.....so......My jet pack strapped in place I squeezed the throttle and "up up and away"! But suddenly things went wrong......oh, wait a minute.....that was one of my morphine induced dreams. Delete! Delete!
I've lost a few seconds of footage from the scene of the accident but from what I can remember and what the skid marks tell us, those few seconds can be recaptured and related as factual fiction.
We pulled back onto Frontage Rd after looking at a Mercedes convertible that was for sale on a lot. Just as I was entering my lane I saw a motorcycle that was packed for a trip. I took a second glance at it and when I looked back all the cars ahead of me were stopped at the intersection. I slammed on both brakes but just knew that I was going to hit Mike so I dodged to the side as I released the brakes. Not enough room. My front wheel caused the bike to flip and according to the bruises it landed on me and the windshield broke off against my clavicle. The next thing i remember was trying to breath and faces telling me to lie down. Although one face was giving me shit for using my back brake. He kept rerpeating it although he wanted it to be the last thing I remembered as I died. I think what kept me alive was the urge to punch him in his know-it-all face. I have the satisfaction of knowing that even the police officer said I did the right thing. However I broke my personal rule of "focus focus focus".
All my wounds are on my right side. Besides a small scratch on my elbow this is the only skin abrasion I have. However!!
I am rich with colour. I have always loved colour. Now I don't have to get that tattoo I was thinking about. I also broke 6 ribs and my clavicle, so my right arm is in a sling.
Thankyou to all my precious friends for the encouraging emails, phone calls and flowers!!! Hmmmm, makes it all kind of worth it. LOL
Do you think that Helen and Ken are trying to tell me something here?
Whenever someone purchases a motorcycle words of wisdom weave themselves into the ears of the buyer, threaded by the most well intentioned people. Usually these people are the new motorcycle owners closest friends. These words range from excitement to negative predictions. Below is a photo totally unrelated to the topic of this paragraph.
However this is a little of how I felt when I bought my Suzuki V-Strom.
Since I earned my licence to ride 40 years ago I have been accident free. I knew that this did not give me immunity to accidents or injury from objects I might hit if one did occur. I recognized the danger of over confidence. When riding a motorcycle the word "focus" is key to a good safety record.
On Monday, the 25th of March, I lost my focus....for just 2 seconds. I found myself in a hospital bed in Yuma instead of my sergeant seat on my V-Strom.
As my head spins with the effect of opiates and anti-inflamatories I lay my hands on my keyboard to spin you the story of how it all happened. But instead I just pause and.....grin. "Manyana" I tell myself.
I've been thinking lately.....I do that sometimes.
I have 2 motorcycles. They have both carried me from Victoria, Canada to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. I enjoyed both rides for equal and varying reasons.
While I can sit longer on the V-Star, I can't complain about the Sargent seat on the V-Strom. The 1300 Yamaha has more power of course but it would not have taken me to San Ignacio Lagoon where I had one of those once in a lifetime experiences.
The above is my bagged out chain on my return from Mexico. I much prefer the shaft driven motorcycle. It's hassle free. Mike's BMW is shaft driven. However I love the way this little 650 takes the corners. On the approach, if the road surprises you with a sharper corner than you expect, you just lay it over abit more and the bike can handle it. I'm sure the Yamaha can handle it too but it startles me when the foot pegs, or platforms, scrape the road. (I have pictures of my V-Star in previous posts from last year.) The point is, that I can't really afford to own and operate two motorcycles and I lay awake at night dreading the thought of selling one of them. Worrah worrah.
I just had new sprockets and a chain put on Sunna, cleaned and waxed her up good. I feel better on top of her now. She runs like roadrunner in the desert. But the point is...dirty or clean....I love her!
I Miss the ocean....
I miss the rolling seas...
I miss the rocky bluffs....
I miss the ocean breeze...
Boomdy-adda boomdy-adda boomdy-adda...la la la
Yup, it's a song from the recesses of my pioneer Girls history. Some things are just ingrained...
Our last night in Mexico we met some very friendly fishermen.
I was skeptical. Flat sandy beach and big waves...didn't look like a place where there would be fish. But what do I know?
They waded in up to their chest and then stretched out the net. Suddenly the younger fellow started laughing and yelling and together they pulled the net to shore.
This was the result of their first cast. I'm not sure what kind of fish they are. Perhaps Tilapia?
These were the smallest ones. They told us to take some fish for supper and we barbecued them on the coals, so fresh they were still twitching. Look who is excited!
Did I mention that we were not the only ones that were malfunctioning? My trusty little Suzuki was having chain problems. I had bought a new chain and sprocket set before leaving Yuma however the mechanic at the shop looked at my chain and in spite of the high mileage on it, told me that it would make it down to the tip of the Baja and back. And I believed him. It did look very good. However it is possible to wreck a perfectly good chain in a single ride. I should have taken it with me. The reason I did not is because it was that extra straw that might break my Sunna's back.
So, feeling like a Mexican bus had driven over me, I limped slowly northward in fifth gear, since that is the one that made the least clunking when the chain was rotating. The links were not seizing up but the chain was stretched so it was not falling nicely into the sprocket the way it should, but banging into the teeth and then slipping into the grooves with every revolution. We stopped every 100 kms or less and lubed the chain like slathering vaseline on a baby's bum. Our last night in Mexico was in San Quintin, just south of Ensenada, one of my favourite places to camp. We pitched out tents beside a young father and his daughter from Chemainus, Vancouver Island. Then we kicked back to watch the sun fall into the Pacific.
The only down side to being far from town is that I had to give Michel his last injection. It wasn't that much different than immunizing my horses. At least for me. :-)
In Ciudad Constitucion we were fortunate to get a room right across the street from a Farmacia Similaris. These are for the local people and there is an attending doctor who, for 40 pesos or a little under $4.00 will diagnose you and give you a prescription. Then you step into the adjoining pharmacy and purchase your medication. As I recovered from my illness Michel came down with it so we walked across the street to see this doctor. We bought four vials of penicillin and four syringes, one injection every 24 hours. In the meantime I had become a skeleton of my former self.......
But was still strong enough to click the shutter button from the second floor of our hotel.
The hotel concierge dragged a couple of ramps onto the steps and invited us to ride right up into the lobby of the hotel.
In which we stayed for two nights until Michel felt well enough to mount his sturdy BMW steed and make some desert miles.
Does not my valiant V-Strom look more like a trike in this photo? Don't get any strange ideas, those are my luggage bags.
It wasn't the raw oysters that slid down my throat.
Nor was it the authentic Mexican restaurants that we chose to eat in.
It wasn't the high altitude at which we suddenly found ourselves
But somehow......somewhere, I picked up a bacteria and my body tried very hard to expel it through every orifice in my body. I had to have a house visit from a doctor. This would never happen in Canada. And if it did it would have cost alot more than $80. I was thankful to get some medical help for a quick recovery.
Club Cascadas.....Now THAT is a resort Hotel that covers all the bases. I have not one complaint about this beautiful tranquil beachside hotel.
Just a comfortable shoreline walk to town and back, This place deserves to be called 5 star.
I noticed an especially hard working staff who went out of their way to make EVERYTHING as good as it can possibly be. Aesthetically pleasing it also has every amenity you could ask for at your fingertips. I felt very spoiled staying there.....Queen for a week. Too bad Michel couldn't enjoy his time share for more than two days.
Below is the under view of the pools on the second floor.
Isreal, the manager of Club Cascadas is the most smiling friendly man we have met in Mexico. I highly recommend this hotel....if you can get in. The rooms are full every week. The sad thing is that the lady that designed this hotel is aging and her children are taking over. We were told that they are going to destroy the round cabanas and build tiers to accommodate more people. but in doing this the whole design will appear to be more like all the other hotels in the area. Really too bad.
This was the view from the balcony attached to the room in the Wyndham Hotel which we purchased through Groupon. We couldn't have had a better view overlooking the harbour in Cabo San Lucas.
Finally a chance to explore the tantalizing streets of this happening little town. We did not realize that with the four star reservation we would also receive; Loud thumping music day and night, missing linen, lack of communication between front desk and working staff, repeated verification of free breakfasts, mildew and sewer odours leaking from vents and drains, poor housekeeping, extreme prices for small things, pay daily for wifi which was slow and only worked in certain places, ongoing chisels and wet saws doing tile work, sudden water shut offs...and the list goes on. I cannot tell you how sorry we were to have booked this hotel. We did it because we were tired but we came away from there tired AND sick. Sorry about the negative post, but heads up for those of you who book lovely looking resorts through Groupon....do your research!
As far as situation is concerned, it couldn't have been better. And this is what they try to sell their time shares on. This is through Club Tesoro. They have many hotels and they are upgrading them. I have not found a place yet in which to submit a review of this hotel.
We are going to slowly carry our bacteria homeward and hope to scuff it all off on one of the many topes along the way. (sleeping policemen...or speed bumps for those of you who have never been to Mexico)
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