The inevitable first fall

I have had my Esperanza (my Black Yamaha YZF R15 for the past 6 months now. In those 6 months I have witnessed many firsts,
1. Breaking a 140 kmph barrier solo
2. 120kmph barrier while riding with a co-passenger
and a lot of near misses.

I have missed being in an accident numerous times. Sometimes due to sheer dumb luck and sometimes due to some intelligent maneuvering. (Or so I have convinced myself :)

All this while I have been warned many times by my aunts, some close friends (AP and AB) and also by strangers about how dangerous bikes can be and why it need not be your fault that leads to your "fall"

If you own a bike is "the fall" inevitable? I kept pondering and every time a near miss happened to me I kept asking myself how could I have restricted the damage if this was indeed the fall. I had somewhere in my mind already resigned to the fact that the fall was inevitable and it’s just a question of minimizing your losses.

6 months down I was really wondering if I had indeed dodged the law of averages and was on the verge of achieving something remarkable.

My hopes and aspirations and my dreams of a victory speech were shattered last week when I did have my First fall. It wasn't quite how I had imagined it and to be honest I don't think any of you would have been able to either. Unless of course you live in a toon world.

My Esperanza and I were cruising along the road in Bangalore next to Star Bazaar (the tata equivalent of Food bazaar/big bazaar) and the roads were quite empty in the direction I was headed in. There were 4 bikes in close proximity to one another including mine. All of a sudden a hero aunty with 2 bags of groceries decided to just cross the road and believed that the world of automobiles would somehow conform to her Laws of motion.

I saw the first bike miss her with great skill on part of the rider (or maybe it was aunty controlling time and matter around her to make the bike miss her)

Aunty decided she had to teach the world of horrid bikers a lesson and then continued on her march across the road. Factoring in her walk across I too started drifting away from her. Just as I was about to pass her almost relieved that I had managed to miss her, I realized aunty had chosen me as the example for all bikers.

I felt a big whack on my helmet, temporarily blinded by a huge star bazaar sign; I lost my balance and fell to the ground. Aunty not caring for her valuable soaps and maggi noodles had hurled her shopping bag at me. How dare I miss her by only 6 feet! It was an invaluable lesson indeed.

After I rolled over a couple of times aunty walked over to me and said "Are you ok?, It’s not my fault it’s your fault, it’s not my fault it’s your fault, are you ok it’s your fault?"

Indeed aunty had taught me a lesson. I couldn't understand why people were reprimanding aunty for her acts when clearly "it was not her fault" she was only doing what any other superhero aunty would have done, selflessly sacrificing her soaps and creams to save me from myself.

It’s been a week after the fall and I am still recovering.

As the fall was happening all I could think of was "wow, how often does this happen to someone, and how awesome a story I now have"

In all fairness to aunty I don't think she intended to throw the bag at me, when the first bike passed her I think she panicked and her reaction was a little unorthodox but hey we have all done stupid things on the road and gotten away with it. I am sure aunty felt guilty about hurting me (after the crowd started weighing in on her)

The best part about the recovery has been the story behind the fall.
Even though the pain and the bruises are real, I would have rather had a first fall this way when the story is right out of a movie scene than if i received the same number of bruises and I simply slipped on the road with an oil slick (all considering that the first fall is inevitable)

That’s the story of my first fall and now I can cross one more thing off my list. (to be de-biked by a superwoman) :)

Gopal Balakrishnan