A Triumph Tiger crash that won't be discussed on Facebook

So, here's the bit of the trip that will NOT be discussing on Facebook. The trip the wives' don't need to know about. The bit that lost a buddy his $1,000 security deposit on a 3 week old Triumph Tiger.

It was a humiliating crash. One, both riders are still trying to process. So much so that their identities shall remain anonymous. Here's what happened.

Two friends, one in Los Angeles, we'll call him Jon; one from Toronto, we'll call him Nate. Jon and Nate meet up in LA for a ride: Jon has sold his beloved BMW due to pressures from the wife to make babies and "not be a biker" and Nate is taking leave from his own new born baby life changes.

They were on one of those super tight, twisty and sandy California mountain passes in attempt to cross a valley to cooler weather. They had been heading up hill for 10 minutes in 40 degree Celsius heat. Confidence was brimming in the breeze, engine braking and gravity was on their side.

Jon, riding ahead, and Nate, following on the Tiger both reached the crest of the mountain and transition to downhill. Jon remarked that the curve didn't look that intimidating; he was going 35mph and braking. But somehow, Jon still managed to go over the center line. Blind luck: nothing was coming the other way. By the time Jon finds himself back in his lane, he sees a flash of Nate in his rear view.

Then without warning, Jon hears the noise no one wants to hear. The sound rang out in his headset and echoed from the road behind him. Jon turns his head for a second and captures Nate's crash frame-by-frame:

Nate is down. Jon parks up and runs over but Nate is already up and walking around. He doesn't even have a rip in his clothing. He's fine, albeit cradling his bruised ego and soon to be bruised bank account. Bruised leg is the only real concern of course.

So there they are in 44c on a mountain, 5 hours from LA with a downed rental motorbike. Things are not ideal. Will the bike start?

Luckily the Tiger turned over and all systems seemed fine. A pannier snapped off in the crash so the guys strapped it to the seat back using the cable locks the rental place provided; but it was garbage. Luck rang out again and no levers snapped, no hoses were torn, no brakes were damaged. Go Tiger! A quick pop-in to Walmart was all they needed to pick up some velcro mountain bike mirrors and they were set for the ride home.

Nate still won't say what happened. Was he spooked? Did he catch gravel? His silence is unfortunate; we could all learn from the fall.

In the end, the 2-day rental cost more than anticipated but a lot less than it could have. ATGATT. Amen.

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