by  Doug & Chris Pettigrew
GWRRA #165143
 
NM Chapter C CD
Clovis, NM

 
We left with Phil and Mary Lou Johnston for Des Moines, Iowa and Wing Ding early in the morning. We stopped in Amarillo for breakfast and headed for Emporia, Kansas to spend the night.  About 4:30 P.M., we were 20 miles south of Wichita, Kansas on I-35, when my rear tire on the bike let loose. We pulled over and Phil got out the Gold Book, and I started calling.
 
Victor Bowen was the first number I dialed and got a recording. I left a message stating my problem and what I needed. I moved on to the next number. That individual didn't have the means to help me as I was towing a trailer. Then, a call came in. It was Vic. I explained my problem and he said he had a trailer, but it wouldn't hold my trailer and to give him a few minutes and he would see what he could do. A few minutes later, he called back and said a buddy of his (a Harley rider) could bring his truck and tow my trailer.
 
To make a long story short, Vic arrived along with John VanVranken. Vic loaded my bike into his trailer and John hooked to my trailer, and off we went to Wichita with Phil and Mary Lou following on their trike.  Vic took us to his home and dropped off the trailer for safekeeping and took us to a motel nearby, then to supper. The next morning, they picked us up, and we dropped off the bike at the Honda dealer for a new tire. After breakfast with John, Vic and Phil, we picked up the bike from the dealer, swung by the motel to pick up our spouses and we were back on our way to Wing Ding.
 
Vic had planned to leave at 5:00 A.M. that morning for Wing Ding. Instead he took the time to help us. About a year earlier, he had lost a lung to cancer and his lovely wife, Enrica, was worried about him traveling by himself. He accepted our offer to ride with us to Wing Ding, offering to show us a couple of shortcuts along the way. He had supper with us each night while we were in Des Moines. We had met a true friend due to my hard luck and the Gold Book.
 
Vic apologized that he didn't answer the phone when I first called. It was his home phone, and they were out to dinner when I called. He said he was going to change the number in the Gold Book to his cell phone so that wouldn't happen again. Here is a guy that knew I had a serious problem, still returned my call and changed his schedule to help someone he didn't know. This is what GWRRA is all about. Thanks to my misfortune, I have a new friend.

 

Thanks Vic for all you do!

 

HOW DO YOU TACKLE YOUR WORK?
                 ~ Edgar A. Guest

Are you scared of the job you find?
Do you grapple the task that comes your way
With a confident, easy mind?
Do you stand right up to the work ahead
Or fearfully pause to view it?
Do you start to toil with a sense of dread
Or feel that you're going to do it?

You can do as much as you think you can;
But you'll never accomplish more.
If you're afraid of yourself, young man,
There's little for you in store.
For failure comes from the inside first.
It's there if we only knew it.
And you can win, though you face the worst,
If you feel that you're going to do it.

 

Success! It's found in the soul of you,
And not in the realm of luck!
The world will furnish the work to do,
But you must provide the pluck.
You can do whatever you think you can.
It's all in the way you view it.
It's all in the start that you make, young man:
You must feel that you're going to do it.

How do you tackle your work each day?
With confidence clear, or dread?
What to yourself do you stop and say
When a new task lies ahead?
What is the thought that is in your mind?
Is fear ever running through it?
If so, just tackle the next you find
By thinking you're going to do it.

 

 

 

Deadly Motorcycle Accident Statistics 

Take a look at the statistics below if you think riding without a motorcycle helmet is a good way to save money.

With the number of U.S. motorcyclist deaths jumping 78% to 5,154 in 2007 from 2,897 in 2000, a recent University of Southern California study points to the wearing of a helmet as the major factor in surviving a motorcycle crash.

Below are additional statistics that explain why motorcycle insurance premiums continue to rise.

Motorcycle Fatality Statistics:

Although motorcycles represent only 3% of all registered vehicles in the United States, motorcyclists accounted for 13% of total traffic fatalities in 2007.

Per registered vehicle, the fatality rate for both motorcycle operators and passengers is 5.5 times higher than that for passenger car occupants.

Per vehicle mile traveled, motorcyclists are about 35 times more likely to die in a car crash than people traveling in passenger cars.

These findings are among the most recent statistics released by the National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration (NHTSA).

 

Deadly Motorcycle Crash Statistics:

During 2007, 50% of all fatal motorcycle crashes involved collisions with another type of motor vehicle in transport. Of these two-vehicle crashes, 78% of motorcycles involved were struck from the front. Only 5% were struck from the rear.

In 25% of fatal motorcycle crashes, the motorcyclists crashed into a fixed object like a telephone pole or a concrete abutment.

Speeding was a factor in 36% of fatal motorcycle crashes during 2007. This compares with 24% for passenger cars, 19% for light trucks and 8% for large trucks.

Florida (530), California (495) and Texas (375) had the highest number of motorcycle fatalities in 2007.

Fewer Motorcyclists Wear Helmets:

The NHTSA estimates that helmets saved 1,784 motorcyclists from death in 2007. If all motorcyclists had worn helmets, an additional 800 lives could have been saved.

Helmets are considered to be 37% effective in preventing fatal injuries to motorcyclists. This means for every 100 motorcyclists killed in crashes while not wearing a helmet, 37 of them could have been saved had all 100 worn helmets.

Sadly, use of motorcycle helmets in the U.S. has declined by 13 percentage points to 58% in 2007 from 71% in 2000.

Remember, in an accident your head is usually one of the first parts of your body to feel the impact.  Why chance it, wear a helmet and continue to see the sunrise tomorrow.

Courtesy NTSB.

 (Thanks Peggy Lee)