[g®eg]

Retiree buys, crashes Harley motorcycle
By Associated Press, 10/01/02
SAGINAW, Mich. - Baby boomer Jim Zimmerman's brief fling as a tough biker ended in pain very quickly.
The retiree's misadventure began when, facing 60, he gave into a youthful yen and got a local dealership to deliver a brand-new Harley-Davidson to his door.
"It was a mid-age crisis thing," Zimmerman admitted last week. "I'd see these dudes with women and thought a motorcycle would put me in like Flynn.
"I didn't look at the obvious, that I hadn't been on a bike in 30 years and probably didn't remember much about it."
Ten seconds after he climbed aboard for the first time, he struck a neighbor's utility trailer at 40 mph and broke several ribs. The odometer logged a tenth of a mile.
"It was so fast, and I didn't think fast enough," he said. "I probably panicked and throttled the gas in a death grip.
"Oh my god, I hurt in places I didn't know could hurt. The cops said it's a miracle I'm alive."
After $2,000 in insured repairs on the bike -- and more on the neighbor's trailer -- Zimmerman sold his Harley for an $800 loss. But the experience isn't quite over. Until his complimentary membership in the Harley Owners Group runs out, "I get a mailing every two to three weeks, reminding me of how stupid I was," he said.

[Stoneman]

I heard that on the radio this morning. What a maroon! Sad thing is, the AP is just glorifying the dangers of motorcycling with that release. It woulda been nice to see 'em bestow the virtues of the MSF courses in that same article...