Passes & Canyons Blog

Ever since my crash back on June 29 I have had numerous conversations about it with people who have very different ideas about the aftermath than I do and who seem to find my take on it all a bit peculiar. Tell me what you think.

First off, I can’t count the number of people who told me they hoped the drunk driver who hit me would get the book thrown at him and end up doing some serious time in jail. They are surprised and confused when I explain that that is not my desire at all.

Here’s my thinking. First off, the guy had a clean record before this. Apparently, however, he had had a drinking problem for some time. So what is the better outcome here: let the guy rot in a jail cell for a couple years–at great cost to all of us taxpayers–and then turn him loose with nothing to stop him from falling right back into that trap of the monkey on his back? Or how about, get him into a good treatment program where he can hopefully beat that monkey and live a better, more constructive life–all at a much lower price tag than locking him up? Without a felony conviction to further screw up his life.

As I see it, the second option is not only cheaper, it is a more positive outcome for him and for society as a whole. And make no mistake, that felony conviction does screw up your life. We have a family member who got a felony conviction at 18. For 25 years now he has kept his nose clean as a whistle, but that felony has followed him everywhere he has gone, making it hard to get a good job, causing problems when he tries to rent an apartment. All of that. He was arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced. He has paid his debt to society but society is not satisfied. And a potentially productive member of society is left to drive Door Dash and do other odd jobs just trying to keep his head above water.

Another thing countless people urged upon me was to call a lawyer and reap a big pile of money. Now, if the guy had insurance you can bet I would be asking for compensation for the loss of my bike and also the $450 helmet that did its job and is now trashed. But he didn’t. The DA’s office asked me about requesting compensation from the guy who hit me, which could be part of the court decision in his case. I said no.

Why not? Look, if the guy had any money he would have insurance. Meanwhile, I’m quite comfortable financially these days. There were many, many years when I was just scraping by, and there were even times when I was, to put it mildly, underinsured. But I’m doing quite well now, thank you, and for semi-wealthy me to insist on this poor schlub giving me a chunk of his meager stash of money just strikes me as kicking the guy when he’s down. I just don’t want to do that. He’s got plenty of trouble already. I’m not going to do that.

Then at last week’s monthly RMMRC meeting Tom, a retired attorney, recommended to me that I file a claim with my own car insurance company for pain and suffering and inconvenience, all that, caused by the crash. Right from the start I knew that my auto uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage would pay for the costs of the crash, such as the ambulance and the emergency room charges. And they did. But now Tom was telling me that through that coverage, my company is basically stepping into the place where the drunk driver’s company would have been, and so if I would have file a claim with them, I should now do the same with my company. He said it’s what they expect and they would probably cut me a check without a word of protest.

I’d say Tom really didn’t get it when I demurred. Why should I file a claim for pain and suffering, etc.? It’s not like I suffered months of agonizing pain or anything like that. It hurt a bit for a short while and that was that. And yeah, I still have some minor pain now and then. But he was basically saying, if I can get my hands on that money why would I not? Well, I’m sorry, I think we in this country are way too eager to lawyer up whenever we see a chance to get some cash. In my estimation it is simple greed. Well, I’m not greedy. And neither is Judy. Neither one of us sees any real justification for me to claim, “Oh, I’ve been hurt, I’ve suffered, and I deserve something for all my suffering.” No. Not gonna do that.

So I’m not vindictive, I want a positive outcome for the guy who hit me. And I’m not greedy. I was glad to have the insurance company pick up the actual costs but that’s all I ask of them. Am I really all that peculiar? I know a lot of people who seem to say that answer is “Yes.” If I am I’ll wear that as a badge of pride.

Biker Quote for Today

Never put anything on a motorcycle that won’t make it go faster or stop quicker.

There’s a thread on Adventure Rider that I have mined for interesting remarks once or twice. It asks, “When was the last time you ran out of gas? Tell your story.” Here are some more. I do particularly like the attitude in the first one.

• Mid 2000’s, on way from Atlanta to Baton Rouge, R1200ADV fuel gauge issue … A good way to meet nice folks
• 1984 Yamaha Maxim 750 – Heading home on West 494 in the Twin Cities. Ran out of gas and managed to get off onto an exit ramp and coast to the top. Push my bike across the street to a gas station. I had no money in my wallet or pockets but found a quarter in my tank bag. Do I squeeze a quarters worth of gas in my tank? Or do I use the quarter to call my roommate to bring me some gas. So I’m standing in line with helmet on and I tell the cashier pump 4, he looks a me and goes, A quarter? I hand him a quarter and ride the 4 miles to home. My roommate wasn’t at the house.
• As a 19 year old I was riding an interstate here in Australia on a Kawasaki Z900 with a pillion, who actually owned the bike but was too young to ride with a pillion, so I got the job. We knew fuel was low, but no options other than to keep going to reduce the distance we would have to push it. Bike started to cough and surge a short distance out of town, but we were going fast enough that I got it into neutral and coasted the last mile into the petrol station in silence and bone dry!
• Last week on the way to work. Forgot to flip the display to the trip meter on the Z900 RS when I started it. Had push it 2.1 miles to the next station in the dark. The 1,000 cars and half dozen motorcycles who passed me honking their horns were extremely helpful…

I’m going to pipe up right here. I came across a post that is much too long to paste in here so I’ll summarize and add my own comment in response. What the guy was saying is that if you don’t run low enough to go to Reserve you really ought to deliberately do so now and then just to make sure the fuel line used by Reserve does not get plugged. I had exactly that happen a few years ago. I was on my now departed Honda CB750 and I knew I was getting close to Reserve but we were heading to a gas station to meet up with others and I figured I’d fill the tank there. Well, part way there my bike started stuttering and I flipped the petcock. And the bike died.

Fortunately Roy had a can of gas and I put that in and all was fine. When we reached the gas station I filled up and it only took 3 gallons for this 5.5 gallon tank, confirming that I was not dry. That bike soon paid a visit to the shop to clear that fuel line.

Now back to the stories.

• I haven’t run out of gas in a long time but I have run out of money to buy gas. It now takes more than a ten dollar bill to fill the 2014 Honda Forza 300 maxi-scooter. The horrors.
• Years ago I rode my 99 SV650 to the Red Cross to donate blood. After the donation, they ask you to rest, have a snack, a drink, and warn you not to exert yourself for the rest of the day. On the way home the low fuel light was on, I passed a few stations as I was trying to make it to my favorite non-ethanol station. I ran out of gas and had to push it about 1/2 mile to the station, at least I didn’t have to put ethanol fuel in it.
• My now wife was taking her 2nd ride ever (at 48) on my old Shovelhead. We ran out of gas at dusk. I offered the option of walking about a mile and a half or staying with the bike. She walked. After a few minutes enough fuel drained over to the petcock side that I could make it to the station as she walked up. To this day I’m not totally sure she believes we actually ran out. She got her license and rides her own bike now…

OK. So there’s your reminder. As Dennis likes to say, the only time you have too much gas is when you’re on fire. Stop and fill that tank.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if the only reason you have a scooter is because your brother is C&W singer Doug Stone and he gave you his old hog.

I was out walking to Target and Ace Hardware Saturday because Judy is away for a few days and I’m under doctor’s orders not to drive. Besides, I like to walk and it wasn’t that far.

One reason I like to walk is because you see so much more than you do when you drive. Like this bike. First it was like, oh, a motorcycle. A Yamaha.

Then I noticed there was no windshield, no instrument cluster, no headlight. OK, so this guy is presumably not driving it at this time–it’s just parked here.

But then I noticed the tire. Look at that tire. The rest of the trashed front end presumably happened in some mishap, but that tire only got that way by being ridden. Ridden long after it should have been replaced. Who rides a tire down to the cords and then keeps riding it? Maybe someone prone to doing something careless that ends up with the front end smashed up.

I can understand the smashed up front end. My Honda got smashed up in front, too, and all I was doing was sitting on it. But that tire!

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycling is the safest dangerous thing you can do, or the most dangerous safe thing you can do.

Monday to Tuesday this week we had our first Motorcycle Travel Network (MTN) guests in several years, Gary and Gina. They were on their way home to Ontario, Canada, after riding down to the Grand Canyon. Seeing the Grand Canyon has long been one of Gary’s bucket list dreams so they decided the time was now to make that happen. Mission accomplished.

They were on their Gold Wing, pulling a trailer. Almost all their stops on this three-week trip were with either MTN members or members of another, similar travel club, called Evergreen Club. While MTN is targeted at motorcyclists, Evergreen is for anyone as long as you are 50 or older. For both groups you pay $15 for a single or $20 for a couple per night of your stay, to defray your hosts’ expenses. Then there is a yearly membership fee for both clubs.

Gary and Gina were having a great trip, though now that they were heading home it was kind of the horse heading back to the stable feeling. Also, they have had great weather the whole trip but now were anticipating running into some rain. When they left us they were headed to Ogalala, Nebraska, where they had booked one of the few motel stays of their trip.

One of the big things about MTN is that you automatically have your interest in motorcycles in common, so there is an immediate bond. Unlike other MTN guests we have hosted, however, we actually talked very little about motorcycles. And that was fine. It’s just that if you are uncertain about other topics you can always fall back on motorcycles. But we didn’t.

We make a practice, whenever we have MTN guests, to cook a nice dinner and invite our guests to join us. (Always good to issue the invitation before they arrive lest they make a point of getting dinner before arriving.) Apparently that is not the norm, and it is certainly not expected of the hosts, but for us the whole pleasure of hosting is to spend time with our guests. Another thing that is sort of expected is that the hosts will provide local expertise as the guests continue on their way. Gina had a route pretty well mapped out already but I was able to direct them to an alternate route that allowed them to avoid even the brief stint on the interstate that they were expecting to have to do.

Living in Canada as they do, Gary and Gina can’t ride year-round the way we can here in Colorado, so they have to make the most of the summer months. Gina is a dedicated gardener so the irony is not lost on her of how she works to raise all these vegetables and then leaves them there for someone else to harvest and enjoy. We do seem to have had an inordinate number of Canadians among our MTN visitors.

We have no idea now when our next guests will come, or when we will be the visitors again, but this is something we have done for many years now and we have always enjoyed it very much. You might want to check it out.

Biker Quote for Today

As in motorcycling, so in life: Look where you want to go.

I got an email the other day from a law firm that does advocacy for motorcyclists involved in crashes. Feller & Wendt, LLC™ appears to operate only in Utah, Idaho, and Arizona but maybe they’re interested in my blog because they’re considering expanding to Colorado. Just speculation.

Nevertheless, they were offering for my use here a link to an article they have put out that looked kind of interesting. “Motorcycle Safety:Understanding the Risk Through Statistics” can be summed up by this introductory line: “This guide brings together the latest statistics and expert insights to help riders make informed choices. Whether you are a seasoned biker or just starting out, understanding the data can make a life-saving difference.”

It is broken down into these sections:

• Motorcycle Accidents: By the Numbers
• How Weather Conditions Impact Motorcycle Safety
• The Importance of Wearing Protective Gear
• Speeding: A Leading Factor in Motorcycle Accidents
• The Risks of Riding a Motorcycle at Night
• Fatigue and Motorcycle Safety: The Dangers of Riding While Tired
• Distracted Driving: A Growing Concern for Motorcyclists
• Age and Its Impact on Motorcycle Safety
• Safety Tips for Beginner Motorcyclists
• Road Safety Tips Every Motorcyclist Should Know
• Practice Driving Safely

I took a look at each topic and while I can’t say I encountered anything that was completely new to me, some of it stuff I hadn’t thought about in a long time, so good to refresh. It’s not actually very long, and it does seem better conceived and put together than a lot of what you’ll find out there, so I’d say it is worth taking a look.

Biker Quote for Today

“There is a delicate ridge one must ride between fear and reason on a motorcycle—lean too far in either direction and there will be consequences.” — Lily Brooks-Dalton

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

That’s a line from John Lennon and it’s always been one of my favorites because it’s just so true.

I’ve been a perfect example of that myself this summer. I had all kinds of riding plans that have had to be canceled due to my crash.

But it is by no means just me. I mentioned last week that I planned to do a post on SolidRide, a new motorcycle rental and tours outfit here in Colorado. But I intended to do the post after having met with Eric, the main guy at SolidRide, and having gone for a ride with him. I went ahead and put the post up without doing those things because of my neurologist’s orders not to drive for 12 weeks.

So after I put the post up I emailed Eric to let him know it was up, and I told him why I had skipped ahead on my intention. Well, Eric replied that he, too, was out of commission. He has suffered a herniated disc. Ouch. That has got to put a crimp in your riding. So much for many of Eric’s plans, too, I presume.

And then there’s Nick. I had mentioned that Nick was coming out and we had intended to do a ride that would include the Million Dollar Highway. My crash disrupted that plan but Nick decided to come out anyway and do the ride on his own. Nope.

Nick was supposed to be heading out last week, to arrive here on Saturday. But on Thursday I got a text from him saying that his lady friend had a medical issue and would need an MRI and probably surgery on her neck. He expected this to delay his departure to perhaps Tuesday. Later he confirmed his intention to leave Chicago on Tuesday.

Then on Monday he texted to say she had received the results of her MRI and it was not good. So another delay of unknown length. That was followed by another text saying “This is far more serious than I ever imagined.” Trip canceled.

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

True words, John.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycling is this therapeutic, beautiful mode of transportation where you attach yourself to this machine and it becomes part of you.