spill today. Here is my contribution to this thread.
1. Which Buddy (50/125) was crashed? Color?
125 - Zombie Blood
2. Was the crash due to rider error? What time of day did it occur?
It was completely and totally my own unthinking stupidity. It was about 7:30 am this morning, I was on my way to a doctor's appointment, and to begin with, I wasn't very sure of the location in the first place. i think that contributed. I was at an intersection where a road meets the freeway feeder,
in front of the damn office, and I decided to continue straight, when at the last minute i saw a sign that said my lane was a turn only lane. so last minute, no time to lean, what did i do? a totally and completely newbie thing: i turned the bars. took the requisite spill. oy, it was humiliating!
3. Could the crash have been avoided?
Absolutely. If I had taken the time to pinpoint the office's location, I would have been confident about where I was going and would have been much less easily distracted. I would have noticed right away that I was in a turn only lane, and I wouldn't have even needed to consider going straight.
4. Was the rider injured?
No. Although I feel some pretty mean bruises developing, one on my left calf (no idea how that happened. handlebar?) and one on my right knee (which i'm pretty sure did hit the ground). Plus my ego's sporting a shiner.
5. What was the damage to the Buddy?
Ines took it like a damn champ. Only damage is a scrape to the top of the headlight bezel, and scratches on the right "rear passenger foot spot". i need to hustle to get those replaced before my parents get into town, otherwise my mother will have a heart attack when she realizes what those scrapes imply.
6. Cost of repairs, if any?
Shouldn't be too bad.
7. Does the rider have a motorcycle permit, license or nei(t)her?
Motorcycle license.
8. Had the rider completed the MSF course?
9. Was the rider the scooter's owner?
yes.
10. How fast was the rider going?
goddamn, musta been about 10 mph or less. suck.
11. How far was the rider from home?
bout 12 miles.
this SUPER sucks, i really didn't think it would happen so soon, but i am happy to report that both machine and i took the spill pretty well. there weren't any cars behind me or next to me, and as soon as we came to a complete stop on the floor (awww
) i just stood up, picked up scoot, and rolled it onto the nearest sidewalk. i put her on the sidestand, checked that we were both okay, caught my breath, then rode into the damn doctor's office parking lot. i didn't cry or faint or any other such womanly nonsense, either. which makes me sorta proud of myself because i always cry when i'm scared.
It is immensely important to make yourself let go of the handlebars as soon as you hit pavement. I rolled the throttle somewhere during the fall, which made a sucky situation even worse.
can i just say, too, you guys, that i have a very strong suspicion that Saint Christopher is out to get me. i was very happy to procure an already blessed prayer card of Saint Christopher (patron saint of travelers) that i laminated and was going to velcro onto the steering column, and this morning, i popped Saint Christopher into my pet carrier so he'd be with me. and it turns out that my first spill occurred on the very first day that Saint Christopher rode my scooter with me.
maybe he's one of those that doesn't like to ride cupcake?
and practice, practice, practice.
Mark, I'm glad you're healing. That was one of the most painful posts I've ever read, anywhere. Again, I'm glad you're healing and I wish you the best, most complete recovery possible.
