Motorcycle Views

Wild Motorcycle Tales

Here's a great story from Hector de Saracho. Got your own story? Send it to me.

Train Wreck

My friend Manolo had just bought an excellent taken-care-of 250 KX ´97. It used to belong to a high tech engineer who did not have time to use it at all but nevertheless he had spent around $2500 worth of "Works" equipment extra on the bike. He sold it for $3700 in ´99.

Manolo lived in Mexico, and I was living in Tucson, Arizona at the time. So he said to me, "Hector, I can get the bike across the border. You can use the bike as long as you take good care of it. It will probably be a good six months before I come back and import it".

At the time I did not own a dirt bike, so my natural and humble reaction was to accept his more than generous offer to be his bike's caretaker for the time being. I rode that bike as if it was mine to keep. Every time that I took the bike out I felt it was better than a new bike, mine, with no money down, and no monthly payments, for eternity. The Gods, were actually smiling on me at that time.

So, I took the bike out for a few rides, and one very pretty Sunday morning my friend Tito and I decided to go to "The Castle". This is a place about 25 minutes away from Tucson going east, as if to New Mexico, and there, up on a hill, is a small and very cool looking little castle. So we went to this place, and started riding around inside some small bowls, and a little dirt trail. After a few laps, I said, "Tito, why don't we go and 'Explore' by the roadside along the railroad tracks?". So we did, and after about 10 or 15 miles we decided to stop, and find a place where we could go across the railroad tracks, and so we stopped to contemplate.

Tito went east alongside the tracks for about a mile and came back and said to me that where I was standing was the best place. I then proceeded to go inside the tracks, and for no apparent reason, I stayed inside facing east. Tito stayed on the outside facing west.

So here we are talking with our bikes on, accelerating so the engines would not quit on us, helmets on, you know, and Tito says to me, "Ha-ha, you better watch out man, a train might get you from behind." So, I turned around, and just looked, and then stared into oblivion at the empty tracks behind me. At this time Tito and I are both staring in the same direction. After a few minutes, I turned around to where my front wheel was facing (inside the RR tracks), and man, let me tell you, about 400 feet coming towards me I just saw a light shaking sideways hauling ... straight towards me.

I had a foot set upon one of the rails, so my immediate reaction was to try and pull the front wheel up and then outside of the tracks, but Nooooo! I'm only 5´9" and the suspension prevented me from succeeding with my intent. This only took about, maybe, two seconds, so I looked up again and I saw the same light shaking more violently now, about 100 feet or so away. All I had time to do was lay the bike down as carefully as possible, so as to not get caught between the bike and the rails, and Run...Run...Run...

So I ran, as fast as I could, very fast, and all this time thinking, "The bike will explode ... the bike will explode and I'm going to explode along with it.! At the same time, I thought, "The bike will be thrown so hard against my back that I'll be cut in half and be paralyzed". All of these thoughts in the time it took me to run about 12 feet. That's all I could run before I stopped because of a deep dry stream. As I turned around the main machine was about 70 feet away from me and no 250 KX ´97 in sight.

After a little while, the whole train had passed by and I saw Tito on the other side of the tracks waving an OK sign at me. I was thumbs up, kneeled immediately, and thanked God for whatever had happened, and for me still being on this earth.

It was so surreal. I remember asking Tito, "Tito, wasn't I just riding a bike?" ... and he's like, "Yeah ... ha-ha ... the train's got it in front of it. Look at the sparks. It seems like it's about to stop. Would you like to go over there and take a closer look? ... ha-ha." I said no. I could not believe what had just happened to me. What could have happened? So, we went back to where our truck was parked.

Once there the guys who were riding looked at two guys riding one bike and asked what had happened. We vaguely told them and they all went to where the train had actually stopped. I stayed inside the truck. When they came back they were all saying how lucky I had been.

We then picked the bike up, and I got cited to go to court for Federal property trespassing, and the officer who gave me the citation said that I might get fined for making two freight trains stop when they were on schedule but it did not happen in court. I was fined only $120.

Manolo could not believe what had happened. I still owe him about $2700. We are still good friends, and I still remember that exciting day and moment.

Many people said that I should have done a wheelie to get my front wheel out from there, and a lot of other solutions that could have been handy, and all I say to them is, "You were not there, were you? I was, so when this happens to you, you go ahead and try whatever theories you might have."

Why was I inside the tracks? I do not know. I am alive and it's a great feeling to be alive, especially after a close encounter with a tragic and foreseen death. -- Hector de Saracho

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