The sky looked grim this morning. I arose from the depths of my mother's basement and looked out upon cloudy heavens, but no rain. Just in case, I donned my rain gear, said my goodbyes, and mounted the Sabre.
About 10:00, I was cruising through Connecticut and the sun made its glorious appearance. I stopped to remove my rain suit along a dam on route 318 (I think), popped it into one of my bags and hopped back on the bike. I hopped over to route 8, and eventually made my way to I-84 West. I chanced upon a pair of riders heading in the same direction and fell into formation with them. The leader was riding some sort of custom chopper and the second gentleman was on a smaller bike. I didn't get an opportunity to get a good look at either bike though. They kept to a moderate speed, which was very nice, since I did not have to fight the wind as much.
They turned off onto US-7, and I continued on to I-684. I went down the Sawmill Parkway to I-287, then over the Tappan-Zee bridge. Despite the signs on either side stating "No stopping on bridge," some numb-nut decided to stop to look at the boats, nearly causing an accident.
The trip through New Jersey was uneventful, though not being allowed to pump my own gas was highly irritating.
I arrived in PA at about 2:00 and all was going well until Kutztown. Suddenly there was a knot of traffic up ahead, so I tapped my rear brake several times to alert the drivers behind, and slowed down as I neared the stopped vehicles.
It turns out that a rider on what appeared to have been a Triumph Speed Triple (from what remained of the bike), had been weaving in an out between other vehicles when an annoyed cager slammed on his/her brakes. The rider swerved, lost control, and was disconnected from his bike which did several graceless cartwheels down the road. The rider survived with what appeared to have been only a few scratches, though he was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance just to be safe. The bike was not so lucky. I wanted to get a picture, but did not wish to have an accident myself, or annoy the emergency crew that showed up.
When I arrived in East Pete, the road into town was blocked off due to another motorcycle accident. Apparently, the rider took the turn at the corner of Graystone road a little too fast and lost control of his bike. He was not as fortunate as the rider in the earlier accident. An eye witness reported to me that this rider's leg was almost entirely severed.
I, on the other hand, have returned home safely and without incident. My second trip to Massachusetts on two wheels was a success, and I look forward to another trip in the Spring.
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6 comments:
Not so fast, Mr. Smith. A little acknowledgement here. When you came back from Massachusetts the last time it took twelve hours since you had to use side roads on "The Silver Streak". This time you left Mass and posted your story by 2:56 PM, a sizeable difference. I would say calling your Honda Natasha is a misnomer. Something like the "The Space Shuttle" would be more in order.
HAH!
Well, that time is actually incorrect. I did not arrive at home until after 4:30pm, though I left Massachusetts at 9:30. 7 hours is certainly better than 12, and I'd have made it in five and a half had I not stopped to eat, and if not for the two accidents.
Sounds like an interesting ride. Glad you made it through better than some of the others.
Paul:
It's always a good thing when you arrive at home safely, and live to talk about it
bob
bobskoot: wet coast scootin
BTW. Has your friend with the Wildfire 50cc summoned up his courage and continued to ride it or is he scouring Craig's List for used Kymcos?
He's ridden in a few times since having the CVT replaced, without incident. I haven't ridden with him yet.
I did have an odd dream last night that my People 150's belt blew. Thankfully, that was just a dream. It's got over 15000 on the clock and still runs great.
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