WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
It Can Happen to You
It can happen to you
It can happen to me
It can happen to everyone eventually
- Yes
A warm spring Sunday afternoon on the bikes. It doesn’t seem to get much better than this. But, even on the most perfect of days, I try to stay ever vigilant – even when sitting down for lunch at one of our favorites – the Elias Cole, in Sussex, New Jersey on Route 23, just south of High Point State Park.
Our day had moved along quicker than we wished and it soon would become a race against time – quelling the rumblings in our bellies, enjoying a nice ride, and then getting back before the rumbling thunder shower promised to end this otherwise stellar day.
When we arrived at the Elias Cole there was a sweet Moto Guzzi LeMans in front – another rider stealing a lovely Sunday afternoon on two wheels.
We chatted a bit before he said his goodbyes and headed north towards High Point State Park.
We had ordered our lunch (great fried chicken I tell ya!) and about 10 minutes later I spied a new Jersey State Trooper heading north, lights on at speed. Within five minutes an ambulance followed with another trooper right behind.
They were not going slow – always a good sign, believe it or not. It is never a good sign when you see a speeding ambulance turn off the lights, and then slowing down.
Nancy, the ever-smiling owner of the restaurant, was talking with other customers and it was hard not to have seen the First Responders responding.
Sometimes you can hear the word “motorcycle,” even whispered, from across a room – or restaurant. I had that bad feeling in my gut that Nancy was right.
She has been running this place for over 40 years and she has seen this far too many times.
Don't count stars
or you may stumble
Someone drops a sigh
An' down you tumble
It could happen to you
- Robert Palmer
A bit later and a couple rode into the parking lot from the north. Although both rider and passenger were equipped with far less than ATGATT. He was on a newish Honda VFR but was sporting an RC51 tee shirt, that said there was certainly more to the rider than the first impression.
As they ordered their slices of lemon meringue I asked if they had come across from High Point and if there was any two-wheel trouble up there.
They did and there was. They both said it looked very bad. It always does.
The next day we read a news report that a Pennsylvania rider, astride a Harley, had gone straight, right after the summit, where the road goes through a series of small esses and bears hard to the left.
The bike and rider had taken out a traffic sign and, according to both the VFR riders and the report, had been hurt badly.
Having this run through your mind when out on an otherwise stellar day can give you a deep moment of thought and clarity.
Certainly, this rider did not go out this day looking to crash – but he did.
In the movie LeMans, Steve McQueen's character – Michael Delany – says…
“This isn't just a thousand to one shot. This is a professional bloodsport. And it can happen to you. And then it can happen to you again.”
Well, it might not be a blood sport, but Delaney was right that it can happen to any of us and then it can happen again.
We never know, and I guess for all the right reasons, if our name has come around in the lottery of vehicular mayhem, what we can do is strive to lessen those odds.
Take advanced riding classes and wear the proper gear. Take the time to practice on your machine; especially panic braking and avoidance techniques. Ride within your limits on the street.
We almost expect road racers to take the occasional fall on the track. The truth is that is what some of them get paid for. Certainly not crashing, but pushing themselves past their limits.
On the street, there is no reason to ride over our individual comfort zones. For there are no real run-offs, no spare bikes, no do-overs on the street.
Ride like a pro and with your head, not over it, and please never think you are impervious to physics.
It could happen to you.
We hope it does not.