Cjcrescent
Master Mechanic
thats what sucks about bikes , you can be the best rider in the world , with the margin of error soooo small all it takes is sand / potholes or illegal aliens & your dead
I had always wanted to ride and while in AL, you can get a motorcycle license at 14, I waited until I got a full drivers license to get on one by myself. After using a friends Honda 50 for a few days, I busted my butt at 10 miles an hour, but kept riding as often as I could. This continued thru College and Nursing School.
When I graduated and had taken my boards, I got a job in an OR. A level I Trauma Center OR. The very first case I observed on was a 15yo Motorcyclist who was hit by a car going 20mph. When he was thrown off, The car ran over his bike & his front wheel shattered and 5 spokes tore thru his neck. (The car missed him.) We spent over 5 hours trying to rebuild the circulation to his brain so he wouldn't be a vegetable. He unfortunately died on the table. At the time this was going on with the neurosurgeons, the orthopedic surgeons were working on his legs. They stopped working when he was pronounced.
It was at the post case discussion around the coffee pot with the MD's that I first heard these terms, "Murdercycle", "ORTA", (Orthopedic Resident Training Apparatus), and "Buy your son a motorcycle for his last birthday".
Since that case, and many others, I decided that I would never get on another one, nor allow a family member to get on one, and haven't.