She ran her hands over her leather-clad thighs, flexed her fingers.
Her trusty Bell helmet had been knocked askew in the tumble but seemed sound enough. She pulled it around so she could see her situation.
Her motorbike was on its side, about six feet from the cliff edge.
She breathed a sigh of relief, felt a sharp stab of bruised or broken rib.
She closed her eyes in silent prayer, then slowly climbed to her feet. Everything seemed to be okay.
She took off her helmet and inspected it. No cracks, but the side had a deep gouge where it had dragged along the road.
The left handlebars bent upward at a sharp angle, the headlight shattered to shards. Two of the custom aluminum cargo boxes were still attached to the back, the third one nowhere in sight. It must have gone over the edge, dropped a thousand feet or more.
She’d not expected the patch of gravel, a rookie mistake if ever there was one.
Elspeth Beard is the first Englishwoman to ride a motorcycle around the world solo.Her bike was a 1974 BMW R 60/6 flat-twin, for which she paid 900 ($1800) in 1980 – a substantial sum for a bike with 30,000 miles on it. She had many adventures and a few wrecks, but not this one.
Nicely done. Like the symbolism of the box over the cliff. But the question is, will she get back on that bike? And I guess in Elspeth’s case, she did.
She did indeed.
A graphic description. I don’t like to think of the drop – she was one lucky biker!
i’ve had a couple friends who went over the side. banged up but survived.
good one. thanks.
A close call and very well described. That takes some guts to motor bike round the world solo. She must have a life time of stories to tell. Great story Josh
Thanks!
Like the details in this one.
A friend of mine who rode used to say that there are two kinds of bikers: those who have gone down, and those who haven’t gone down yet. If I had a close call like this — especially one so close to the edge of a cliff — that would probably turn me into the third type: the kind who doesn’t ride anymore.
My daughter seems to be in that last category. It’s a dangerous sport with many ever-shifting variables, all of can be fatal under certain conditions.
For a while when I was first (and last) married, we depended on a motorcycle as our only transportation. I got enough riding for a lifetime during those months…
A mistake she probably won’t repeat. Great descriptions, Josh.
Yep, those rookie mistakes can sure bang you up a bit. Great story, had me hanging onto the handlebars really tight. :) ~ Shalom, Bear