Wow...Like procreating, there are certain people who should never throw a leg over any 2 wheeled vehicle. You apparently found one.
Newbie Goes Thud... Twice
THUD! It was quite a distinctive sound, and I lost my breath when I looked outside the window. Several hundred pounds worth of metals, plastics, and rubber had gone down right outside my apartment, it's rider sprawled out right next to it. A Honda CBR F3 had gone down at the corner on my street. 
No delay in getting downstairs to help. I was right at his side helping him to his feet within seconds. He was already rising up, so I breathed a sigh of relief.
And that's when my mind opened up to the details. No debris trail or marks on the street leading up to the accident scene and the bike wasn't missing any parts; he had gone down at either a really slow pace or from a complete stop. His garb didn't give me anything to smile about, either. Even those who dress for comfort (tee shirt, and sneakers) over safety will wield a good quality helmet. Not this guy; it looked like something you'd get out of a trashcan or a Goodwill (or maybe back to that trashcan). A well-worn fullface with no shield on it, even though it was obvious at one point in history that it had one. The rider... maybe 16 or 17, was sporting a fresh wound on his right forearm, which was readily bleeding.
"You okay?" I asked.
"Yeah," he grumbled.
He stooped to pick up the machine, and I winced even more. As light as I found the F3 to be, a lot of people couldn't get it up the way he was trying - pulling on the left handlebar only. I stood there, drumbstruck, then helped him with it. Using the technique of having my back to it, one hand on the right bar and the other on the frame, I managed to slowly walk it back upright.
***thanks to... NinjaGirl I think, for that handy post***
From there, I took a wild guess.
"New bike?"
"Yeah. Just picked it up today."
"How long have you been riding?"
"Just started today."
***OMG***
He then immediately hopped on the bike and started it up. I made the suggestion that maybe he should call someone to help him get the bike back home (ie - someone else ride it for hiim), but he remained determined. Translation - he kicked it in gear and tried to get moving again. Moving... success. At a controlled rate... failed. With way too much gas, he kicked off at a fast clip and immediately lost it. Legs flailing and bike weaving all over the place, he sailed right into the curb at the far side of the three-way intersection that I live on. THUD!!!
Well... perhaps a THUD followed immediately by a couple of smaller ones.
To be honest, I kind of snickered as I ran over. :lol: I was concerned, but it was also comic. It was one of those things that you imagine seeing in a movie, and only in a movie. Yet here it was happening right before my very eyes.
"Dude! Where do you live?" I asked after repeating the 'are-you-okay'-pick-up-the-bike routine.
As it turned out, he only lived four blocks away, so I offered to take him home myself. No... I take that back - I INSISTED. I grabbed the keys out of the ignition and made the point. Somewhat sheepishly, he agreed. It was a rather quiet few minutes with him on the back of his now well scraped-up F3. Well... almost; I was still snickering. :lol:
And I was still snickering all the way during my walk back home. What an adventure today.
No delay in getting downstairs to help. I was right at his side helping him to his feet within seconds. He was already rising up, so I breathed a sigh of relief.
And that's when my mind opened up to the details. No debris trail or marks on the street leading up to the accident scene and the bike wasn't missing any parts; he had gone down at either a really slow pace or from a complete stop. His garb didn't give me anything to smile about, either. Even those who dress for comfort (tee shirt, and sneakers) over safety will wield a good quality helmet. Not this guy; it looked like something you'd get out of a trashcan or a Goodwill (or maybe back to that trashcan). A well-worn fullface with no shield on it, even though it was obvious at one point in history that it had one. The rider... maybe 16 or 17, was sporting a fresh wound on his right forearm, which was readily bleeding.
"You okay?" I asked.
"Yeah," he grumbled.
He stooped to pick up the machine, and I winced even more. As light as I found the F3 to be, a lot of people couldn't get it up the way he was trying - pulling on the left handlebar only.
I stood there, drumbstruck, then helped him with it. Using the technique of having my back to it, one hand on the right bar and the other on the frame, I managed to slowly walk it back upright. ***thanks to... NinjaGirl I think, for that handy post***
From there, I took a wild guess.
"New bike?"
"Yeah. Just picked it up today."
"How long have you been riding?"
"Just started today."
***OMG*** He then immediately hopped on the bike and started it up. I made the suggestion that maybe he should call someone to help him get the bike back home (ie - someone else ride it for hiim), but he remained determined. Translation - he kicked it in gear and tried to get moving again. Moving... success. At a controlled rate... failed. With way too much gas, he kicked off at a fast clip and immediately lost it. Legs flailing and bike weaving all over the place, he sailed right into the curb at the far side of the three-way intersection that I live on. THUD!!!
Well... perhaps a THUD followed immediately by a couple of smaller ones.
To be honest, I kind of snickered as I ran over. :lol: I was concerned, but it was also comic. It was one of those things that you imagine seeing in a movie, and only in a movie. Yet here it was happening right before my very eyes.
"Dude! Where do you live?" I asked after repeating the 'are-you-okay'-pick-up-the-bike routine.
As it turned out, he only lived four blocks away, so I offered to take him home myself. No... I take that back - I INSISTED. I grabbed the keys out of the ignition and made the point. Somewhat sheepishly, he agreed. It was a rather quiet few minutes with him on the back of his now well scraped-up F3. Well... almost; I was still snickering. :lol:
And I was still snickering all the way during my walk back home. What an adventure today.
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Ha ha! :biggrin: That sounds about right!!!
I DO hope that guy does take the advice about learning properly. Like JB said, he might hurt someone.
I'm tempted to go back over there and see if his bike is out in the open... then throw a Kryptonite Disc Lock on the front disc!*BTW - Interesting how an alternate form of the word GRAB, starts with an S and rhymes with CATCH, got filtered out*
Because they learned how to ride a "bike" when they were 5.
Here's my first bike.... yup... a bobber with ape hangers!
Mine was purple.
Mine was green with a gold seat. Awesome bike.Because they learned how to ride a "bike" when they were 5.
Here's my first bike.... yup... a bobber with ape hangers!
Mine was purple.
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