Just Heard On The News

[slowpoke]

That there was a m/c fatality on 17 N. (5/23/04) :'(

Hope it's nobody here. RIP Rider.

[slowpoke]

Re: Just Heard On The News

just heard it was some young asian guy.

RIP rider

[bone]

Re: Just Heard On The News

RIP...

[Frenchmillerlover]

Re: Just Heard On The News

I unfortunately witnessed the last minutes of this rider. I was going west on 17 and he crashed his GSXR East bound just before Los Gatos. The paramedics were trying to get his heart to re-start... Few hours later I rode back to the Peninsula, had to split lane from Scotts Valley to Los Gatos.. and when I approached the location of the fatality they had drawn with red chalk the shape of the body and 300 feet down the outline of the motorcycle.. The only thing remaining was his intact helmet.. :'( I rode with a tight feeling in my chest today... Love to all of you...

[Frenchmillerlover]

Re: Just Heard On The News

From BARF...

Hi. I'm Rob. I'd say that 99.9% of the membership here does not know me. And from most of the posts you might know me from are mindless flame wars with fr0ng. So I don't know how serious most of you will take this matter. Despite all that, I'm sure you'll see that this post will be as straight up as it gets. And whether you know me or not, it is my wish that the message I'm about to give you all hopefully at least convinces one person out there to change their ways.

Today, I went for a ride. I was excited about this since my bike has been out of action for a while and I finally got a set of fork seals on that don't leak. I did my usual loop and came back home form Santa Cruz via Highway 17 North. Usual weekend congestion. After the summit and a handful of the sweepers, traffic starts coming to a standstill. I of course figure it's an accident, and just lanesplit all the way to the front of the backup. It was somewhere around the Bear Creek Road exit. I already knew what happened before I even got within 500 feet of the scene.

I got to the front of the pack with another rider on a new GSXR and parked it. At the front of the stoppage were two CHP officers administering CPR to a young Asain man probably in his mid 20's. He was laying face up in the #1 lane. A white/blue GSXR of about 2-4 years old was laying in the middle of the road about 200 feet ahead. I overheard one of them say, "no breathing, no pulse," and I realized I was standing less than 10 feet away from a man that just died. Other emergency services arrived on the scene over the next 10 minutes and tried their best to revive him, but after about 15-20 minutes, they called it.

There was a prime witness in a cage and several other motorists who were looking on say they say the guy doing wheelies and weaving in and out of cars. Your basic "the public road is there for my own personal amusement" type of rider. From what I saw, the gear the rider had the epitomy of what we all make fun of as being a squid. The only real "protection" I saw on his body were some gloves that looked more at home working in the garden than having any business grabbing onto a pair of motorcycle grips. And of course, the nice Arai helmet with replica graphics. Other than that...just regular demin pants, sneakers(one of which flew off), and I shit you not...a basketball jersey. That being said...looking at myself standing there with $2500 worth of top of the range gear of, even a spine protector, if I had done what this guy did...I would be just as dead. The prime witness said he lost control of the bike, got thrown, and hit the guardrail head first. The top of his helmet was caved in at least three inches, and the damage was over 8 inches wide. So I'm probably sure this guy died instantly at least, and didn't suffer.

I have been riding for over 14 years. And sure, I've driven by accidents before, usually after the body is covered up or has been taken away. But today was the very first time I had a front row seat to just how quickly a motorcycle can end a life in the wrong hands. And based on what I heard and saw, this guy had no business riding a bike. Reckless riding on a public road, especially a dangerous road like Highway 17 with lots of traffic, can cost you more than you can imagine. In this rider's case, it cost him his life. Had he been able to see into the future this morning and see that his riding habits would make this his last day...I'm sure he would have gotten a good wake up call and mellowed out just a little and not tried to push it 10/10ths at any time.

And I don't want to be anyone's mother and tell them what they can and can't do, but incidents like this only make it worse for the rest of us. I'm sure there will be increased CHP enforcecent on 17 now, as if there wasn't already an insane amount already. And that's one more check mark for the insurance companies' bean counters to raise rates on these type of bikes. So for all you riders out there who ride like way this guy did...whether you have the proper gear or not, consider this post a possible look into your own future. And for the love of whatever god you believe in, slow down! There's a time and a place to ride like that...but that time is NEVER when you are on the public road. Anytime you wan to see why, head down Highway 17 North and look for the orange paint outlining a body with a trail of blood from the middle of it. This incident today isn't going to change my life. And it isn't going to teach me something I didn't already know. But I hope that my telling you of this incident changes your life, and teached you something, if you ride like the road is your own personal racetrack.

Thanks for reading.

Rob

[mouth]

Re: Just Heard On The News

yesterday of all days for some of our riders to go past this accident. As much as I'm saddened by the death of another rider, I'm also so fucking angry at people who ride like jackasses. He didn't deserve to die, nobody does, but it almost seems unfair that someone could have the same fatal result from just riding in the wrong place at the wrong time as some fucking punk kid in garden gloves doing something so stupid and dangerous as *wheelies* while lanesplitting. How *stupid* can you be?
I'm ranting, I know. But I'm so angry that someone so young just THREW his life away like that. So stupid. Why does it seem like some people don't just stop to THINK for a freakin' SECOND.
If I've offended, I'm not sorry, but I don't want to start some long reply list with people bitching at me about being insensitive. I'm angry, and I love my friends (whom I miss very much) and I miss those friends I've lost. People like this guy just make it hurt that much more.
Whatever.
If you're not going to ride safe, people, don't fucking ride.
It gives the rest of us a bad name and justifies general public opinion and attitude.

Salty in SoCal
!mouth!

[Frenchmillerlover]

Re: Just Heard On The News

Hey Mouth... Sorry I did not even realize what May 23rd meant to all of you... My thoughts go to the friend you lost...

[fzr_fury]

Re: Just Heard On The News

Okay, just to add my two cents....not that they mean much, but I was stuck in a cage for 2 fucking hours because of this on 17 yesterday, and I sat in my car and growled at every bike that passed me by...but when I got to the bottom...

All I saw was one Arai helmet.

Sad...but dumb. I just feel bad for his family more than anything else. They are the ones that will have to deal with his stupidity the most. And be the ones to suffer the longest!

Pissed me off bad! I'm with Mouth on this one.

[Bone]

Re: Just Heard On The News

Yeh - I agree with you guys. I ranted and raved about this most of the night last night to my poor b/f (who can't get away from me when I get like this due to his recent surgery, bwah ha ha).

Yesterday I went on my first Doc Wong clinic to improve my cornering (not sure it helped, but hey, I will take all the practice I can get!) and saw someone down on 9. I came home and read this news on this forum, and then saw that some other f*cking squid was airlifted from Mines Road on a BARF ride yesterday. Three possible fatalities in one day (don't know the fate of the other two yet, I'm too bugged to go back on BARF).

It's so sad. And yet, like you all, I get BENT at these guys who are such fuckwits that they ride like that. I went on an SFMC ride a few weeks ago and there was a teenage kid (some of you saw him, I'm sure) who was doing stunts all day and had NO control over his bike; he was endangering all of us. One of my friends commented at the end of that day (while I stewed over it and thanked jessup that some of the guys had already talked to the kid) that that sort of behavior corrects itself. We all nodded. It just pisses me off, because that's true. Everybody out there knows someone who's died on his/her bike (some have been harder hit on this board in particular, for which I'm deeply sorry), but the deaths of the crazy squidlets are almost cheapened in my mind because they should also know someone who's been hurt/killed. It's so serious - we all have our lives in our hands every time we go out. It bugs me to see people not take it seriously and respect ourselves and our bikes each time we ride.

<sigh>

Anyway - felt like ranting. Know it doesn't help, but wanted to express that I empthasize with the other opinions on the board. Ride safely out there, folks.

[u_cant_prove_it]

Re: Just Heard On The News

My one cent. Whether you are wearing garden gloves or $2,300 worth of gear, it doesnt help when you smash your helmit in! The garden gloves ,means you will end up with hamburger for hands when you lay your bike down. How much skin you have to spare on your ass to get stitched on the rest of you? The issue here isnt whether or not he had appropriate gear, he had a helmit, it got smashed in. He shouldnt have been riding like an idiot! Thats the issue. And yes, everyone should be pissed, It effects everyone who rides.

[MaimsExneighbor]

Re: Just Heard On The News

You know... I may sound like an ass (go figure) but.. this topic of discussion has been kind of like beating a dead horse on soooo many forums. And, most of us here have lost someone close to us.. and on bikes for that matter.

Most of us feel the same about the stupidity involved in riding like an ass... but, do we have to keep beating the horse, publicly? It fucking sux that people ride stupid, and as a result, loose their life, and effect their loved ones. But, it doens't make me personally feel better to scream about it on a forum. It only stings a lil when I read it (I know.. my choice, right? flame if you wish.. I'm a big girl! )

Char