Ben Franklin said, "Nine out of ten men kill themselves" in one way or another.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Glad to hear that the biggest loss was the bike and the injuries were relatively mild. Heal quickly, both of you.

Concrete I can certainly see. A coyote is a bit more unusual.

There's a staggering amount of road debris and crap on SoCal's roadways. The one incident I had on my own motorcycle (several months ago) involved hitting a piece of someone's bumper as it flew out from under their car and losing control of the bike when the back wheel hit it.

One of my biggest pet peeves is idiots with trucks/cars/whatever piled high full of junk that's poorly tied down or otherwise not secured. I got lucky that one time and walked away with a skinned knee (not nearly as bad as Todd's) but I can probably count a dozen or more times a week where I get an "oh f*ck" moment due to some crap being on the roadway. I've hit/run over (or narrowly missed) coolers, gatorade jugs, PVC pipes, soda cans (full), soda cans (empty), cardboard boxes, pieces of exhaust systems, spare tires, large pieces of rubber (when an 18-wheeler's tire shreds), furniture (specifically a couch and a refrigerator) and most recently a flourescent tube light about 8' long (that one I actually hit - it flew up and half-hit my leg. I ended up running it over as it exploded - pretty exciting at 70 mph).

If CHP and their ilk were really serious about "roadway safety" they'd stop the idiotic speed traps on local expressways and focus on these kinds of hazards that very seriously can get people killed - and sometimes do. Ditto cracking down on the "garbage scows"/"junk barges" that tote a lot of this crap around after a hard day of dumpster diving for scrap metal or whatever to make money a lot of our "guest workers" love to do around here. I have yet to see such a vehicle with a tarp on it.

I am much more conscious about the stuff I throw in the back of my truck now that I ride. The idea of something flying out and getting a rider never really occured to me till now, so now I secure everything (almost) with straps. Even something harmless and light could scare a rider enough to cause them to lose control.

+1 and +2. Since Todd posted, I have missed a plastic desk trash can, a box of Stay-Free Maxi Pads (I hope she REALLY needed those), a small bicycle (had already been run over) and a dead racoon... all on the 118 or the 405.

It's funny, when I am going to Ventura (a lot lately), once I get on the old section of LA Avenue west of Moorpark (better spelled backwards) the road goes clear and stays clear, even of animals late at night. The only thing I can think of is that there is so much recent visitor-worker traffic / camping / hunting for food that it keeps the area clear.

Maybe we should institute visiting worker camps along the freeways. They can eat what they hunt and kill and sell what falls off of cars.

Speedy recovery to you and you friend Todd,

I am in the process of selling off the two olds bikes in my garage and was thinking of of getting another one to take there place... I think my higher power is telling me to stick to driving the Porsche for recreational driving.

Just got back from Monterey.

A speedy recovery to you and your g/f!

Todd:

I was doing a search for Mountain bikes when I stumbled accross your post. I am so sorry to hear of your accident and resulting injuries. Someone truly must have been watching over you, because it could have been horrific.

Although you were injured as the reult of the slide, any significant impact with the tarmac would likely have been much, much worse. You reacted properly and likley minimized the injuries.

I am, unfortunately, reminded of a discussion we shared on this board a little over a year ago on the subject of Ducs. I had the bug to buy one about the same time as you. The urge still crops up occasionally, but, your experience has again strengthened my resolve to resist the temptation.

I wish you and your GF a speedy physical and psychological recovery.

Sincerely,

Mike

Was there anything salvageable off the bike or was it totally destroyed in the fire?

Just curious. . .

Jeff;

He still has the payment book, if that's of any interest to you.

I haven't seen the bike (its in impound down in Irvine). I called and released it to the insurance company yesterday so I don't have to deal with it. I saw a pic from the CHP on scene. Basically I could see a lump where the engine (or what's left of it) was inside of at least part of the red trellis frame. Nothing else could be seen. Considering that the bike:

t-boned a coyote at 65mph
skidded 50-100 yards with 2 riders still on top
struck by a pickup truck traveling 70+mph
exploded into flames
skidded another 50-100 yeards while burning
sat in the middle of the freeway burning until fire arrived

I kinda doubt there is much to salvage. But if you want to give me a couple $K, I'll see about buying it back from the insurance company ;)

I was thinking about retrieving a piece or two for commerative purposes. . . ;)

I was thinking of trying to get down to irvine to at least get some pics. But I'm not very ambulatory right now. I had a doc appt today and went by a friends to do some voiceover work and now I'm fried and in pain.

For commemorative I have pics and the extra set of keys. And a loan payment until insurance sorts things out. I'm hoping that the payout if more than what I owe so I can use the extra towards medical bills. But we'll see. I'm just happy having the g/f and I in one piece.

Cranked off about missing Laguna Seca though. And probably Willow and Thunderhill in September. I don't think I'll be in driving form again until November. The STS championship will be toast (I already missed two races when I picked up the bike in March, throwing out my back), and I think the TT title as well...have to see who shows up at the next two races.

But all part of the grand "lesson" I suppose. There are a lot more important things in life than club championships. Good to get that perspective every once in a while. I'd prefer some less painful lessons next time though...

Voiceovers? Are you providing (I hope) the latest and greatest vocals to the latest and greatest character for Warner Bros. TV Animation? ;)

The hulk is at an impound yard in Irvine. They probably won't let you in though...the said they ask for ID. The VO was spec work for syndication movie promos. We'll see if BV likes them, and if so I'll get more to do.

Sorry to hear about this. People are injured or killed on bicycles, motorcycles, cars, trucks, boats, snowmobiles, airplanes etc etc.

Life is full of risks. I guess everyone has to make their own decisions on taking risks. I can say for sure that as I age, my desire to engage in risky behavior is declining. That said, I just ride less figuring that reducing my exposure will reduce the chances of something bad happening. I still get to enjoy life, but just not as often. :)

Todd,
Holy Crap dude! Glad you are gonna be okay. I work for a very large medical implant company. I can ask around and see if I can get some names for really good surgeons in your area if you want. PM me if interested.

Here is the first indication that this story will ultimately be well worth Todd's pain and suffering. The Grandkids' version of the story will involve a wolf attack at ninety MPH in a competitive driving setting.

Wow....sorry to read about this Nostatic. I sure wish both you and your g/f have a speedy recovery!

well, since the g/f and I were en route to interrogate a terrorist suspect, my guess is that the coyote was a mechanical drone. And the real EMTs were killed and these Americanized al quaeda operatives took their place. The morphine also had pentathal and they were playing a video projected onto the rear window of the ambulance to make us *think* that we were being transported to Mission Hospital. Instead we were taken to an undisclosed location with a mocked up ER (when we were being wheeled in they said something about remodeling...no I know the truth).

Despite 4 injections of pain killer and truth serum, and the infamous methylene blue torture, I would not give up the locations of my colleagues. My g/f just spoke Chinese to them to confuse them, unfortunately it just pissed them off so they broke her arm (didn't happen in the crash). After signing lengthy "confession" forms, I saw a chance and we made our escape. Crutches are great weapons, especially when you manage to modify them into crude blowguns.

After getting outside the compound we hailed a cab and made our way back to hq. I think I might have an implant in my knee though. I'm going to have to dig around with a rusty knife to make sure. Without anesthesia of course...