Friday, August 12, 2011

Damn!



I was out with the family enjoying a day out with the motorbikes, between us there are about 8 bikes of various sizes. Mine is a very nice, very new Yamaha TT, at just a year old and without a single mark on it, it is by far the nicest bike in the fleet.
For some reason it usually falls to me to take turns with the kids so they all get a chance to go on the bigger bikes, it was on one of these runs that it all went badly wrong.
Weaving around old cow stalls and over a vast area of succulent weed and concrete the front wheel dropped into a small gutter throwing us both off the bike in the blink of an eye.
One second I’m riding and the next I’m sliding across the concrete on my head and into a brick wall. My grand-daughter Miss8 got a skinned elbow and knee and bruises, here we are a few days later and she seems none the worse for it but I’m not quite so young, so I’m still hurting. I got a bit of concussion and if I’d gone to the doctors and had x-rays (like I should have) I might well have some shoulder damage too, and the leg feels kinda funny….
My beautiful bike has scratches and other damage, I’ve bought the new parts and I’ll do the replacement work myself.
It’s not the bike though, it’s just metal and plastic after all.
It’s the fact that Miss8 could have been seriously hurt that worries me.
After 35 years of riding I know what I’m doing and I was being so careful, too careful. This is not new stuff for me, if it had been one of the newer riders I’d have understood completely but for me it’s just not acceptable.



.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Tempo,
Unfortunately accidents do happen all the time, no one is usually at fault, it's just one of those things.

The main thing of course is everyone is alright, but you should of got checked out by a doctor, especially seeing that you had a head injury, this believe it or not could be affecting your legs, I would definitely go and see a doctor.

Pearl said...

Accidents happen, Tempo, and we try to fit a bit of fun into our lives whenever possible.

Nothing wrong with wearing helmets and pads of various kinds. Miss8 -- and you! -- could wear them, if you're not already.

But please -- next time go to the doctor, why dontcha?!

Take care. Perhaps an ice cold beer or three would help...

Pearl

Windsmoke. said...

Main thing is both of you are ok. Accidents are a part of life's journey whether we learn from them or not is another story :-).

Tempo said...

@ Mags, Pearl and Windsmoke, Thanks for the support guys. I've got so much to do just now I haven't had time to slow down let alone stop long enough to visit a doctor. (which takes all day here)
Miss 8 was wearing her nice new unscratched helmet...mine was hanging on a tree back at camp.. Oops! (lesson learned)

The Jules said...

Obviously you must have chosen the wrong beer for your pre-ride drinky.

Glad you're okay mate.

Tempo said...

@Jules, As an Aussie I must like beer, (it's written into our constitution) but I much prefer a tad of Scotch before a ride...not much, just a half bottle or so.

Sarah said...

I'm glad you'll both be ok. You've gotten some great advice--don't beat yourself up too much.

Take care of yourself and your injuries and I hope you recover soon.

Tempo said...

Hi Sarah, as always it's the small wounds that hurt the most, in this case I took the end off one finger and that hurts way more than the big grazes. I wont be taking the kids riding again...it's time their fathers took that job over.

KaLynn ("MiMi") said...

I'm sorry for your accident! I hope you are better soon!

I understand about Miss8! If one of my grands gets hurt on my watch it is almost unbearable! I can just imagine how you felt/feel. My heart goes out to you! But don't beat yourself up too much, it was an accident.
Hugs!

Tempo said...

@KaLynn, You got it exactly, it was on my watch and thats what shocked me most, The kids ok, her parents are ok with it but I'm not at all happy about it...no more kids bike rides for me!