. Never Chase a Motorcycle ........... |
. The Result |
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Location: Mesa Grande Road. San Diego county, California. Twisty, narrow,
sometimes dangerously speckled with cow dung. Situation: Chris passes a slow moving Honda Accord sedan. As he's heading towards a corner he gives me the hand signal to indicate that there's no traffic coming so it's safe for me to pass the vehicle. Interpretation: The Honda driver misunderstands this signal as something offensive and that it's some sort of invitation for him to transmogrify into This Century's Jackass. Reaction: The Honda driver starts barreling down on Chris. Chris senses potential danger and takes off, trying to distance himself from This Century's Jackass. Chris, being a highly proficient rider, is – poof – gone. I follow behind, alarmed at the speeds the car is traveling. I know, absolutely without a doubt, that if he keeps this up he will crash and I'm just hoping he does not take out someone who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. There is no way he can sustain speeds up to 70 mph on the tightest part of Mesa Grande. Observation: The car turns a corner and is � poof � gone. I see a cloud of dust. Did the car kick up dirt along the road's edge going into the non-trivial left-hander? Or did it launch over the edge? Or was it actually Chris who went bye-bye? I pull over to confirm whether or not something untowards has happened to any of the subjects of this event. The ravine is covered with foliage so it would be hard to see a motorcyclist laying down there. But I learn first-hand it is not that hard to see a car laying down there. Notation: I'm looking at the undercarriage of a Honda Accord sedan. Could it be the same one I saw moments earlier driven by This Century's Jackass? Mmm, I reckon so. Communication: I yell down to the car, "Are you ok?" I hear a response, "Yeah." I follow up with, "You want me to call the cops?" I hear a very animated "NO!" Documentation: I pull out my digital camera and start snapping some piccys. It's not every day you get to take pictures of a freshly overturned vehicle. The occupants are too distracted with their situation to notice me documenting their stupidity; otherwise, This Century's Jackass might've taken exception to it and climbed up the ravine to bludgeon me for invasion of not-so-private privacy. Decision: Do I get back on my bike and carry on or do I wait for Chris to return so I can point out the carnage? What the hell, I wait. Much to my surprise, the guy tries to start his car. The thing is upside down � where does he think he's going? On what planet do passenger cars drive better with their wheels scraping the sky? When Chris finally shows up, I tell him to go check it out. He says "No way" because he doesn't want this guy who already tried to kill him with his car to spot him. We head on into Santa Ysabel to get gas. Notification: Yeah, he told me not to call the cops, but I'm thinking that he truly was an asshole and deserved to have law enforcement unleashed upon him. He might've been DUI and if that was the case I wanted him to experience the consequences of being in such a condition. While at the gas station I use their phone to call 911 and tell the dispatcher what happened and where the car is located. While we're sitting at the gas station having a drink, the CHP drives up and I go talk to him. I explain again where the car is and I stress to the officer that the guy told me not to call the police and that maybe something funny was going on. The cop, clearly a veteran of Stupid Situations Involving Stupid People, nods his head knowingly. In fact, he showed up to clarify with the Reporting Party (me) that this crash wasn't actually the same incident as another one currently reported on Mesa Grande. Nope, mine was separate and it appears that someone else Screwed The Pooch on that stretch of road. Summation: People are stupid. |
 Looking towards the 8.5 mile marker, just past the launch point |
 Is this a real bad parking job or am I just being hypercritical? |
 The female passenger crawled out after the guy was done cussing |
 View of the car's rear majorly obscured by brush |
 The CHP incident report resulting from my extreme desire to rat out This Century's Jackass |
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