After two long months of recuperation, both my bike (1971 BMW R75/5) and I are back on the road following an accident. Back in early July (just 18 miles into what should have been a four day, 1,000 mile round trip vacation), a tourist decided to overlook the rules of the road (didn't use a turn signal) and caused me and a line of traffic to have to make a sudden stop. Fortunately, my husband and his bike stopped safely. Unfortunately, I think I used too much front brake, not enough rear, and I ended up crashing. From 30 mph to 0 in a split second.

Thankfully, despite the heat, I was wearing my Belstaff jacket and pants with their full protective armor! I didn't lose any blood and it was well worth the several hundred dollars worth of cordura down the drain not to be covered in road rash! My left knee swelled & turned beautiful colors, but turns out it was just a nasty case of impact bursitis - it's mostly gone now. I still have a gut ache, but I guess that's the price for hitting pavement.

The bike, well, one of the forks was bent, my headlamp bucket was smashed and my paint job needed some touch up work, as well as some other minor things. But, my husband is handy with a wrench and over Labor Day weekend, we went for a spin. Other than some anxiety about what the idiots on the road might do, it was great.

So, the moral of the story - I've decided it doesn't matter how long you've been riding, or how cautious you are - beware others around you and wear protective gear. You probably won't get to pick the time when you have an accident!

Jodi