Stupid People Redux

Thought for the barest fraction of a second about hijacking the existing thread, but thought the better of it...

Firstly, apologies for having been dark for so long. Teh stoopid is strong around these parts, and getting stronger by the day :-(. In all seriousness, around San Antonio at least, things started getting extremely hazardous for two-wheelers nearly three years ago. At least part of the problem is San Antonio's cell phone ordinance. People are still texting while driving, but they imagine I can't tell what they're doing as their heads bob up and down and they weave all over the road. Had the misfortune of following behind one of these "road kill" scholars yesterday morning on the way to work. She changed lanes four times gratuitously (no apparent reason) in the space of about a mile, and managed to hit four curbs on the way to her work location somewhere along the east side of Kelly Field. The other major contributing factor to dangerous riding conditions is cheap gasoline. When gas was $4/gallon, there were far fewer morons driving around in large SUVs, and F-250/350 trucks: they couldn't afford to feed 'em. Now? Way too many inconsiderate people driving huge vehicles that they are clearly NOT qualified to operate.

My wife got rear-ended by a pickup (driven by an illegal alien, California address, "business" insurance policy issued by an unknown company) while riding her Royal Enfield B5 a bit over two years ago. Aside from a bit of road rash and bruising (she flew 50 ft. through the air after impact), she was relatively uninjured. The pickup's driver and her daughter (passenger) thought they were going to win the lottery without buying a ticket, and sicced Jim Adler on us. Adler thought the better of it when confronted with several inconvenient facts: my wife was the one who ended up taking a ride in a meat wagon to a hospital to get checked out, while the pickup's occupants were offered medical attention at the scene which they refused because clearly they didn't need any such attention. The repairs on the Royal Enfield were completed in May of this year: you really don't want to know why they took so long, but imagine a given model and year of bike having three distinct fender variations, and the manufacturer having no idea which variant is in a given box in the warehouse.

Subsequent to my wife's accident, I got rear-ended by a drunk driver late one night at the stop light at 1604 and Shaenfield Rd.: I was on my wife's new-to-her 2001 Triumph Adventurer at the time. Impact speed was somewhere north of 40 mph, and I was able to get off the brakes and start accelerating as the Mitsubishi Montero clobbered me. Got knocked forward several feet, but stayed on the bike and kept it upright. Driver rabbited the scene, and with a full head of adrenaline, I took out after the s.o.b. at speeds exceeding 90 mph. Eventually, I figured out I *really* had no idea how badly the bike might have been damaged, and pulled over along the shoulder of 1604 while the felonious cretin fled through the Alamo Ranch subdivision after making a last-second exit across three lanes of traffic. A lady who witnessed the whole thing followed me onto the shoulder and confessed she was astonished to see me take out after my assailant. She was also cheering me on, although I had no way of knowing that at the time :-). Sheesh. I suffered no injury. The bike was another story. Fractured rear subframe, crushed rear fender and everything attached to it (taillight, reflectors, license plate and mounting bracket, etc.). Got *that* damage repaired, although insurance was definitely looking to total the bike. No way I could have avoided that without being willing to twist my own wrenches and buy parts from sources other than the dealer.

Fast-forward to March of this year, and I had an unpleasant encounter with a cretin who just *had* to get in front of me at the red light on southbound 1604 at the north side of the 1604 / U.S. 90 bridge. Had two choices: ram the rear-end of the pickup, or try to execute an impossibly short stop (I was on my 400-lb. Royal Enfield G5). Front wheel locked, and the bike went down. Degloving injury to my left knee. Was healing pretty well for about 8 weeks, and then the sucker developed a staph infection. That resulted in a 1-week stay in hospital where they performed a surgical draining of the knee. Spent about two weeks post-surgery on a vacuum wound pump, and am currently back on my motorcycles... Yeah. Insanity. Or slow learner.

So... Here we are in June, and Old Geezer might actually be able to talk me into a ride if the Centex folks are up for it. Knee gets a little stiff if I stand for too long, but overall, I'm happy with the healing progress thus far.

What have I missed? Other than this year's GOTF: sorry, Hotglue. Just wasn't going to happen :-(.