I copied this from another forum, and felt it was a message worth passing along. It's a pretty sobering reminder that it's not about the destination, it's about the journey. Take it easy out there and keep the shiny side up.

"Don't know how many of you knew my husband Paul, who's login this is. But, I just wanted to say that he was killed in a motorcycle accident on November 19th. Earlier this summer (July 4th) he laid the bike down and walked away with a sprained ankle. The cause of his first wreck was his impatience in traffic. He was in a hurry, and got tired of stop-and-go so he swung out from behind a truck without looking over his shoulder and was clocked by an oncoming automobile. He swore to me that he had learned his lesson and was going to be more patient while riding the bike.

Nov. 19th he was going too fast (very fast) on a road he was unfamiliar with at 1:30 in the morning. There was a car ahead stopped at the red light. When the light turned green, my husband decided not to slow down (as you would be forced to do in a car) and passed the stopped car on the left not knowing that the road was about to veer sharply to the right. He lost control of the bike and hit the retaining wall. I believe he was killed instantly, but "no one saw him hit the wall" even though the evidence is clear.

I took the riders safety course with my husband a few years back when he first got the bike. Over time, the lessons we learned in that class slipped away. An uncontrollable sense of urgency and traffic congestion frustrated my husband, even when we were in the car. Though I tried to remind him of what we learned about riding a motorcycle safely, he wouldn't listen.

I just hope that any of you out there who think that motorcycles are for going fast, or cutting around cars and maneuvering quickly will maybe get a little out of this story. My husband was very sure he knew how to ride his bike well, and that he was in complete control. He read many many posts, tragic tales of motorcycle accidents, and was even recently reading the "Proficient Motorcycling" manuals. Driving fast and reckless is going to catch up to you sooner or later, no matter how much you know!

Keep your quick maneuvers for when it's an emergency that you need to escape from.
Take a chill pill, and drive your bike safely so that your loved one's don't have to say "I told you so" into the thin air!"

 

I'm sorry for your loss, and I'm at a loss for any words about the incident.

Sorry,
Frank

 

Thanks for the post,sobering for sure

 

[sm=exactly.gif]

 

That had to be hard to type for the spouse.

 

At times we have all been impatient and or over confident and taken chances that we know we should not. In the best case scenario we end up getting the heck scared out of us and we promise to never do that again. Unfortunately we all too often allow our impatience and over confidence to return. We can all learn form your post, I am sorry for your loss, hopefully it will give all of us pause to think and ride more carefully.

Zyklon

 

very sad but at the same time very true! unfortunaley we all get a little crazy at times! my condolences to the author!

 

Very sorry to hear of your loss. It should be a wake up call to all of us. Damn near bought the farm myself on August 9th of this year. Spent 4 days in intensive care and a total of 11 weeks recovering to where I could work again. Never take safety for granted.

 

Damn, I hope we all earn a lesson from this. It is very sad to lose someone in the two wheel community.

 

Very sad, so sorry for your loss, maybe will help save another life.