Those warnings don't apply to me, do they?

Lately, I've been thinking about how, as motorcyclists, we're vulnerable to lots of things beyond our control.

Most of us ride around as if we're immortal and the "Ride Carefully" warnings don't apply to us.  Recently, a couple of things have happened to shake that attitude a little.

Firstly, I ran into a guy at my local Harley shop and, as you do, we started talking bikes.  Turns out he was a member of a HOG chapter just south of where I live. He was using a walking stick, so I asked him about it.

He told me that, after a long riding career with no incidents, he'd recently had an accident where a car came straight through an intersection and centre-punched him.  His bike was completely written off and, were it not for the skill of the doctors, so was he!  The body trauma and internal injuries were massive.  His arm was torn completely off but the doctors were able to reattach it.  He's got major scarring on his torso and one leg is longer than the other.

He attributes the whole accident to the fact that he wasn't wearing his lucky helmet!

That same month, one of our guys went off the edge of the road and 3 metres (10 feet) down an embankment during an extended club ride.  No-one can figure how it happened.  We checked and double-checked the road and the corner where it occurred.  The road surface was even, with no potholes or corrugations.   The camber was nice and even.  The approach had good visibility.  In fact, as he was at the back of the line, the whole chapter had gone through the same corner in the minutes before he went off.  He can't remember the details of the accident, and so can't throw any light on it.

The jury is still out on the long-term extent of his injuries.  The doctors and nurses are, by all accounts, doing a great job, but nobody's making predictions. 

Both these incidents got me thinking how it could happen to any of us, at any time.  An unexpected road surface change, a miscalculation of the speed into a corner, a car disputing your right to be on the road.  These, or a thousand other factors, could throw you from your bike, ending your riding career for a while, or forever.

I'm not suggesting that we stop riding, or ride so cautiously that there's no fun in it.  Really, I believe that it's just as dangerous to ride TOO carefully.  Doing that can throw you out of rhythm, losing your line and balance, potentially causing the very accident you sought to avoid. 

What I am saying is that, as Warren Zevon said, you should enjoy every sandwich.  We can't know what's going to happen tomorrow.  Give thanks (to whoever you believe in) for what you have.

And look out for your mates.