CanberraR3
Living Legend
- Joined
- May 27, 2010
- Messages
- 11,337
- Location
- Canberra, Australia
- Ride
- Triumphs, but no Rocket just now.
Was riding yesterday with my good buddy who has a Heritage Softail Classic. We've had a lot of rain and flooding round here in last 2 weeks and there was quite a bit of sand and gravel washed across the road. We were travelling cautiously. At one point the road surface had been repaired but it was easy to negotiate. I'd just gone through and looked in my mirror and saw my mate and his bike both airborn - couldn't believe it, having slowed down we were only going 50 km/h at that point.
He hadn't slipped over or ridden into gravel. As he rode round the road repair on what looked like sound sealed road his front wheel broke through the top crust into boggy sludge below. From the look of the skid marks the bike flipped sideways first and whipped back the other way. Mate was launched up and forward down hill about 10 metres and landed on his elbow, which is shattered. Broken collar bone and 2 ribs and bad graze on his chin. Fortunately no neck or spin damage although he did get fair hit on the head. Helmet looked like it had been hit with an angle grinder.
The repair work in the middle must have been for the same reason (hindsight!). a waterway must run directly under the road. The bike landed behind him and was in surprisingly good shape. Handle bar, clutch lever, mirror, screen trashed, sissy bar mangled and one saddle bag shredded, as was the spare helmet inside it. But otherwise it wasn't too bad.
Mate had 6 1/2 hours surgery today and 6 more on Thursday and who knows what lies ahead. Sobering.
He hadn't slipped over or ridden into gravel. As he rode round the road repair on what looked like sound sealed road his front wheel broke through the top crust into boggy sludge below. From the look of the skid marks the bike flipped sideways first and whipped back the other way. Mate was launched up and forward down hill about 10 metres and landed on his elbow, which is shattered. Broken collar bone and 2 ribs and bad graze on his chin. Fortunately no neck or spin damage although he did get fair hit on the head. Helmet looked like it had been hit with an angle grinder.
The repair work in the middle must have been for the same reason (hindsight!). a waterway must run directly under the road. The bike landed behind him and was in surprisingly good shape. Handle bar, clutch lever, mirror, screen trashed, sissy bar mangled and one saddle bag shredded, as was the spare helmet inside it. But otherwise it wasn't too bad.
Mate had 6 1/2 hours surgery today and 6 more on Thursday and who knows what lies ahead. Sobering.
