Re: Had to reset the counter toay
I was very lucky at an intersection - I got angry at the cage and that saved my ride!!
I pulled up to a set of lights, sitting in the left turn lane with indicators on. This is a 2 lane east west and 2 lane north south with turn lanes on all 4 sides, I was turning West to South. The lights changed and I pulled to the center of the intersection, where I waited for traffic to pass so I could turn (surprise, my bike didn't trip the left turn arrow). The traffic passed, and I started to make the turn, when a car came flying out of the Taco Belch on the S-W corner and tried to beat the lights.
I was half way around the turn and 2 tons of metal coming straight at me. I stopped dead, and leaned the bike to the left, right leg already coming off it when Mr. Dumas screams to a halt, inches from me! He then sticks it in reverse and backs up to the stop line with a look on his face that says "it wasn't me!"
I was so angry, I put my right foot back down then pulled the bike back to vertical while still straddling it, and just using the handlebars! Even at 6'4 and 230#, I don't think I could do that again without that adrenalin shot of seeing that cage come straight at me at full acceleration! As luck would have it, the tip over bar (ST1100) landed on the tip of my boot, so it didn't even touch the ground.
After a few, well intentioned hand signs, i pulled off onto the southbound road and stopped at a bus stop to stop shaking. No less than 4 cars pulled in behind me and the drivers shook my hand - seems they were all "riders" and had seen the whole thing, although I admit that my hand was doing its own shaking at the time!
What I have learned from this:
- Just when the road seems clear, there is always someone that will prove you wrong!
- When the chips are down, you can do amazing things
- Not all Cage drivers are Cagers
