I found myself rolling across asphalt at some 20-30 MPH, sunday, and after the second or third spin I wondered to myself if I was going to wind up being hit by a car behind or in oncoming, since I obviously didn't die hitting the street. For those who know me, about a year now, I've had no vehicle other than my SV650 motorcycle. I catch crap all the time for being a young male with a 'crotchrocket,' but I'm told by people following me that I tread the roads more conservatively on my average day than their grandmothers.

Now thankfully it was a 45 MPH street downtown in between morning and lunchtime with very sparse traffic, but usually when I see a green light ahead, I kind of assume that means I can continue down the street interrupted. I was a little thrown off when about 15-20 feet from the intersection, some tiny champagne gold SUV coming the opposite direction decided they needed to make a left turn in front of me to a side street. Locking up both brakes, I succeeded in not plowing into the side of their vehicle (a high priority in my mind at the time), but dipped too far left and with the wheels locked the bike decided to kiss the street on its left side and skid to a halt, sending me tumbling a few times until I had slowed enough that I literally leapt back to my feet and limped to the curb out of the street, where some people from a restaurant helped by calling the police and some bearded guy pulled my cycle back up and rolled it out of the road as well.

And the kicker, me and these people start looking around-- the SUV is still there, apparently to see if they'd killed me or not, and then drove off, leaving me to sit through the paramedics who patched me up and to file a report on the unidentifiable vehicle that fled the scene and holding the bill. I do have insurance, thank god, so even if I had needed actual medical treatment I'd have gotten it, but with deductibles, I'm still looking at several hundred dollars I don't have to get my cycle back. Mou...