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When I started out as TEC with the group this morning I didn't even realise that there was second option, but as things turned out, about 10kms from Whagamata I took the latter option. Now many would say thats a bit extreme just to avoid hearing Young Jim complaining about his eggs over lunch, and they would be correct.So I've been giving the reason a great deal of thought. I was riding my Ducati today which I don't ride so often. I'd been looking forward to the ride after a stressful week and wanted to clear my mind of the problems of the previous week. We had been on the road for about 2 hours with Tony O leading us through some interesting roads. I had been concentrating hard on keeping my cornering lines tidy through the Hunua hills and again from Kopu through to the Whagamata road. As we reached the top of the hill on HW25 I relaxed a little and admired the view ahead. As the road headed downhill I followed Campbell into a moderate RH corner at about 80kph. The corner straighted a little and then tightened to the right again. The LH side of the road had a narrow verge and a low wooden barrier over which was a very substantial drop. As the road moved right I found myself too far left. I leaned the bike hard to the right hoping to recover the situation but lost traction and dropped the bike on it's side, sliding to a stop on the verge without getting to the barrier. At that point my speed was probably less than 70. The end result was a scratched bike, scratched helmet and a fracture of the distal 1/3 of clavicle (broken collar bone) Unfortunately I landed heavily on my right shoulder. Apart from the shoulder injury I'm fine. No bruises, scratches or even a stiff neck. My helmet will need replacing but my jacket and pants are hardly marked. Compared to the big shunt that Bwucie had on Saturday mine was just a minor tumble.So what went wrong? I believe simply a loss of concentrtion. I wasn't too fast. I just wasn't focussing on what I should have been doing.Lessoned learnt:When you are riding your brain must be 100% focused on riding. Not admiring the view. Not allowing other thoughts run through your mind. Always look as far through the corner as you can and have a clear plan for how you will ride it.Good riding gear really saves injuriesIf you are waiting at Thames A&E, never say “I'm not in a rush”I'm sure that everyone reading this will know this already, but I knew it too. I just forgot for a second or two.I'm very grateful to Campbell and Jason for coming back to help and others who have checked that I'm ok. My apologies to Tony for having a spill on his ride.
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