If you drop your motorbike, don't pick it up yourself, wait for your buddies to come back for you. I had a buddy who just could not absorb this principle, so I got to visit him in the VA, not just once, but for what came to be known as the Second (then Third, Fourth and Fifth) Annual Nick J. Hernia Surgery. It is not as simple as it sounds. There is something about a motorcycle lying on its side that demands to set aright.

Finally, one year during Rally Week, I was picking up some camping items at the Ace Hardware in Rapid City. I was just exiting the premises when I saw Nick walking toward me across the lot with a sheepish look on his face. Looking past him, I could see his bike lying on the curb. He had to take some ribbing, but it was less about biffing the bike, and more about taking five surgeries finally to learn the lesson.