Schumi Hits the Skids

Michael Schumacher had a short day indeed last week at a race for hobby motorcyclists in Bresse, France.

Going into the first curve, the seven-time Formula 1 champion improperly braked, nudged one of his fellow drivers and went skidding along the track.

Other racers had to take immediate evasive action to avoid squashing Schumi. A motorcycling expert with the highly developed sense of the obvious later said that the German had put himself and others at considerable risk.

"Motorcycling has gotten very safe," superbike driver Juergen Oelschlager told the daily Bild newspaper. "But if you crash and another driver runs over you with his bike, it's the worst thing that can happen."

Fortunately, Schumi was spared such a fate. He walked away from the accident with his ego bruised, but his body still intact.

Schumacher retired from Formula 1 in 2006 but has had difficulty cooling his passion for loud motors and high speeds.

He's raced in a number of hobby motorcycling events this year and done well -- until the race in France.

But having gotten a bit more intimately acquainted with the tar in Bresse than he probably would have liked, he might want to consider a set of training wheels while he gets the hang of the two-wheel thing.