I’m done with leading

[durk]

I left my house yesterday around 11 AM and headed to Lisbon/Cadiz area for some riding with a friend. My friend lives locally here and had recently acquired a Concours and I thought I’d take him down to show him some of the routes I run. Mind you I took the Goldwing so I wouldn’t get crazy carried away. We made it into Cadiz for our first stop for a break and fuel. That was about mid route for what I had planned. I talked to him a little bit about how he was feeling and things of that nature and he said he was enjoying himself. We left from Cadiz and headed to 646. We made it through Scio and then shortly out of Scio we were making a left hander and a truck came along and I had to adjust my line as I’m guessing he did as well. After I cleared the corner I checked my rearview mirror to see his bike being ghost riding along the guard rail and then hit the asphalt. When I got to him he was down an embankment with two broken legs and in major pain obviously. He was life flighted from the scene. This is the fourth time I’ve had somebody following me wreck. I’ve come to the conclusion it’s best for me to ride solo. I don’t want to see somebody die on a ride with me. If somebody posts a ride I may join in but I for sure will not be heading up any more rides.

[Pauly]

Never mind. Re-read the post. I missed the bit about the guardrail. 

Glad he isn't dead. 

Edited October 30, 2022 by Pauly

[Ron505]

Sorry to read this.  We had a couple riding two up go down in front of us earlier this year on NC215.  It just sucks being on any end of something like that.  I hope your bud heels up quickly.

[MSerfozo]

Sorry about your friend, how is he recovering?

I've had a few friends finish a fun day early with an ambulance trip.  One was right in front of me (I rode between him and his bike while I was trying to stop) and another was lost down an embankment for about an hour before we found him too injured to climb out.

Anytime we ride, we run the risk of not finishing safely.  More people means more chances of that happening.  Less experienced riders want to ride with somebody faster so they can learn and improve, but sometimes they push too hard or freeze up.  It's a difficult choice to decide to be the rabbit - you could be helping a friend grow in the sport or you could be leading him to a trip to the ER.  Ultimately, every rider's responsibility to get home that night is his own, not yours.  Riding solo and riding with a friend or group both have their pros & cons, but you can't feel responsible for what other riders do.  At least, you were there to help him and make sure he got transported to a hospital - had he been solo...

I'm retired now, so let me know if you need a helper to go recover his bike.

[bowdog]

Sorry to hear about this Durk! Not much can be said to make you feel better but you really can't blame yourself for this...Check in on him and be the friend you can now and hopefully he will recover quickly and want to get back out on 2 wheels.

[durk]

Thanks for the kind words gentlemen. Still sucks, but helps a bit. 

Below is my most recent update. That is as of last night around 5pm. 

[Howabusa]

Sorry to hear about this, Durk. 

[durk]

Went to see my friend Kevin in the hospital last night. It was something I was dreading. I was afraid I was going to feel terrible that I really messed up this guy’s life. It ended up being a great visit. He definitely has a long road to recovery. Broken femur, both tib/fibs, couple ribs, finger, and shoulder. Leg with femur break has had surgery on both femur and tib/fib repaired. Waiting for swelling to go down on other leg. He received quite a few units of blood and is fortunate to still be here. He mentioned multiple times how much fun he was having and sounded like a little kid talking about how much enjoyed 164,9,646. His plan is to ride again. I hope that comes true. Already has a goal to be able attend a church youth event in February and share his story. 

[durk]

I also swung by the scene of the accident today and could see Kevin was very fortunate to not hit any trees. The area or he went down the embankment was one of the very few clear areas in that corner.

[Casper]

Damn. Glad he's alive. 

[marlboro man]

Damn sorry to hear that sounds worse than the first couple wrecks of the year Hope he gets better fast

Edited December 17, 2022 by marlboro man

[Uncle Punk]

Just getting around to seeing this. Sorry to hear about your friend, hope he heals back to the way he was before.

I have gone through many iterations about riding with others and completely understand the sentiment about not wanting to do it again. I imagine your calculation for this new self imposed rule will change many times based on new input to the decision and the desire to partake in something you once enjoyed.

I have rode many miles with people on this board without incident. I would ride with those same people again should our schedules allow. You are included in the group of people that I would ride with again. All risks can't be avoided and any of the skilled competent riders previous mentioned prior could have a mishap at any time, myself included. If we are in that type of environment you aren't responsible.

Riding with new people is very tricky and I haven't come up with a formula to use as a hard fast rule. I have been rewarded and devastated when riding with new people so have minimized those experiences. 

Some here might remember the incident where my nephew was injured on a ride. I avoided riding with him for years until he had some road experience. He had gone through two bikes with several seasons and was on his third bike in the start of it's second season before I agreed to bring him on a group ride. He crashed on the 10 minute ride we took for me to evaluate what group he should ride with that day before the group ride started and injured himself permanently. I was devastated and didn't ride with groups for a while after that. When I finally did decide to get back into it I would not ride with my familiar group if a new rider would show up unless a few of those guys could vouch for their competency. Competency is all you can ever ask for out of your fellow riders since you aren't responsible for the risks they assume.

 A few years after my nephew's recovery he convinced me into teaching him how to ride. We took it slow and he over the years has become a very competent rider. Last year he even went off the road following me which was an okay learning experience since he didn't get hurt and the bike was only scratched up with no mechanical damage. That incident must have taught him something since he knew exactly what happened and was able to apply a different mental process to his riding. That must have been the final piece to his riding puzzle because I couldn't lose him out of my sight this year.

[durk]

Thanks for sharing @Uncle Punk. It’s rough seeing guys go down. My friend is now in a rehab center and still has never made it home yet. I feel bad at times because I’m home going about life and he can’t. I can tell when I talk to him now the reality of it has set in more than it did shortly after the accident. He told me at the accident scene he did not blame me. He also told me when I visited him in the hospital the same thing and that he remembers me telling him multiple times to ride his pace. Still wears on me. I did make it out since his accident on the CBR and cleared my head a bit. I did have thoughts run through my head, however. Not sure why anyone would ever want to follow me when I’m on that bike doing the things I do when riding it. My own daughter even told me, “dad I know you can’t help yourself when you ride the CBR”. Hopefully some folks will post some rides and I can join in. I think I’ll be okay following. 

[Faster n’ U]

I used to participate in a lot of the organized OR group rides. Even though there were select members I’d ridden with many miles and felt comfy with, on the larger groups it never felt right. 
Then on one ride someone went down who was behind me. They were basically fine but you know. 
The very next ride a guy from Michigan on a new Ducati went down bad right in front of me. I watched him slowly ride wider and wider in a sweeping left, until he rode right into the ditch. Rode the ditch right into a steel culvert pipe under a driveway ( sure some reading this remember).  I saw that Ducati go airborne in two pieces, front end separated from the rest with his body cartwheeling alongside. He was just about to hit the ground as I passed. I called 911 in my helmet. 
 

never rode another group ride again. 
I’ve certainly ridden with others since then, at times complete strangers who spoke different languages. It can be fun. Or suck bad

[durk]

33 minutes ago, Faster n’ U said:

I used to participate in a lot of the organized OR group rides. Even though there were select members I’d ridden with many miles and felt comfy with, on the larger groups it never felt right. 
Then on one ride someone went down who was behind me. They were basically fine but you know. 
The very next ride a guy from Michigan on a new Ducati went down bad right in front of me. I watched him slowly ride wider and wider in a sweeping left, until he rode right into the ditch. Rode the ditch right into a steel culvert pipe under a driveway ( sure some reading this remember).  I saw that Ducati go airborne in two pieces, front end separated from the rest with his body cartwheeling alongside. He was just about to hit the ground as I passed. I called 911 in my helmet. 
 

never rode another group ride again. 
I’ve certainly ridden with others since then, at times complete strangers who spoke different languages. It can be fun. Or suck bad

Is this Danimal?

[Faster n’ U]

On 12/21/2022 at 3:53 PM, durk said:

Is this Danimal?

Why yes it is 

[B-Mac]

I am happy to lead you around Durk a Durk. Mabey even astray😄

 But NO Arbys for lunch.

Edited December 22, 2022 by B-Mac
dd

[mello dude]

1 hour ago, Faster n’ U said:

Why yes it is 

Dude.... I had wondered about your full story on the South American trip......... I followed many of your old posts.....

[durk]

17 hours ago, Faster n’ U said:

Why yes it is 

Dude thanks for helping me out years ago with positioning and turning me onto Keith Code. I learned so much from your 30 second, “hey man I don’t want to tell you you’re doing it wrong, but you should be cornering with your head in you’re mirror. Try it, Keith Code is the guy I listen to”. I split from the group at that point because I had to be home and immediately tried to implement what you were saying. Noticed a difference right away. Then I read Twist of the Wrist 2 and found all kinds of things to work on. What a learning curve it’s been. Thanks for being willing to share your knowledge. Hope all is well. 

[durk]

16 hours ago, B-Mac said:

I am happy to lead you around Durk a Durk. Mabey even astray😄

 But NO Arbys for lunch.

We’ll have to make it happen this summer. 

[Faster n’ U]

21 hours ago, mello dude said:

Dude.... I had wondered about your full story on the South American trip......... I followed many of your old posts.....

Yes. The full story (as compared to the fool story). 
 

Basically I went for a ride and kept going!

I wrote about my travels in Sam Manicom’s latest book, a compilation called “the Moment Collectors”. 
I wrote chapter 17!

Makes a great gift lol

https://www.sam-manicom.com/the-moment-collectors/#.Y6YKndNOmEc

[Faster n’ U]

5 hours ago, durk said:

Dude thanks for helping me out years ago with positioning and turning me onto Keith Code. I learned so much from your 30 second, “hey man I don’t want to tell you you’re doing it wrong, but you should be cornering with your head in you’re mirror. Try it, Keith Code is the guy I listen to”. I split from the group at that point because I had to be home and immediately tried to implement what you were saying. Noticed a difference right away. Then I read Twist of the Wrist 2 and found all kinds of things to work on. What a learning curve it’s been. Thanks for being willing to share your knowledge. Hope all is well. 

No worries. And glad the imprint helped. Many years of trying to keep up with faster bikes on my SV certainly made a difference. 

[mello dude]

2 hours ago, Faster n’ U said:

Yes. The full story (as compared to the fool story). 
 

Basically I went for a ride and kept going!

I wrote about my travels in Sam Manicom’s latest book, a compilation called “the Moment Collectors”. 
I wrote chapter 17!

Makes a great gift lol

https://www.sam-manicom.com/the-moment-collectors/#.Y6YKndNOmEc

Ordered!

[Faster n’ U]

20 hours ago, mello dude said:

Ordered!

Thanks man. I was kinda kidding but I appreciate it. I don’t really make anything from the book sales (was paid initially), but because of my involvement, as Sam is pretty well known, have already been invited to attend (and rode to and attended) several large Adv motorcycle rallies including Waylin Wayne Weekend in SE Ohio and Overland Expo East in Virginia, where I got to give my first public presentations on different aspects of my journey. That was cool. And it looks like will lead to additional opportunities in writing (several for inline magazines) and being a presenter at an upcoming Horizons Unlimited rally in Toronto next June that I’m hoping to do. Maybe head north and west from there into Alaska for a bit and visit friends there. 
 

[durk]

^ good stuff Dan