It was a typical winter morning; chilly and very foggy. I used to ride my bike to the mathematics coaching at 6 in the morning. At 7, I rushed back, changed into school uniform and ran to the bus stop for my school bus. On this fateful day, I was in a light mood. While exploring the bike's manual the previous night, I had noticed the maximum speed of the machine was 100 kms/hr. That figure somehow stuck in my mind faster than any maths formula... EVER! I had never touched 100 on my bike, the max I had done was about 85. That day, the maths tutor kept us an extra 5 minutes... It was a race against time (more appropriately, the school bus), and what better time to test the machine than this!
The major part of the ride back home used to be on this national highway. As I came down the flyover, I realised the usually busy road was unusually deserted; I grabbed my chance and pulled at the throttle, twisting it more and more until it went no further. Happily I gazed at the speedometer, it had crossed 100; I had done it! It was then that it happened - A pen happily sitting in my pocket till that moment decided to leap out. Before I knew it, my eyes were following the pen as it flew onto the road, the moment froze... In this split second, I saw a rickshaw full of school children dead ahead. I suddenly felt like the man on watch on the Titanic when he saw the iceberg. There was too little time to react. Still travelling at 100 kms/hr, I braced myself for the impact and said my final prayers... I almost closed my eyes...BANG!
The major part of the ride back home used to be on this national highway. As I came down the flyover, I realised the usually busy road was unusually deserted; I grabbed my chance and pulled at the throttle, twisting it more and more until it went no further. Happily I gazed at the speedometer, it had crossed 100; I had done it! It was then that it happened - A pen happily sitting in my pocket till that moment decided to leap out. Before I knew it, my eyes were following the pen as it flew onto the road, the moment froze... In this split second, I saw a rickshaw full of school children dead ahead. I suddenly felt like the man on watch on the Titanic when he saw the iceberg. There was too little time to react. Still travelling at 100 kms/hr, I braced myself for the impact and said my final prayers... I almost closed my eyes...BANG!
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion... I was prepared to find myself lying on the road in a pool of blood along with several of those kids. Imagine my surprise when I found myself not only alive, but still atop my bike! I turned around to check if the kids were all right; None of them was hurt. Still not able to believe, I checked my hands and feet to see if I was bleeding, not even a bruise anywhere!
The only noticeable damage was to my bike - a bent mudguard. Came back home, dad noticed the damage, told him what happened (although a toned down version).
Many days passed. During the routine servicing of my bike, our mechanic spotted the real damage... The double barrel chassis was considerably bent! He couldn't figure out how the bike could have suffered such a heavy impact head-on, without major visible damage anywhere else. It took some time to sink in. I was a believer...
The only noticeable damage was to my bike - a bent mudguard. Came back home, dad noticed the damage, told him what happened (although a toned down version).
Many days passed. During the routine servicing of my bike, our mechanic spotted the real damage... The double barrel chassis was considerably bent! He couldn't figure out how the bike could have suffered such a heavy impact head-on, without major visible damage anywhere else. It took some time to sink in. I was a believer...
Cheers,
Mayank
P.S : This accident set me back by about a few thousand rupees of my hard earned money but thats another story...
