Funeral for a friend

[dcarver]

Well, another friend now rides heavens' roads..

Details here.

Wrong place, wrong time, chain of events started by nooobie rider in #2 position.

So, mañana I say final good byes to Harry Machado, a truly fine man, very experienced rider, with many bikes and miles under the belt including vintage Indians, new Harley's, and even a crotch rocket or two.

Please don't respond back with 'sorry for the loss of your friend'.. It's ok, Harry went out having fun.

So, read the article, learn from it, and with riding season in full swing..

[SIZE=12pt]Just take care, be diligent and stay alive for another riding season?[/SIZE]

So, I'm riding to Harry's service tomorrow. Hope that's not breaking etiquette or nothing...

 

[madmike2]

Absolutely...ride your bike. Harry would have. That's the reasoning I've used when I rode my bike to a memorial service or two.

 

[Kevin Daly]

do what your heart tells you man, there is no "wrong thing to do" at a funeral so long as you trying?

So in looking at the report, what is in there that could be gleaned? Never be the #3? never ride with a noob?

 

[Mike-H]

do what your heart tells you man, there is no "wrong thing to do" at a funeral so long as you trying?
So in looking at the report, what is in there that could be gleaned? Never be the #3? never ride with a noob?

I think it's more along the lines of "live your life doing what makes you happy" regardless of what others might think or say.....just my take on it.....

 

[Toecutter]

Group riding... can get you killed

I heard that!

Let's all be extra careful out there.

Godspeed Harry. :rip_1:

 

[frayne]

Sorry to hear about your loss. Sounds all too familiar. RIP dude.

 

[Geezer]

Without actually being there, it is hard to tell how much time passed between each of the events described in the article. Maybe there was time to slow down or even stop after the noob went down, maybe there was some escape route the rider didn't see. Maybe there could have been more distance between riders. Probably some other stuff I can't think of right away, and they are all 'maybe'.

 

[huron52]

Without actually being there, it is hard to tell how much time passed between each of the events described in the article. Maybe there was time to slow down or even stop after the noob went down, maybe there was some escape route the rider didn't see. Maybe there could have been more distance between riders. Probably some other stuff I can't think of right away, and they are all 'maybe'.

My spin? Go to the funeral on the bike.

The accident... several bad judgements on everyones part. Space makes time for a way out.

 

[TheAxeman]

Just another reason I avoid group rides as much as possible. Having been on some of the Patriot Guard rides with some genuinely inexperienced riders, I can see how things can go really bad really quick. May he RIP.

 

[throttlejockeyTJ]

If I understand correctly he was going the opposite direction from the other fallen rider. The pulled head on in front of him to avoid a MC on the shoulder. Wrong Time & Place. If I was going it would be on a MC.

 

[twowheelnut]

Jebus! How the hell did all those vehicles wind up on 166 at 10:30 on a Sunday morning? And who the hell would be parked on the side of that road? Strange turn of events leading to his death. Sad.

 

[keithaba]

So, I'm riding to Harry's service tomorrow. Hope that's not breaking etiquette or nothing...

You may get some dirty stares. The will come from people who are angry, and upset that Harry is gone. They may be angry that you showed up on one of those "death machines." I would be aware of that, but it wouldn't stop me from riding to the funeral either.

Harry obviously knew of the dangers of motorycling, but like the rest of us, was willing to take the risk for something he loved.

 

[dcarver]

So now all is said and done.

Turns out.. ol' Harry had very many eclectic friends all from his various interests..

. the biker dude's were there.. his handle was 'Guard Dog' based upon his service to our country.

. the train guyz were there.. turns out he was a choo choo train afficiando.

. the music folks turned out too. Never new he was *really* good at violin and geetar.

....funny how shit like this turns out..

.......at his celebration.. folks who never knew of each other, of different venues... got together - finally. So why the fuck wait?

to sad it took a death for all of us to see each other.

A lesson learned?

 

[madmike2]

A lesson learned?

1. Make sure your family and friends know how you feel about them. Often!

2. Do what you can to get them together. They like you, so what makes you think they won't like each other?

My parents had friends who would invite people of different backgrounds to dinner parties. One never knew if the person on one's right or left was a state representative, a homemaker, a lawyer or judge, a business owner or a gas station attendant. To the hosts it didn't matter, they were all friends. Turns out we all have more in common than we believe. It sounds like the same was true of Harry's different circles.

Philosophically, I've heard it said that our lives are like the still surface of a pond. If you throw a pebble in, the concentric rings expand out from the point where the pebble hits the water. If every person's life is a pebble on the pond of life, all of our rings interconnect and interplay with each other's rings. It makes sense to me!

BTW, Don, I'm glad you're my friend.

 

[Silver Penguin]

Gunny1 to all that Mad Mike said.

From reading the article, I perceived two suggestions of following too close. The lady in the 2003 Civic swerved onto the shoulder to avoid two cars who had managed to stop for the fallen rider. Too close and too fast perhaps? Her car was then hit by others who were possibly too close/fast.

To Mike's list, may I add riding with a view to being able to stop within the distance you can see? Sure, we have awesome bikes that will take corners at terrific speeds but do we have the skills to bring those bikes upright and deploy the anchors in time to stop when shi*t happens?

+1 on taking the bike to the funeral. That seems like the right thing to do.

Jill

 

[rogdeb]

Group riding... can get you killed

I heard that!

Let's all be extra careful out there.

Godspeed Harry. :rip_1:

+ 1

 

[AZrider]

Sometimes things in the universe align in a wierd way, it's all hard to understand. Why a rider swerved at the exact moment ,where the road turned or didn't turn, why there was someone parked on the road, who was the noobie and where he was riding. etc. etc.

I was in an offshore sailboat race in the Gulf of the Farallones off San Fransciso in 1982. My brother in law and I were sailing on our boat in the Double Handed Farallones race. Even though the sea was fairly calm the sky just didn't look right and the wind was coming from the southwest (storm direction) when we crossed under the Golden Gate Bridge. For some reason we both looked at each other and decided to call in to the race committee and drop out of the race. Six hours later five people were dead from a freak storm that came out of nowhere and the National Weather Service routed all storm warnings through Wash DC at that time. It still freaks me out sometimes when I realize that except for a moment of clarity we could have been out there in that mess.

I don't like riding in groups and have come across or been in the middle of several bike accidents (bicycle and motorcycle) where people went down.

We'll all pass through that door sooner or later. Trying to live to the fullest is hard but when I read about your friend it brings it all home again.

AZ

 

[elvisslo]

Without actually being there, it is hard to tell how much time passed between each of the events described in the article. Maybe there was time to slow down or even stop after the noob went down, maybe there was some escape route the rider didn't see. Maybe there could have been more distance between riders. Probably some other stuff I can't think of right away, and they are all 'maybe'.

My spin? Go to the funeral on the bike.

The accident... several bad judgements on everyones part. Space makes time for a way out.

Thought I might set a few things straight on this accident. I was riding right next to Harry when this accident occurred. Harry and I had more than 25 thousand miles of safe riding side-by-side. Two trips coast-to-coast without incident. Hundreds of long and short rides, completly safe and without incident. That morning we recognized that we had joined a ride that consisted mostly of sportbike riders. Harry and I were riding cruisers and so we realized that our riding style would probably be a little different from the sport bike guys. Before the ride started we decided that we would ride at the very rear of the pack and take it very easy and let the other guys have fun airing-it-out. We knew the route and even if they left us, we wouldn't be too far behind. At the time of the accident, Harry and I were riding in echelon at the very end of the pack. We were travelling about 60 miles-an-hour and at least two seconds apart and at least two seconds behind the rider that was up ahead of us. We were in a what I considered a very safe and comfortable position riding well within our skill and experience levels. As we approached a gentle curve in the highway a rider some lengths ahead of us lost control and went sliding across the oncoming traffic lane. I didn't see this happen, but I heard my girlfriend on the back of my bike yell...a second later, I saw a large puff of dirt on the opposite side of the hiway and a car travelling in the opposite direction as Harry and myself, shot out of this dirt cloud and crossed the hiway and came directly into us head on. Harry and I were still travelling at about 60 miles an hour. He was just ahead and to the right of me when this car appeared out of nowhere. There may have been a microsecond to react. I remember reacting and trying to swerve towards the rear of the car. I remember seeing Harry hit the front of the car and fly up off of his seat into the air. That's the last thing I saw before I hit the ground on my back, shoulder and head. I laid on my back for a second and wiggled my toes and arms to make sure I wasn't paralysed and scooted on my back over to my girlfriend who was laying on her face in the opposite lane of the freeway. She was in a pool of blood and crying. A motorcyle rider (Steve Goleti) came within seconds to us and stood over to protect us and keep us from moving and to stop my girlfriends bleeding. A woman that spoke only Spanish came and prayed non-stop over us. I could feel her hands touching Joanie and myself. Joanie stopped crying and layed calmly until the paramedics came. I could hear the other riders yelling and looking for Harry and not being able to find him...I was praying to myself for Harry and praying that Joanie wasn't paralysed....

Ok, that is what I saw. I really get to feeling resentful when people (non-riders and riders) say that we may not have been riding safe, or that there was something we could have done. I can tell you it felt like being hit by a lightning bolt from the sky. Completly random and without warning. I wish I would have seen the other rider ahead going down. My girlfriend saw before me and we might have slowed but the event unfolded in what seemed like a second. The yell, the puff of dirt in my peripheral vision, and then the car appearing in front of us. I couldn't even grab my brake before we collided. The learnings I have from this event are use extreme caution (Harry and I rode in the very back of the pack at our safe speed) or don't ride in large group rides. Secondly, remember to always look as far ahead as possible. The further you can look ahead the better. Wow, thanks for the forum to express my thoughts. Wish you all the best and hope you guys are out there riding safe! Ken Lua, San Luis Obispo, CA

 

[Hit the Road Jack]

Wow, Ken. Thanks for sharing the rest of the story!

Another reminder that every minute of life is precious and we all should enjoy each one as if it were our last. And be prepared for that final moment!

I hope you and your girlfriend are okay. Condolences on losing a friend. I'm sure he was a great pal.