I Fell Down

So a couple days ago I took my first spill off the motorcycle. I was going through a quiet intersection (no lights) and didn't see another guy on a scooter till the last minute. I panicked, hit the brakes too hard and the back wheel slid out. I went down pretty hard on my left side, but only ended up with some surface abrasion on my forearm and a badly bruised left ankle. It was pretty swollen for the last two days so I thought I better get it x-rayed. Fortunately it was not fractured at all.

Millions of people ride motorcycles and scooters in Taiwan every day. Traffic here follows it's own rules, and it's easy for a foreigner to quickly assimilate into the "flow" of the traffic, literally and metaphorically. That can be both a good, and bad thing. Good in that the quicker one learns the accepted "rules" of the road, the better. Overly cautious riders can be just as much a hazard to other riders as anything. On the other hand, if one becomes too comfortable with the road, that cautious edge can be lost altogether, and that can be very dangerous. It's never a good idea to take ANYTHING for granted when driving in Taiwan traffic.

A lesson I learned once again this week, fortunately at minimal expense.