In the Pit of My Stomach

After an almost solid month of rain and colder temperatures again, this week has finally shaped up to be not only warmer, but sunny and very green to behold.  I am working to get my bike waxed right now and have had some errands that required my truck, so I hadn't ridden to work this week, even with the nicer weather.  I was starting to pay the price for it yesterday on my way home from work when everything was so warm and beautiful and I was thinking, "today would have been a great day to ride, if it wasn't for the ice cream in the back".


Just as I was thinking it over for the umpteenth time in as many minutes, we were suddenly being routed off the road, on one of the last turns to my house.  As they re-routed us (the traffic) around, through the college parking lot at that corner, and suddenly I could see why:  It was an accident.  I saw and SUV in the middle of the road pointing opposite to the direction of traffic going in either direction.  Then I got far enough around the bend to see what the SUV had collided with; it was a large, black, full-dresser Harley.

They were a matching pair, the car and the Harley, side by side, parallel front to back, only the Harley was embedded into the side of the SUV about as far as the depth of a saddlebag and a leg.  I only saw the results, not the accident, nor the victims (thank heavens), but I suddenly had a big heavy lump land in the pit of my stomach.  I felt instantly sick in body and heart.  And suddenly I thought, maybe I'm not so sad that I didn't ride my motorcycle in today.  Maybe it's ok.

Now like any of you that ride, I do know that accidents happen, that's why we are all on double-watch duty when we ride.  I know it's not the safest way to travel.  Honestly, I know unless I am sealed in a padded room, that life isn't safe (I was hit by a mini-van a little over a week ago while walking my dog in the morning, as they were backing out to take their kids to school.).  All of this still doesn't mean that I don't worry about all of the crazies around me that are not seeing me because they are on their cellphones, fixing hair and make up, or just plain oblivious, but it is still sickening to see the reality of it.  Hopefully it was just the vehicles that were fatally damaged.

All I can say is:  be careful out there and wear good gear.  Motorcycling, unfortunately, is only as as safe as the most distracted driver around you.  Please make sure that that rider or driver isn't you.  And as they say "keep the shiny side up".  Tomorrow will be another beautiful day.