What a night. Here's the executive summary:
- I went on a night motorcycle ride with my friends Dave and Sarah
- At one point, I very nearly dumped my bike
- Dave bottomed out his bike and injured himself
- While inspecting his injuries, Dave forgot to turn off his headlight and drained his battery, requiring a jumpstart
Ready for the full story? I thought you might be.
I spent a good amount of time today putting up some new photo galleries of rallies past. I chatted a bit with Erin before she went to work and then called up my friend Dave to see what he was up to. He invited me over so I rode my bike up to his place in Kirkland to visit. He mentioned the possibility of a bike ride with him and his girlfriend, Sarah.
I got up to Kirkland and we nearly immediately got ready for the ride. By this point, it was nearly dark. After warming up his bike, we got moving. Dave led the way out to, I think, Woodinville. I really have no idea where we were. It was dark, and I was just trying to pay attention to Dave.
Dave led us down a very dark, wooded road. Toward the bottom of a steep hill, he started to brake very quickly and I responded in kind. My front wheel locked, and I tried to swerve at the same time. The bike did not respond well. I just felt the ass end start fishtailing. My feet had dropped off the pegs and as the bike jerked back and forth, I felt the pegs hitting my lower legs, right above the ankle. I was able to right the bike, although at one point, I really thought that the bike was going down, and it was probably going to be a highside, meaning it might toss me off. But, I'm a big guy and perhaps that's what kept me on the bike. I hope. Luckily, no serious damage - just a little bruise on one side. I am fine. The braking on my bike can be touchy and I gave it too much at that particular moment. Dave said he saw a deer and was trying to avoid it.
Dave, is not fine. Dave, in the lead, took a left up a steep hill. Sarah was on the back of his bike, a Kawasaki Ninja 250R. With all of this weight, he bottomed out, and I saw a few sparks fly out from underneath his bike. I didn't think much about this until Dave diverted into a gas station. He diverted so quickly, that, again, I had braking issues. This time with the back brake. Just a quick lockup. So, anyway, Dave apparently pulled his groin in the impact of his bike bottoming out. He said he put a foot down as a reaction and somehow the bike jerking up after the impact not only hit him hard in the crotch, but also caused him to pull his groin. He was not happy at the gas station and was starting to limp.
Dave has some bad luck. Seriously. He had forgotten to turn off his bike at the gas station and when he finally did, he'd drained his puny little battery so much that he could not get the bike to start up again. Neither of us had jumper cables on us. And the cranking on his bike was causing him to flood the bike. Jumper cables at the gas station were $30.
Not long after this all started, another motorcyclist pulled into the gas station and saw our predicament. He said he lived up the street and had a mobile charger that we could try. He came back a few minutes later with the charger, which did not work. It was nearly dead. Both Dave and Sarah had left their phones back at Dave's apartment. So they couldn't call any of their friends for help. We decided I'd head back to Dave's place on my bike and get jumper cables out of his van.
Here I am in a place I'm not familiar with, and it's dark. It's also starting to rain. Dave directed me back to his place, and I left my phone with them. Once I got to his place, I called them. They told me that someone had jumped his bike and they got it running, but Dave then shut it off because they were waiting for my call! And then it wouldn't start again! Argh!! So, Dave had to find someone else to help jump his bike. It turns out, though, that the guy that originally brought the charger out was also the guy who helped Dave get his bike going. He had some motorcycle-specific jumper cables which worked perfectly.
Dave and Sarah did eventually get back. Safely. And from Dave's place is where I'm typing this. I still have a 25-mile ride home tonight, which might be rainy, but I've done it several times before so I'm not concerned.
Well, it was an interesting night. Hope you enjoyed the story.
Labels: Erin, Friends, Motorcycles
