The Dangers of Motorcycling...

Today I experienced my first major casualty in the three years I've been riding a motorcycle.  It's really upsetting to me.  In fact I'm having a hard time writing about it because I'm so upset.  It's moments like this that you really have to re-evaluate your life and try to figure out what's really important.

I guess the best way to go about this is just to explain how this happened.  It was approaching 6:00 and the library was closing.  I'd just showered, and took too long cutting my hair.  So I hurried as fast as I could up there on my motorcycle.  I wanted to get a repair manual for my truck that I had on hold.  And I did.

Little could I know what was about to happen.

I went down to Smiths for a couple of grocery items that I needed.  The other day I saw a guy blasting out of the parking lot on a bike there.  He was going fast enough that he lifted off a little when he went over the sidewalk and through the ditch.  He was already leaning into the turn and when his weight came back down on the wheels gravity and friction had it's way with him and he high sided over the bike.  That's the worst type of accident.  A low side you just fall down and slide.  But on a high side you fly over the top of the bike, and come down hard.  It's the high sides that break bones.

Anyway, I went into the Smith's to shop.  I'd only gone in to buy a couple things, but then there were a few things on sale that I was going to need anyway.  Usually I'm a quite good judge of how much stuff I can put in my bag without it becoming unwieldy as I ride home.  But it was those damn sales.  In hindsight I don't know how I could have been so foolish.

As I packed the bag after my purchase it became obvious that it didn't all fit.  And although I didn't think of it at the time, when you're riding a bike you don't want to be distracted by an unwieldy bag.  The last thing that didn't really fit was a bag of oranges.  I didn't want to put them underneath other heavy things.  Unfortunately they are round, and rolly.  I put them on top of the bag, hoping that they wouldn't roll away if I laid my bag on the seat behind me.

I think you can tell where this is going.

The incident came after I turned onto 3rd Ave, going down the big hill.  I felt the oranges shifting behind me, and then it happened.  I felt them go.  And then...

I watched them in my mirror sitting in the road as I drove slowly down the hill.  3rd Ave is a one way road, so I couldn't flip a u-turn and go back for them.  I watched in desperation as one car passed my lovely oranges, then another, then another.  There was no place to park on the bottom of the hill so I could run back up the hill to get them.  I hurried around the block, rushing to try to get back to them as fast as I could.  It was only about 45 seconds.  But when I got back to them, someone had crushed my oranges.  My poor delicious oranges.  Jerks.

So now I'm orangless.  Orangless.  And I have to wonder, is grocery shopping on a motorcycle always a good idea?  I'm orangless.