Sunday 10/19

[patricks2r]

Have good ride this weekend ...  wish I could go!

[Cru Jones]

IN -
- me
- Cru
- tcl (from SVR)

[goldenchild]

Slight change of plans...

Due to living and working in this germ infested cesspool of a petri dish we call NYC, I'm STILL feeling under the weather. Canceling the ride? Hell no, just not riding for as long or as fast as I originally intended sooooo...

this ride is now open to all skill levels. Come one, come all. Sorry for the last minute change up.


Who am I kidding?! You folks rarely want to ride with us so I'm not expecting anyone else to join in, just thought I'd ask though... 

[Grrrly]

what time you think you guys will be back in the general NYC vicinity?  as I posted in the other thread, Terry is still out due to the same cold.  I've fought it off or possibly had this strain already lol.  I had committed to something else...... but if I can make it back home before dark and the temps drop, I could be swayed  

edit: see you guys next weekend 

(feeling bad since I already committed to the ramapo ride, I'll  be thinking of you guys, when I can't make it out of 3rd gear  )

[goldenchild]

M, unfortunately we'll still be getting back after dark... doesn't you bike have HID's ?

[Grrrly]

HID's yes, heated gear? no.   

too cold for my liking... I'll prefer to get home at sundown, and watch the Malaysia race @ 6pm. 

[goldenchild]

HID's yes, heated gear? no.   

too cold for my liking... I'll prefer to get home at sundown, and watch the Malaysia race @ 6pm. 

K then, I'll see you next week at the cart track!! Oh and Rossi won the race, he just doesn't know it yet

[rcpete]

Can't ride tomorrow.  got some cleaning up to do. Have a safe one!

[EvilSteve]

I just got back from a ride actually, it's only 33 degrees what are you complaining about?

[goldenchild]

I just got back from a ride actually, it's only 33 degrees what are you complaining about?

That's awesome!

[EvilSteve]

I left the house at 10. LOL

[goldenchild]

What?! I'm already, fed, bathed and dressed like a normal person and typing up a post ride report BEFORE 8pm?!! No, I/we are not getting soft, we'd still be about 180 miles away from home right about now but unfortunately...

I hate to sound like one of these -


See, it all started for me last night while getting my crap together for today's ride - I like to get everything together the night before so that I can just wake up, take care of doggie and be on my way. Here's a pic of doggie just cause I love him  -



Anyway, as I was getting my crap together, I was still a tiny bit iffy about riding because I'm still feeling pretty crappy. Not only that, I was worried about the road temperatures and cold tires so I thought I'd post up about it as seen here. I decided that I was going to ride since the fresh air would probably do me some good, and that I'd make sure to take it real easy since the tires probably wouldn't warm up to temp.

Fast forward to 9am. I make it all the way to the meet up spot (Southside Coffee), a grueling 2 blocks away (organizing rides has to have some perks right?!). We suck/sip down our delicious hot beverages and move out. The BQE, a fight through lower Manhattan, Holland Tunnel, a lovely tour through downtown Newark, and an hour later we get off of the slab. We make a pit stop for gas and to assess our clothing - too many layers, not enough etc. During this stop I felt my tires (currently C2T's) and they felt about room temperature. Not hot, not cold, just neutral rubber. During the spring/summer these tires would normally feel hot and sticky to the touch after an hour and change on the slab, but not this time of year hence my concern.

We leave the gas station and we're shortly on the first of many planned twistys for the day. I made a mental note to make a sincere effort to ride at a casual pace and also make sure I match my revs perfectly while downshifting. Even though I wasn't riding hard or particularly fast, I still managed to break the back end loose because my tires just weren't up to the task as they were never going to warm up. While riding during warmer temps, I'd have to be riding pretty fast to break the back end loose, but with cold pavement and cold temps, your tires just will not stick like you're used to. 5 miles, 10 miles, 15 miles down the road all is well apart from the back of the bike squirming all over the place. If you expect to happen then it's no big deal really. We managed to get some fun corners in. Somewhere around mile 17 into the twistys we come upon a set of corners that I'm pretty familiar with. Left right left right left right so on and so on. The last 2 corners on this particular series goes like this... tight left hand sweeper going slightly uphill with the camber in your favor, going into... a slightly decreasing radius downhill off camber right hander. Visually, the road looks like it's falling away from you. After these series of corners, the road straightens out for a bit before you hit more corners and ride off into the sunset.

Cru and I get to the first junction and we pull over to wait for Tom who was the only other rider that we had today. Cru knows Tom from the local SV board. Anyhow, Tom's ridden with us before and I remember being impressed by his riding skills and also the fact that he's a great guy. He gave me zips ties one time to reattach my license plate during that strange period when all the Suspects plates seemed to be falling off their bikes. As we were heading down the fun road we just finished I was checking my mirror to see whether or not Tom was able to hang with Cru and I. Granted, we WEREN'T going as fast as we normally do down that road, 70-ish mph as opposed to 95+. I didn't see Tom in my mirror but I thought nothing of it since I knew him as a smart and skilled rider. Also, on the previous corners of the day we'd lose him for a bit so not immediately seeing behind me was of no concern.
Tom thankfully was riding smart and well within his limits. He wasn't trying to keep up with us, he was just taking everything at his own pace like everyone should be doing. As Cru and I were waiting at the junction, I started to get a bad feeling about Tom. A few minutes go by and Cru text messaged him to tell him where we were in case he for some reason turned off the road. Another few minutes go by and all of a sudden 2 little old ladies pull up behind us and wave us over. I immediately think "Oh shit, bad news." They kindly tell us that they passed a fallen rider back down the road we just came from.

We jump back on the bikes, make a u turn and ride back. A few miles later we roll up on Tom and his now "naked" SV. Lucky for him, his crash wasn't too bad considering the circumstances (remember that downhill decreasing radius off camber right turn?). He wasn't hurt thanks to him wearing FULL GEAR including a BACK PROTECTOR. His suit tore apart a little at the shoulder but that's about it. If it wasn't for the back protector, he might have ended up in the hospital cause on the side of the road at that corner there's nothing but rocks in all shapes and sizes ranging from babyheads to small boulders.
Based on Tom's recount, he told us that he target fixated on the rocks while he was at the apex of the right hander and the next thing he knew, he was down. Like I said, he wasn't hurt but he'll for damn sure be sore tomorrow. As for the bike... he lost the front fairing, gauge cluster, headlights, mirrors, the exhaust can fell off, the rear subframe got bent, among other things...













To give you an idea of what the bike looked like before the accident, here's a stock pic -


We sat around for a bit to catch our breath, luckily it was looking like Tom and the bike would be able to ride home although he wouldn't have lights or a gauge cluster. We left the scene in the early afternoon and slowly meandered our way home. There were further incidents on the ride home apart from Sunday traffic. We all made it safe and sound.

I knew I was going to post this little tale here on the DMF when I got home, but at the same time I didn't want to because Cru and I KNOW that this might be the one to scare everyone off of our rides for good and nobody will ever ride with us again. As it stands, hardly any of you come out with us as it is, but after hearing about all the crashing going on in these rides? Ppfff, I'm pretty sure none of you will come with us now (as much as I'd love for all of you to). I'll still be posting up for rides but I won't be expecting too much of a response .

As bad as I feel for Tom and his crash, and as much as I wish it would've never happened, I'm slightly heartened to know for a fact that there's was nothing I could've done to prevent his accident and my conscience is clear on this one unlike the last half dozen accidents. Target fixation, cold tires, not a good combo for sport riding. I used to absolutely FEAR people going down on these rides and for a long time nothing ever happened. Sadly, now instead of fearing people going down, I've come to almost expect it. The only thing I can tell you folks is nothing that you haven't heard before -
- WEAR YOUR GEAR. Full gear from head to toe including proper riding boots and a back protector preferably something rated CE level 2. Jeans and tims DO NOT count and gear.
- DO NOT ride above your skill level and or comfort zone. These rides aren't races, you will not get a trophy or a sponsorship or a free bike at the end of the day. You are not Valentino Rossi, nobody is paying to ride your motorcycle so don't try to ride like it. If your ego is telling you otherwise, you'd better start thinking about taking up chess instead. These rides are for meeting new FRIENDS, seeing old ones and for having fun. Nothing more, nothing less.
- DO NOT try to keep up with the rider in front of you. Follow them, sure, how else are you going to know which way to go? Just don't try to keep the same pace. What's fast for one person may be slow for another and everyone's perception and skill levels are very different. DO NOT assume that you'll be able to follow.

I sincerely hope that you folks will continue to want to have group rides with me and the other US's. As I was telling Mypetmonster earlier... my only goal during these rides is to have fun and to learn how to ride my bike smoothly. As such, everyone of all skill levels is welcome to come and experience what group sportriding is about and experience some of the best roads our area has to offer. Shit, you might even be able to eat some deep fried french toast or some rockin' fries while we're at it. Tom, if you're reading this, I hope all will be well with you and your bike soon. To the rest of youze... stayed tuned for next week's report - GRAND PRIX NEW YORK!!!

[Howie]

Sorry to hear about your buddy Tom.  The bike looks pretty bad, as does his helmet, but, most important, it sound like he is OK, plus he was able to make it home safe and sound, thanks to the GC/Cru escort.

Great dog!

[goldenchild]

Thanks Howie!

Not to make light of the current situation of these rides we've got going on but...

Could this be the official Usual Suspects theme song?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMenB9Ywh2Q

   

[EvilSteve]

Glad Tom's mostly ok, at least he has winter to fix his bike.