I tore something in my shoulder. A rotator cuff injury, I'm
told. The day's racing was over and a cloud descended for a week
or more. I was flying up till that point. I had to drive home
one-handed, tricky in a manual van.
This was the first time I'd really hurt myself crashing a
motorcycle for years. I've crashed on a lot flat tracks, but,
since 1996 and I was knocked off my FZR600, I've always bounced. I
began to feel old and scared.
The accident happened five days before going road tripping with
Sideburn in the US, a tour that had a couple of opportunities to
ride on track.
Julian at Deus Ex Machina organised a night practice at Perris
in So Cal, and invited a bunch of his friends. I rode a ton of
different bikes, but slid off Mule's Yamaha 500, digging the
footpad into the back of my leg. A few days later, the night
before Dirt Quake USA, I borrowed an XT500 and flipped it off the
line at Castle Rock in Washington. I started the exact same way I
do in the UK, but the track had so much traction the front wheel
as at head height, the bike ricocheting off the bike next to me,
before I knew what had happened.
Luckily, I was able to get out and have another race and beat a
few people in the vintage class. If I hadn't have got back on the
horse my head would well and truly have been fried. As it is, my
shoulder's improving and I think I'm going to make the next DTRA race.
I understand if you want the team shirt back. I'm becoming an
embarrassment and a danger to myself.
Cheers for now
Gary Inman, #13
Photos: Ian Roxburgh, DTRA