In April of 2007 I was heading out of Portland to enjoy a weekend at Rockaway Beach with my girl. I was driving her Acura and we were in the center lane of highway 26 approaching the tunnel just on the west side of downtown. As we neared the tunnel a motorcycle pulled up next to us in the fast lane. The rider seemed to be trying to look into the car, but the tinted windows on the Acura were making it tough for him. Just as we entered the tunnel he slowed down, then gunned it. Well, traffic inside the tunnel came to a dead stop and as the bike caught back up top us he saw the sea of brake lights. Too late, he jammed on the brakes but ended up making a premature stop against the back of a Subaru wagon. The rider was thrown over the handlebars and slammed against the back of the car.
Not an actual photo of that event!
I immediately parked the Acura in the middle of the freeway, jumped out and ran to the downed rider and bike. The guy jumped up, appeared to be unhurt but very pissed off, and I helped him right the bike and wheel it off to the side of the freeway. Luckily, there was a police car about five cars back and he was there to take over. I got back in the Acura and noticed that the wagon with the new bike-shaped dent had vanished. I sped up 26 past the zoo looking for the car, but never saw it again. Other than telling this story a few times, I hadn't given it much more thought.
Today I was in the mood for sushi at my favorite joint near Lloyd Center. I've been there dozens and dozens of times, but had never ridden my motorcycle. To save on time and gas I hopped on the bike and zipped up there. As I sat in my motorcycle jacket munching seared salmon and california rolls, one of the sushi chefs asked me what bike I rode. We started chatting about our bikes, then he mentioned that he had wrecked his last bike when he rear ended a car on the freeway. Crazy coincidence? I think so. I asked him if it happened in the 26 tunnel and he stared at me. How did I know that? Well, I told him my version of the story and he ended up comping my lunch.
There haven't been many times in my life that I was that blown away by coincidence. Maybe one other time, when I met a guy at a party that had tried to snag the same radio station banner at a concert years earlier. (I got the banner, by the way!) I'm still sitting here totally amazed, and wondering how many times I have missed that strange connection because the clues just didn't lead to it. Wow.
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