I'm famous!

In case any of you are members of the AMA, check out the April issue of their magazine or the members area on the website.

I wrote in about an incident I was involved with last summer for their 'Crash Course' section. They published it!

The funny thing is that I didn't notice it for months. I happened to be thumbing through the April issue and saw my name by accident!

Here's what they printed:

The Most Basic Lesson of All

When I took the Motorcycle Safety Foundation RiderCourse, the instructor really hammered into us that the most important factor in safety was being constantly aware of your riding environment.

Just half a year later, I was traveling down a four-lane boulevard in New Jersey at about 45 mph. I was in the left lane, because I was going to turn left ahead.

Directly in front of me was a truck that looked like it was straight out of “Sanford & Son.” There was more junk piled on the back of it than I would have thought possible. The training came to mind immediately, and I thought, “Maybe I should back off a bit.”

Not 10 seconds later, a giant Weber gas grill came tumbling off the truck, directly into my path. There was oncoming traffic to my left, and more traffic to my right. Because I had time to react, I was able to stop safely and avoid catastrophe. Had I not backed off, I couldn’t have avoided some kind of crash, most likely a serious one.

Stay alert. Stay alive!
Greg Baker
Audubon, NJ


It's a completely true story though I have to admit I was actually on my Goldwing when it happened. Even though I've written it here a million times, I'll reiterate that I think the MSF course is the best thing going. Everyone can learn from it. In fact, I wish people who just drove cars had to take it just to see what it's like from this side!

 

Congrats gee. I think anyone that's ridden long enough has their share of similar stories. The trick is learning from the lessons of others, and putting their experiences to good use.