[speedkitten]

Hey girls....

Just makin a thread about being down so we can all see eachothers experiences......

I was in Las Vegas at night going out to red rock and I went down doing 50+ mph my fault I wasnt paying attention..I was on a road that had no street lights, I didnt know the road..never been on it in fact, supposedly donkeys jump out of nowhere on it so thats what I was looking for...there are "burrow crossing" signs everywhere pluss a couple riders told us to be careful for donkeys....anyhow Im lookin for donkeys not paying attention then I look ahead of me to find that I was about 3 inches from the edge of the road where its all gravel....I figured if I tried to windsurf i was done anyway....so I kind of just let it happen...pulled in the clutch and then next thign I knew I was face/left shoulder and side first into the gravel ...i plowed into it...not rolled but plowed...my bike landed next to me...that was the most excrutiating pain in my life but I didnt break any bones or dislocate my shoulder although it felt like it.....I had road rash on my shoulder, side, hip, forearm, and face, I got a burn on the back of my calf, the tip of my pinky was holding on by the skin, and I had more bruises than Nicky on Casino after he got beat...I couldnt move my entire arm and shoulder for a good 1 1/2-2 weeks my bruises took forever to go away and my road rash scars are slowly going away although tthe one on my side may just be there forever because it was a deep gash also...my pinky is fine looks normal and my face doesnt look liek it was touched...

I thank my lucky stars for how good I came out for going that fast...my biek just needed some cosmetic repairs but wasnt totalled out so thank god for that also....

i could have done so much to prevent this....like pay attention, drive on that road a few times during the day first so i was familiar with it....um forget about the damn donkeys but I try nto tot hink of that and just be happy Im not crippled and remember that always when I ride in the future....

here is my shoulder..

this is my forearm and my side...

I was wearing my rocket phoenix 2.0 jacket and jeans...the jacket is mesh so although it protected me the sand and gravel went through the mesh and scratched me up a bit...

 

[cmikimoto]

Glad to hear that you didn't break any bones. How much damage did your bike sustain? Were you able to ride it home? Myself, I've never been down on my street bike, but many, many times on my dirt bike. When I lived in AZ I used to ride in the desert, and I've plowed into choya's, granite rock, prickly pear cactus, and Mesquite, if it was sharp or prickly, I've been in it. Never broke anything, got pretty scratched up tho, and my bikes never sustained any real damage. But, I got back on, I think that I'll always get back on, and I hope that you do too.

 

[diamond]

unfortunately yes... I grabbed a whole lotta front brake to avoid hitting another rider at my last track day. The bike and I flipped... I broke my collarbone in two places, and broke two ribs. I also have a real nice scar and dent in my leg from where the bike flipped and landed on my leg... it was kind of a burn/bruise from the inside of my leathers.

 

[k9zgirl]

Not while riding my bike, but on the back on someone's. Shredded skin and embedded glass. It happened 15 years ago but the scarred areas still hurt for some reason when I have a shower. We hit a telephone poll, he was fine, I wasn't.

 

[caramel]

Have not been down yet

 

[1fastchick]

I went down doing about 100mph in Turn 1 at Jennings (all on video too :giddy ) and I was in full leathers and I got up, turned my bike off, and got the hell out of the impact zone. I walked away w/out an external bruise, rash, or breaking anything. If I didn't have my Race Verts I would have probably broken my ankle though.

 

[zlicius]

Fell over in my back driveway because I was high centered and couldn't touch (this was when i had my zx6r). My stupid moment.

 

[KBOlsen]

Setting up for Turn 1 at Blackhawk during the GTO in July of '02... objective was 2nd gear, but instead I let the clutch out in 1st at 70 mph. Baby didn't like that at all and bucked me head-over-heels into the air. I landed on my left shoulder and my head. Resulted in a tiny tear in my rotator cuff. No fun for a month afterward.

One day short of a year later, during practice, I had just exited Turn 7 and was full-bore WOT when my back tire decided it had enough and let go. John figured I was traveling somewhere above 95. Was on my head before I had time to say "What the F....". Was knocked out for a minute and saw lots of stars. Result: Concussion #2 (although I was back up and on the bike after the lunch break).

I'll be extra-careful when we go back to Blackhawk the weekend of July 17, 2004.

Have had numerous low-sides, but nothing dramatic. Bumps, bruises and one or two broken nails.

If any of the above had happened to me on the street, I wouldn't be here typing this. Thank God for corner workers and quality protective gear.

I've managed to drop every bike I've owned at least once (except the V-Rod, knock wood!). Mostly low speed/no speed stupid stuff (grabbing the front brake with the wheel cocked coming out of a driveway (done it on both 'Baggers), or skidding across a frozen manhole cover on a snowy street (my Heritage on 1/1/94 - happy freekin' New Year), sliding broadside downhill on a driveway (don't ask) or just plain forgetting about that silly sidestand (my Sportster, about a month after I'd gotten my license).

 

[workerant]

Turn 4, Carolina Motorsports Park, 07/28/03, chasing down two SV650s in the WERA Solo16. Highside crash, I broke both hands (the left one badly), concussion and broken nose. The bike was okay... broken footpeg and shift lever, some body rash. We could have had it out in the next race, if I had been fit to ride it.

That's my only (so far, knock wood) single-vehicle crash. That'll teach me to race a flexi-flyer chassis. :shake

But I have an SV for next season! :nanana

 

[Lil Bit]

Not on the track but at Deals Gap. Target fixated in a corner and went into the side of the mountain. 2 cracked vertebra and a broken hand. Haven't been back to "tame the dragon" yet. Not sure I want to. :shurg

 

[MZGirl]

Had a crash on the street a few months after I had started riding. I went through an intersection that had a layer of light sand all over it (from a street sweeper that just went through). It was like marbles, and I was sliding on my knee (in jeans) before I knew it. Road rashed my knee up real good, and to this day if I ride on the street I never go out in anything but full leather.

First crash on the track was the summer of this year. I was running 4th in a race and chasing 3rd through the little carousel at Arroyo Seco. I caught my rear brake lever in the corner, which lifted my bike up and sent us off the track. It happened so fast that I didn't know I was crashing until I saw dirt hit the windshield of the bike. When I realized I was crashing, I went through the rules that other racers taught me. Don't fight the crash, try not to tumble, and when you think you've stopped, count to five (most people try to get up when they're still moving at 25mph). Funny thing was I was more mad than scared after my first track crash. Just a lowside, but I was out of the races for the rest of the day.

The second crash on the track happened the following weekend. It was Sunday afternoon, at the Vegas classic course. This was our first time at the Vegas track, and I was just beginning to feel comfortable with the track. Earlier that day I had just won my first 1st place trophy in SuperSingles. My last race of the day was Am. Lightweight SuperSport, which was combined with the experts. I just had to get through that race, and afterwards my husband and I were going to clean up and go celebrate in Vegas that evening. In SuperSport I was racing against all SV650s, and half way through the race I was by myself, with a large gap in front and behind me. I had no one to really race with, so I decided to play it safe and just finish the race. During Lap 5, the white plates (experts) came around to lap me. The leader, Brian Long, got around me with no problem. He rides so smooth that one hardly notices when he passes. I was at the apex of the last turn before the straightaway when I got a hard blow to my right side. Jason Catching, who was running in 2nd, was trying to catch Brian and took me out. Rather than waiting 1 second for the straighaway and passing me on power (not hard to do when I'm on a 50hp MZ), he made an unsafe pass up the inside and hit me. I immediately tumbled and hit the gravel. This happened in the last turn, so most of the race officials saw it, as well as a ton of spectators.

The crash truck took me back to my pits, and the head official was there right away. He asked me if I was ok, and I told him that I wanted to see the medics because my right arm where I got hit REALLY hurt. I took my helmet, and noticed a scratch which meant my head had grazed the ground and I didn't even know it. The medics checked me out and gave me an ice pack, and sent me on my way. I spoke to the official afterwards, but there was nothing they could do as it falls under "that's racing." But he assured me that I did nothing wrong, which made me feel better. As I was walking away from the official, that's when I broke down. I sat in our RV and cried, because after the previous crash the weekend before, it was my goal to finish upright that weekend and it came down to a stupid rider making a stupid judgement. My bike was thrashed and my body was thrashed all because a guy wanted a bigger trophy that costs $5. Plus, our evening celebration plans were shot because of the pain I was in from the injuries.

In the end, I decided not to let it get the best of me. I knew I was a good rider and a safe rider, and if I stopped racing because of this one incident, then that would be letting him win. It took several months for me to get the confidence back in my racing, and to get back down to my usual lap times. I now know that stuff like this is going to happen, but being able to deal with it and move on is what makes one a racer. Others that can't deal with it are the ones that quit racing. I've decided that racing is part of my life, and I want to do it for a long time. That means accepting the good times with the bad. It's what makes one a better racer.

 

[MissHell]

re: been down yet

caramel said:
Have not been down yet

+1 [knock on wood] I know it's not if, but when. I did tip over once.

 

[diamond]

I hope I'm as courageous as Nikki, MZGirl, and KBOlson next year when I get back out on the track. I'm a little concerned about my confidence after my getoff at approx 80+mph... I know I've got to get back out there and just do it... but it might take me a couple track days to get back up to the confidence level I had... you just don't know what's gonna happen. The guy that was in front of me unexpectedly slowed down IN THE FRONT STRAIGHT... WAY before the turn markers... and I just wasn't prepared for it.

Kim... I'll see ya at the track next year... are you gonna be at the NESBA gathering in January?

 

[azoomm]

I have, 3 total... first one was my first time out alone... uphill turn to a downhill ~ was watching the "gravel pattern" in the road rather than ahead of me. True form of look down-fall down. Clip-on went into my hand, resulting in a broken pinky finger.

second... bad move, lowsided following someone that knew the road really well ~ unexpected 15mph turn, bad pavement... don't remember what I did, but probably freaked and just lowsided the bike. Someone else's bike totalled.

third... hit by a bird going into a turn. Resulted as a ripped up knee (DKNY jeans were never meant to slide on pavement). I will never again sacrifice looks for protection. There went my knee-model career... oh what could have been...

 

[1fastchick]

Diamond: I crashed on a sunday at Jennings and the following Sunday had to ride the school at Roebling (new track) to get my race license and you know what. I took it super easy for a while and still never got 100% comfortable that day on the bike. You have to not think about it, just learn from it and move on. Take it slow and relax and you will get right back there and eventually get faster and faster. If you can hook up with an STT trackday you''d love it. Its at your pace and you can go as slow or as fast as you want with the different drills. Plus it is cheaper for us.

 

[diamond]

I actually did an STT track day at Road America last year, and was scheduled for another on the Wed following my crash on Sunday... they were great and gave me a credit to use for next year...

so I had to go and limp around the track and watch at the STT day that I was signed up for... :shake later, in the afternoon, one of my "track buddies" showed up and drove me around to watch at other corners... the only one I could walk to was turn 5.

I agree with KBOlson... the track is DEFINITELY the best place to go down... I had a control rider there, holding my hand, within about 15 seconds of coming to a stop, and everyone was so helpful... they took my bike (and all of its misc parts) back to the pits, came over to check on me, and get my helmet, they loaded my bike for me... someone even gave me their sweatshirt to wear when I got back from the hospital while they loaded my bike... everybody was just great...

edit: I wish I could have got right back on, too... but I crashed in Aug... and haven't really had a chance to ride much since the accident... between waiting for healing, fixing the bike, then waiting to have it re-inspected at the DMV... now it's winter... I've only been on it maybe three times since the accident (before it was inspected... I know... I'm naughty... ... anyway... I'm concerned that the length of time away from it after a serious crash is going to add up to a lack of confidence... :shake

 

[1fastchick]

It will come back to you just don't stress it! I would have loved to get back on my bike but no one had an extra footpeg least I got video haha

 

[speedkitten]

cmikimoto said:
Glad to hear that you didn't break any bones. How much damage did your bike sustain? Were you able to ride it home? Myself, I've never been down on my street bike, but many, many times on my dirt bike. When I lived in AZ I used to ride in the desert, and I've plowed into choya's, granite rock, prickly pear cactus, and Mesquite, if it was sharp or prickly, I've been in it. Never broke anything, got pretty scratched up tho, and my bikes never sustained any real damage. But, I got back on, I think that I'll always get back on, and I hope that you do too.

It needed basically all the cosmetic parts...plastics, levers, windscreen etc...I coudlnt drive it home because the stator cover busted, so it got towed ...she was covered in oil so I had fun taking her apart a week later ....what a mess...sand and oil, lol anyhow sounds like you have had your share of spills...but dont you worry I jumped righ tback in the saddle after healing properly.....the situation didnt scare me but taught me a lesson and Ill never stop riding!!


Sounds liek a few of ya got some stories here wow.

 

[KBOlsen]

Diamond - I'll see you at the NESBA bash! And don't sweat it... just get back out there, relax and remember - it's FUN. You'll be back up to speed in no time.

 

[SV DAVE]

Been down twice.

At Deals Gap in Late Eighties. Overcooked it into one turn and clipped the apex of the next. Picked up grit and couldn't get it back for the next turn. Low sided and totalled the bike. I got a red light ride to ER with some bruised ribs and two broken fingers along with the normal bumps and bruises.

August of this year when pulling away from a light in traffic. The car in front of me stalled and the car behind me didn't notice. Punted me across two lanes of traffic before I ended in the ditch. Trashed the front forks on my month old SV and I haven't been the same since. The driver of the car who hit me bolted and was never found be PD, go figure.