Cerebral Soup - The Archives
The Death of the Majesty
I was on the Oedo line back to Tracey's apartment (where I had been Tutu-sitting for a few days) from a lovely relaxing dinner at Jonathan and Sachiko's, when the following message arrives on my keitai from JMum:
"Yo-kun has had a bike accident and been admitted to Chigasaki hospital".
So naturally I completely freak out. I call Jonathan because I needed to talk to someone sensible and he advised me to jump in a taxi and head towards Shinagawa. Normally it would not be so much a problem - but it was already about 11:40pm and the last train to Chigasaki from there leaves at 12:04pm.
So I jump into a cab and the driver immediately picks up that I'm a wreck and asks why. I tell him and he does his best to get to Shinagawa station in time. In the meantime another message comes from JMum:
"Kan-chan thinks he's ok don't dash if you miss the train".
Kan-chan is a lovely boy but not a doctor so I remain in a panic. Jmum calls and says that if I can make it good - but to come back tomorrow.
I don't make the train. The taxi was held up by a bike accident.
So I head back to Tracey's, still a wreck. I'm there for a while when Jmum messages me to tell me that he's broken his ankle but has been discharged and can go home. Finally then at 2:30am the Boy himself calls me to tell me he is OK.
I trek back down the next day, but when I finally arrive he's asleep. He looked so helpless in JMums bed with the temporary cast on his right ankle and some bandages elsewhere. I was just so relieved to see him in person. I hadn't been able to sleep much from stress the night before and it took so long to get back. I felt as if I'd been running since 11:30 the night before.
So what happened? The Boy, Kan-chan and another mate had on the spur of the moment decided to go see Ka-kun's live in Yokohama, as they'd finished work early. They were on the way back when the accident happened. None of the boys had drunk anything (Kan-chan never drinks anyway). They were travelling along Route 1 near Fujisawa. It's basically a wide 2-carriage way along that section, and there are a lot of motorbikes which use it. You can comfortably fit a car and a bike within the space.
The Boy was riding in front, and Kan-chan and a passenger on another big scooter behind. There was a lot of traffic. There was also a very small gap in the cars, and a tiny side street (with no lights). A young, inexperienced driver in her brand new compact car turned just at the moment the guys were riding along straight, to dash into the tiny side street. I guess she didn't think to look out for motorbikes. The Boy was flung from the Majesty. The Majesty ended up mangled (as did the new car), with the front tyre ending up where the windshield used to be.
At first the Boy didn't realize how hurt he was and just sat down and had a ciggie. After the initial shock wore off however, he realized he was mangled as well. So the police and ambulance came and they packed him up and took him to hospital.
Amusing aside: the ambulance dudes freaked out when they saw the Boy's ripped up jeans - but couldn't find any blood or injuries underneath. As he was wearing his Lounge Lizard Custom Damaged jeans, he had to explain that they were mostly like that before the accident. Just as well he wasn't in his Super-damage Custom Dior ones - they might have put him in full body traction.
A workmate of the Boy's came along with the company truck and collected what was left of the Majesty. No more riding along the coastal road with the wind streaming in our hair (the bits that poked out from the helmets anyway). No more cruising to Tokyo along the highway. No more being picked up from the train station and being whizzed home. It is the end of that era.
We aren't going to be replacing the Majesty. The Boy may get a smaller scooter to get to and from work (in the future - he's out for about 2 months), but this accident really scared him. He was glad he was in front and that the car hit him and not Kan-chan and his passenger. He realizes now why I was sometimes a bit freaked out while riding on it. As I've said before - drivers in cars don't always pay attention to bikes.
Bye bye Majesty. It was fun while it lasted.
Posted by mjd-s on August 20, 2006 11:46 PM