On Sat, 20 Oct 2001, Barry Edwards wrote: > Not a bad time to reflect. One of the guys on the Yahoo FJ Club broke his > back recently. He slipped off the road and down a nasty drop. Mercifully he > is not paralysed, but 'there for the grace of God' as they say.
Went out on the GTS yesterday, and found out about a moto-fatal on my favorite road. Last week an R-1 rider went off the road on Emory Pass, looks like about 50-60 feet down to a bunch of scrub oak. Took out a signpost as he went off the road. I measured off about 150 ft of skidmarks, obviously a totally locked rear. I figure a POOR rider should be able to stop in 150 feet from speeds at least on the order of 60 mph, maybe more. No sign he ever tried to make the turn, just went straight off the cliff. I'd guess the turn could be made at 30 mph without too much difficulty by a half decent rider. His friends told the EMTs that his throttle stuck. With a totally locked rear I find that less than plausible. On the other hand, my ride yesterday was very nice indeed. It's the best time of year in southern New Mexico. Yes, use some sense out there..... Phil
