BELFAST, Maine — A motorcyclist from Lincoln who skidded more than 400 feet on U.S. Route 1 on Saturday after losing control of his bike suffered significant road rash but was alert and conscious when first responders arrived to help.
Seth Giggey, 42, had been traveling with a group of about a half dozen motorcycle riders south on Route 1 when the front tire of his 2009 Victory motorcycle apparently locked up on him at about 12:45, according to Sgt. Jim Gibbs of the Belfast Police Department.
“We believe it was a mechanical failure. We don’t know why it locked up,” Gibbs said Saturday.
The rider traveling next to Giggey told police the motorcyclist’s eyes were “as big as saucers” when he lost control and started to skid. The motorcycle traveled 465 feet from the first mark on the road until it came to a halt. Giggey skidded a total of 410 feet, Gibbs said.
“He just got very lucky,” the officer said.
Giggey, who was wearing blue jeans but not a helmet, suffered road rash on his body and face. When emergency responders from the police department, Belfast Ambulance and Belfast Fire & Rescue arrived at the scene, they assisted Giggey and took him to Waldo County General Hospital in Belfast to be treated.
No cars were involved in the accident, Gibbs said, and police were able to measure the skid marks without shutting down the busy coastal thoroughfare.