A sobering moment

[littleredrooster]

Out in the car yesterday, I passed three bikes going in the oppsite direction on a very quiet rural road. Other than noting that the middle one was a Triumph twin with VERY loud pipes, I thought nothing of it.

Today - perhaps 28 hours later - I noticed a Facebook post asking for dashcam footage for a fatal accident involving a red Triumph...

I pulled the card out of the dashcam and reviewed the footage, and there it is - bikes as described in the appeal and less than 10 minutes away (on the same road) as the collision with the van.

As a lifelong motorcyclist (1970 - present) it actually shook me quite badly to look at this.

Take care out there, peeps.

Edit to add: I have a DC coming around tomorrow to take a statement and get a copy of the footage.

Edited by littleredrooster on Thursday 1st May 22:20

[nute]

We were driving up through Scotland many years ago, overtaken by a bike and then 5 mins later traffic comes to a stop and we are sat there for a couple of hrs. Turns out the biker had fatally ended up under a van. Really does make you think.

[supacool1]

I was out once on a ride in the spring a couple of years ago during the weekday. This was week after a friend was sideswiped by a bus when on his bike. He was OK other than a bruised ego and a wrecked bike. I was riding behind him. The sound of the bike hitting the bus still haunts me to this day. The bus had crossed over onto his side of the road on a tight blind bend just as he was going around and he hit the side.

To get over this I went out on my own. Roads were quiet, was pootling down the A272 from Winchester and came across a scene that haunted me further. Police, ambulance and the sound of an Air Ambulance....A sports bike rider had been on the same road as me and I guess the car driver pulled out on him from a junction onto the main road.

I happened upon the scene about 10-20 mins after the accident. It immediately put me off and I went home.

I love this time of year as it gets warmer, stays light for longer and bikes are out, but with it comes the inevitable people who are riding rusty. And car drivers not paying attention as less bikes on the roads...

Stay safe out there. And pay attention.

[ChocolateFrog]

Semi-regular occurrence near my dad's on the border of the Dales and Lakes.

I've found that the transition from my teens, 20's to 30's and now into my 40's is tipping the risk/reward ratio the wrong way. Or atleast the acceptance of risk is going down.

That said a mate is about 6 months into a RTW trip at the moment and is somewhere the other side of Nepal as I type and I've never been more envious of a mate ever.

[the cueball]

A few weeks back, we were talking to 2 older gents who had just passed their tests and decided that the best bikes for them was a KTM Super Adventure and a Superduke...

News the next day of a 60 odd year old rider with a KTM had died in a single vehicle accident.

Not sure if it was the same guy, but same age, bike and area.

He was one of the 11 biker deaths on the Scottish roads this year so far..

Edited by the cueball on Friday 2nd May 14:59

[FNG]

The above is why the more I ride, the slower I get (and the slower my bike).

I didn't see myself getting a cruiser aged 50 but there's a lot to be said for a bike that doesn't encourage you to be "on it" all the time, that encourages you to just enjoy the journey.

I'm now normally found doing 55 or so making the most of the time between clusters of cars dribbling along at 45-50.