Here one day , gone the next. Once the book is closed there's nothing left but to go back and reread favorite sections. I really had no idea who Greg was. This Memorial thread really opened my eyes to what a great guy he was. Im sorry I never got to know him better. Our political ideology could not have been more apart. I should have tried harder to look beyond it. He certainly exhibited more humility than I did. Something to be respected for sure. Ive been thinking about him a lot since this happened. I just bought a new bike. XR650. I dont like street riding but I do like getting to the trails on a bike rather than a trailer. I used it the day Greg bit the dust . My wife needed the truck so I had to drive 34 miles RT for some work. I was terrified. I was constantly imagining my body getting mangled and skinned. I was in shorts. It was hot.
1981 I was in a bad accident at Avery Pkwy in Mission Viejo. I was 17. I was coming from Saddleback Jr College. My first semester. . Right in front of the Del Taco. No stoplights installed yet and a stopped long line in both left lanes to get on the freeway and the rights clear. I was in the right going to Camino Capistrano. Someone going in my direction in the left lane waved a woman in the oncoming direction through in front of them without looking to see if anyone was coming in the right lane. Which I was. I was going about 40. Sandals. No helmet. Book bag. I had about 5 feet to stop as she came through in front of the car on my left, not seeing me. I went flying. I was told later I did a full and a half summersault in the air before landing on my shoulder and rolling to a standing position. . Thank god I spent my youth skateboarding the hills in Dana Point and Shorecliffs. I only remember being upright and pointing at her car which she had stopped and I ran up and started beating on it. Someone came and got me to sit down. My shoulder was crushed. I was rushed to Mission Hospital. A cop came in later and yelled at me for not wearing a helmet. He was trying to make a point telling me about scraping brains off the asphalt. I later had some plastic parts and piano string installed to fix me up.
Ive been in a few accidents since then. All dirt pretty much. Still got some bits of a hematoma some 18 years later working its way out of my leg after not being able to get out from underneath a bike slipping out in a mud puddle in Makawao. The strangest one was coming around a corner in a cane field going around 40 and a van of hippies were in the middle of the road going down to Jaws. I ended up in the cane grass which wound me up and slowed me down harmlessly.
I knew this one kid in a gang of Nightriders on Maui who would race the Pali. There was about 20 of them and they would stall traffic enough behind them to get the clearance the needed to race through. One kid was our HVAC guy and I spoke with him about wearing a helmet...which is not the law in HI. I told him my crash stories. I tried to impress upon him the consequences not being worth the risk. He got drunk one night and mad at his GF and was dead by morning because he couldnt stop his bike in time. More often than not that is the cause. Not being able to stop the bike in time.
I was told by the lady at the Liquor Locker in DP when I was about 16...."Its not matter of "If" you go down...Its "When". She was right. Im sad for Greg. Im glad this post is a stickie. He deserves it. He was a good guy. A fair guy. Im glad you all loved him so much and its a pleasure to read your memories and thoughts.
1981 I was in a bad accident at Avery Pkwy in Mission Viejo. I was 17. I was coming from Saddleback Jr College. My first semester. . Right in front of the Del Taco. No stoplights installed yet and a stopped long line in both left lanes to get on the freeway and the rights clear. I was in the right going to Camino Capistrano. Someone going in my direction in the left lane waved a woman in the oncoming direction through in front of them without looking to see if anyone was coming in the right lane. Which I was. I was going about 40. Sandals. No helmet. Book bag. I had about 5 feet to stop as she came through in front of the car on my left, not seeing me. I went flying. I was told later I did a full and a half summersault in the air before landing on my shoulder and rolling to a standing position. . Thank god I spent my youth skateboarding the hills in Dana Point and Shorecliffs. I only remember being upright and pointing at her car which she had stopped and I ran up and started beating on it. Someone came and got me to sit down. My shoulder was crushed. I was rushed to Mission Hospital. A cop came in later and yelled at me for not wearing a helmet. He was trying to make a point telling me about scraping brains off the asphalt. I later had some plastic parts and piano string installed to fix me up.
Ive been in a few accidents since then. All dirt pretty much. Still got some bits of a hematoma some 18 years later working its way out of my leg after not being able to get out from underneath a bike slipping out in a mud puddle in Makawao. The strangest one was coming around a corner in a cane field going around 40 and a van of hippies were in the middle of the road going down to Jaws. I ended up in the cane grass which wound me up and slowed me down harmlessly.
I knew this one kid in a gang of Nightriders on Maui who would race the Pali. There was about 20 of them and they would stall traffic enough behind them to get the clearance the needed to race through. One kid was our HVAC guy and I spoke with him about wearing a helmet...which is not the law in HI. I told him my crash stories. I tried to impress upon him the consequences not being worth the risk. He got drunk one night and mad at his GF and was dead by morning because he couldnt stop his bike in time. More often than not that is the cause. Not being able to stop the bike in time.
I was told by the lady at the Liquor Locker in DP when I was about 16...."Its not matter of "If" you go down...Its "When". She was right. Im sad for Greg. Im glad this post is a stickie. He deserves it. He was a good guy. A fair guy. Im glad you all loved him so much and its a pleasure to read your memories and thoughts.
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