RE: Panniers

[Troy Blood <TroyB@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Looks like I will be needing one of those red panniers.

Four of us set off Friday afternoon at 1:30 for a weekend of camping in
the mountains of NC and TN. It was sunny about 95 degrees or higher so
we decided we would put the leathers on once we got up in the mountains
where it would be cooler. Once on 221 outside of a little town called
Rutherdforton near Asheville, NC we hit traffic.  We all pull out to
pass a truck pulling a camper. I was third in line while my father was
last. Just as I am about to get in front of the truck I notice that
there is a van going our direction that has just put on his left turn
signal.  As a result we are all having to put on the binders because
there is a car coming the other direction so the van is not turning. All
of a sudden I hear tires squealing behind be and then they stop and I
hear a crash. My father has just hit the pavement behind me doing at
least 55 to 60 mph. He lost control of the bike while breaking on the
center stripe and having the bike leaned over.  I hear his bike sliding
towards me and its getting louder and louder. I have no where to go with
two bikes and a van stopped in front of me. All of a sudden his bike
slams into the back of me and gets me fish tailing. I was able to save
it fortunately. The left pannier is not clean off the bike and
disintegrates. As soon as I cant hear my dads bike (Honda ST 1100)
sliding anymore I pull my bike over to the side of the road. Running
back to the scene I dont see my dad in front of the truck. Is he under
the truck or camper?? I run past a few people and they are saying did we
run over him?? My heart is racing as I come around the end of the camper
and see him five feet from the back of the camper that is up against the
dirt embankment. My dad is in a ball groaning. I am thinking that these
are his last few breaths and I will never see him again. He kind of
flops back and his eyes are fluttering. I am finally able to get him to
respond. It turns out that the camper did hit him as he was coming to a
stop. His  injuries include two right and one left broken ribs, broken
scapula (shoulder blade), 5 broken vertebrae, dislocated left patella,
bruised left lung, and some serious road rash, mostly second degree
burns with some third degree on his left hand. Luckily he has no
internal injuries and is expected to make a full recovery with a
questionable knee surgery. We are very fortunate because it could have
been much worse. Just want to emphasize how important it is to wear
protective clothing and a helmet. As a result of the impact with the
camper my dads helmet has a 1/8" deep and 8 inch long gash, enough of an
impact to give him a bruise on his head.  So the next time you dont wear
a helmet or protective clothing think again, you life is not worth it!

Troy


Troy Blood
PH  (864) 963-3471
FaX (864) 967-2787
mailto:troyb@xxxxxxxxxxx


- -----Original Message-----
From: Eric Sheley [mailto:eric@xxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Saturday, July 24, 1999 10:29 AM
To: ST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Panniers


Just in case someone is still looking for hard luggage in the US, my
dealer 
now has a set of black panniers and a set of red panniers in stock that
he 
can ship anywhere in the US.

Cycle Riders - Orlando FL - Contact Dave at 407.295.0045

- - Eric
  

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