Just wanting to hear some stories. Ive just started riding the past two seasons and interested in hearing how what you were wearing held up or didn't, how it helped you or didn't help you. Jacket, gloves, helmet, pants etc.

Riding is a damn good time, but scares the shit outa me sometimes thinking about accidents and the likelyhood of surving an accident. I havn't had any real close calls yet, but a few closer than I would of liked.

My buddy got 2 broken femurs last week when someone turned into a business on a major road and "didn't even see him". Kid is lucky he's not dead. He flipped over the cars rear end and landed, and the bike landed on top of his legs and then bounced off.

sandy, low speed turn=going down.

dodging cars

anticipate others drivers moves, ride agressively, hit the gas, not the brakes

Rush hour traffic on a main road through town.  I'd been up for about 22-24hours at this point and painting a house for my father.

Speed limit was 35 through the area, traffic was moving between 20 and 45 depending on conditions.

I zoned out, zoned in, noticed that the back of the white jeep cherokee was rapidly approaching (he's stopped for a light, I am decided NOT stopped) and grab a hold of my front brake locking up the front wheel.

Bike endos, Mauser goes flying and starts pulling cartwheels the in the next lane over.

In reality I wasn't seriously injured, but had the cars to my right not noticed what was going on I would have quickely become a smear in somebody's axle.  Bike ended up with all front plastics destoryed and bent front forks.  I ended up with a stiff neck and some cool scars on my right kneecap.  it looks like I bounced off that knee about 3 times while I was slowing down.

Moral: Don't ride impared.

"There are two kinds of riders.  Those who have been down, and those who are going down."

ETA: Was wearing...

Arai Quantum GT helmet
Teknics jacket
Alpinestars SP1 gloves
Levis
Magnum Hi-tech boots.

The helmet, jacket, gloves and boots made it through the accident just fine.  Helmet obviously had to be replaced though as there were several impacts.  Much scraping on the lower jaw area, probably would have lost that part of my face if I wore a halfy.

Levis didn't exactly survive too well, but that's ok since they were all bloody after the crash anyway.

Got fairly good at riding fast and thought I was the shit.  Took a corner on the way to work one day really fast and lost it (lowside).



Here's a vid you guys might like, I made it a couple summers ago:

greghavener.com/downloads/longride-512k.wmv

Hit by DUI driver, rear ended & sandwiched between the car in front of me, and DUI driver.

Injuries:
Compressed right knee, injured lower lumbar/disc, bruised lower back (seat peeled away,and smashed into me, bruised abdomen (hit the gas tank).

Helmet.....SPOTLESS!  Leather Jacket & Gloves & Boots.....UNSCATHED!

Just goes to show Murphy at work.......and had my seat not broken away, and pushed me to the side (car landed on top of my bike), my pictures would be on either rotten.com, or ogrish.com

Lesson Learned:
1. Always split lanes, even when unnecessary.
2. Never ride tired
3. If you think a car is going to do something, or coming too fast, or may/MAY NOT stop.....dont' hesitate to think, and GO.  THINKING about it will kill you, and have your pictures of your demise on the net!

Quoted: 1. Always split lanes, even when unnecessary.

I am learning this one through some close calls.  Ofcourse, then there are those dickheads who try and cut you off/block/sideswipe you for doing so.  

I know it's legal on CA freeways when "safe" to do so, but never figured out about surface streets in my area.  Never been pulled over for it though.

I ride my bike to work most Fridays as this is super long rush hour day.  Usually 20 miles of my 30 mile commute will be bumper to bumper.  By the time I get home I'm absolutely exhausted from being so tense/nervous.  Average 2 close calls per Friday.  Hell, I've been riding for 5 years!

Quoted: sandy, low speed turn=going down.

That is funny as hell because I did that exact thing in Charleston, SC back when I was in the Navy.  Making a turn onto a side street, low speed, then suddenly WHOOPS, down I went.  I am sitting there on my butt in the middle of the street wondering what the hell happened.  Lots of sand on the street.

Last time I went down was in 1978 in rush hour traffic in Atlanta.  Coming up I85 North near where it and I75 join together south of town.   Traffic slowed, I slowed, guy behind me didn't.  His bumper hit my rear tire and shot me into the car in front of me.  I got knocked out, but the helmet saved my melon.  I didn't even realize I had been knocked out.  I remember starting down and the next thing I remember is standing on the side of the road.  They told me the first thing I asked about was my bike, so damn typical.

The guy did not stop and no one got his tag number.  I put the chain back on the bike and went home.  I made the mistake of lying down when I got home and going to sleep.  I found out later that this could have been fatal since I might have had a concussion.

Also, my brand new quilted (it was winter) riding suit was shredded, but it saved me lots of road rash.  Cop keep insisting on calling an ambulance and I was like, no man, I don't need it.  When I got home and looked in the mirror, I realized why he wanted to call the ambulance.  Damn, my nose was busted and swollen and my mouth was all bloody, with blood all over the front of my now torn up riding suit.

I gave up riding just so I would'nt have a story for this thread.

I don't ride myself, but I'm NOT one of those assholes who thinks that other people shouldn't, because it so dangerous.

I strongly encourage people to ride motorcycles.  After all, I might need their organs someday

Nov. 2003. Was on my 2000 Electra Glide and was run off the road on a horseshoe bend.
Side-swiped a utility pole with a marker sign 2.5 feet from it.
I was told my bike went 'bout 90' and I went about 30 feet further over a hill.
There was about a 5' drop-off right by the pole.
Was heloed out to a trauma unit, UPMC, Pitts. Pa.
Bike completely totalled, I suffered head and neck trauma, was in for 11 days. Had amnesia type episodes for a few months but am fine now. "Trust me!"
No helmet, there is no doubt that the weight/mass of a helmet would have broken my neck.
Driver of car had left a bar a few miles up the road, real drunk. Police couldn't prove anything on him,
he kept on driving, but I have a few good friends and the situation was resolved to my liking.
Sure miss the "Big Pig" 103" Sleeper, at least by Harley standards.
Ride Safe! Shoot Well!

Quoted: I don't ride myself, but I'm NOT one of those assholes who thinks that other people shouldn't, because it so dangerous. I strongly encourage people to ride motorcycles.  After all, I might need their organs someday

Funny you should say that, I filled out my donor card the day my Class M showed up in the mail.  Figured, hell I don't need them and the ambulance guys would think...yeah, that figures.

That DUI accident was actually in CA, of all places.....here in NV, splitting lanes is a big no-no, and you'll get cited if you do.

Its always funny seeing a bunch a bikers cited during the River Run......:)

Then again, I just avoid the strip, and stick to the outlying areas.

Quoted: Quoted: 1. Always split lanes, even when unnecessary. I am learning this one through some close calls.  Ofcourse, then there are those dickheads who try and cut you off/block/sideswipe you for doing so.   I know it's legal on CA freeways when "safe" to do so, but never figured out about surface streets in my area.  Never been pulled over for it though. I ride my bike to work most Fridays as this is super long rush hour day.  Usually 20 miles of my 30 mile commute will be bumper to bumper.  By the time I get home I'm absolutely exhausted from being so tense/nervous.  Average 2 close calls per Friday.  Hell, I've been riding for 5 years!

I entered an intersection in The Woodlands, TX (a cesspool of poor street planning) about 14 years ago.  I was on a 4-lane divided highway doing the speed limit of 35 mph.  What I didn't notice was the stop sign mounted on a 4-foot tall stump behind a tree.  For some reason, the highway was supposed to stop for a narrow 2-lane poorly paved road that had a 50 mph speed limit.  

Anyway, you can't see around corners (hence the name "The Woodlands").  As I entered the intersection, I glanced to my right to see the hood of a fast-moving station wagon about 6 feet from me.  Then I heard "CLANG!"  I went over the handlebars and did a spinning bodyroll for roughly 50 feet, smacked the curb and ended up on my back in the grassy median.

I vividly remember the body roll because I realized I had lost my right shoe and I was wondering how I'd get it back before anyone noticed because it was embarrasing.  I have no memory of the flight over the bars and no memory of the impact with the curb.

I'm not sure how long I layed there, but I remember sitting up and trying to stand as people were running toward me from every direction.  The driver of the car said that my bike went almost straight up and spun 3 full revolutions before it hit the pavement.  It changed directions by 85 degrees and ended up on the far shoulder roughly 65 feet from the point of impact.

I've never figured out how everything happened, but the right foot peg was smashed into the engine housing which conformed around it.  The entire right side of the bike was clearly bumper-printed from end to end.  Yet I suffered only 3 broken toes, some nasty road rash and killer muscle strain throughout my entire body that had me bedridden for a week.

But that's not the bad part.  My final destination was my aunt & uncle's house.  My uncle, a trauma surgeon who hated motorcycles got in all the I-told-you-so's he could for the next 3 days as I lay on a sofa bed in his house.  On the second night, he decided it was time to clean out the road rash, so he put me in the bathroom and, with my cousin's help, scrubbed my wounds out with Phisoderm and a Scotchbrite pad until 1) my cousin got sick and left, and 2) I nearly went into shock.  I don't think he was actually trying to be cruel -- he wasn't really rough, but he could've given me some pain killer.  He certainly wanted to leave an impression!

Anyway, I have this big spot on my left knee where the scar tissue is thin & translucent and you can see the muscle underneath.  No feeling in an area the size of a silver dollar since the nerves were torn away!  Damn, I still want another bike!

When I was younger I had an RM250 , and as usual with trail/dirt riding I went down often enough .
Nothing major , a few broken fingers and a broken rib , sprains , bruises and scuffs . The most painful injury was the result of a bad landing from a small jump I had done a 1000 times before . I bit the right side of my tongue bad enough to require 10 stitches .  

My car was hit by a motorcycle.  Does that count?




That guy was so drunk he didn't feel a thing until he got to the hospital.

The first time I flew was 1/2 second after I reached 40mph on my motorcycle as a young man.


BTW...Helmets SAVE lives....

SGt(watchthebouncinghead)ar15

there are only 2 kinds of motorcycle riders.

those who have gone down(fallen) abd those who are going to



you have to ride very defensevly. ride like every other vehicle on the road is out to get you


and watch out for crittters late at night, damn racoon the size of a cujo ran in front of me one night,

leather savesyour from road rash.

Quoted: Got fairly good at riding fast and thought I was the shit.  Took a corner on the way to work one day really fast and lost it (lowside). greghavener.com/images/bike7.jpg Here's a vid you guys might like, I made it a couple summers ago: greghavener.com/downloads/longride-512k.wmv

ouch!!  that sucks man...sorry to hear that.

I've crashed a few times in my 27 years of street riding. In two cases, I would probably be dead were it not for my full face helmet.

All the gear, all the time.

December 19, 1993 I was driving my bike on a back road near the future Mrs-BlackFox's place going speed limit.  A Ford F150 didn't like the speed I was going and tried to pass me on a double line on a turn.  He hit my back wheel which slammed me into the ditch at ~60 mph.  The front wheel dug in and the bike flipped.  I hit a tree after flying ~30-40' - the last thing I remember hearing was the big pickup flooring the accelerator as he went on down the road.  I got impaled on the tree, but the bike hit above me.  It slid down and popped me off the tree on the way down.  I found myself pinned under my hot bike with badly broken leg, dislocated hip (pain doesn't describe), broken back in 3 places, every single rib broken front and back and punctured and collapsed lungs (yes, both) about 40' off the road.  To this day I don't know how, but I pushed the bike off me and dragged myself to the road.  After about 10 minutes a car came by and saw me in the ditch.  45 minutes later in the emergency room they reinflated my lungs so I could breath again.  

The pain I put my family, my then-girlfriend and friends through was worse than anything.  I realized it was pretty selfish to do risky things and only think of myself.  Now I just drive a Porsche every day at high speeds, work in the security business, teach newbie's to shoot in my spare time, scuba dive, etc.    Seriously, I'll never ride a bike again.  The guy who hit me left me for dead and never came back - just because he wanted to go 5 mph faster to get home 20 seconds sooner.  People on this planet don't give a pile of S^*T about you.  Knowing that, I'd just assume have a little more margin for error than a bike gives you!

    Black Fox

If you ride long enough in traffic sooner or later you will be on the ground because of a car.

I rode an HD as my primary form of transport for a while and I know 1 guy who was creamed at an intersection another who got hit with a left turn in front of him, those guys died. The only two that died but I know a few more who will never walk right. Beware of old people and woman with cell phones

When I was 18, I had a brand new Kaw. KZ 750.  I just rode it from Col, OH to OKC, OK.  About 1000 miles.  The bike had 1300 miles on it.  

I was in a suburb.  Going home the next day.  Was with a buddy at my dads house.  I bet him I could hit 100 and back down before the next stop sign.

After I hit about 85, I backed off and hit the brakes hard.  Correction, I hit the BACK brake hard.  Didn't use the front one at all.  WOW.  I left a skid mark for about 183 feet.  Was going into a T intersection.  Still skidding.  FOTRUNATELY, no traffic.  I layed the bike down in the driveway of the house that was directly in front of me.  The bike slid into the cop's garage door. (Motorcycle cop at that), while I stopped in the driveway, with only a scratch.  (Had helmet on)

Bent the forks, other damage. (Insurance totaled it, but I just took the cash and fixed it.)

Cops came, (moto cop guy was not home).  Fortunately, the cop who came for the report was friends with my dad's wife.  So I did not go to jail.  Witness said I was doing 100.  I didn't get there. Only 85.

The cop gave me a wreckless op. ticket.  He told me if the judge asks, just say you don't know how fast you were going.  Wreck op. is 25 over the posted 25 mph speed limit.

Went to court.  No money to pay, but between the time I wrecked and court, I enlisted in the army.  (Wasn't doing anything else in my life, talked with dad, decided to do it).  Judge was very cool.  Dropped the ticket for enlisting.  No money to pay fine, so I asked for comm svc.  He told me to go to police station and detail 2 detective cars.  Went to police station.  (Everyone there knew the story).  The just had me wash and wax 2 unmarked browns.

Went to army, did 5 active.  Went to college.  Life is good.  Best mistake I ever made.

Still had bike when I got out, but I hadn't ridden it in years.  Friend of my dads did not want me riding anymore, so he bought it from me for more than it was worth.

Rode my friends harley a few times since, but that is all.  Still have my M DL though.

I live in Dallas now, would not even consider another bike.

Lessons learned,  front brakes are REAL important.
Quit respecting your motorcycle, and It will MAKE you respect it.

TXL  

Oh, and for you OKC guys, this was in the Village, back in 1986

Came to a 2 way intersection (I had the straigh through) and this girl didn't see me and pulled out. I tried to dodge her, but the median had signs that I didn't want to hit, so I hit the brakes and she tagged me in the side when I was going about 25, with my rear wheel about 2 feet in the air on the brakes (I ride sportbikes, so yes this happens.)

When all was done, my bike landed on it's top and skidded down the street about 25 yards, and I landed flat on my back.  The car grill hitting my leg caused some massive bruising (my whole right leg from hip to toe was green black.)

The funny thing was that I had bruises on the front of my head from my head bouncing inside the helmet. The helmet was shagged.

I was pissed because then I used to do club roadraces with that motorcycle and that wreck made me miss the season opener. SO when I got it back together and went to race 2, 2 weeks later, I proceeded to step of the lowside at about 85 mph and toss it down the road.  That wreck separated my shoulder and slowed me down a bit.

I took up prairied dog hunting for a few years before hitting the track again...........

Quoted:
there are only 2 kinds of motorcycle riders.

those who have gone down(fallen) abd those who are going to

 That'a a fact! It happens.
 I used to ride to work in all weather. Rain? No Problem! I never left home in the snow. I did ride home in the snow several times.
I've been down in the rain, snow and slipped on gravel. Damaged helments, jackets and gloves. The only broken bone was in my right foot. I was out 5 weeks on sick leave. That broke a 6 year strech without any sick leave use. These were all low speed falls and with no other vechiles involved.
I never rolled or turned the motor loose.   One fall was in front of the house on a wet street. The wife said it sounded like someone dragging a trash can down the street!

85 mph on the Southern State Parkway for me. A woman drifted into my lane on a sweeping left hand turn. Road rash up the WAZZUU. Got up pulled my bike off the highway got on the back of my friends bike and went to get my mom's station wagon, to pick up the bike. I remeber having my friends yank on my helmet to get it off my skull!!

Quoted: there are only 2 kinds of motorcycle riders. those who have gone down(fallen) abd those who are going to you have to ride very defensevly. ride like every other vehicle on the road is out to get you and watch out for crittters late at night, damn racoon the size of a cujo ran in front of me one night, leather savesyour from road rash.

Amen to all of the above, I hit a coyote doing 85mph at night, damn near went down, I ended up with a severly bruised ankle after front tire kicked it back into me, the coyote needless to say was literally shreded buy the foot peg and chain drive.

I was picking coyote parts out the bike for a week........

ETA: Back when I was riding, I rode like everyone and everything was out to kill me, and this attitude saved me on countless occasions, never take it for granted that you are seen, hell I've made eye contact with drivers only to have them cut me off in the middle of an intersection turn , I've had people look right at me as though checking for a clear lane and try to merge into the spot I was in.  Hell I remember one time in particular some ass hole ran me onto the shoulder when he merged into my spot on an off ramp, I followed into the Mall parking lot that we were both going to and asked him what the fuck his problem was, he responded by saying he hadn't seen me which was bullshit and I told him so, he got indignant and said motorcycles should not be allowed on the road.

I thought about kicking his ass but kicked his doors in instead, funny thing is he never even moved or tried to stop me, hell I think he figured he got off light, at first I thought he was just taking my license number and I would have the LEOs  waiting for me at home but they never came.

1975-I had just purchsed my first bike-1974 Honda 750-I had the bike two weeks and decided to take it out one gorgeous fall day in Southern Ohio-SR73 near Serpent Mound-I was riding back north to Hillsboro when I decided to crank the throttle and see what the Honda could do-I remember looking down at the speedo going into a hairpin curve just past Serpent Mound-it registered 85 mph - I then entered the sweeping right hand turn and ran out of lane-I drifted into the south bound lane and into an oncoming car-I laid the bike down-bike went under car-knocked car back a couple of feet, bent frame of car and ended up in ditch 200 feet down the road-I flipped on the road a couple of times and then hit the car with my left leg shattering my femur in four places, breaking my wrist, all the bones in my right hand, and tearing the medial ligament out of both knees-I spent six weeks in Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincy and initially was told that I would be in traction for almost 10 months-when the traction thing failed to work they operated on my femur and inserted a Sampson nail-I was out six weeks later and riding a Harly 55 FL with an "H" cam. straight leg frame, fat bobs, and bobbed fender within a year-never looked back.

Quoted: [...] My hair cut high and tight, the officer asks me if I am in the Army and if I had been to Nam.   I reply yes and ask what that has to do with anything. Well he tells me that I should know better than to be on a motorcycle, those things are dangerous, and since I was in the military I had free medical so he didn't see what the big deal was.  This was before cell phones.  I politely ask the officer to look at my wifes leg and advise him she can't ride like that for she can't keep her leg on the peg.  I then ask him if he would call us an ambulance.  My wife is now laying on the side of the road in tears from the pain.   The officer turns his back on me and says over his shoulder, "You call for a damn Army ambulance." and gets in his car and drives off.   [...] and last but not least, everyone hated servicemen during Nam.......this one I already knew. Tj

You know, as f*cked up as things are now, regarding vets and public perception of their current mission, it isn't as bad as what you had to go through.

Thanks for your service, TJ, and putting up with that bullsh*t.

This makes me pissed about Kerry all the more.

November 1989, my first year of riding. Dropped a Katana 600 at about 70mph. I was on a country road with some pea gravel on it. Downshifting from 3rd into 2nd as I was going to turn into a driveway about 1/4 mile up the road. Hit a bump in the road and popped the clutch. The back tire turned to butter as I fought the skid for about 100 feet. When I realized the bike was going down no matter what I did, I pushed it one way and jumped the other.

I was wearing a helmet (rare occasion actually) and it saved my life. When I dove, I reached to break my roll, and my helmet crashed forward into the backs of my hands. Smashed a couple bones.

Tore me up pretty good. I had a bunch of road rash on my back and it ground my ankle to the bone, which required some butt skin. I was in therapy for about 6 months.

I had been wearing sweats and a jean jacket. Needless to say, that offered no protection.

My first crash was ALL my fault.  

July 1st, 1968.  Chopped Harley Panhead.  

Drag racing a Ducati across a long bridge.  Beat the Ducati slowed so he could catch up, beet him a second time.  Then I want "balls out", full throttle, 4th gear.  Got a speed wobble and slowed down.  Speed wobble got worse so I sped up.  I got thrown off the bike at somewhere near 100 mph.  

I slid about a block.  My bike slid about 1/2 block.  I only got lot alot of road rash, and 8 stitches in my right knee.  The back of my helmet was litterly gone.  Again, the helmet saved my bean.  

Quoted: They told me the first thing I asked about was my bike, so damn typical.

 

That's the first thing I asked too.  My bike was screwed.  

Hit a car one time.  

Sometime around 1974.  Another Harley Panhead, chopper.  

I was on my way to work and a car made a left in front of me.  I locked the rear brake and the backend slid to the right.  All of a sudden, my bike straightened out and I rode away.  

I got that metallic taste in my mouth (fear).  I think alot of know that taste.  

Got to work and got off the bike.  Looked at the right side of the rear tire and saw a rub mark.  I figure, the tire hit the car's rear bumper and straightened me out.  Got that metallic taste again.  

I've ridden with alot of bikers in my day.  Some hard core some not.  Know some guys that didn't do as well as me in crashes.  Lost some great friends.  

I've owned and built many bikes (mostly Harleys or Harley clones) in the last 36 years.  Do I still ride.  Yes, I do.  I love riding.  When I get really old and can't ride a two wheeler anymore, I'll get a trike.  They're fun too.  

I always wear a helmet.  Won't leave home without one.  

Ride 'em if you have 'em.  

Colt_SBR  

Lesson Learned: 1. Always split lanes, even when unnecessary. 2. Never ride tired 3. If you think a car is going to do something, or coming too fast, or may/MAY NOT stop.....dont' hesitate to think, and GO. THINKING about it will kill you, and have your pictures of your demise on the net!

Thanks - and I always try to stay the hell away from trucks that may be using retreaded tires.  

Knocking on wood lo these many years - I've been lucky.

If they ever ban cars I'll definitely ride a motorcycle.  But the roads around here are crowded with morons in cars.  It isn't even safe to bicycle anywhere cars operate anymore.

GunLvr

Quoted: Lesson Learned: 1. Always split lanes, even when unnecessary. 2. Never ride tired 3. If you think a car is going to do something, or coming too fast, or may/MAY NOT stop.....dont' hesitate to think, and GO. THINKING about it will kill you, and have your pictures of your demise on the net! Thanks - and I always try to stay the hell away from trucks that may be using retreaded tires.   Knocking on wood lo these many years - I've been lucky.

And stay the hell away from cattle trucks too!  

3 near misses and no more V-65 Magna.

I did it for wife and child.

I miss that bike.

Edited to say: "That's one big ass Racoon!"

Quoted: Actually, just as many new tires lose the tread, if not more, as retreads.

Good to know!  Actually I just have a healthy fear of anything bigger than me (or near it) on the highway.

i hit a chain link fence going about 30mph on my little brother's dirtbike 3 years ago.  my wrist still bothers me to this day.

Been hit twice.   Once by some asshole that didn't bother to stop at the stop sign because he "didn't see anyone coming"  Bike totaled, damaged left shoulder (still bothers me 20 years later).

Got sideswiped by another asshole on the freeway (heavy traffic so the speed was low) just a couple years ago.  Dickhead was driving on a suspended license and just whipped his car into my bike wihthout even bothering to look where he was going.  He tagged the engine of my bike with his front fender.  The impact put the bike in a hard right turn without any lean I got tossed on the high side.  Bike fixable, I was really sore for about a week.


Safety tips:  

When encountering another vehicle, always ask yourself, what is the stupidest, most dangerous thing this nimrod can do.  You're answer is what is most likely to happen.

Never ride next to another vehicle.

Always wear your safety gear.  I've had to replace two helmets because of impact damage, as well as two scuffed up jackets.  That stuff really works!


Legal tip:

When splitting lanes (lane sharing in CA).  Don't be in the same lane as the car you happen to be passing at the time.  That way, if you get hit, the other driver came in to your lane.  They also have to go farther to get you which gives you that much more time to escape.

head on, rush hour, 1986 suzuki GS550L totaled bike, i walked away sore

well i had a dumbass on a motorcycle run INTO my 78 trans am

Warning, long story.

I had just replaced the cosmetics on my GSX-R750, since the previous owner did a hack job after his low-side.  It looked great, and the weather was perfect.  Since I was going to the corner store to get breath mints for a funeral the next day, my ballistic nylon riding suit and 1-piece race leathers stayed in the closet.  Clad in a helmet, jeans, t-shirt, and tennis shoes, I merrily headed down the road.  It was 2 lanes each way with no turn lane, and I was in the inside lane going just shy of 50mph.  A bus off the side of the road pulled suddenly in, causing an SUV to swerve abruptly into my lane.  Now, I'd practiced emergency maneuvers almost weekly, and stopping hard and fast was the only option since all the other lanes were full.

Everything was going ok-ish; max braking with tires just starting to squeal, when my rear wheel hit a "tar snake." (Tar poured in cracks to seal the roadway)  I felt the rear wheel kick out, yelled something nasty into the helmet, and hit the ground.  I slid a while on my back until it felt like I'd stopped moving.  I hadn't... and tried to stand up while sliding at 20-30mph, promptly being launched into the air and flinging my shoe into the gutter on the other side of the 2 oncoming lanes.  I flew several feet like Rocky the Flying Squirrel, then landed hard on hands and knees and rolled a bunch of times to a stop.   I stood up immediately, took off the helmet, and staggered around.  My head had clipped the ground a couple times, and I was pretty confused.  I couldn't walk straight and saw my shoe in the gutter.  Thinking I'd actually lost my foot completely, I started to limp over until somone yelled to stop since I was headed right into traffic.

Nobody stopped to help, but a couple drivers yelled "Good thing you stayed in your lane, or I would have hit you."  I thanked them for not hitting me, and borrowed a phone to call 911.  The phone's owner helped me pick up the bike and wheel it off the street, and there were still bloodstains on the seat when I sold it - impossible to get out completely.  A few hours in the ER and some X-rays later, I was pronounced very lucky and free of any major broken bones, then sent out to see if my skin would heal without grafting.  I scrubbed it all without any painkillers the first day, both out of stupidity and to reinforce the lesson learned from overconfidence.  Dumb idea; passed out afterwards and had my mother put fresh bandages on. here
Riding was some of the most freeing and exciting things I've done, and I still rode for a year after that accident.  Be careful, and realize that you don't have a protective cage around you.  Like I said in another thread: You can be the best motorcycle rider around, but you're no match for the worst car driver around.  Keep the shiny side up, and be ready to chat about motorcycles, cars, and guns if you ever come into my operating room or ICU after a collision.

ETA: Helmet and face shield saved me from a fist-sized rock to the face once on the freeway, and ultra-defensive riding helped in many close calls.  To those who think helmets kill you... I've seen lots more people dead from head injuries and broken necks without helmets, than broken necks with helmets.  In fact, nobody I've talked to ever has seen a broken neck that could be blamed on the helmet.