Wentworth Springs fatality - Ducati Monster Forums: Ducati Monster Motorcycle Forum

Grio · 08-01-2007, 11:33 AM

Heads up folks...
There were more that a few incidents on Wentworth last weekend, including a fatality.

The rider was brand new to the sport. Only two weeks with a bike, no MSF, no gear, no training...he had hooked up with a group I have run across a number of times at Pilot Hill. I'm sure no one in that group wanted such an accident to happen, but there are a number of young riders in this group that ride very light on gear with experience not commensurate to pace. Salmon Falls and Wentworth are their perferred routes (I have NEVER seen these folks anywhere else). You may want to keep things mellow or plan an alternate ride while things calm down. :'(

:'( :-[ ...sad to loose a rider before he even started.
Let's remember to be realistic about the sport and foster a safety conscious society.
Gear up...ride safe.

SacDuc · 08-01-2007, 11:44 AM

Sucks . . .

GrendelsTwin · 08-01-2007, 12:00 PM

Sad news.

Hopefully the group he was riding with can at least learn something from this tragedy.

täun · 08-01-2007, 01:44 PM

That's too bad. I've encountered a similar group of riders up at Pilot Hill. All of them were on super sports without any type of gear (some in shorts) besides a helmet. *sigh* And I like Wentworth Springs too.

Grio, besides word of mouth, how do you find out about these accidents? Are they reported in the Sac Bee?

Grio · 08-01-2007, 02:43 PM

I heard from a friend (S2RGRL) and then saw the thread here:

http://www.kneeriders.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5584

There is a lot of talk by members of the group on the thread. A very mixed bag. A few older, seasoned experienced riders in full gear, but these make up maybe 2-5%. The rest didn't seem to be making safe decisions for themselves: over powered bikes with big chicken strips, lack of gear, beanie helmets, visable mechanical issues on the bikes. I know there are all different kinds of riders. I just think the best ones to know are the live ones. Sad to think that someone has died when, with a little mentoring, maybe the outcome could have been avoided. :-[

CromoMann · 08-01-2007, 05:29 PM

Thanks for the post Grio - interesting read - and many prayers for the family left behind and for those on scene that tried to help.

Quote from the brother of Brent Steiner:
"To those of you in motorcycle clubs like the one Bret joined, PLEASE make sure all your memebers have a valid Class M License. If they do not, they should not be allowed to join the group on technical rides. Period. Ask new riders how experienced they are. Have they taken the Safety Training class? Have they ever ridden the twists and turns? If you have any doubts, they should not be allowed to ride. This is the responsible thing to do, and it will only help to prevent tragedies like this from repeating themselves."

Well, I haven't been out riding much this year and still haven't ridden Wentworth Springs/Ice House yet. The last time I was talking about it was just after another rider had perished there. I think that was a younger rider in a small group that just met up with Martin (and couple others) at a gas station. It strikes me as another time when the group doesn't know the level of experience and we don't automatically make the effort to qualify a person as experienced enough for a more demanding ride.

Food for thought. It's possible that our relatively small local group and open forum discussions assist us a great deal in identifying new(er) riders but I think it's worth considering when riders join up with the group at the ride. A pristine bike without a plate on the back is at least one sign that the sometimes uncomfortable question should be asked. After all, it really shouldn't be an uncomfortable question and maybe it's just an ice-breaker to make a new friend.

Grio · 08-01-2007, 06:14 PM

At the same time...I can't stop another rider from being foolish. At some point the rider has to take some responsibility for himself.
I am acutely aware that all kinds of dynamics can occur when you introduce a new rider or a new element to the group no matter what that is.

What should you do if you were riding with your familiar buddies and all of a sudden there is someone new tagging along - someone you just picked up a gas station or a conveininece store - and you had a feeling that the newer person should not be trying to keep up. This has happened to me and I know it has happened to others.

CromoMann · 08-02-2007, 02:23 AM

100% agree with the rider responsibility.

Well, I guess you could come off as royal arse if you told some new rider at a gas station - 'hey, I don't think you're ready to ride with us' or a rider that's looking like they are pushing their comfort zone that they can't come on the rest of the ride.

Still, remembering my first time down Salmon Falls and being informed 'watch out for the 15mph turns - there are some decreasing radius turns that can bite you' - I can say I've appreciated the inside advice/mentoring to local roads I've received and I had several years of riding experience already.

-m

Heath · 08-02-2007, 04:04 AM

This is very unfortunate. My heart goes out to the family. I know when I got my first bike, gear wasn't really high on my priority list. Then after my first crash I rethought things. Spending a bit of money on gear is well worth my life. Also listening to others more experienced then you is priceless.

Grio showed me salmon falls for the first time and gave me great advice before we went on it. We took it slow at first then picked up the pace a bit. I try to do this with any new road I go out on. Soon I hope to check out Ice House and Wentworth.

GrendelsTwin · 08-02-2007, 04:08 PM

I read the family's comments on the Pashnit forum. They seem like such good people. Very, very sad.

I also read the ride groups posts, Troy's post, and their response. Did they learn anything? ??? Hard to tell, probably not much.

I saw they have a few videos on youtube, there's even one of Wentworth...