Disclaimer, I am heavily medicated and typing with one hand, and have done my best to reread this post before posting it.

I am posting this in the hopes that someone will learn something from this and to vent .I am a little down. But I accept full responsibility for what has happened. I will say to you all the gear all the time is absolutely the right thing. I will post some pictures of the gear. We were wearing at the time of the crash, and it absolutely done its job. Now I have been riding for about 19 years. I started on a dirt bike when I was 10 years old and got my 1st St bike when I was 16 and got my license and my wife has been riding for about six years, she sold her little ninja 500 about a year and a half ago. When our son was a year and a half old. She said she just didn't think she'd have time to ride like she wanted to It has been a little over week since I was last on the forum. I arrived in Georgia on Labor Day. With 10 day off , before reporting in at Camp Lejeune. it was mine and my wife anniversary the next day Tuesday. We had decided that we would leave our three year old with his grandmother and spend three days in the North Georgia mountains. She had arranged for a cabin with a heart-shaped Jacuzzi for the three day trip and we would do some hiking on the Appalachian trail. And we would also do some two up touring through the North Georgia mountains on the old CBR
It was decided that she would drive the Q45 with our gear in it up to Helen, which if you've never been to Helen it is very beautiful. It is the closest thing to a real alpine village. You'll ever find outside of the real thing. This was Tuesday morning before leaving the house. She gave me my anniversary present a brand-new AGV flyer helmet and AGV jacket. I was as happy as a kid on Christmas morning at that time I was about to spend three days was somebody that I had missed dearly and gotten two great gifts. The ride and drive up wasn't too bad after we get out of the Metro Atlanta area. We Made great time we arrived in Helen very early. It was around 8 a.m. and decided to leave the car in Helen and take the bike and ride back over to Cleveland for breakfast and then ride up 129 over Blood Mountain to Highway 180 back past Brasstown the highest point in Georgia and back over to Helen, in the biker community this know as The Loop. Now Blood Mountain has gained quite a reputation in the last couple years for accidents and deaths. One of the local stations done a story on it . I will post a link to it. Well anyway, when we get back to Helen we were supposed to pick up the car and go check in at the cabin.
I have laid out our game plan. Now let me tell you how it actually went. We arrived in Cleveland just fine. Had breakfast left and started up 129. It was around 10 a.m. a beautiful day. Once we cleared Cleveland and its local traffic, which wasn't much to start with. It was nothing but open road. Once you actually start up Blood Mountain the speed limit drops to around 20 mph to help slow down some of the accidents, the speed limit up until a couple of years ago was 35 to 45 but because there are some very sharp banked S curves on the mountain. And there had been so many accidents the limit was lowered to 20 mph We started out at about the speed limit. I had steadily increased our speed as we were climbing the mountain, to we were probably running between 45 and 60 mph and had not passed anything going up the mountain are coming down it. We were about three quarters of a mile from the top of the mountain, when something bad did occur. Now let me say this at the top of the mountain there is a small country store, and the check-in for the cabin rentals. And one home. There is nothing else around, Nothing. Now back to where we were on the road as I started into this S-curve and had ran the first section of the S.and strat to hook back to the left there was a red 300ZX , came flying around the corner a

 

Seems like a nasty crash man, I feel for you.

As for those news videos, I agree. You get a lot of riders acting like they're Rossi on a winding road. It makes it hard for people to respect us when we don't respect them.

 

Wot can I say, apart from the fact that your still here able to pass on the message, I feel for you both for the accident & long term consequences. You have taken it on yourself with the blame for the accident. Maybe if you where doing the speed limit, these two ******* would have been taking up both sides of the road. I posted a topic to-day about my 1st ride for our spring, wot happened to you could have happened to me (or any other bike rider). I usually take it easy these days, but I let loose a few times today. even so, when I was doing the right speed etc. it did not stop a couple young guys in a 10 year old **** box, changing lanes in front of me with total disregard for my wellfare. I think you have gained much from this experience, it will make you a better rider/driver/person. Not enough of us survive to take that step.
I have been riding since 68', & I totally accept the fact that being on the road, be it as rider/driver or pedestrian, presents a certain amount of risk, with the limitations of our own abilities & those of others.
That said, I'm old enough to also realise that I'm going to keep riding, (much to my wife & my Physio's displeasure). I wish you & your wife a speedy recovery, I'll keep my fingers crossed that it all pans out.

 

Ihope both of you heal up alright..I know they say bikers are the problem, we aren't the only vehicles that use public roads for private race tracks (like the 300zx). It sucks because they probably think you were excessively speeding, which you probably went over the speed limit a few times. (you know 55 or so)Butit's not always the biker's fault where a car could break the line and make a rider lay down his bike for his life.

There are alot of sport-bikers that enjoy the ride, we dont need to excessively speed over 100mph (which yes, i ride probably 10-15mph over the speed-limit) but some of those riders that do think they are on a motogp track needs to move to europe and get on a real track (cant remember what GP tracks we have in the US, Laguna right?)

and i agree with blue fox, it's hard for people to respect the sport-bike when you got the few idoits breaking double yellows at 90mph on turns. I mean it's just like me respecting anyone with an Esclade or a Hummer - because 9 out of 10 times i see them going 80-90mph in a 65, weaving in and out of lanes..

But I do hope you heal up HardCorp and so for your wife.. that sounded like a scary crash but i do hope you will get back onthe seatif capable..

 

Sorry to hear about your wreck man. I went down in a similar fashon a few weeks ago. Circumstances were similar: I was going a bit too fast and encountered something that caused me to wreck around a turn. The difference was that instead of a car veering, I hit some gravel that was hidden by a blind elevation change. Also, my wife was at home. I was lucky. I just walked away with just a few (big ***) bruises and a cut on my hand (from pulling the bike out from under the guard rail).

BTW, I hope your wife's OK. We feel as husbands that our first duty is to protect our wives, and when you can't, you just feel helpless. Not trying to make you feel worse, I just feel for you. Of course, the good news is, you both live to ride another day. Hopefully, your wife can feel comfortable enough to ride again. It's obviously something you two enjoy doing together.

Both you and I have (hopefully) learned a valuable lesson: Don't push it. Just enjoy the ride.

It would be nice if that piece of **** who ran you off the roadgets caught. If not, carma will most certainly catch up to him.

 

Thanks for posting these two sentences.I will keepthem in mind whenever I ride, Best wishesand a speedy recovery to the both of you. It could have been worse.

 

This is the best post ive seen on this forum and Ithank you for sharing your expirence. I hope you and your wife make a full recovery. It shows alot about your character to not start pointing fingers and playing the blame game. Ive only had my bike for about a month now and I am already considering selling it. I havent had any 'close calls', I truley love riding everyday...its usually the first thing I do when I wake up, but im constantly concerned that I will become part of the statistics. Also, it doesnt help/hurt (depending on how you look at it) that I work in an ER. Over the weekend, Fri-Sun, we had4 bad truamas involving motorcycles...one of which didnt survive and thats only on the night shift. Anyone else go through this when they first started riding??

 

get well soon.

i always go the speed limit. its there for a reson.

 

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i was just saying. y would i wanna be a ***. no robing it in here...