It did not keep us from pursuing our riding dreams. What’s another bruise, right? Still, caution is due: ever since I crashed a pimped Aprilia AF1, in 1989, and turned my left arm into a pizza, I have decided not to mount a bike without protective gear. It paid of, in a certain way. And yes, I agree, I got to know many local hospital’s first-aid doctors and challenged them not to put a cast on both feet after yet another crash… I can laugh about now. I always managed to walk away without any major injuries, but still, it gets one thinking: what if?

And so came last June. We had planned a trip through the Alps that would take us from the Vercors (France) to the Dolomites (Italy). It really looked great. On the first day of the Super 10 I did not feel too comfortable: the replacement off-road foot pegs/brake pedal combination with pins for extra grip were very difficult to dose and I had no feeling with the rear brake. Pretty annoying when you ride in the mountains. We decided to stop in Grenoble, buy some tools and change the set-up. Alas, we did not make it to Grenoble.

Here’s what happened: after passing a mobile home we hit some smooth bends and as I was shifting into 3rd to dive into a left-hander, I gently pushed the rear brake, but due to the uncontrolled pressure the back-end stepped out… no hassle, really, but the gravel on the road decided otherwise: before I realized the bike had turned completely sideways, gripped again and threw me out of the saddle. This has happened to me before and I have always tried to land on my feet every time I became airborne. Not this time: I came down, heavily, on the right hip, shoulder and head… 

I got up and while someone helped me to pick up the bike, I felt the pain kicking in: the soreness in my hips was bearable, but my shoulder and neck felt really painful. My head was okay, but I could not recall where I was, where I came from and where I was heading to. A complete black-out. 

An ambulance got me to hospital, X-rays were taken and all seemed normal. After being monitored for two hours, the doctors decided to let me go.

Again, I consider myself to be very lucky. I did not crash into anything, leaving me with major injuries. I got back to my feet very quickly. What struck me the most – as I was coming back to my senses (my colleagues beg to differ on that matter) – is that nothing happened to my head. A blow to the helmet prevented fatal injuries. So, I am very glad that I have been wearing Arai-helmets for years. If it weren’t for them things would have been different. And although the helmet was pretty damaged, I got back on my bike, the next day. With a different helmet, mind you.

So, just remember to always wear a top-range helmet. Because your head is important.