Monday morning and the first day of our stay at Harrah's. Instead of sleeping in though, we've made plans to get up early and go to Wal-Mart to purchase the items we lost when the saddlebag filed for divorce. We don't see it as a chore though; rather, another excuse to climb on Ruby and why not, it's a LOT cooler than when we came in.
We cruise down Casino Drive through Laughlin and all the casinos and then turn right to head for Bullhead City. Interesting fact - there's really no shopping in Laughlin. I guess the property is too valuable as casino space to waste on a Wal-Mart or groceries. Anyway, we cross the Colorado River and make a right on Highway 95. How lucky did we feel right then? DAMN lucky because the SUV directly behind us saw no reason to stop at the red light. He/she went right by us (we were in the turn lane then) and went sliding into the intersection, striking two vehicles not 15 feet to our left!!!! If we had went straight, he/she would've rear-ended us and I probably wouldn't be writing this story.
Hmmm, another day, another close call, and I'm starting to wonder if the stars are aligned in some peculiar "Raider" constellation. I didn't have to wait too long for an answer - 3 miles down the road I'm coming up on a pickup truck in my lane. I'm closing in on him and make plans to change to the right lane. I'm approaching an intersection though so I delay the lane change until I'm clear of it...after all, I'm a safe rider and safe riders don't change lanes in intersections, right? As I clear the intersection, I scan my right mirror...all clear...turn on my turn signal and lean right as I look back to the front (we're talking what? a half-second or less?) As short as the time was, it was enough to limit my reaction time to a quick decision - either max-lean harder to the right to avoid the 10-pound, cast-iron, water main cap directly in my path OR stand up the bike and try to miss it left. Which would you do? Come on, think quick? You and your spouse's life depend on you making the right decision. I stood the bike up and I believe I made the right decision because hitting something straight up is WAY better than hitting something in max-lean mode. I almost cleared it, but the operative word here is "almost."
The right side of the front wheel hits this 4-inch high chunk of iron with amazing force. Tracey thought the engine blew up because of the sound AND the way the front end came up so suddenly. Tell ya what, a 50mph unplanned wheelie with your wife on the back is absolutely no fun. Of course, this is the point where I enter the Matrix and everything slows WAAAAAAAAAAY down. I remember wondering if the front wheel was still on the bike...when the front end comes down, will it be forks digging into the pavement and flipping us over the front...is the front tire bent sideways from the impact - same result as no wheel...is the tire blown which will cause me to lose control...is Tracey okay? All of this really did go through my mind in the second or so the front end was up. Fantabulous feeling when it came down and rolled like nothing had happened. WHEW!!!! I immediately went to the right shoulder (I knew there was no traffic as I'd just checked about 2 seconds ago). As I'm leaning, I can now see the front tire and remember thinking, "it's still up --- well kind of up --- nope, it's flat." I pulled Ruby in a driveway and up on the sidewalk uneventfully, turned her off, and Tracey and I got off to see what was broken. Chapter 6 coming soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment