Holidays Plan B
Plan A for our two-week Christmas/New Year break was to on Boxing Day ride up to stay with friends in Pukekohe for a couple of days before heading south to have New Years with Mrs H's mum at Ashburton. I'd even bought myself a new Shift vented jacket to make hot weather riding more pleasant.
We left home early Boxing Day morning (by our standards). After a 25 minute gas stop at Shell Mana (we left there about 9:30am) we were away. Beautiful riding conditions, lots of bikers out and heading north for a day's racing at Wanganui. The westerly picked up from Levin. The traffic levels built up from Foxton. A whole heap of bikers roared off ahead of us at Sanson. There was an A4K Skyhawk parked up behind the Airforce Museum at Ohakea.
Next thing I remember is lying on my back looking at the sky while four faces looked down at me. A nice Maori lady asked me "Do you know my name?" To which I replied "No". "It's Faith", she said. "Oh", I replied. "That's the fourth time I've told you that," she added.
Where was I? Where were we going? Did I hit another vehicle? Slowly memory returned and I knew we were going to Pukekohe. Mrs H was there and I knew who she was. She was OK. I was told I was on the north side of the Rangitikei river bridge at Bulls, and no, I hadn't hit another vehicle.
Pat the ambo officer got me into the ambulance, gave me an oxygen mask and said we were off to A&E at Palmerston North. She said my bike had hit the armco and I'd been thrown over the top of that (turns out that my bike had hit the armco but well after I had slid away from it, and that I had got myself off the road and over the armco -- with some assistance).
My brand new jacket was bit chewed but armour and fabric had done their job well. I had a sore right shoulder, a small graze on the back of my left hand but seemed otherwise undamaged. There were lumps of dirt on my jeans and left boot.
Off to X-ray to confirm one very broken collarbone, and then the requisite several hours sitting around being observed for head injury symptoms.
My brother drove up from Wellington to give me a lift home. The bike (which I haven't yet seen) was parked up in Bulls.
Yesterday a guy who was travelling in a vehicle two ahead of me at the time off the accident, dropped off my tankbag and helmet (more than just slightly dinged). He said as they drove off the bridge into the following dip, there was a long stream of stopped northbound traffic and they had to brake really hard to stop. Next thing he said they heard a great squeal of brakes as the car behind them locked everything up to avoid rear-ending them. That was the car in front of me, so apparently I have either locked up the brakes on my bike and dropped it, or deliberately dropped it to avoid piling into the car in front. I have no memory of this, but either way I was clearly too close to the vehicle in front to be able to stop safely.
Today I have got my insurer to send me the requisite paperwork and ANZA are going to go and uplift a sad ST1300. I have a right arm in a sling and am struggling with discomfort and only being able to use one arm (I am also righthanded).
The folks who stopped to help us at Bulls are all stars. I have 35 minutes of lost memory so can only remember a couple of faces. I particularly want to contact the southbound couple who stuck their car into the armco on their side of the road rather than hit me. Bless. I want to pay for their repair costs.
As for the numerous bikers who continued to lane split through an accident site and none of whom stopped to help, thanks a bunch.
I'm OK but with a sore shoulder. I will heal. The bike is fully insured and will be repaired or replaced. Mrs H is fantastic. We have everything we need. Just ride safely and watch your following distances.
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The best way to forget all your troubles is to wear tight underpants.
Originally Posted by Racey Rider
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