Notes from the Path AJ Photo
Flying & Sliding.
Alias Jones
I began my travels in Portugal back in March of '06, and soon bought a motorcycle as the mode of transport to İstanbul, Turkey, with the intention of spending what savings I had in the process. By late October of 2006, I arrived at the destination, broke as planned. Mission accomplished. The next step was to drive back to Thessaloniki, Greece, and sell the bike for food and travel money since I wasn’t quite ready to go home yet (and two years later, I’m still not ready).
I had been a very careful rider. I've never been much of an adrenaline junkie to begin with, and I respected the fact that, indeed, F=MA (Force equals Mass times Acceleration) and that the human form - bones, muscle and our thin covering of skin - is quite fragile in comparison to pavement and steel.
So the idea was... to never ride without my 400 Euro Shoei Syncrotech helmet, and to drive slow and conservatively - I'm really not in any hurry. Ever.
But a few months in Greece led me to driving like a Greek at times, and beautiful spring days led me to taking a few short trips without my helmet. There's something about the warm breeze blowing over you that is difficult to explain in terms that make sense to some - including myself.
Well, one spring morning I was taking the 3 km drive down to the port - sans casket (as the Europeans oddly call the helmet) to use the free internet. Traffic was stacked up in my direction, with nothing in the oncoming lanes, which in Greece is the invitation for a motorbike to veer into the oncoming lanes and breeze past the traffic. The cars in your lane always invite you back in when you need it, and make room accordingly - they appreciate motorbikes on the road.
(An interesting side note... Just the day prior, I was at the beach explaining to my Romanian friends that if a motorbike ever collides with anthing, it is almost certainly the motorbiker's fault. And I made the statement with a tone of authority, too.)
So I'm cruising in oncoming traffic lanes, just about 20-25 km/hr, taking it easy...
...when out of my own lanes of traffic, but perpendicular to traffic flow, darts a motorbike, straight into me.
He was intending to head east (I was heading west), and as he was passing in front a truck stopped in traffic (headed east, and preventing any visibility to me), he surely looked right to make sure there were no cars coming from that direction. But he never looked left to see me.
By the time I saw him, it was too late as my visibility was impaired by the truck.
I recall (and will never forget...), in very slow motion...
that split second...
and the second or three that followed...
"Oh, my...
...where did he?...
Oh... my...
There’s nothing to do here...
Jut “let”…
Let it happen...
<<<------------------ forceful impact>............................
Let it happen...
Protect the head...
Where am I?
Where's the bike?...
There it goes...
Protect the head...
Where am I...
Flying...
Wow...
Wow...
And now…
Sliding...
Wow...
Coming to a stop...
Feel no pain...
Wow...
Still no pain..."
Back in real time, a bit dazed...
"I'm on the pavement.
No pain.
Check parts.
Head... intact.
Arms, legs... intact.
Feet and hands move...
Yes!
No blood.
Elbow... left rump...
... took light impact, in good shape.
Recheck everything.
Everything ok...
Where's the bike?
Over there.
Where am I?
Middle of oncoming lane.
Traffic stopped.
Other rider?
Look back... he's got his bike up, looking at me.
Thumbs up - I'm ok.
Get bike.
Push to side.
Looks ok, wind-faring broken.
Nobody likes windfarings anyway.
Talk to other rider...
"You ok?"
“Yes.”
“Your bike ok?”
“Yes”.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“Let us count this as a good day then”, I tell him.
He smiles, we hug.
Back to my bike.
Minor repairs required - gear shift bent, brake pedal needs adjustment.
Not a scratch on the paint or chrome! Its still sellable.
Twenty Euro later - there is no sign of a collision.
Life’s lesson here: No idea.
But man... that was fun!
I'm not even sure if there was a "lesson" intended in this. Perhaps the Universe decided simply to bless me with the experience of flying and sliding...
Flying and sliding.
Yes.
Simply for the experience of it.
What makes me so sure?
I think I still hear the Universe giggling like a mischievous child...
Alias Jones is a rat-racer-turned-vagabond and is frequently considered to be one of the luckiest guys in the world. He does not argue the point. In his travels, Jones is a frequent columnist for English speaking newspapers abroad, has hosted a Texas Blues/Rock radio show in Bodrum, Turkey & teaches Reiki healing. He is completing his book tentatively called: Would-Be-Super Heroes: An Official Training Guide - non-commercial project that is slated for free download in multiple languages early 2009.
More details on Jones & his travels can be found at his official website or you can write to him at: aj@aliasjones.com
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December 01, 2008 by Network Abundance Publications
