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

[Dennis Dalman]

nice writing sir
I agree, the want of better concentration is cause  to ride more.
the awareness seems exciting and therapeutic.
focus in the zone it's a goal
  I appreciate your experience and advice.
Thank you..
all praise be to good gear
DD fng ST4S
On Nov 2, 2007, at 5:16 AM, Peter Bonner wrote:

> 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
>
>
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