June – The Crash

I just took it slow and easy and was fine. Through Bear Valley it was hot and my leather was heating up a bit, but I kept reminding myself that it was this very leather that saved my hide.

When we reached Mariposa, we stopped to gas up. I found some ice for my swollen lip from a local youth filling his ice chest. He was happy to donate as much as I needed. He, like most people we encountered, couldn’t believe that I had crashed just that morning and that I was still on the road! There were times I was a bit dumbfounded myself; however, it didn’t hinder my ride and I knew I had to ride the bike to get her home, after all.

Looking forward to lunch in Yosemite, Papa-Ken asked whether I had packed a sandwich. I hadn’t, so Papa-Ken and I headed to a deli to get me some mid-day sustenance.

Papa-Ken

While taking my lunch order, the clerk couldn’t help but notice my disheveled condition, unusually dirty with leathers now more brown than black. “You OK?” she asked. “Yeah, nothing a week or so won’t cure,” I replied. I told her what had happened and she was awestruck that I was still in the saddle. She too was a rider and said she would have been too spooked to continue riding after an incident like that. Well, guess I am a “tuff ol’ gal”…hehehehe. NOT.

We rode up Hwy 140, along the Merced River, through the Merced Gorge and descended into the Yosemite Valley via a beautiful scenic entrance to the Park. The lush green and rushing Merced River awed me and took my breath.

Rushing waters

The smells were intense and fresh, of pine and flora and water. The traffic was fairly heavy, but not nearly as bad as the summer traffic. After entering the park, Ken and I stopped to take some pictures of a gorgeous nameless waterfall.

Lovely falls

Some other bikers were sunning and dipping their feet on the edge of the fastest-moving water I think I have ever seen. They were too close to the water’s edge as far as I was concerned, but I suppose I was feeling all too mortal this day.

I took several photos and, as I returned to the bike, the soaking bikers were assessing the damage to my crunched V Star. We chatted and they said that it looked like I had hit a bear. Yeah, that’ll work, that would be a great story! It hit my windshield, knocked me off the bike and landed on my tank and then lumbered off into the woods taking with it my left mirror. Yep, I like that much better than what actually happened. I told them I would use it later. They laughed and told me to keep myself surrounded by angels and waved us on our way.