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After receiving a couple communication devices that we could use from bike to bike, I thought we were doing great. They worked great, came through crystal clear and really made our job easier while filming. We even did a review on the Cardo Scala Rider Q2 here. What could possibly go wrong?!?
I found out exactly what could go wrong a few weeks ago while out road testing a bike on some country roads. Coming around a left hand corner at approx. 30mph, I lost the rear end, falling on my left side. First assessment: things hurt, I couldn't stand up, let alone walk and had the wind knocked out of me. Shouldn't be that big of a deal. In my 40+ years of riding experience, I have had my share of exciting get-offs, breaking a few bones along the way. To be honest, at that point, I was more worried about the bike than myself. I always wear the correct gear and this time was no different.
After getting checked out, I later discovered that I had shattered my left collarbone into many, many pieces, cracked a left shoulder blade, cracked my left hip/pelvis and broke a bone in my right hand. Hmmm... It seems that I can slide down the track at 100mph, but was not very good at this "falling over going slow" maneuver.
The collarbone is the reason I am writing this today. I always go back and figure out exactly what I did wrong to cause the crash and also how I broke my own body parts. I kept coming back to my collarbone and wondering how I could have broken it so badly just tipping over at that speed. I have broken collarbones before a few times, but I was only still moving at about 20mph by the time I hit the ground this time. Oh well, I just chalked it up to putting on a few more years.
That was until I was swapping out my communicator from my old helmet to the new one. As I looked down at the old one sitting at my feet, it hit me. It was the communicator that was hanging down below the helmet on the left side, almost a full inch and just happened to line up with my collarbone! Damn.
The helmet was relieved upwards on the side (possibly for that very reason) but I had attached this device in the exact spot that would contact my collarbone if I tilted my head far enough to the left side. I should have noticed it when I attached it to my helmet, but it never crossed my mind.
I take my gear seriously and would never ride without it. I know it won't save me from everything, but it sure increases my odds and I like that. This time I learned that I made the mistake of second guessing the design of a great helmet (Shark RSI) and I paid the price.
Good news is, I learned something.
And I heal quickly.
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