Part 5 - Interlude


***Just before we take a break to divert for a moment, i've place my final order at PPCs this morning, so that should arrive late next week.***

A few of you know about my other passion/hobby. For those who don't, i'm a biker. I've got an '88 Kawasaki ZXR250 which i've had for just under a year now. I particularly enjoy riding up in the ranges, we've got some nice roads up in the local hills.

However, just two weeks ago i had my first real accident. I mean i've dropped the bike whilst stationary before, but never a real off.

Anyhow here's what happened:
I was in the left lane at the lights, behind about 5 cars. At the front in the right lane was a big truck...
The lights went green, and we moved off. I was in no hurry, happily traveling amongst the rest of the traffic.
So we pulled out of the intersection, accelerating up to about 40km/h. The right lane was stuck behind the truck, who was struggling to reach 20kn/h . I was still speeding up on my way to 50km/h (still behind the other cars), and was passing the cars in the right lane. Just as i was about to pass the truck, the car behind the truck decided she wasn't going to wait anymore, and swung out into my lane, into me!

So i braked and swerved; those who have ridden before know that those two maneuvers are mutually exclusive (you do one or the other, never both simultaneously). I lowsided and rolled into the gutter where i watched my nike slide ~15m down the road. I was cringing as i watched the bike crumble, bits of plastic flying out from underneath.

To cut a long story short, i got up and with the help of some guys who saw the whole thing and stopped to help we pushed the bike up onto the footpath. I was ok, mainly shock but my knee was a mess. The lady stopped and came back, we exchanged details and she left.

Our conversation:
Her: "Are you OK?"
Me: "I'm ok, a bit shaken"
Her: "What happened?"
Me: "You nearly ran me over"
Her: "OMG! I had my indicator on though!"
Me: " SO!!!? I was next to you! "
Her: "But your bike can accelerate twice as fast as my car..."
Me: "That's got nothing to do with it!? "
Her (in a lower vioce): "I'm sorry, i didn't see you there"
Me: "Obviously "

She doesn't think she's at fault cos she didn't actually hit me (thanks to my sweet ninja reflexes). But i've got the law on my side, and a signed witness statement to boot!

Here's some pics of the damage:
The bike fell and slid on it's left side.















Wish me luck with the whole process of insurance claims and the like...