ankle report... (way nklr and way long)

[Steve Anderson]

Years ago I took a bird strike to my face while riding with a open face helmet and sunglasses. I was in the middle of a sharp curve, doing about 30mph. I think it was a morning dove, and I'm pretty certain it ent up in birdie heaven (or hell?). Man that hurt, I almost ate it in the turn (pun intended), I was spittin feathers.. BTW, I've had three bird strikes in my motorcycling life. The one mentioned above, one on my shoulder, and the other off the top of my helmet (I ducked in time). I also got stung by a bee(?) on my nostril with a moto helmet and goggles, stung by a hornet on my neck, and stung by a bee that hit my chest and fell in my lap. The last one got my thigh, and had it been about half an inch further up my inseam, and I might have been able to really impress the girlfriend with a large, red, swollen, itching, and throbbing *member* ;-]. As it was, that one left an area about 14 or 15 inches by 6 or 7 on my thigh very red swollen etc.... The one that stung my nostril was absolutely the most painful encounter with an insect I've ever had the *pleasure* to experience. Steve (bird strike) Anderson

----- Original Message ----- From: "Ralph E. Hanson" Mentioning the green bugs reminds me of a key reason I wear a full-face helmet at all times. Back in college when I rode a Honda 350 as my only transportation I once hit a locust (giant grasshopper) at 55 MPH. THWACK! against the faceplate. Big ol' green slime all across the helmet. I shudder to thing what it would have been like taking it in the face. It rattled me even without taking a personal hit. Ralph

[billmonahan]

 

I was spittin feathers.. BTW, I've had three bird strikes in my motorcycling life.  The one mentioned above, one on my shoulder, and the other off the top of my helmet (I ducked in time).    I couldn't believe it.  Last year, coming down 395 out by Lone Pine, and having never been hit by a bird in almost 30 years on two wheels, I got hit twice within the space of about a mile.  And then some cowboy came up the road doing about 80 or 90 in a Toyota pickup, on my side.  He finally dove off the road (on my right!) and at that point I started looking for a place to camp and buy some beer. 

[Guest]

One of the most startling animal encounters I ever had on a bike was with a squirrel. He ran right out at my bike, hit the front tire which tossed him into my lap. He tried to run up my torso, only to realize his mistake before shooting off down my leg. Not as violent as a bird hit, but shocking none-the-less.

[Ed Boyd]

-----------------------------------------------------------    Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2000 08:08:26 -0500    From: Stuart Heaslet Subject: Re: Ankle report... At 08:56 PM 4/23/00 -0700, Sarah Barwig wrote: >I tried to ride the KLR today. Still don't have the strength in the ankle >joint to lift the shifter. Down shifting is much better, no longer have to >kick it down with my heel... But I'd still be a traffic hazard during the >upshifts. Tie a string to the shifter.  Pull up with your teeth? Stuart ----------------------------------------------------------------- Hey don't laugh. Read on if you don't have anything better to do... One weekend my brother Howie, our good friend Tommy, and myself were returning to Rutgers after spending the weekend at home. As we headed for the NJ Turnpike in H's '74 Beetle, I reminded him and Tommy that they had agreed that we could stop at the outlet stores so I could buy some high top sneakers. When I mentioned this they both groaned and tried to overrule me. But I stuck to my guns and wouldn't stop whining until H took the exit for the outlets. When we hit the side streets, H unexpectedly turned into a deserted industrial parking lot (in lovely Secaucas, NJ) and without saying a work, zipped neatly into a parking space. When he stopped the car, he turned and looked at me and said in a matter of fact voice "broken throttle cable". I exclaimed "NO WAY!", whereupon he proceeded to show me how he could pump the gas peddle with no effect on the idling motor. Can you say bummer? Three almost broke, hung over college students, about 30 miles from home, and the same distance from our college apts. Keep in mind that this was in the pre-cell phone days of the early 80's. We debated what to do, who to call etc, and couldn't agree on a plan of action. Rather then sit there endlessly debating, I suggested that at least I could get my sneakers while we were there. We walked the few blocks to the outlets and I secured my high tops. During our walk, the main topic of discussion was the fact that the car was running fine, and how irritating it was that there was no way it was taking us anywhere. When we got back to the car, we had H start it up. Opening the back hood and staring at the engine, I realized that the throttle cable attached to a lever, and I could rev the car by pulling the lever. After doing this I don't know how many times, it dawned on me that I might be able to tie a shoe string from my new sneakers around the lever, out one of the vents on the hood, down the drivers side of the car, and through the window to the driver. In fact, it took both shoe strings, and it worked great. My brother threaded the string through the little vent window, and it worked like a charm. After taking a couple of practice laps around the parking lot, we were on our way! We eagerly cruised up to the toll both guy, we couldn't wait to see his reaction. When got our ticket thing, the toll booth guy never gave us a second glance, kind of disappointed us. Imagine the scary stuff they must see everyday, especially on the NJTP. Once on the turnpike, we returned to our normal right lane drone with H holding this string and the three of us reveling quietly in the success of our ingenuity. A few minutes later H turned to me and enthusiastically announced "Cruise Control!" while he wrapped the shoe string around the vent window handle! We made it back to school without further incident, and of course had a great story to bore everyone with for the rest of the semester! So, never underestimate what you can do with some simple string! Ed-I have more turnpike stories then you could believe-Boyd Duvall, WA '96 KLX 650R '82 Katana 1000