OK, so I don’t know if this is the case for everyone, but this is what I have observed so far with the transition to the new site.  For some reason if you subscribe to usamotorcycletrip.com, sometimes it will still subscribe to this site, even thought that domain no longer works with this site.  So if you are getting this, then that is the case for you.  What you need to do is subscribe to usamotorcycletrip.com/blog in whatever your rss reader is, and that should take you to the new site.  If you do not use an rss reader, then this doesn’t really apply to you, but you should totally use one.

Hey if you are one of the 5 people that subscribe to this site at the address usamotorcycletrip.wordpress.com, we ask that you update your rss to just usamotorcycletrip.com/blog.  This will be the last post on this site.

Ryan says that he does not want a trunk on his bike because he thinks it will make his bike look ugly. I have one on my bike, and while I can pack everything I need for a 2 day trip without it, the trunk comes in handy for long trips and for things that I didn’t plan on having to pack. I think he should get one, so that we have more than enough space for luggage, and so we are not struggling to pack things just right all the time. What do you think?

Please feel free to leave comments on how Ryan’s bike looks already.

Well no more than 10 days after Ryan dropped his bike, I too was humbled.  I actually thought it would happen, after I gave Ryan so much crap for dropping his.  I am completely OK, not even a scratch on me, but I attribute that to the fact that I was wearing full gear.  ATGAT (All The Gear, All The Time) should be every rider’s slogan, I know it saved me today.

Here is what happened.  I was at Mid-Cities Honda looking to see if anyone made a rear crash bar for my bike.  I know pretty ironic right?  I even told the guy working there, after I couldn’t find anything that maybe I should just never drop the bike, then I wouldn’t have to worry about a crash bar.  I did not realize how far off I was.  I got on my bike and headed south on Lakewood, I was headed toward the freeway onramp to the 91 east.  I was just going to go to Bellflower Blvd, and stop by the church.  As i went through the first turn on to the ramp, I was going 20+ mph, I know because I did not have to downshift into 1st gear to make the turn.  Then coming out of the turn, I realized that I was going to fast for the second part of the turn, which was a sharp right u-turn on to the freeway.  I immediately straightened the bike out, and grabbed the brakes.  Instantly the back tire slid to the left, which makes me think I hit an oil spot or some kind of a slick spot, because that is not a normal reaction for a back tire to make.  I tried to straighten out the bike, but it didn’t work.  The whole bike flipped from leaning right to falling on the left side, and it kind of catapulted me off the bike.  I landed just a couple feet away on my left side.  My bike was still on, and for some reason the throttle was still engaged.  This caused the Bike to spin around and hit me in the leg, not hard, but enough to get my attention.  I jumped up, and turned my bike off.  It was then that I noticed the three cars behind me just staring.  Here is the odd thing, they did not look concerned, they looked annoyed.  I can imagine the thoughts going through their heads, “Stupid biker, serves you right for riding one of those things.”  None of them even asked if I was OK.  I picked up my bike, which wasn’t easy, pushed it over to the side, and eventually walked it back down to the sidewalk.

I examined my bike for damage, and all I could find was two things.  My left saddlebag was scratched along the bottom, which isn’t even noticeable from the side, and my left highway bar was bent back a little bit.  I got it started again and road it back to the dealership to have them take a look at it.  I get it back tomorrow, and hopefully that is all the damage done.

I know a lot of people are going to want me to quit riding, but I just can’t.  If anything this makes me feel more confident.  I know it doesn’t make sense, but to actually have an accident and walk away from it fine, scares me just enough to stay humble, but not enough to want to quit.  It does make me realize that full gear is essential, and that I need to be more aware of what is a safe speed at all times.  So far I honestly feel thankful.  Thankful that I had all my gear on, thankful that it was only around a 15 to 20 mph incident, thankful that God was looking out for me, and thankful that I have this experience now.  I actually have prayed several times, first that I would never crash, but secondly that when I did (Cause it happens to everyone) it would be a humbling experience, something that I can learn a lot from, and something that I could walk away from.  Today was both, so thank you for answering my prayers God.

Now, go ahead and leave your smart mouth comments.  I deserve them.

On our ride up to Morro Bay Kozmo radioed me sying he needed to pull over and tighten up some parts. No problem, I came up to a stop sign with 5 ft of asphalt on the right and 15 ft lot which appeared to be solid ground. I chose to pull over to the bigger area so we would have plenty of room. When I started to brake I hit a soft patch of sand which took me down to the ground. Thankfully I was only going 5 mph. Damage report: a few minor scratches and a busted front right turn signal. Not a big deal. What does this mean? It could have happened to anyone of us, it just happened to be me. So when Kozmo tells everyone I crashed, you can read this and get the real story!
Cheers
Ryan