Garage Confessions - Anonymous rider-submitted stories:
Confession #001
One of the dumbest things I’ve ever done on a motorcycle happened when I was a newer rider working at my first motorcycle shop. I had just finished servicing a sportbike and, like always, I took it out for a test ride before calling it done. We had a standard loop that was about seven miles long, and I’d ridden it so many times I could practically do it with my eyes closed. The bike ran great. Everything felt right. I was feeling pretty confident.
As I wrapped up the ride, I pulled up to the last stoplight before the shop. Light turns red. I stop. Go to put my right foot down. Nothing. My foot wouldn’t move. At first I was confused. Then I started panicking. I yanked on my leg, trying to get my foot free. Bad idea. Instead of freeing my foot, I pulled my weight to the right and started tipping the bike over. Now I’m fighting the bike, trying to save it, while also trying to figure out why my foot is stuck.
Spoiler alert: I wasn’t saving it.
As the bike started its slow-motion journey toward the pavement, I looked down and saw the problem.
My boot lace had wrapped itself around the rear brake pedal and foot controls. I was literally tied to the motorcycle. Down we went.
Thankfully the damage was minor. A brake lever and a mirror if I remember right.
The bike was easy to fix. My ego took a little longer.
To this day, I still glance down and check my boot laces and make sure they’re tucked in before I ride.
-Definitely not Mike