Today, I barely missed injury at Windsock. I was riding my bike toward Kralendijk when the KLM jet took off this afternoon. The blast when the jet went full throttle created a dust storm which blinded me and threw me into the road. Fortunately, no one was behind me and the car coming toward me was able to stop before it hit me. I was not injured, but I could have been killed.
There is no question in my mind that the KLM jet wash was the blast which threw me into the road. I noticed the jet sitting at the runway, but there were no danger signs or signals and I had no idea that the jet wash would have such an affect. Yes, there was wind today, and I had been struggling against it as I bicycled along. But I was in fine shape until the jet went full throttle. When I was finally able to scramble out of the road and look, the jet was in the air and flying away. After that I had no unusual trouble with the wind.
One person I told about this today immediately told me it was not the KLM jet but the wind at 30mph. This is the kind of response one would expect from KLM, not people on Bonaire who are concerned about the life here. I was disappointed that this person didn't even ask about the event before giving his opinion. If you wish to belive that there is nothing wrong here, then so be it. I will inform the Dutch officials of my experience. I can only hope that when someone is seriously injured because of this problem that someone will be held accountable.

I will tell you once I was riding a bike past the airport and the same exact thing happened but no jet in sight, it was strictly the wind whipping that caused it. I don't doubt the jet wash made the impact worse for you but the wind alone can do that. My husband said I looked like I got caught in a mini tornado!

Bob.

While I have every sympathy with your plight, •••• happens.

Bonaire may be a Health & Safety nightmare but that is part of its charm. I don't want to see the island littered with signs to inform idiots of the blatantly obvious (no offence). Nor do I wish the whole island to be risk assessed and see the introduction of ambulance chasing law firms.

The litigious culture that has grown in the USA and spread to Europe has crippled business and stopped people from being accountable for their own actions.

Bonaire is one of the last bastions of freedom. I enjoy having a few beers and being able to drive home and not having to wear a crash helmet. If I trip over a paving slab it is my fault for not looking where I am going and if I burn my mouth on hot coffee bought from a take away, tough! I should have blown on it!

Fortunately you were uninjured and whether it was because of KLM or the wind, you were able to dust yourself down and carry on.

There doesn't always have to be someone accountable.

Bob..Firstly I'm glad you did not sustain any serious bodily injury outside of your pride being diminished somewhat. But, what do you propose to rectify the problem which you perceive? Planes take off in one direction, against the wind.

Normally, the wind blows from east to west. I don't think they are going to re align the airway take off strip, nor will they start posting warning signs all about. People love to watch the planes land and take off at Windsock together with the resulting sandblast.

Bonaire ain't the litigious U.S., and many folks are OK with that. Good luck with the Dutch officials. Really, between you & me, I wouldn't try to change their system.

I time my exits from Windsock with departures specifically for the blow-dry.

I was the person who tried to explain to Mr. Wood that it had little to do with the Jet Wash and that there were high wind warnings for the last three days with 30 plus knots predicted. Mr Wood is a very rude person and hung up on me in mid sentence when I tried to explain that no one would take him seriously and for the past 12 years there has been no incidents of any problems. I am sorry but Mr Brown is one of those who give us Americans bad names (does ugly American sound familiar) trying to blame his poor control of his bike on KLM rather than the wind. I have had my SUV almost blown off the road passing the end of the runway when there are no planes! As for Mr Brown taking me to task, I think folks know me well enough that I am willing to help all reasonable folks but his rudeness by hanging up on me (something I find very offensive) has shown me he is not a reasonable person. If he wants to apologize he can call me at 701-2281 By the way, Antony, if he had not hung up, I would have told him the same or therabouts..cheers my friend.

With the runway being flat, having no obstructions to block the wind, it's easy to understand that wind sock is going to be very windy. With the lack of rain, strong wind gusts, it's a dust cloud for sure.

Antony, the next beer is on me when we ever meet

WINDsock....it's all in the name baby!

Hey Kobi. Don't we already have a date in my hot tub? lol.

Michael, it sounds about right what you say. Although we don't know each other that well, I can't for one moment believe that you would be rude to someone without reason.



(Message edited by Bondy on March 23, 2010)

Antony, you hit the nail on the head when you said:

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quote:

The litigious culture that has grown in the USA and spread to Europe has crippled business and stopped people from being accountable for their own actions.

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I can't imagine anyone being rude to Michael! I'd like to...ok, nevermind...

Michael you say "Mr. Brown" but I think you meant "Mr. Wood." (Just want to clarify.)

And to say it again, •••• happens!

Umm...I can control my bike pretty well. Thanks for the vote of confidence though.

No, folks. I didnt call Michael or hang up on him....Im too busy drying my hair at Windsock.

I should have said Mr. Wood... oops...

"There doesn't always have to be someone accountable." Vince
Vince, you are 1000% on the mark, and you put it much nicer and more diplomatic that I would have, lol. But we live in this strange world where many people must find fault from someone or something. Accidents do not occur in their minds. Nature has no bearing in their mind. These are the people that annoy me the most. They are nothing but whiners.
"waaaa waaaa waaaa, the wind blew me off my bike. Who can I sue?" Hey, suck it up!!!!!!!!!

Actually there were signs all over the fence, BUT......... The fence is being replaced, and, I am sure,so too are the signs. What is funny to me is that those planes are pretty close to the fence. They don't just start the engines from that position and TAKE OFF, TJAKKAAAAA! They are already running and there is no mistaking that. A tad of caution while one is just about underneath the tail pipe seems logic to anyone older than embryonic stage, what? God I would have laughed my ass off, should I have seen it, and then help the guy back on his bike, snickering that is

Bart, I like you, lol

Lol Bart, I just had the visual...had it been me on the bike I would have had to laugh at myself after I dusted myself off haha

"I was not injured but I could of been killed."
Mr Woods quote applies to my everyday life .
Sounds like Hammerhead Dave after every dive.

Some people have to blame all their inadequacies on someone else , me I am just clumsy.

Snort, snort....Lisa, "suck it up" is our household motto....one of them at least....

i was riding my bike in the wind yesterday too. a piece of gravel flew up and hit my sunglasses. i haven't noticed it yet but i'm sure there is a scratch there. somebody (else) must pay for the sunglasses.

now i'm sure mr. wood is looking for sympathy. i'll give him my standard line..."you looking for sympathy? it's in the dictionary between s**t and syphilis...now suck it up and quit whining."

oh yeah...welcome to bt...sorry, i was rude not to have said that before.

Pat, prayers and healing thoughts for your sunglasses....

Something tells me we may not hear anything further from Bob the biker..
**Pat** I'm glad you welcomed him to BT. We don't want to be rude.
But...a video of the event would probably be humorous. I can just picture it now on You tube.

**Lisa** I make my living being involved with alleged negligence and work comp cases. You'd be absolutely amazed at what folks do and how they think! "I am injured (real or perceived) therefore someone must be held accountable and pay for this".

CB...

Golly gee....the truth is that when I spoke with Mr. Wood yesterday, it was all I could do to keep from laughing my @@#$%$ off at his plight. I think it is time that we give him the benefit of the doubt and call a truce..now if he is a gentleman an posts a reply, then I will be impressed. I do know he was trying to get an appointment to talk to the governor..would like to be a fly on the wall if he does get the appointment..

"and then
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.
one time
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.
one time at Windsock
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I was blown
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.
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right off of my bike."

(Message edited by kaduidiver on March 23, 2010)

Welcome back Marcel....... I knew there would be someone coming out today..

I have to tell you my hubby was laughing his a$$ off when it happened to me, he compared it to the wicked witch of the west in the Wizard of Oz! Hmmmmm, what's he trying to tell me???

Gotta love the hit and run type............ egad

Prayers up!!! haaaaaa

Kelly, STOP IT!! LMAO

Pat please keel us posted on the sunglasses...sending healing vibes their way.

Michael, I'd love to be a fly on the wall too...but govna' the wind blew me right off me bike!!!!!

RA, I WAS going to start a new thread for him....

Kelly, please do. I'm sure Pat could really use the support....what a horrible thing to happen on your vacation to Bonaire....tragic...

I was thinking of suing the makers of Polar following terrible headaches that I suffered the morning after drinking that demon brew.

Someone must be made to pay. (a lifetime supply of Polar may suffice)

I will speak to the Governor on my next visit.

thanks so much, everybody. i did ride this morning and the sunglasses seem fine. still, the psychological trauma of even thinking they might have been scratched was devastating...surely i can get some money from someone for that.

only 10 days left on this trip. i may have to come back soon just to try and heal. sniff, sniff, sob

Pat, I am trained in victim advocacy. Please call me. You don't have to suffer alone, and above all, remember that it was NOT your fault. You are the victim.

thanks kelly, i knew i could count on you. i'll bet you'd even offer to come down here and counsel me wouldn't you? what a generous person you are.

I would absolutely be there in a flash for a counseling session.

Cracks me up that this dude did not have the guts to reply after posting that idiocy. Of course, he didn't have the guts to finish his conversation with Michael either. And we all know what a big meanie he is!

e.

The scary part is these personality types go around dropping frivolous lawsuits against every thing and everyone THEY don't like . As ridiculous as it is they can stress normal innocent folks out for months or years with their litigation.

By the by , I picked up a bad case of Dengue last year while on Bonaire , do I sue the Governor , The Dutch Parliament , or M.G. ?

Lloyd, I think you sue Pachi.

I think he'll come back on BT, call us all a bunch of morons, then be done. In which case we will all collectively laugh, say, well we ARE kind of moronic, and move on about our daily business.

As a matter of fact, I AM on a roll today.

Hmmm , Pachi , yeah , its all his fault , that *+&!@#"-&6% is gonna pay $$$$$$$

It's okay, Lloyd. You are among friends here. We will love you, dengue or not. Just no kissing on the lips.

Oh I am all better now !

Kelly you ARE on a roll today...you go for that third mountain dew? LmAo

nahhh just finishing up #2

can you imagine how many hits it would have gotten if the video was posted on youtube?

omg, if you consider how hard I laugh just picturing it, I cannot imagine seeing it 'live'. How fun to have been on the plane, looking out the window with tears in your eyes as you leave the island you love so much... then see some jackass fall off his bike. Seriously, that there is just funny stuff, I don't care who ya are !

Pat...we'll be down there soon and although I can offer no counsel, I can offer consoling...we can have a special moment of silence for the sunglasses if you would like!

thanks everybody...this is making the pain so much less. still, i might have to drown my sorrows in a polar..or two...or six

kelly, you are on a roll...but i'm not sure if it's cinnamon or danish. i'm hoping cinnamon.

still picturing the guy on laugh-in with his little tricycle falling over. lmao.

and let us give thanks to mr. wood (whiner tho he may be) for giving us such merriment.

I even pulled up this thread last night at home and read it to Steve! (not 'cause he can't read though...lol)

This was the funniest tread ever, LOL!!!!!!!
Bob; good luck on Bonaire. You'll need it.

Artie Johnson; he was the little guy on Laugh In. God, what a funny show that was.

Oh where oh whe-er has the O-P gone, oh where oh whe-er can he be?

(I'm thinking he probably got swept out to sea... by the wake of a pod ship of course. Bwaaaaaahahahahahahahahah!)

{image}bike

oh forget it. I can not post photos

I have been gone for a little while---but with an upcoming trip to Bonaire, I have resumed my lurking---and I have to say you people have gotten a lot funnier!!! Thanks!

Short bus funny.....

!!!THREAD HIJACK!!!

Perhaps the Mods could use such a thing as a new "spanking"?

Just asking...

who will compensate me for my lack of time in the water because of the damn jellies, my vacation is ruined ! my trip insurance from continental won't cover my time out of water ! Mayhap Stinapa? or I could schedule an appointment with the gov? woe, woe , woe is me !!!

one of the " fun " and free activities on Bonaire is to await the KLM plane at the airport...park right at the Donkey Sanctuary road and have that huge jet plane land right over your head...quite an adrenaline rush for sure...it did'nt put my eye out ...my sympathies
go out to Mr Wood who fell off his bike..the Bonairian winds are strong and unpredictable...wear a helmet ?

Yesterday my son in law stood on one of the concrete benches at Donkey Beach to photograph the KLM taking off. The thrust from the jets blew him off the bench.

Has anyone seen the flick "PUSHING TIN"? Check out the force of the jet wash when you park your body on the runway! LOL.

Glad to hear the winds are clockin' down there. LOVE it when it's like that. Hope they continue to clock full tilt boogy when we arrive in May...May is usually a high wind time of the year. Yeeha!!!

I should and do apologize for my addition to this tread, funny as it may seem to some the tread itself has become somewhat vicious. my apologies, Mr Wood, were it the strong wing gusts, jet blasts or a combination of the two,I'm so sorry that you suffered injuries on this wonderful island,and I'm sorry that I have stooped so low as to have compounded them.
Almost to a soul, I have found that both the residents and visitors to Bonaire have been very kind and generous folks. Heres hoping you, also, find this to be true

Anne...Mr Wood was not injured! See the first sentence of his post

Today, I barely missed injury at Windsock.

I too feel that it is a shame that we did hold him up to ridicule, however, personally I found him to be very rude to me which still does not excuse my being rude in return. Thankfully he was not injured!

Maybe this should be a new location for a WebCam?
Bonaire's Funniest Home Videos, here we come!

Sorry, I'm trying to be remorseful, but I keep snickering, lol.
I think it's because he came off as a pompous jerk in his post.....hey, was blown off my bike, I'll take this to the governor". Pa-leease.

Lisa, I'm with you. I'm so happy to see this thread resurrected! I hate forum drama EXCEPT when some pompous jerk barges in for a one post rant and then runs away like the chicken legs he is (which is probably why the wind blew him off of his bike). Anything he gets he deserves (and I'm a pretty nice guy myself.)

Michael, you are a saint but I think you were spot on handling that guy. Even being nice has its limits.

e.

Here is the deal. I don't mean to ridicule Mr Wood. On the contrary, it might have been very scary to him. It might have been very scary to me. But then again, the situation is very very funny. Hompedie hompedie ( a noise produced by satisfied, humming people clueless of their surroundings), I am struggling against the wind, but enjoying myself........ I am just about under the tail pipe of a MD 11 the third largest passenger wide body jet in the world and in service today. Hompedie hompedie....... I am enjoying myself and I don't pay attention to the fact there is smoke coming out of the three engines. Hompedie hompedie... I don't notice the immense heat, and I don't notice the tremendous noise....
Whooops make the above ten times that, all of a sudden, but I don't get off my bike......hompedie, hompedie OOOOpps I get blown off, but you know what? It is not my fault, lets see if we can sue, because the last thing I ever want to be confronted with is to have to take responsibility for my own actions.
Nobody forced MR Wood to be on a bike underneath a running jet plane. He fell and nothing really happened. On your feet trooper and pray nobody saw you....:-)

Really I could have made the same mistake, but my god I would look around to check if nobody saw me, I would certainly not call Michael, ( Hey, apparently Michael got enough on his hand already HA!!)and laugh like crazy about myself, for being so stupid. (probably with Michael hé hé hé.)

In fact I might not have been blown off my bike, but instead be forced into another direction: OOps left turn, Oooops, dune! Ooops the SEA! Arms and legs flaying (SP?) No stopping and SPLASH!!. Never mind, don't want that in the paper either.

So far the funny part, but then Mr Wood chooses to go further...Sue!!! Pardon? Excuse me? You would choose to go under a tail pipe of a running jet AND sue?? I can see Mr Wood wonder after he jumped into the sea: "Hey I got wet, lets call michael, and the governor, and see who I can sue, because, THERE WAS NO SIGN", please............ that is REALLY funny

Anne..from my point of view, whatever perceived "viciousness" (and I really don't see any, just good natured humor) you think some posters were guilty of, IMHO it was probably well deserved. I for one am tired of the "woe is me, I'm a victim" mentality which has become so prevalent in the U.S. society .

The only thing injured was the poster's pride and ego. And I do strongly suspect his ego probably needed to be deflated somewhat. And that's exactly what happened and the bottom line is he certainly didn't like it.

Mr Wood provided hundreds of man hours in entertainment . Hats off to him . Slap stick humour is always a hit , as long as no one gets hurt.

I agree Lloyd.
It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye.
Then it's still fun, you just don't see as well.

Anne, he claimed he wasn't injured. If the man was hurt and didn't post in such an odd manner it would not have been funny and no one would have laughed. Most of us are pretty darn decent people and Michael is a class act citizen, the guy must have really pushed his buttons for him to have said what he did. Anyway...he never has responded so he either thinks we are a bunch of babbling idiots or realized just how silly his post sounded. Peace!

Lisa, LOL

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quote:

Anyway...he never has responded so he either thinks we are a bunch of babbling idiots or realized just how silly his post sounded.

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In the infamous words of Bill Engvall ~~ "Here's your sign."

I miss this thread. It was so much fun!

e.

All this dumping on Mr. Wood is entirely out of order. In fact, I owe him a debt of gratitude for suggesting what I should do. You see, two weeks ago I was biking along the top of a dike in Holland (the dirt kind of dike, that is) with two of my sons, when the wind blew me over four times. After the fourth time, my sons confiscated my bike and marched me back to the nearest town. Needless to say, I'm suing Holland for building that dike; and to show my appreciation to Mr. Wood for pointing out the right way to go, I promise to split with him 50-50 all my winnings from that suit.

robert, we all owe mr. wood a debt of gratitude. his "it's gotta be someone's fault" attitude has provided us with hours of enjoyment over the last few months. we've been back in the states for almost two months now (i almost said we've been home for two months but i consider bonaire as much of our home as here in the states) and i love going over the old threads that i first read last winter.

kelly, i still love your post about leaving with tears in your eyes then seeing some jackass falling off his bike. priceless.

Whew! When I read that first line (two posts up) I thought another fight was brewing. Just for the record, I hate the consternation that builds up on this board sometimes. I'm sure that surprises some people but it's true.

So much of what is said here is misunderstood because it is typed, and not said.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

e.

Truth be told unfortunately it's the American way..(Yes, I'm quite jaded).

Alas, we don't have MR. Wood to kick around any more. I do know he was aware of the entertainment he provided many BT readers and when he returns next year, we are having outriggers installed on his bike free of charge!

I think we should rename that section of the road around windsock "The Bob Woods Bike Path"

LMAO @ Bob Woods Bike Path. I love it!

I'll have the sign made out of scrap from Eric's Big Deck, and install it on my next trip...

"Bob Woods Crash Pad"????