i was hurrying home to get those mashed potatoes and pork chops that were on the table, when:
bam. two dogs ran out of nowhere. i hit my brakes and swerved and my bike hit the ground. i did too, all on my left side. shoe came off. skin came off. head undamaged. wind knocked out of my left lung. world spinning round. and i still managed to dial home. got taken by ambulance. cute nurses. X ray, no broken bones. i’ll be fine by show time.
sore as hell though.
Glad to hear you’re ok, but what does “show came off” mean? 
Edit: Ahh. you changed it to “shoe came off”. See what happens when you’re thinking about other things? :s
oh i corrected that. it’s" shoe came off." i’m missing skin on my shoulder, foot,elbow,and knee, all on the left side. i really thought i had busted something inside. my sister is a nurse and she said they would have found it that day if anything was busted. bleeding spleen must be the worst thing.
Glad you are OK. Accidents aren’t the best things that can happen to you.
But: Why do shoes always come off at accidents? YTou can always tell when there has been an accident because theres loads of glass and plastic surrounding one, lone shoe.
helmets too. no matter how you’ve got it strapped on (is there a joke in here?) it always comes off.
that was funny.
[quote=“rantheman”]helmets too. no matter how you’ve got it strapped on (is there a joke in here?) it always comes off.
that was funny.[/quote]
Getting a proper (i.e., very snug) full-faced helmet with double-D ring closure and keeping the chin strap snug will keep it on your head in an accident, and may well save your life next time. Glad to hear it wasn’t worse!
You have had a bad week… get flipped off and get in a wreck. Best of luck to you, hope it gets better.
I have always wondered about the shoe thing to??
[quote=“Monk”]You have had a bad week… get flipped off and get in a wreck. Best of luck to you, hope it gets better.
I have always wondered about the shoe thing to??[/quote]
I think it may be because getting thrown, your body is still moving at the speed the bike was travelling…when the shoes hit the road, they grip the road and slow down fast, while your body does not…ergo, the shoes come off…maybe that’s why bikers wear boots.
Just a guess.
jd snotaphysicsmajor
Nice to hear you are OK. Any big black marks anywhere - you usually get that when falling off a bike.
I wonder how many other accidents are due to improperly tied shoes ? Weren’t you told at school to tie them up or you’ll trip over them (Who ever tripped over untied shoe laces ?). Now you know why.
jdsmith is right, if your shoes come off and let your foot scrape on the ground, they are inadiquate protection, but who in Taiwan wears suitible protection ?
You mean the blue flip flops that you see littering the streets are not adiquate protection??
OFF topic… Got into a very bad bicycle accident due to a untied shoestring getting caught in the chain. Spent hours in a hospital getting asphalt scrubbed out of my skin.
Actually, shoes are seen at the site of any major traumatic event. When people experience a frightful moment, their foot muscles contract, which is why people fleeing an attacker, eg. rioters fleeing the police, often quite literally run out of their shoes. I kid you not.
Good to hear you’re alright, rantheman.
But how are the dogs?
(A few weeks ago I witnessed two dogs dart into traffic and a man crashed his scooter by trying to avoid them. I ran to see if the dogs were ok (they were, thanks) and walked up to the guy and yelled at him for riding so fast and not paying attention he could have seriously hurt the dogs. Told him he was an idiot and left him there. 
No worries, there were bystanders around helping him though. It was very wrong, but my first instincts were the dogs, not some guy in slippers smoking and going 70 on his scooter.)
[quote=“914”]
(A few weeks ago I witnessed two dogs dart into traffic and a man crashed his scooter by trying to avoid them. I ran to see if the dogs were ok (they were, thanks) and walked up to the guy and yelled at him for riding so fast and not paying attention he could have seriously hurt the dogs. Told him he was an idiot and left him there. No worries, there were bystanders around helping him though. It was very wrong, but my first instincts were the dogs, not some guy in slippers smoking and going 70 on his scooter.)[/quote]
Sure it was wrong. Actually at driving school we learned that you only braked for big dogs, if you could not swerve safely around them and had others behind you. Smaller dogs and cats? Too bad for them, but rather them than my passengers and I.
Back home the law is don’t brake for (any, I believe) animals on the road if you’re traveling on a highway. So same as you say, Mr He. I often wonder though, most people’s first instincts are to brake. If a deer or moose was crossing the highway and you’re going 120 km/hr, how can you not brake?
Anyhow, this guy was definitely going too fast for his own good on a small street. Serves him right, I hope he broke a bone.
Take care of yourself, rantheman.
Doesn’t count if you drive against a moose. The weight of the body will kill you in your car.
But luckily is has quite few mooses in Taiwan…
My driving teacher said big dogs and up. If you hit a great dane the wrong way while driving, you will end up with the pooch in your face.
I once nearly hit a moose on a Swedish country road.
Not fun. 4 AM. Not fun at all.
Brake.
Sorry to hear that Ran, I can feel your pain … just experienced it myself a week or so ago. But you’re Ok, that’s what counts. My pain is better … just a little discomfort … surely hope yours will be too for the upcoming show.
About the shoes:
I had an accident some 25 years ago, crashed my Triumph Spitfire into an oncoming car that suddenly swerved onto my lane. Car broke in two and afterwards I remember that my shoes actually were still on the break and throttle pedal. I was sitting on my socks outside the car. 
Boots and bikers:
A few years before the above accident I got hit by a car while driving my motorbike, and yes it swerved onto my lane too. The car hit me directly on the foot and if I hadn’t worn boots with a steel shin plate my foot had come off … boots and bikers … a must 
Dogs and breaking:
A year or so ago, coming from Taipei on the new stretch along the river from Banchiao to Tucheng, in the dark, a black dog just jumped in front of my scooter, was doing 70 km/h or so and didn’t see it coming. Crashed into the dog without breaking, managed to stay up and could stopped a little further. No damage to mention on the scooter, dog was gone. But it was a real bang. Scary 
i care for dogs, as 914 does, but i think dogs here are spoiled as far as road sitting goes. it’s definitely a behaviour problem, as is food agression and car chasing. taiwan dogs KNOW they won’t get hit!so they just walk out in the road anytime they want. maybe because taiwanese people generally love dogs, but maybe subconsciously there’s that belief in karma, dogs being someone reincarnated so to speak.
in the US, it’s fuck karma. is that a group like nirvanna or something? dog in the road, dog becomes road kill. like i’m gonna swerve and brake for an animal that licks it’s own ass when i’ve got babies in the car. too dangerous.i can weigh the risks in a second.
on another note, yesterdays impact with the pavement was a mother! i can still feel it. i’ve never felt such a solid impact with anything in my life. now i know what they mean by “knock the life out of you”.
My own observations tend to point to the opposite conclusion. Taiwanese dogs seem extraordinarily careful about crossing the street. I’ve even seen them look both ways before crossing, because they KNOW the drivers here are maniacs.
I have run into far fewer aggressive dogs here than in the U.S. – I think they know they’ll end up as soup if they piss anyone off.