Posted to sfbarefootboogie yahoo group by: "bluesky_openroad" bluesky_openroad@hotmail.com bluesky_openroad
Mon Sep 22, 2008 1:22 pm (PDT)

As a Boogie dancer of many years, I thought telling all you of a small event
which happened to me last Thursday night. I was coming home through
Golden Gate Park at 5:30 PM on my motorcycle – no passing and a
beautiful view, at 25 miles per hour or under and all single lane
driving. How safe can it get on these roads! At one of the
intersections I stopped for a stop sign, leaning forward over my tank
and looking both ways while waiting for my turn to go.

I don't remember much except I was suddenly flipped backwards and
was now laying prone over the hood of a black Lexus. It was a rather
astounding feeling of `where am I and why aren't I dead' ??
The driver had plowed into the back of my bike and ridden up over my
rear wheel with their bumper and forced my seat into the air.

Then one second later, while still laying on my back, with my legs in
the air and straddling the motorcycle – dazed and confused, the car
driver then panics and shoves the Lexus into reverse and floors it. The
motorcycle rear wheel stuck under her bumper and is reverse rolling
backwards while I am still attached to the bike. The effect is that I
am now hurtling crotch first towards my huge round gas tank – which
on this model Yamaha is formed from aircraft grade titanium sheet metal
(of course, what else!). The next thing I remember is being upright,
getting dizzy, people screaming, and then me falling over into the
street. Of course, the day wouldn't be complete unless I also added
"…with the motorcycle following me down to the pavement and landing
on top of me".

There are funny parts to this, for pete's sake. Like while I am
climbing out from under the bike during the now bedlam in the
intersection (did I mention it is a five way intersection – all with
stop signs), I am obviously in pain, and a little disoriented. AS I am
twisting to separate myself from the wreck I look at my beautiful bike
and notice the titanium tank now has a dent in it the size of the
Hulk's fist… This observation didn't bode well for the
early stage triage of my condition. I started crawling towards the curb
as people screamed that they were calling the police.

Click Here for Picture

So that's it… I am OK – need a chiropractor and minor stuff
like that. My bike is "gone" and I think I am going to retire my
"spurs" so to speak. Ambulances and police came, the
thirty-five year old woman driver told the police, and me while I was
laying on the ground, that "I didn't go fast enough when it was
my turn and it shouldn't be her fault". The police said they
are checking her phone records to see if she was talking while she ran
me over – maybe they should check her brain while they are at it. I
had nothing to say to her, they just put me in the ambulance and took me
away – and I got great treatment at St. Mary's in SF.

On the personal up-side, the fire department rescue team and the
ambulance emt's both said "wow, you are in amazing shape".
The hospital doctor and the police officer said the same thing. I think
my physical condition at my (tender) age saved me quite a bit of damage
during the gymnastic events of 1> car-hood-flipping combined with the 2>
gas-tank-pommel-horse event. I also had good form in the 3> free
fall-to-the-pavement close of my routine, but I lost points on the 4>
catch-the-450-pound-motorcycle-dismount. So be it J !

I add this final part because if you know someone who rides, or is
thinking of riding, anything less than the following the advice below is
foolish. Ride with full armor, full high calf motorcycle boots, armored
pants with knee and hip protection, jacket with built in back brace and
shoulder and elbow pads, and full helmet plus racing gloves. All in
all, my outfit is about 25 pounds of protective clothing of which I even
dress in to go out and get a container of milk. So this time the plan
and preparation paid off.

This is a wonderful story of survival in the city, but it is really a
success story of many years of dance culminating with being "one
with the flow". As a dancer and an athlete, Barefoot Boogie in
Berkeley is the place that gives a dancer a chance to listen to their
body and build strength using a "music flow aspect" and the
energies of a lot of other talented dancers.

Thanks to everyone, Geoff LaPlace