Re: What's the Most Embarrassing Thing You've Done on Your Bike?
Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 9:01 am
Here's a classic for you...
When I was 17 I had a beat up old Honda CB 350 street bike. This was back in 1973. I used to trail ride and road ride when there were no constables about.
One fine cloudless afternoon, I was trail riding in western Mississauga and ventrured north of the 401 highway by going under a bridge and following the creek. I meandered up through some farm fields and approached an open gate. Going through, there was some manicured grass and a gravel road. I soon saw what was apparently a very long dragstrip. Black burnout marks were everywhere!
I couldn't resist. Howling down the strip hunched over the tank with mud flying off the tires I wound it up to top speed. Then this huge shadow blocked out the sun. I looked behind me to see a 747 about to land on my "dragstrip".
Veering off in the nick of time, the monstrosity landed right in front of me spewing smoke and noise and jet blast. Somehow, I made it to a stop and looked around. That's when I realised that I was on the main runway at Toronto International Airport...
My teenage instinct knew that I was in deep s**t and not to stick around. Next thing that I knew there was an RCMP car with it's lights on slewing towards me.
Booking it out of there, I hit some washboard ruts on a gravel path and high sided at about 50 MPH. When I shook it off, the Mountie asked me for all my documentation and if I was OK.
The rear brake lever was bent to hell and he fixed it with a pry bar from his trunk-injuring his finger in the process.
Of course, I had none of the paperwork he was asking for and explained that I was trail riding. So he escorted me to the Brittania road gate, opened it and let me go.
To this day I still can't believe that I wasn't locked up for that stunt!
When I was 17 I had a beat up old Honda CB 350 street bike. This was back in 1973. I used to trail ride and road ride when there were no constables about.
One fine cloudless afternoon, I was trail riding in western Mississauga and ventrured north of the 401 highway by going under a bridge and following the creek. I meandered up through some farm fields and approached an open gate. Going through, there was some manicured grass and a gravel road. I soon saw what was apparently a very long dragstrip. Black burnout marks were everywhere!
I couldn't resist. Howling down the strip hunched over the tank with mud flying off the tires I wound it up to top speed. Then this huge shadow blocked out the sun. I looked behind me to see a 747 about to land on my "dragstrip".
Veering off in the nick of time, the monstrosity landed right in front of me spewing smoke and noise and jet blast. Somehow, I made it to a stop and looked around. That's when I realised that I was on the main runway at Toronto International Airport...
My teenage instinct knew that I was in deep s**t and not to stick around. Next thing that I knew there was an RCMP car with it's lights on slewing towards me.
Booking it out of there, I hit some washboard ruts on a gravel path and high sided at about 50 MPH. When I shook it off, the Mountie asked me for all my documentation and if I was OK.
The rear brake lever was bent to hell and he fixed it with a pry bar from his trunk-injuring his finger in the process.
Of course, I had none of the paperwork he was asking for and explained that I was trail riding. So he escorted me to the Brittania road gate, opened it and let me go.
To this day I still can't believe that I wasn't locked up for that stunt!
