It never fails. I tell someone that I am a biker and they come back with a story of someone they know or saw that has crashed. Crashes are part of the motorcycle way of life. No one wants to crash. I have never come across a rider that says "Man, I just want to go crash my bike for kicks." But I run in to bikers all the time that tell me stories of how they have gone down or things they have done that put them at very high risk for a serious crash.

In the message forum, EzyEric recounts a really nice ride he went on and how he encountered a group of riders who had just had one of their buddies crash his motorcycle. (read the story)

In this case, the biker that went down recounts several mistakes. He was going too fast to make a corner. Rather than missing his turn and coming back he breaks too hard and locks his back tire. He tries to recover from the skid by letting up on the break instead of straightening out and riding the skid out. And finally, he wasn't use to the bike he was riding as his previous bike had an anti-lock breaking system.

Now I don't list all the mistakes to rag on this rider. It is quite common that a crash is not caused by one single mistake but the collection of several mistakes all coming together at one point in time. It is unlikely that one single mistake would cause an accident. Heck, I make little mistakes all the time and I have been riding almost constantly since 1983. That is a lot of years and a lot of mistakes. I have had two very serious crashes. One cost me the proper use of my right shoulder and left me with pain I will get to enjoy for the rest of my life. In the other, well I got off very lucky, I almost killed my son who was a passenger at the time. It was a life changing crash to say the least. I have also had numerous close calls. Most of these could have been easily avoided if I had been paying a bit more attention to what I was doing.

I would say that only a very small portion of all motorcycle accidents are beyond the control of the motorcycle driver. Yes, you hear it all the time that some car came out of no where. Or maybe the bike hit gravel and just kicked out from under the driver. But really, even those situations can be predicted in most instances. The surprise car, gravel or even slick patch of ice on the road can normally be dealt with by an alert motorcycle rider. I am the first to admit that there are times that I am just out for the rush and I push myself and my machine harder than I should. And I know that it will be one of those times that will put me back on the ground if I am not more careful. Even after all of these years of riding, even I am still at risk of a crash due to my own driving style.

The point that I am trying to make by all of this is that only the motorcycle rider is able to take control of his or her own safety. Cars and other riders can only do so much. If a biker is going too fast, trying to take corners too sharply, breaking too hard or simply not paying attention, well then that is the cause of the accident. It isn't that little patch of gravel. Yes, the gravel may have caused the emergency situation but its the speed or other factors, that when added to the gravel that actually caused the crash.

Case in point. Not long ago I was out riding with EzyEric on some back country roads. I started really laying into the corners. I was very alert and enjoying myself. The road ahead was clear so I was starting to push the bike and hugging the lines around each turn. In one turn I hit some gravel and the back tire started to slip. In an instant I was able to judge that there was no on-coming traffic because I had been looking well ahead before the turn. I whipped the bike into an upright position, applied the breaks evenly and firmly and crossed the yellow line. The slide stopped almost instantly and I then resumed my ride without even stopping. So yes, I was going way too fast and I hit some gravel. Had I not been paying attention and looking well ahead, this could have ended badly. But since I was looking ahead, if I had seen another car coming from the other direction, I would not have pressed that corner knowing that if something went wrong I would have had no place to go.

So while you are out there having your fun, remember to stay alert and think about those "what if" situations that might come up. What if there is a slick spot on that next corner? What if the cars coming at you drift across the yellow line because they are going too fast? What if that big truck in front of you has to slam on its breaks? Where will you go and what will you do?

Don't be afraid to ride. Don't be a sissy who won't lay into a corner because of what "might" happen. Ride in your comfort zone and don't try to keep up with others if it feels like it is too much. But don't be a baby about riding either. Just know your limits and be aware of your riding area and learn how your bike reacts.

If you stay alert, think ahead and don't panic, in most cases a little surprise here or there will get your heart pounding but you will stay safe. Even if your undies get soiled, at least you will have a good story to tell that doesn't end in "and then I went down" and those are the best kind of scary stories.