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201 Posts
So I'm a returning rider with 10 months/4,400 miles of experience. I rode in the 1980's for two years so in some ways I count that as experience and in other ways I don't since it was so long ago. I also have 15+ years of driving manual transmission cars.
Sunday I was out riding on some curvy, twisty roads. The first 7 months of riding I've been on suburban roads in light to moderate (sometimes heavy) traffic. Believe it or not I haven't had any close calls riding in traffic. But for the past two months or so I've been honing my skills on the curvy roads where the speed limit is 30-55 MPH. Lots of fun but definitely not without hazards (blind curves, blind hilltops, gravel, sand, suicidal squirrels, etc.)
Sunday I was going through a low speed blind curve about 25 mph to the left. As I went through the curve I noticed a rough patch in the middle of the road. To the right of the rough patch there was a lane of smooth road about 2.5 feet wide and I leaned over into that but I leaned too far to the right and nearly went off the road. It was one of those "Oh Sh**!" feelings of being right on the edge...50% of me felt on the road and 50% felt I was getting ready to go off and crash. And the road had no shoulder or guard rail...just a 3' drop into some grass, wood, and rocks.
Anyway, I panicked and grabbed the bars super tight, twisted the throttle way open by mistake (but luckily kept the clutch in) bracing myself for impact. Had I released the clutch at that moment I would have surely lost the bike and crashed. I should have just counter steered a little to the left and I probably would've been fine. Better yet, I should've just ridden over the rough patch. I've hit pavement in way worse condition than this particular rough patch and me and my bike have been fine. It was also a bad idea to change my line in the middle of the curve. Somebody with superior skills could've pulled this off but for someone like me who's still learning, trying to change lines in the middle of a curve and thread the bike through a 2.5 foot path was a bad idea.
What else did I do wrong and what should I have done differently? It's funny because I thought the country roads would be safer than the city/suburban roads but in all honesty I think they can be just as dangerous as riding in traffic. In the 7 or so months I've been riding in Northern VA traffic I haven't had anything happen like what happened yesterday in the twisties in terms of nearly crashing.
I live right next to a high school and I always make it a point to practice emergency braking, low speed skills, and other maneuvers every single time I go out on my bike and I think that might have helped a bit in this situation.
Anyway, I'm all ears to anyone who wants to offer advice on what I could've done differently and what I should do going forward. My confidence has taken a hit from this experience for sure.
Sunday I was out riding on some curvy, twisty roads. The first 7 months of riding I've been on suburban roads in light to moderate (sometimes heavy) traffic. Believe it or not I haven't had any close calls riding in traffic. But for the past two months or so I've been honing my skills on the curvy roads where the speed limit is 30-55 MPH. Lots of fun but definitely not without hazards (blind curves, blind hilltops, gravel, sand, suicidal squirrels, etc.)
Sunday I was going through a low speed blind curve about 25 mph to the left. As I went through the curve I noticed a rough patch in the middle of the road. To the right of the rough patch there was a lane of smooth road about 2.5 feet wide and I leaned over into that but I leaned too far to the right and nearly went off the road. It was one of those "Oh Sh**!" feelings of being right on the edge...50% of me felt on the road and 50% felt I was getting ready to go off and crash. And the road had no shoulder or guard rail...just a 3' drop into some grass, wood, and rocks.
Anyway, I panicked and grabbed the bars super tight, twisted the throttle way open by mistake (but luckily kept the clutch in) bracing myself for impact. Had I released the clutch at that moment I would have surely lost the bike and crashed. I should have just counter steered a little to the left and I probably would've been fine. Better yet, I should've just ridden over the rough patch. I've hit pavement in way worse condition than this particular rough patch and me and my bike have been fine. It was also a bad idea to change my line in the middle of the curve. Somebody with superior skills could've pulled this off but for someone like me who's still learning, trying to change lines in the middle of a curve and thread the bike through a 2.5 foot path was a bad idea.
What else did I do wrong and what should I have done differently? It's funny because I thought the country roads would be safer than the city/suburban roads but in all honesty I think they can be just as dangerous as riding in traffic. In the 7 or so months I've been riding in Northern VA traffic I haven't had anything happen like what happened yesterday in the twisties in terms of nearly crashing.
I live right next to a high school and I always make it a point to practice emergency braking, low speed skills, and other maneuvers every single time I go out on my bike and I think that might have helped a bit in this situation.
Anyway, I'm all ears to anyone who wants to offer advice on what I could've done differently and what I should do going forward. My confidence has taken a hit from this experience for sure.