on 9/16/07 there was another fatality (possibly 2) on ACH. In a mundane corner, on a beautiful sunny SoCal day, a horrible accident took another person's life on the crest. My favorite road, my 2-wheeled home, the place where not-too-long-ago i fell in love with the sport of motorcycle riding is also the place where so many venture and fail to return from. Even if the mellow fluid sweepers of the Crest seem harmless or kind, this road bites back--and more often than it should, it bites those who don't deserve the blood and agony.

It's a fact of life that as a rider, the casualty reports will pile up every summer. You have to learn to adjust to the idea that you or your friends might not make it home from your next ride. You get used to the stories of young riders w/ no experience or gear making love to canyon walls, or the stories of riders with 15+ years of experience making a mistake and paying for it. It's a fact of life, like someone here said, riders die, and sometimes you can't do anything to change it.

So often we respond with resolutions to be more careful, or to take it to the track, or deny that our personal behaviors can lead to tragic accidents..."Yeah, i put a knee down on the street, but I'm in control" I've said stuff like that plenty of times. I've seen guys whose opinions and skills i respect say it. I've clearly differentiated my actions from those of the lowsiding masses, as if i'm not 1 pebble away from joining them. And no amount of contrition after the fact will bring a leg back, or an ankle back, or god forbid, another rider back.

It's almost cliche that the local MC community responds to a bad weekend in the local canyon by promising to be better riders. I do think it helps, but at the same time there are so many people who aren't included in the dialogue who end up wadded up against k-rails. and whether or not we become better riders, nothing is going to change the fact that all it takes is 1 tiny rock, 1 unsuspecting cage, or 1 rider coming the other way 3' over the DY to make any resolutions you made a week ago completely moot.

I don't want to give up street riding. I think that there's something to be said about spending saturday morning on the crest with some friends--but i do think we all need to question the way in which we traverse these roads. Get your thrill from the trees, the clean air, the company, and the sunshine--not the speed. Many of us always say that the street is not a race track, but how many of us actually ride that way?

We are in a precarious position. between the insurance companies, the local highway patrol, the general public/politicians, and each other--the next few years could be a crucial moment in the history of motorcycles. and while i believe that people should be free to make their own choices (and mistakes), it's a sad reality that what I do is a reflection on a fellow sportbikers as much as it is a reflection of myself. The same applies to all of us, and since we were given the task to protect the sport in a sensitive time, ask yourself what you're doing for your fellow riders, at the bike night, on the freeway, in the canyons. Whether they come with HP limits, tiered licensing (good idea imo), banning sportbikes altogether, and whether the AMA can stop it are all somewhat irrelevant...

If we don't police ourselves, don't expect the government to do it with the understanding of the important but subtle nuances that define our sport. And if we don't police ourselves, we have little right to complain when we find ourselves persecuted by grandstanding politicians who don't give a rat's *** about whether you're a geared up, responsible rider or not.

 

Amen brotha

 

Sticky side down bro.

 

dont sh*t where you eat!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MSchu &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">dont sh*t where you eat! </TD></TR></TABLE>

Now THAT'S good advice!

 

Damn, well said! I'm linking this to my local forum.

 

Sucks, that's why I stay the hell away from ACH even though it is a decent run. Too many d00dz running straight into the guard rail and killing themselves. That wouldn't be too bad except that I could be riding between them and said guardrail in the opposite lane (I know somebody who got taken out on Mohalland by a rider who overshot a turn, he died) Too bad you don't live closer, I could show you a canyon with no traffic, guard rail, or squids

I don't think anything is going to change either, considering the impact any kind of restriction would make on sales. The UK can get away with it because it is a much smaller market.

 

I don't really see how canyon running is any different than street racing; and it's potentially more dangerous to others.

Keep it well within the limits or go to the track, no matter if it's 4 wheels or 2.

 

this recent passing on the crest kinda hit home for me, as i happen to work with the rider's dad. though i only met nick a handful of times, he seemed like a genuine good guy and was always up for ride, be it a cruise down the coast, or a run up the canyon, he truely loved being on 2... rip nick stone.

 

Nothing will change about canyon riding, I've done it for decades, and riders will continue to do it forever. It's a right of passage and it also helps to make better riders. What IC the big problem being is, is the attitude that you want to test yourself against grand father speed and the laws of physics. I think the crest tends to be one of the most dangerous roads out there is because if your flying, it's average speed is very very high. It's not like the dragon, Palomar, Ortega, Glendale... this sucker is fast, averaging very near/in excess 100mph if your riding 80-90% that means straights at or near redline in a given gear. This is a combination for disaster when combined with modern sportbike technology and riders that do not know how to handle there limits. I love this upper end riding, and I fear more the slower canyons... many say technical, but thats not true. Its kind of like owning a gun... as any bloody fool can pull a tigger, its not the gun that is the problem, its the person that yields that weapon. For years we have been moving farter and farter out away from the city for our riding, and this works... but I always NEED to go back to the crest. Like a junky on heroin, my dealer lives there.

 

Havent been there (yet), but isn't ACH bordered on one side by cliffs, leading straight down into the canyons?

I figured that'd be motivation enough to keep it slow at least part of the way.

 

there are 1000' drop offs yes. in the old days it used to connect with wright wood and azuza... those were thre days