R6 down on Union and Octavia...

[snowface]

i work with a handful of riders in SF, and we often plan weekend trips together, or take lunch jaunts up to golden gate (which we did on wednesday). however, one of our fellow riders, probably the most talented of us all had a run in with a cage today.

the rider:
- he's been riding forever, wearing only a black helmet (usually rocks gloves and a jacket, but today, only the lid), on a black R6. Moving at about 20 mph.

the cager:
- a young woman driving in front of him on Union.

the situation:
- after crossing Octavia (the cage about 2 car lengths in front of the bike), the bike was coming up to the cage about 5mph faster than the driver. the driver slows and pulls to the right, into a driveway. no other vehicles nearby. the driver then puts the LEFT blinker on, and proceeds to try to pull a U-Turn. the biker with no warning to this of course, attempts to try to skate by in front of the car by pulling to the left hard. the cage clips the bike, and the rider hits the pavement. rough slide on the right side of the bike. biker basically ok except for a few bruises and scratches, hips and ankles mainly.

my analysis:
- this rider is good, but safety is not a main concern. i know we all try to ride like we're invisible, but it never hurts to (a) wear the right gear, and (b) wear some bright ass colors. the cage didn't see him and pulled an illegal turn. at the same time, the rider could have done more to be visible.

hopefully the attached pic shows a bit of what happenned, i tried to draw it out with my paint program at work...

http://www.salpartovi.com/images/R6 CRASH.bmp

[Mortifer]

I really hope the cager has insurance and hope your friend is ok.

[YamaBoarder]

This is the kind of story that makes me real nervous when city riding.

[speedster]

was the woman doable?

[snowface]

the bike was trashed, the rider is as good as you can be after something like that, and the woman had some really big knockers. that's why she couldn't see him coming. ;)

thanks for the well wishes, he's a lucky sumbitch.

[jleone]

LOL, nice synopsis. City driving is scary... hate cagers who don't signal and look before turning... bastards. That foo is lucky to walk away with only having a helm.

[RhythmRider]

Originally posted by snowface
i tried to draw it out with my paint program at work...
So... just workin' hard enough to not get fired, eh? :D

[snowface]

you know it! werk sux. these bastards kinda dicked me over into this lame-o babysitting position.

so now i barf all day. ALL day. :)

[thendougsaid]

was it a white girl on her cell phone putting on her lipstick? or a chinse lady driving 2 with her face 2 inches away from the steering wheel?

im not racist... i hate all woman drives the same.

atleast she signaled.. haha hope your friend is ok. he shoulda gimped over and thanked her for buying him a R1 and a new riding suit. tell your friend to get a lawyer... insurance will only work to pay your hospital bill and bike back. lawyers will work make sure that you're nicely compensated for her mistake. do it.

[misterjots]

yeah i work a few stores down. women with knockers almost hit me all the time. and taxis. parking is a bitch there and people always pull illegal Us to get parking.

[snowface]

battery and pacific: i saw a blonde this morning in an audi make a red-light right turn without braking or looking for right-of-way traffic. another blonde in a beemer almost smashed her, but was able to pull to the side in time and honk, angrily. they then both sped off above the speed limit.

the funny thing was that during this lovely dance of ineptitude, both were able to remain on the phone and not lose connection to their important conversations. :confused :laughing

...it was funny until i imagined a rider caught up in that fiasco... :|

watch everything in the city, all the time. trust no one, not even parked cars.