Subject: Winter Rides, or Twisties and Snow -- NOT!
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 22:46:13 -0500
From: gayathri <gayathri>


Today, New Years Eve, 1999, I got stuck up at Newcomb's Ranch in the
snow.

	yup. snow. big white fluffy flakes. 

this was quite possibly the stupidest thing I've ever done -- it was
drizzling at the bottom of the hill and everyone said, "oh, let's
go..."

so I did. with everyone else.

My fingers were frozen at the 14 mile mark, and I didnt let Jeniffer
(rides a seca II and will be Team Squid Pro Quo's pit mechanic next
season) talk me into just riding back down. We were stupid and
continued on ahead. To catch up with my friend Sammy on his yzf600,
sexy boy Tom on his zx-7, and assorted other people -- Gracie on an
ft500 ascot, C.W on his concourse, JeanS on her sweet SV650, Richard
on his Hayabusa, Digger on a shadow 750, MarcD on his T309...  we
stupidly continue on to NewCombs -- they will have heat and hot water!

It started snowing up around 20 miles up, but I stupidly let my frozen
brain see the logic of continueing on ahead to the 28 mile mark. Its
not sticking and was actualy DRIER in the snow..

	We get to Newcomb's and I'm Frozen Solid. SarahB on her KLR650
comes running out to let me know I'm a brave gurl, but I cant feel her
shaking my hand.. and our final Triumph of the day was a Sprint ST
ridden by KenT.

See, the reason we RODE UP here was to ssee this big Norton Rally that
comes up ever New Years Eve. We saw 1 Norton. The rest of the 200 odd
bikes must have been SMART and stayed HOME.

Jeniffer and I had been running late, so we had not eaten at the
bottom of the hill, so we immediately order food to go with our coffee
and hot cocoa. Suddenly, as our food arrives, the rest of the gang
_leaves_ -- the snow is sticking, and they want out of there. I cant
leave without eating (low bloodsugar!), so we eat, dry off our gloves
and get back int our gear to leave..

	I make it about 7 miles down the hill. The clear spots were
ok, but we hit a patch of complete slush, and suddenly I feel the rear
end of the bike slide. I'm keeping it upright tho, and
think.. "F*ck. what do i do? No brakes! dont chop the throttle!  stay
neutral!!!" as the bike is now COMPLETELY sideways and still sliding.
(Squidboy said I should have pulled in the clutch, that it was
unlikely I'd have highsided at 20 mph in the slush).

Gently, almost like a little slo mo ballet, the bike slides out, and
we're still sliding, only now the bike and I are spinning. (I'm trying
to push away from the motorcycle... but my FOOT is caught under the
bike, and I'm thinking.. damn. all that nice plastic. and tomorrow's
weather was supposed to be NICE!) Then I wonder "where's Jen?" she was
following in my tyre tracks... and I see her red bike go by along the
side of the road, and I hope SHE doesnt fall over. My bike stops, 180
degrees from the direction I was originally going. I'm not sure if I
spun once or twice...

I cant get the bike off my foot. Its also still running. I shut it
off, but leave the LIGHTS on, so a cage doesnt hit me (hopefully they
see me and can stop...) Jeniffer comes and lifts the bike enough for
me to get my foot out. We cant lift it -- roadway is still really
slick and neither of our boots are prividing much traction...

A car with four young people (NICE piercings) pulls up and stops. Jen
asks them to help us pick up the bike, and they jump out and help. I
cant get it started, I also cant get it out of gear. Then we hear the
SNOW PLOW coming. And all I see is fog. *oh, this is good...*

	Jeniffer is now jumping up and down waving to the plow to get
'em to stop. I'm still trying to get the bike out of gear. I cant. So
I push it to the side of the road pulling in the clutch lever.. (oh,
its not supposed to bent this way...) and then begin to see for
damage. I tell Jeniffer to stop someone going up, since we need to get
to Newcombs to make a fone call... no visible damage to bodywork or
radiator, metal bits, and the signals and lights are all fine! No
damage I could see to me, equipment OR the bike, except for the bent
clutch lever and scrapes on the barends...

The rest of the afternoon went uneventfully.  We caught a ride up the
hill on a firetruck and talked a guy on a beautifully restored Indian
out of trying to ride it down -- he called a buddy with a truck. I
called Squidboy to get the truck, we drank coffee, dried out, warmed
up and watched Jacky Chan in Nice Guy (?). The guy with the Indian had
a couple of friends who left after we'd gotten back, who made it down
the hill only to be inundated by thundershowers all the way
home... They made it home safely with no incidents. 

Finally Steve shows up, and we jump in the truck and slip slide down
to the bikes. The weather has gotten worse, and now I'm wondering if
we're even gonna get the bikes in the truck....

They are covered in snow. Steve manages to get my bike out of gear and
to start, and we somehow load both the seca II and the T595 into the
truck... then the ride down... thank goodness the driver used to live
in Buffalo, NY. Jeniffer and I squeaked a couple of times as the truck
slid around corners and I decided that it would be pretty lame if we
crashed now, as we passed a cage off in a ditch... but I have faith in
the squidboy.

We get to the bottom of the hill, unload Jeniffer's bike and send her
home to her New Year's Eve date... and come home and unload my
bike. Again, as far as Squidboy can tell, I bent the clutch lever, I
think trying to get it off my foot, and the shift pedel... and
scratched the water pump cover.

	That's it.

Lucky me. 


The other's in the group that left us earlier, didnt fare so well,
from what I heard, Tom on his zx-7 fell down and scraped the fairing
and broke a brake lever, Richard on his Hayabusa fell twice and
cracked his fairing, JeanS dropped her sv650 and bent the handlebars,
C.W. dropped his concourse twice, breaking the left footpeg, damaging
the fairing and a saddlebag and his left leg is sore. MarcD dropped
his Speed Triple, broke a turnsignal, bent a clutch lever and may have
banged up his ankle... Sammy dropped his yzf600 and scratched it in
the same place he had already dropped it previously... 

Happy New Year's, y'all! Ride SAFE! *wry grin*