For the first-time story see here.

The weather this weekend has been the first really good weather we've had. The roads are bare. The Sun was shining. I don't know exactly how warm it was, but the forecast was calling for a mere ~60 F (~14 C) today. The bikes started to come out in full force yesterday. I saw tons of them. That gave me the itch. My girlfriend was working all afternoon today so I had nothing else to do. I arranged to stop by my friends' house where the bike is stored during winter to look at it. I wasn't sure yet if I was going to take it for a ride, but I packed all of my gear so I must have been hoping for it.

I had been warned that there was still a good bit of a snow barrier on the driveway. I cockily thought that I could ride through that no problem without even seeing it. I figured I would go look anyway. It would give me a chance to see if my bike would start since the battery and fuel were untreated all winter, and it would give me a chance to see what other kinds of maintenance were needed.

The host was kind enough to bring the bike out of the garage and air up the tires for me! He was just finishing airing up the tires when I got there. I fired it up and it started right away. I let it idle for a good 5 or 10 minutes while we talked. Then I put me gear on and prepared to go. We had discussed the obstacle of snow. Probably a 10 or 15 foot long stretch of snow in the driveway only an inch or two thick at the thickest points.

I should have had a lot more respect for that snow. I thought it would be no big deal. A bit like gravel. And it was, but worse. The snow has depth, and is more slippery. I should have planned my route carefully and taken it slowly, but I wasn't really thinking straight. Too much excitement, and I had been up late and slept in late so I was kind of groggy. I went for it hoping that I'd clear the snow before any instability. I tried to find a line at the last second that looked good, but I probably ended up near the middle of the driveway which intersected with parts that were deeper. I remember being afraid that I was moving too fast just as I arrived at the snow, but there isn't a lot that I could do: reaching for the brakes then would spell disaster for sure.

I probably made it 3/4 of the way through the snow before it all came crashing down (literally). I was sloppy and out of practice and had my eyes down instead of far ahead of me. It's difficult to be sure exactly what went wrong. The observer thought that I had accelerated. I think that what happened was that my front wheel was redirected by the snow towards a path with less resistance, which steered it to the left. I was probably doing 5 or 7 km/h (3 or 4 MPH). There was nothing that I could really do. It surprised me. I may have been moving fast enough for the inertia up high to lean the bike over to the right. The host's wife was apparently watching from the window and was surprised just how quickly I fell. It's a blur. When it happens there's no time to react. You're just down and thinking fuck!

No big deal. I scratched and cracked the right-side fairing piece, which is probably the worst of the damage. It is unsightly, but not a big deal. I probably won't replace it right away. You wouldn't spot it from a distance, and even up close you might not realize it if you aren't looking for it. The turn signal arm broke, but like the left-one from the previous drop continued to work. This one is actually broken, not just bent, so it might need repairing to ensure proper function and visibility to traffic, etc. My handle bar end and the ball of my brake lever is also scratched up, as well as the side of the mirror housing, but those are not really an issue at all. You won't see that if you aren't looking for it, and it doesn't seem to be interfering with the correct function of any parts.

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Here's a picture of the snow several hours later after a truck had gone over it and probably several feet... Immediately after I fell I realized that there was a much less risky path along the right side, but at the time I wasn't thinking straight. After my ride I returned and crossed this patch of snow twice without incident using that much more straightforward path. I'm kicking myself for not inspecting the snow first and planning my route through it, but I think the fall was good for me. Sometimes you need to be reminded of the stakes.

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All in all it's probably a couple hundred dollars worth of damage. Maybe $300 tops, depending on the turn signal arm cost and if I bothered to replace everything scratched. I'm kind of glad that I fell the way that I did. I didn't have the respect that I should have had, and it's better to crash in snow and gravel doing 7 km/h than to crash on pavement doing 100 km/h. Hopefully that wakes me up a little bit and gets my mind back into focus. Riding a motorcycle is not like riding a car. It requires a lot of focus and respect. Practice and training is important too. I should be taking an "advantaged rider course" in May that will help me to practice some maneuvers and also re-enforce safe, respectful riding. I should probably brush back up on it again too. It might involve a few nights on YouTube.

I digress. My spirits are up. I may have dropped my bike, but after that I took my bike for a good 20 km ride around town and back and eventually I brought it home. It needs an oil change soon since the oil has sat all winter, and it wouldn't hurt to wipe and lube the chain. I need to check the brake fluid, but I'll probably be replacing it in about a month so as long as I have brakes, and I did, I should be fine. It's funny because normally I check my brake fluid before riding, but today I didn't even think of it. Just goes to show you how my mind wasn't in the right place today. Still, it should be fine since I would have checked it the last time that I rode last year. I need to replace the oil plug because it's stripped as fuck from the last time that I did an oil change. I can't believe how big of a deal it is to get a replacement. I have to order it in and wait 2 weeks. Ridiculous. My headlights need to be aimed, as they always have, and now is the time to do it. I'll need to check my coolant, but that should be fine too. I should check my brake pads for wear. I imagine they're getting close to needing replacing.

It's pretty standard to watch a lone visitor leaving your place. Especially if that somebody is on a motorcycle. Especially if it's the beginning of the motorcycle season. Especially if you're motorcyclists yourself and haven't gotten your own bike out. Of course, the main reason is probably because they both knew about that patch of snow and were concerned about me getting through it.

This.

Stop it! If you're going to ride a motorbike, order orange juice instead