At Thrunton after the dry weather, riding across the moor and down the other side with my mate. Ground was hard and fast.
He vanished ahead of me, I thought he was making good time, only to see him upside down in one of the little gulleys made by the rain.
Got to him and asked if he was ok, no reply. Started to sort out in my head where we were, what to tell the mountain rescue etc.
He then told me to get his bike off him and help him up. Got him sat up and checked over. He was panicking saying that there had been a massive crack when his head had hit the ground and he thought his neck was broken.
Decided to call it a day and head off, he put his helmet back on to find the straps at the back ripped off and missing the back part of the helmet completely – that was the loud snapping sound.
Really lucky he hadn’t broken his neck.
Me – At Chopwell woods on the Powerline – first day on my newly built bike, a bit over enthusiastic and lost it on a muddy section, fell sideways and cracked my (helmeted) head hard against a tree route. Sat there dazed for a few minutes and thanked myself for wearing a helmet and not hitting my cheek off the root.
Motorbike related (turning point for me getting a slower bike)
Out in Thailand for a ride with my local group, I had a Blackbird, mate an R1, other friend a Suzuki 900 something and another YZF 1000 – everybody else was on slow bikes about 20 of us out.
We decided that a bit of a race was in order on the fast bikes – off we went. Roads here are dangerous at the best of times, lots of u-turns on the dual carriage ways from one side to another.
We had to stop at some lights. All lined up, I got in the lead. 150, 160, 170, 180+ then a truck pulled out in front of me.
I started braking hard. Still gaining on the truck. At one point I accepted that this was it. As I continued braking, praying that nothing bounced my back end up, I looked left and right for any exit and what I saw was my two mates looking at me wide-eyed they had moved in to keep the other cars away from me and I knew then that I was safe.
I had got within a foot of the back of the truck. Shook me up properly, shook my mates up properly, enough that they never told my missus until years later.
Made me also sell the bike and buy something more sensible.