[Ducati] anatomy of a wreck (was New to list (Tony))

[Peter Bonner]

Yes, the really important part of getting in a wreck, when the wife finishes
off the survivor part...................

As I get around now with my wreck of an anatomy, I have had more than a
little time to think about what happened. For me, analyzing and
understanding what happened is one of the most important parts of having a
wreck, with the purpose being to avoid the situation in the future. Anybody
else do that too? I guess now I can ask Mr Desperado about multiple wrecks,
2 in less than 3 years oughta count. Of course there is always Phil, but I
think differently about track crashes, of which I have done plenty as well,
it is part of the game. But street crashes?  Whole different beast.

Whilst laying in my hospital bed, I thought I had it worked out a bit,
although when my darling wife brought me the police report, I was a bit
puzzled at how the road turned after the cattle guard. My memory lasted up
to the cattle guard, and that there was gravel on the far side, and I lost
the front end there. Then looking at the pictures from the police report, it
showed the bike going down on the Right Side, but I remember at the scene
the clutch was broken, so pieced together a likely scenario whereby I
ruptured my spleen by coming down on the Left Side Handlebar, then falling
off to the left, hence heavy bruising to the left side. I felt ok with the
story and was feeling that about my only avoidance might have been a lighter
bike to ride up over the gravel instead of push the front end.

Much to my surprise, when I saw the bike, it was the Left Side that was
messed up (maybe the cop didn't know which end was the front?) and things
came apart. Furthermore, Marc and I drove out 'our" road (he crashed, same
road, in June, when a deer ran in front of him) and as we got to the cattle
guard I thought it was, we kept going, just to see, and went to the end of
the road. We turned around and stopped at the first cattle guard we came to,
got out, looked for stuff. It didn't seem like the one I was thinking of,
but there they were, little pieces of unique stuff, including a chunk of red
paint, a flap from my helmet air vent, and some reflector plastic. Obviously
this was my corner. True, there was a rather extensive gravel cover over the
road but by now, not much left to indicate how things went. Also it had
rained hard again, a couple days after the wreck, to further obliterate
signs. Thus leaving me no real clue as to what happened.

Personally, I find it very frustrating to not know the cause of the wreck.
However as I keep reflecting over the event, it finally started to seep into
my little brain what one important aspect was. In a word, CONCENTRATION.  I
had not planned to go for a ride that morning, I was supposed to be the
photographer at a wedding that afternoon. (they got a backup)  However the
wife was in Dallas, and I thought I would just sneak up for a look at the
vintage bikes in Luckenbach. But when I was going along, my mind wasn't 100%
on riding. Furthermore, I was going much slower than normal precisely
because I was not paying full attention. The reason I had been thinking of
the previous cattle guard is because it was a dangerous spot, and that was
probably the last time I really concentrated, hence I remembered it. However
the one I crashed on was a much less difficult place, so obviously my mental
effort was lower.

Bottom line this thing reinforces to me is that the very best bit of
protective gear any rider has is one's mind. Going slow with a relaxed mind
can be as dangerous as going too fast without experience. You'd think after
nearly 50 years on these things, I would know that well, but sometimes we
just need to be reminded. So I hope for all that read through to here,
remember to do what you have to in order that your mind stays fresh.
CONCENTRATE.

Regards,
Peter


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <TONYG656 at aol.com>


> Hey Andy,
 I have dreamed of  owning a Ducati for
> years and the last thing I want to do is bust it up by doing  something
really
> stupid.... not to mention my wife would kill me!
>
> I live in Northern Virginia so Laguna next year may be a little tough but
I
> plan on getting to as many Ducati events as my time and budget will allow.

> Tony