Posted by David, a resident of another community, on Nov 2, 2009 at 2:20 pm

As a former motorcyclist that survived a serious accident, I find it eerie to read stories like this one since I assume Mr. Venkatesh had no idea that he would not return from his ride and it makes me realize that I too may not return home from a ride (or drive) some day.

Posted by Marat, a resident of another community, on Nov 2, 2009 at 4:27 pm

Too bad the article does not include the model of the motorcycle, except '2009 honda'.

In general it is not unusual for newbies with 0 experience to get very powerful bikes that they have no skills to ride, and then kill themselves.

Posted by Neeraj, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Nov 2, 2009 at 5:10 pm

What Marat says maybe true, but I would not want to eagerly disrespect the departed soul. Hope we learn from these events and have information available to assess risks.

Posted by 25+ Year Motorcycle Vet, a resident of Menlo Park, on Nov 2, 2009 at 10:02 pm

That's truly sad, and my thoughts go out to his loved ones, but Mr. Venkatesh did live more today than most people do in a lifetime.

Live to Ride, Ride to Live.

Riders today just need to realize that motorcycles are deadly serious. To have any sort of longevity riding a motorcycle on the street, you NEED to be educated in the sport, know what you're doing and be sure you're riding a bike that is suited to your skill level, and always ride within your skill level. If you want to test yourself, do track days. There are no trophies awarded in the Peninsula Foothills.

Ride Safe - Ride Smart

Posted by Randal, a resident of Woodside, on Nov 2, 2009 at 10:12 pm

I had a lot of close calls in the years I was riding. I just got lucky and ended up without any life altering accidents. This guy drew a bad hand. Just the wrong combination of small things. This was a surprisingly tight turn after a straightaway. Maybe he was distracted for a split second. He hit some bump in the pavement or piece of road trash that made his rear tire hop and that was it. Pinball between the guardrail and the bike.

-Ran

Posted by kma, a resident of another community, on Nov 2, 2009 at 10:52 pm

wow, people, so quick to judge? for the record, he was an experienced rider who knew what he was doing. he'd been riding for years. what happened was an unlucky accident - he did not lose control of the bike due to his own mistake, rather, control was taken away from him. his tires got caught and he got thrown off his bike and was severely injured from the collision. do not judge what you do not know, if you must comment, simply pass on your best wishes to a family in pain.

Posted by Enough, a resident of the Palo Alto Orchards neighborhood, on Nov 3, 2009 at 1:18 pm

Just for the record, motorcyclists, legal or not, really should not straddle lanes. It's just plain dangerous.

I realize that is not what happened here, but I wanted to get it out there since in the last two weeks, I have seen 2 close calls on Highway 101.

To the family of Mr. Venkatesh, I am so, so sorry for your loss.

Posted by SJC, a resident of another community, on Nov 3, 2009 at 6:14 pm

My condolences to the friends and family of Mr. Venkatesh; I knew him from his days at UCB his later days in Cupertino.