No mods. this week. This week, I went for a ride with 7 of the guys from the FZ1OA. Jim (aka YodaDada), Chris (aka Vansmack), Cullen (aka 300lbGorilla), Brent (aka CanyonCarver), Ryan (aka GarthHog), Brad (aka DrStrangeloveLA), Pat Glenn and I met at the Shell Station in La Canada. We decided that we all would get together and ride Angeles Crest Hwy (Hwy 2).

Once we all arrived, gased up and geared up, we headed up Angeles Crest towards Wrightwood. It was decided that I would be the lead rider up to Newcombs Ranch, our first stop on the way to Wrightwood. We kept a "spirited" pace all the way to Newcombs Ranch. We stopped at Newcombs Ranch to take a quick break and get something to drink. Once it was time to go, Ryan decided to take the lead rider position.

The section of Hwy 2 between Newcombs Ranch and Wrightwood was more technical than the section from La Canada to Newcombs Ranch. Ryan passed a truck at the end of a straight and the rest of us had to wait behind it through some blind corners. Once we finally got around the truck, I realized that Ryan was about 2 turns in front. I picked up my pace to catch him and was followed by Brent, Chris and Jim. The rest of the pack hung back.

I was pushing pretty hard to catch up, scraping peg on almost every turn. I finally cut the gap to about 1 turn. That's when the unthinkable happened. Ryan crashed in the turn in front of me. He went wide in the turn after hitting his footpegs. I stopped to help and Brent, Chris and Jim stopped shortly after me.

Ryan was pretty banged up but luckily was wearing full gear (2-piece leathers). I think his knee took most of the blunt of the impact. His FZ-1 was totalled. After waiting for a bit for the others to arrive on the scene, we noticed it was taking much longer than it should. Brent went back to check on the rest of the group. He came back within 15 minutes with Cullen and Brad to report that Pat had also crashed.

Pat had also gone wide in a turn and lost it. He was also pretty banged up (broken wrist among other injuries). Pat was able to ride his bike home. We waited for the wrecker to come and get Ryan's bike and give him a ride down into Wrightwood. The rest of us followed (showing our support to Ryan).

Needless to say, our ride ended there. We all reflected on the importance of having good gear and riding over your head. I still think group rides are a good thing (Ryan really needed our help) but I am now a firm beleiver in having the skill levels of all the riders well understood by all before the ride.

RIDE SAFE