It has taken me a long time to post this pic except to only my closest riding friends!
A terrible loss of a beautiful 2 month old F650GS twin:
The concensus is that I fell asleep from sleep deprivation. I agree it is the likely cause so I can learn from this. On the 3rd week of travelling from Meaford, ON out to the Gillette MAO National in '08, taking part in all the fun of the rally, going south for awhile into CO., then home via BC, Canada and across the prairies, I was in the area of Diefenbaker Lake in Saskatchewan. The landscape was empty of any thing but flat fields...not a fence, mailbox, tree, or guard rail anywhere to see. Bike was running ever so smoothly. I had just decided 2 km. back to carry on to another campsite 45 minutes down the road so I was conjuring plans. It was 4:00 in the afternoon. I had just stopped about 1 hour before. Made some dumb decisions like taking a remote rural route south instead of going on to Saskatoon, then south where traffic would have been heavier and more to keep my mind active...maybe it was best there was no one around. No other cars at all. Result: I lay there unconscious 1.25 hours and in the meantime, maybe 15 minutes, some other car came along and phoned in the 911. Ambulance and EMT's took the wrong road (219 Sask.) so took about 35-45 minutes to get to the scene. I had ATGATT on so it was the impact that resulted in 6 broken ribs, collarbone and a fair concussion...only my rightside was injured..I didn't even roll as had no abrasions or dirt on the left side of my jacket, pants, boots. No abrasions whatsoever on my skin. Helmet had a small crack on the rightside below the ear, full face flip-up Caberg which stayed closed.
So no yawning to warn me that the body WILL fall asleep instantly if sleep deprived. I had slept well at a motel the night before and had visited a friend in Salmon Arm. When you visit new folks there is a little strain I think. I was getting irritable and thought the people of Sask. were sorta uninterested and a bit unfriendly, I chose a dumb route and made the error of not following my plan to stop to camp at the nearby campsite. I didn't stop to add batteries to my music player and wasn't drinking outta the bladder because it was cool and I didn't feel thirsty. Remember I had stopped 1 hour before. The reason I felt I had fallen asleep, rather than the bike breaking, was that I had no 'oops' moment before the crash and no broken right wrist from trying to stop the fall. These are all classic mistakes that I now know to watch out for!! Notice the catastrophic damage to the wheel of the bike and the right fork torn from the upper and lower yokes. Maybe can't see that in the pic. Lucky for me, my partner who doesn't ride still believes it was the bike that gave-way..somethin' broke. I lay 15 feet IN Front of the bike. Why wasn't I behind it if I fell off asleep? Lost all my gear on the bike. Learn from me please.
A terrible loss of a beautiful 2 month old F650GS twin:
The concensus is that I fell asleep from sleep deprivation. I agree it is the likely cause so I can learn from this. On the 3rd week of travelling from Meaford, ON out to the Gillette MAO National in '08, taking part in all the fun of the rally, going south for awhile into CO., then home via BC, Canada and across the prairies, I was in the area of Diefenbaker Lake in Saskatchewan. The landscape was empty of any thing but flat fields...not a fence, mailbox, tree, or guard rail anywhere to see. Bike was running ever so smoothly. I had just decided 2 km. back to carry on to another campsite 45 minutes down the road so I was conjuring plans. It was 4:00 in the afternoon. I had just stopped about 1 hour before. Made some dumb decisions like taking a remote rural route south instead of going on to Saskatoon, then south where traffic would have been heavier and more to keep my mind active...maybe it was best there was no one around. No other cars at all. Result: I lay there unconscious 1.25 hours and in the meantime, maybe 15 minutes, some other car came along and phoned in the 911. Ambulance and EMT's took the wrong road (219 Sask.) so took about 35-45 minutes to get to the scene. I had ATGATT on so it was the impact that resulted in 6 broken ribs, collarbone and a fair concussion...only my rightside was injured..I didn't even roll as had no abrasions or dirt on the left side of my jacket, pants, boots. No abrasions whatsoever on my skin. Helmet had a small crack on the rightside below the ear, full face flip-up Caberg which stayed closed.
So no yawning to warn me that the body WILL fall asleep instantly if sleep deprived. I had slept well at a motel the night before and had visited a friend in Salmon Arm. When you visit new folks there is a little strain I think. I was getting irritable and thought the people of Sask. were sorta uninterested and a bit unfriendly, I chose a dumb route and made the error of not following my plan to stop to camp at the nearby campsite. I didn't stop to add batteries to my music player and wasn't drinking outta the bladder because it was cool and I didn't feel thirsty. Remember I had stopped 1 hour before. The reason I felt I had fallen asleep, rather than the bike breaking, was that I had no 'oops' moment before the crash and no broken right wrist from trying to stop the fall. These are all classic mistakes that I now know to watch out for!! Notice the catastrophic damage to the wheel of the bike and the right fork torn from the upper and lower yokes. Maybe can't see that in the pic. Lucky for me, my partner who doesn't ride still believes it was the bike that gave-way..somethin' broke. I lay 15 feet IN Front of the bike. Why wasn't I behind it if I fell off asleep? Lost all my gear on the bike. Learn from me please.
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