12-31-2020, 02:28 AM
Interesting question, Tod. And thank you for your kind words regarding my accident.
I gather from your own response that you asking about the moments immediately surrounding the incident and not about how I felt for the 10 or 15 minutes I was riding in the heavy snow. Seeing as I've already committed to taking a seat on your couch, I'll give you a bit of a spectrum of "scared" emotions that I felt that Tuesday.
Let's start with Merriam-Webster's definition of "Scared" -
scared
adjective
\ ˈskerd\
: thrown into or being in a state of fear, fright, or panic
Fear: At the first stoplight on my return from Beck Lake. I began to worry that something bad could happen based on rapidly changing weather. I was not overcome by this fear, just tried to be more alert and recall things I've learned about riding in poor conditions. I started talking to myself, "Loosen your grip", "Look where you want to go", "Stay off the brakes", "Easy on the throttle".
Fright: During the first right hand turn I made after leaving Beck Lake. The bike slipped a little on my approach to the intersection, but I eased off the brake and the bike settled down. I tried to take the straightest line through the turn and so said "outside-inside-outside". At about the apex my rear tire slid out a little and I had that "sudden intense fear" that is the definition of fright. I corrected, over-corrected, causing a little fishtail. I remember both feet came off the pegs and saying to myself "Keep your F*#king feet on the F*#king pegs" and continued on. The next two turns were similar frightening moments including the last left before I dropped it.
Panic: As I went down and while I was laying on the street wondering how badly I was hurt. "Someone's going to run me over", "No one is stopping to help", "Can I get up?" "Why am I so cold?" "How bad am I hurt?" Questions like this firing in my brain uncontrollably for several seconds until I was able to answer them in my head. "I can get up", "I'm not going to get hit", "Other people are around", "I'm cold because I slid on the ice, not because I'm in shock". By the time the paramedics arrived, I was much more composed and was quite sure that I was going to be fine. My only remaining "fears" were of how badly the bike was hurt and of getting "the look" from Cheryl.
Now, I would say that fishtailing at the turns would be considered "near-miss" situations, but because the hazardous road conditions were ongoing, I didn't have time to replay it in my mind. I suspect that the scared (frightened) feeling we get at a near-miss is more pronounced because we have time immediately after the event to feel our hearts pounding, our breathing rate increasing, and to think " Cuss, that was a close one". When we fall, I think we may have all of the same physical feelings, but we focus our thoughts on our immediate circumstances and not on what happened seconds before.
I think my session is up, though, Doc. I can talk about the dreams I have about cigars and trains next week.
I gather from your own response that you asking about the moments immediately surrounding the incident and not about how I felt for the 10 or 15 minutes I was riding in the heavy snow. Seeing as I've already committed to taking a seat on your couch, I'll give you a bit of a spectrum of "scared" emotions that I felt that Tuesday.
Let's start with Merriam-Webster's definition of "Scared" -
scared
adjective
\ ˈskerd\
: thrown into or being in a state of fear, fright, or panic
Fear: At the first stoplight on my return from Beck Lake. I began to worry that something bad could happen based on rapidly changing weather. I was not overcome by this fear, just tried to be more alert and recall things I've learned about riding in poor conditions. I started talking to myself, "Loosen your grip", "Look where you want to go", "Stay off the brakes", "Easy on the throttle".
Fright: During the first right hand turn I made after leaving Beck Lake. The bike slipped a little on my approach to the intersection, but I eased off the brake and the bike settled down. I tried to take the straightest line through the turn and so said "outside-inside-outside". At about the apex my rear tire slid out a little and I had that "sudden intense fear" that is the definition of fright. I corrected, over-corrected, causing a little fishtail. I remember both feet came off the pegs and saying to myself "Keep your F*#king feet on the F*#king pegs" and continued on. The next two turns were similar frightening moments including the last left before I dropped it.
Panic: As I went down and while I was laying on the street wondering how badly I was hurt. "Someone's going to run me over", "No one is stopping to help", "Can I get up?" "Why am I so cold?" "How bad am I hurt?" Questions like this firing in my brain uncontrollably for several seconds until I was able to answer them in my head. "I can get up", "I'm not going to get hit", "Other people are around", "I'm cold because I slid on the ice, not because I'm in shock". By the time the paramedics arrived, I was much more composed and was quite sure that I was going to be fine. My only remaining "fears" were of how badly the bike was hurt and of getting "the look" from Cheryl.
Now, I would say that fishtailing at the turns would be considered "near-miss" situations, but because the hazardous road conditions were ongoing, I didn't have time to replay it in my mind. I suspect that the scared (frightened) feeling we get at a near-miss is more pronounced because we have time immediately after the event to feel our hearts pounding, our breathing rate increasing, and to think " Cuss, that was a close one". When we fall, I think we may have all of the same physical feelings, but we focus our thoughts on our immediate circumstances and not on what happened seconds before.
I think my session is up, though, Doc. I can talk about the dreams I have about cigars and trains next week.