Modern Vespa

I think Ray (sfarchie) is so cool that I wanted to be like him. So what did I do? I crashed on Sunday. My first ever serious crash. Ray, we're going to have to fight for the end of the table now

Some details, I was riding the twisties of Kings Canyon National Park on my Aprilia Shiver with a group (we were deep in the actual canyon at that point, about 15 miles west of Roads End). I went too hot into a left turn. It was a lot sharper than I expected. I was going wide and already dragging my footpeg, but I kept trying to lean more. Unfortunately, my rear tire hit dirt on the outside of the lane and it came out from under me. I and the bike slid, the bike t-boned the protective railing and [I think] I hit the bike as it bounced off the railing.

Since I was basically in the middle of nowhere, the closest hospital was in Fresno -- about 3 hours away. As far my injuries, well, I have three fractures on my lower left leg: tibial plateau, fibia, and some bone in my ankle (not sure of the name). Going to see an orthopedic specialist at UCSF today. I did hear the word "plate" somewhere in there, but I have to see the ortho guy first to find out for sure. The good news is that everything still seems to be in alignment. This is what they told me at the Fresno hospital. I have a full leg cast/splint for now (fun getting around with that heavy thing).

Which brings me to give a HUGE thank you to Jess and Rachael for driving all the way to Fresno (6+ hours round trip) to pick me up from the ER. My partner doesn't drive and we don't have a car, so I had to rely on the generosity of my friend and clubmate - thank you!!!!!! I owe you big!

As far as the bike, it's at Wilson's Motorcycles in Fresno. Insurance is taking care of it. I debated the insurance question, thinking that maybe the bike wasn't in bad enough shape to call the insurance company, but when I found out that I'd have to pay for CalTrans to fix that road railing I decided to call the insurance company and just let them deal with it -- plus there's a CHP report and record of the crash attached to my license now. Yeah, there go my nice low premiums.

Fortunately, I have not been in much pain. It's just going to be a hassle moving around for a while. And the worst part is that I wont be riding for a couple of months. I will heal though, and I will ride again

BTW, I have no pictures of the crash, unless someone in the group I was riding with took pictures (I don't know if they did -- I'll have to ask).

Anywho, just wanted to let you all know and publicly thank Jess and Rachael -- amazing friends . Watch how fast you go into those turns

yikes! glad you're relativly ok, sorry to hear about your leg though that sucks! wilson's huh? hmmm...

that's the attitude

+1 for Jess as well: if you can't count on your friends, not sure who you can count on, 'cept for yourself or whatever.

Your post really made my day.

It is so good to hear about something or someone doing a good deed, particularly after suffering your mishap. Too often we just hear about the problems.

Bravo to your good Samaritans.

Sorry to hear of your mishap, but glad you're still in one piece. And you've a great attitude. Kudos to Jess and Rachael for being there for you!

Medial malleolus? Lateral malleolus?

Bah...I'm glad you're alive, I hate dirt. Why don't they have a clever name for it like they do black ice? What would they call it? Greydirt?

You people will come up with something.

talk about adding insult to injury!!!

hope you heal up quickly

ooo, teh suck. Hope you're feeling better soon.

Dude! Holy crap, Vinicio! I'm glad your injuries weren't worse and confined to your leg. But I know that's not much comfort. I almost called you about the SFMC club meeting yesterday, but I thought you needed to rest from your long ride. Frak!

I'm really sorry to hear about your bike, but, again, glad it wasn't worse. Well, I'm still out of work anywhere from a few more weeks to 1 month. If you need to get around, give me a call. I am able to drive relatively safe now. Hehe...

If you need a ride to the next Quitter's meet, I can pick you up. Two gimps for the ends now.

Take care and give me a call if you need a ride.

I just spoke with Vinicio and he's in good spirits and on his way to his ortho appointment. He joked that at least nothing happened to his wrist. Bottom line, he can't be as cool as me since his wrist is still intact.

Sorry to read this! hope you get better real soon!

Good to hear that you weren't seriously injured. Crashing sucks.

Wow, quite a crash Vinicio, glad you're sort of alright. I hope that you heal quickly from your fractures. I'm sure the othropod will take good care of you. Make sure you partner does too. It is great to have good friends isn't it?

J.F.C.D !!

Speechless. Which group of danger mongers were you with?

Just picturing sfarchie and you walking into a bar - it's the start of a pretty good joke.

PS: I know who has a blue Shiver in stock.

By the way, I'm going to be in SF with my partner for a meeting a week this Thursday. I am hoping to make it to the next Quitter's SC meeting if it is still on. Hopefully I'll get to meet you guys then.

Looks like the Quitters are following the VCLG example, getting everyone hurt all at once... heh.

Heal quickly guys, and let me know if you need anything.

Of course the next meeting is still on, Benny!

And Ian, the only Quitter who's all hurt up now is Vin, no one else has that "VCLG" limp

(Jess, you're healed up, so don't pretend heh)

Okay, okay, I was exaggerating... But if you include Quitters and friends...

Though, now that I think about it, maybe I wasn't exaggerating. Fully 25% of the club is injured!

DON'T JINX ME! I happen to like my bones in one piece.

Yah, I'm just a quitter on my projects and life.

As do I!

I'm actually just good at hiding it. Truth is I'm still limping a bit, and I'm in a little bit of pain. Nothing I can't deal with, but "healed" is a definite overstatement.

That suks.

Break yourself & a toy too...

Hope you heal quickly.

Advil may be your friend......but Vicodin will spank you and make you write bad checks.....

R

8)

I'm sooooo sorry to hear about this! It could have been worse, of course, but it's bad enough. Can't believe CalTrans makes you pay for repairing the railing. That's what our taxes are for!

Vinicio, Benny....if either of you guys need a ride to up to the Yankee next Thursday (whether due to injury or to coming in from out of town) let me know and I could borrow my husband's RAV4 and run a pick-up/drop-off sweep to get folks there and home.

Seriously...just let me know.

Thanks all for the good wishes. Just came back from the ortho. MRI on Thursday, there may be ligament stuff to deal with too, but we'll know more Thursday - woohoo! Group from southbayriders.com - great bunch of people actually I expect no less from you I thought the blue ones were in Europe only. Too bad I hate blue... orange all the way for me

Well that sucks. I hope you heal quickly and are back riding sooner rather than later. And take care of that lovely Shiver (my favourite two wheeled non-Vespa vehicle!)

How'd the Corazzo hold up? Was it warm enough - it looked cold.

What brand pants? How'd they do?

The Corazzo was warm enough, but it was disappointing otherwise. It lost the water resistance it once had, but I wore a water proof cycling jacket underneath to keep dry. It was actually the same set up I had during the Big Wet One this past January. As far as protection though... I wasn't going to mention it, but since you asked. I was disappointed with my Corazzo 5.0. I got serious road rash on my elbow (a nice big hole actually), though nothing broken. The problem was that the armor did not stay in place and the jacket tore too easily. It think the armor was too loose and those velcro things around the wrist came loose during the crash, allowing the sleeve to move up. The material of the jacket tore right through. I'll take pictures later.

My pants on the other hand, did an awesome job both in terms of warmth and protection. They're mesh, but they have a cozy liner that goes with them and really keeps you toasty warm. I was wearing Olympia Airglide 2 Mesh pants. I have very minor scrapes on my knees. This is especially impressive since it was my left knee that seems to have taken the brunt of it. The armor was destroyed on the pants. I can imagine having no knee left if I had not been wearing those pants. Kudos to Olympia Moto Sports for quality protection! I wish I had them still to take pictures of, but they had to cut them off and they're in the trash now somewhere in Fresno.

My helmet (a Shark RSI) did hit the ground, but it doesn't look like it was a bad impact. There's a scrape on the left side and the face shield did fly off because the button got pushed in. Yes, I will get a new helmet.

The equipment that came out in the best shape and is still usable were my Dainese gloves. My hands have no scrapes at all and I slightly sprained a thumb. But they did an excellent job. Also, these gloves are nice and warm and they stayed relatively dry during the rain.

I was also wearing Chippewa motorcycle boots. Other than my ankle, my feet are totally in tact. I would say they did a nice job too.

Some pictures of the Corazzo and helmet.

vinicio, crap man. i'm glad you're gonna be alright. scary stuff. mend quickly.

Ouch! So sorry to hear about your crash and hope you heal quickly. That totally suck$ about the guard rail. And kudos to Jess and Rachael for stepping up, what great friends! Oh, and thanks for the gear info. It helps to hear what works, what doesn't and why.

Lisa

Thanks for the thumbs up on the Olympia Airglide Mesh riding pants. I wear the women's version on longer rides, but ordinary jeans around town. I should probably always wear the riding pants....but I take a risk. While I'm generally Toreador Pants, I do slack off on the pants when I'm just going to the market or out on errands...or, well, actually I only wear the Airglides on "big" trips where I'm going to be doing lots of highway riding or something in excess of 100 miles. I should probably rethink that, really.

The Corazzo...well, that's a disappointment. I just purchased a Corazzo for around town, and I really like the reflective qualities of the women's 5.0 But I did sense the armor wasn't in quite the right place, and it did seem to be "off elbow" too easily. I think I'll relegate that jacket to lower speed around town riding...which is a shame because I was planning to wear it on a ride to Hollister on Friday. I'm gonna rethink that.

Thanks for the details. It really helps to hear about real-world tests...though I'm sorry you had to take the hit for the rest of us.

I thought you were going to wear your new Dainese jacket on the ride? My Dainese jacket held out nicely for me. Not a tear or scratch.

Blue Shiver? I can live with blue

Sorry to hear this...since we live so close and I always run in to you at TJ's... please let me know if you need anything. Case of beer? Wine? Frozen peas?

I was planning to, but the forecast was for rain (which was correct). The Dainese is perforated leather and it would not have done well in the water. At least I still have my pristine leather jacket

Thank you for the offer Tracy. Joey is staying home with me, so we should be ok for now. I'll keep you in mind if something comes up -- thank you!

Geez, man, I am really sorry to hear that you went down. Please heal quickly!

I was thinking about your absence Sunday during our mini Marin ride and little did I know you were riding elsewhere and getting hurt!


Well, I don't know what else to say, other than the fact that during my commute to work, which stays on SF city streets, I think I will make every effort to wear my riding pants full-time. Cripes, maybe I should get some mesh armored pants for in-the-city riding, eh??

See you at the next Quitters meeting, V!

Oh, no, Vinicio! That's horrible news!! I am relieved to hear you're not in too much pain. Also glad to read Ray's report of your good spirits. Please keep us posted as to your recovery and the repair of your Aprilia.

I'm really glad you have good people like Jess and Rachel in your life. It's a lovely thing they did for you.

Awww, 'twas nuthin. Anyone would do that for one of their clubmates. I think that makes us all "enablers", though... we help each other pursue an activity where serious injury is a regular occurrence.

That was awesome you and Rachel went out to get Vinicio. It's funny, the first person I called was Todd. I already had a limo waiting, but it was more to just tell him I jacked up the Allstate. I don't know why, but I didn't want to piss him off for some reason. Do I need help?