Tomorrow Is Yesterday

The above picture is the aftermath of Ben Roethlisberger's (of the Pittsburgh Steelers) motorcycle accident in which he was severely injured as a result of not wearing a helmet.

Tomorrow is the Twelfth of May. On that date fifteen years ago, Death smiled at me while I was tumbling several hundred meters down the crowded Autobahn as a result of being thrown off my motorcycle after being cut off by an oblivious German driver. I could only smile back.

You can see here a related post, Old Toys, with a picture of that bike. The picture above is roughly how my machine looked after the crash -- actually, my bike looked worse. I was travelling 120MPH at the time, but as opposed to Ben Roethlisberger I was wearing a $600 racing helmet -- which is why I was able to jump up and run (okay, hobble) to the side of the road after the ordeal.

Granted -- compared to how I dress today for a ride, I was not well protected. I had on Rebock high-tops instead of steel-toed boots; a LLBean bomber jacket instead of heavily armored riding leathers; and Levis instead of padded riding pants.

But the helmet was non-negotiable. When I purchased the bike, my friend insisted I have the best brain bucket money could buy. The Shoei X-8 retailed for about $600. If you have a $50 head, wear a $50 helmet. I spent the money without blinking -- I have a somewhat high opinion of my head and had no qualms paying for the best. My current helmet, a Shoei X-11, still retails for over $500.

Call it brand loyalty, but it was earned. When I would look at the helmet that saved my life and the scrapes and chips it suffered pounding the pavement repeatedly during my somersaults down the A7, I can imagine the same damage to my skull -- in which case the ambulance that came to pick me up would have been doing duty as my hearse.

And bikers refuse to wear helmets why? Freedom of choice? Freedom to act irresponsibly? Unfortunately, I think that people must sometimes be protected from themselves -- like with the seatbelt laws. In many States, an experienced rider can make the decision to go without a helmet, yet an experienced driver can not elect to go without a seatbelt. A bit of inconsistency there, don't you think?

I don't for a moment believe drivers (and passengers) should be given the choice as to whether or not to buckle up. Besides, if I'm unfortunate enough to be in a head-on collision with an unbelted driver, I don't want my car, my self, or any passengers to be injured by the dangerous flying object that will be the other driver's body that, despite the staunch belief on their part, is not immuned to the laws of inertia.

So tomorrow will come and go without fanfare. I don't raise the proverbial glass in remembrance of my brush with death, light a scented candle, or twist my wrist until I'm rocketing down the highway at triple digit speeds just to remind myself of just how low I can fly.

I do, however, look forward to the next ride while holding out hope that those who are too cool to wear helmets will come to their senses before learning the hard way just how unforgiving the pavement really is. After all, it's said that there are two types of riders -- those who have dropped their bikes and those who will.