I can see how a driver of a car (with a roof), wouldn't see that breaking though the overpass sidewall... And that driver having no open space to dodge/swerve into... But.. I bet I would of seen it start, and Not get dropped on.
I hear you though. Gotta accept that God/Universe, whatever you want to call it, has a plan too, we are just one little tiny spec in that. You like everyone else will take our last breath at some point.
True, but personally I would've seen it, and wheelied to a stop to let my bike catch the falling truck, holding it up just long enough for me to jump off. I'd then run back and signal traffic behind me to stop.
But that's just me...
Living in imaginary world...
Of course, my last breath is waiting out there.
But.. This situation was about seeing... And early enough, doing avoidance of a truck and broken concrete, from falling on you.
Different people see differently.
They can't define the word "see" to describe the action of their brain, in concentration and intensity of the eye movements,
taking in the scene that is around them... So... "seeing"... doesn't get defined.
Living in imaginary world...
Most of us get it, I think......His name was Craig Hightower and he was killed commuting to work.
...... His name was Gary Jaehne, and he was killed on a beautiful spring Saturday out riding with friends on a roads he knew like no one else is ever likely to know them.
I believe in doing what I can to be the best rider I can be. I don't believe in infallibility. I don't believe popes are infallible, and I sure as shit don't think motorcyclists are infallible.
There were enough Greek tragedies taught when I was in K-12 that I soaked in the lesson that hubris is a bad thing and will lead to a bad end. If you've got the hubris to believe you're infallible, well then, all I can do is suggest a little humility and awareness, and wish you good luck.
That's what luck has to do with it.
This sounds like a familiar poster, here, but ignores evolution and quantum physics. There is randomness. Sorry if that disappoints you.Luck, chance, and randomness don't really exist.
But, did you check your air pressure? I think you are slipping.True, but personally I would've seen it, and wheelied to a stop to let my bike catch the falling truck, holding it up just long enough for me to jump off. I'd then run back and signal traffic behind me to stop.
But that's just me...
I did a couple of laps with them on nine at irresponsible speeds. I am glad I was "lucky" enough to survive that experience. It was a mistake that I would never make again......
But I've seen him with my own eyes more times than a few push it on the street to where luck made the only difference.
Both Gary and Scott where very passionate about the sport and absolutely loved riding. Neither is a hero or a vilain. Both paid an unfortunate price for their passion.
Have to agree. Ask any WWII combat pilot.This sounds like a familiar poster, here, but ignores evolution and quantum physics. There is randomness. Sorry if that disappoints you.
I saw a 300 ninja today with both forks broke in half at the lower triples. The forks springs were the only thing folding the forks. Front wheel had several broken spokes.
This tail was crushed as both sides.
The rider......not a scratch, not a bruise, nothing.
There is luck........
I think you're right, with some slack in the term "almost everybody".I have the feeling almost everybody is on the same page here. Whether you want to interpret it as "skill (riding, prevention, lessons learned, etc.) increases good luck" or "skill reduces consequences of bad luck", you're saying the same thing in my book.
I think you're right, with some slack in the term "almost everybody".
But I object when someone knowingly leaves himself open to a random event and then, when he either falls victim to it or narrowly escapes, attributes the outcome to "luck" and doesn't acknowledge that he had a choice in subjecting himself to a roll of the dice in the first place.
And I object when someone unknowingly leaves himself open to a random event, falls victim to it, then blames it on "bad luck" and refuses to admit his shortcoming and accept the obvious lesson.
And I object when someone invokes "luck" as a reason not to look for a lesson in someone else's misfortune. It's like it would be disrespectful to the victim or to the Gods Who Determine Our Fate. Like if he did discover a preventive measure, the gods would just find another way to kill him if they really wanted to.
Even the word "luck" grates. Using it to describe the randomness present in the real world is one thing, but it is often used with a mystical connotation that implies supernatural intervention. Whatever works for you. But I'm going to rely instead on my flawed and finite human faculty of reason.
I think you're right, with some slack in the term "almost everybody".
But I object when someone knowingly leaves himself open to a random event and then, when he either falls victim to it or narrowly escapes, attributes the outcome to "luck" and doesn't acknowledge that he had a choice in subjecting himself to a roll of the dice in the first place.
And I object when someone unknowingly leaves himself open to a random event, falls victim to it, then blames it on "bad luck" and refuses to admit his shortcoming and accept the obvious lesson.
And I object when someone invokes "luck" as a reason not to look for a lesson in someone else's misfortune. It's like it would be disrespectful to the victim or to the Gods Who Determine Our Fate. Like if he did discover a preventive measure, the gods would just find another way to kill him if they really wanted to.
Even the word "luck" grates. Using it to describe the randomness present in the real world is one thing, but it is often used with a mystical connotation that implies supernatural intervention. Whatever works for you. But I'm going to rely instead on my flawed and finite human faculty of reason.
My purpose was to show that a little humility in our riding goes a long way. That random events can occur. We have a few members who appear to believe that their skills are so great, and their knowledge of their local roads so encyclopedic that nothing bad can happen to them. That is the hubris I was addressing.
If I'm not mistaken, most accidents happen on roads people have ridden/driven over numerous times before.
This type of statement has always bothered me. Of course, most accidents happen "close to home" or on roads that we ride often. Given the same probability per unit time of having an accident on new roads vs roads on which we spend a lot of time, there is a higher probability of crashing on the latter. Why? Because we spend WAY MORE TIME on those roads. The comparison is flawed because it isn't normalized for the amount of time spent on those roads. In short, most crashes happen on roads I have ridden before because I spend most of my time riding roads that I've ridden before. It doesn't say anything about the difference in safety between known and unknown roads.
With a few exceptions not in this thread, and not in your posts.Where did any of those arguments get made?
I agree with your choice not to revisit those tragic crashes. And I wouldn't suggest such analysis in RIP threads. But sectarian violence in discussing countermeasures in the context of an actual crash helps raise awareness of what can be done. I'm not defending the Usual Suspects, who seem incapable of humility. But respectful criticism of a crasher's actions (not of his soul) shouldn't be met reflexively with derision.The only reason I suggested not going through GaryJ's and Craig's crash stuff yet again, was that it has been covered, and I was trying to avoid the sort of sectarian violence that we've seen before in those discussions.
My purpose was to show that a little humility in our riding goes a long way. That random events can occur. We have a few members who appear to believe that their skills are so great, and their knowledge of their local roads so encyclopedic that nothing bad can happen to them. That is the hubris I was addressing.