close calls
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From: Sacramento, CA, USA
close calls
Has anyone had any close calls in the recent past? I had at least one close call today and a couple not so close calls. My close call involved a truck pulling out in front of me and then coming to a complete stop on an empty stretch of highway. I was doing a little over 80 and ended up locking the rear brake up and sliding for about 100 feet. The other not so close calls were mostly cause by my inexperience/stupidity.
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Joined: Mar 2001
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From: Sacramento, Ca, USA
Re: close calls (mike)
This is off topic, but kinda important. I don't know if you locked your real tire because you unweighted it so much or if you were not using your front enough. Hopefully it was the former. If not you might try some emergency braking exercises to develop a feel for how much front brake you can give it. On a lot of the new sport bike, yours may well be included, you can actually brake entirely with the front since you will lift the rear off the ground as you acheive max braking. I still use my rear(10%) for normal braking, but in emergency braking I have found that it is useless becuase the rear lifts off the ground entirely, or close enough that all you to is lock is and increase the chase of the bike coming out sideways.
Just a thought that is meant to be helpful.
J
Just a thought that is meant to be helpful.
J
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Joined: May 2001
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From: DFW AREA, TX, USA
Re: close calls (mike)
I live in Plano, Texas. I have close calls every day here when I drive in town in my ITR or my bike. (no exaggeration) The only time I feel remotely safe on the road is in my Dodge Ram 4x4. The people here DO NOT SEE motorcycles and they seem to dislike small cars by the way they drive, tailgating and cutting off. (most people here are not natives so no "Texan" stereotypes need be imagined or postulated)
I consistantly have people run stop lights and stop signs (in front of me thank goodness). I had a girl in a prelude turn sharp on a left into my lane and almost run me over as I was approaching a stop sign last week! She was looking RIGHT AT ME! I was wearing bright clothing, my running lights were on (helmet etc) and at the last second she "woke up" and spun the wheel to miss me! She probably gave it a few seconds thought and forgot about it. I haven't. I sat there at the stop sign for a few minutes contemplating life.
I had a little old lady back out of a parking spot on me yesterday at lunch while I was on my bike. Besides the failure to yield, she sat there for a long time waiting for me to go into the OPPOSING traffic lane so she would not have to back up and get in her lane. (She's out of the parking spot in MY lane directly facing me in MY lane). When she finally backed up and went around me looking at me as if I was a jerk! PEOPLE IN CARS HERE HAVE NO CLUE WRT bikes.
AHHHHHHHHH! Thanks for the vent!
Here is my favorite story about close calls. One that made me decide to SELL MY BIKE in 1988. And it was all my fault.
Back at that time I had a Honda V65 Sabre. It had a Top speed of 165+ and was a standard type bike with a 1100cc V4 engine and shaft drive. I loved that bike. For its day it was fast but smooth. Very comfortable too.
http://www.hondamotorcycle.com/miles...bre/index.html
Anyway, I'm at a light in a new part of town where the road was overbuilt for the existing traffic, so plenty of lane and no cars. The road is straight and long. I can see more than a mile of it ahead of me. It's late afternoon and I'm headed south. The weather is clear and the sun is casting a warm, golden glow across fields of grass and cotton on either side of the 6 lane, divided street.
As I'm stopped at the light, a little black car comes up beside me and starts revving on me and jutting forward a few times. I smile with anticipation of the green light, knowing I will become "vapor" instantly and this guy will only think he saw a bike next to him at the light
(a figment)
The moment comes and I let it go moving through redline at each gear. The scenery blurs, stripes on the road look like a solid line and there is a small almost imperceptible black dot in my rear-view mirror which used to be a RX7 behind me. My eyes move from the right side mirror at this point across to the speedometer. It's measuring 148!
As I look up at the road ahead of me I see a huge boulder not more than 100 feet in front of me square in the center of the lane that is so big it will destroy the bike on impact, certainly. There is NOTHING I can do. At that speed gyroscopic force of the wheels spinning prevent any sideways lean to avoid the boulder and no way or time to even move to the brakes before impact.
You can not imagine the amount of processing your brain can do until you have an experience like this. In 5 nanoseconds I wondered how I did not see that huge boulder, relived my entire life and relinquished myself to an early ending of it. The next few seconds however were vague, clouded and confusing. I think I closed my eyes just before impact.
Hey! How did I miss that boulder??!!! Did God pick me (or the boulder) up and set me back down safely somehow? Or is this what the afterlife is like? Continuing on with out experiencing the END? Did I really die and am now living in some alternate reality?
I look back in my mirrors to see a thousand shreds of paper as the HUGE brown paper bag I ran over was confetied by my bike. In the afternoon sun, the crumpled bag looked a large rock! In retrospect, it may have blown into the road, or I may have not seen it in a slight dip on approach.
After a clean pair of underwear
and some serious introspection I resolved to sell the bike and use the money to buy an engagement ring for my fiancé. A decision I would regret for two reasons later 
I hope you enjoyed and maybe learned something from this story! I sure do miss that bike!
[Modified by figment, 1:49 AM 5/23/2001]
I consistantly have people run stop lights and stop signs (in front of me thank goodness). I had a girl in a prelude turn sharp on a left into my lane and almost run me over as I was approaching a stop sign last week! She was looking RIGHT AT ME! I was wearing bright clothing, my running lights were on (helmet etc) and at the last second she "woke up" and spun the wheel to miss me! She probably gave it a few seconds thought and forgot about it. I haven't. I sat there at the stop sign for a few minutes contemplating life.
I had a little old lady back out of a parking spot on me yesterday at lunch while I was on my bike. Besides the failure to yield, she sat there for a long time waiting for me to go into the OPPOSING traffic lane so she would not have to back up and get in her lane. (She's out of the parking spot in MY lane directly facing me in MY lane). When she finally backed up and went around me looking at me as if I was a jerk! PEOPLE IN CARS HERE HAVE NO CLUE WRT bikes.
AHHHHHHHHH! Thanks for the vent!
Here is my favorite story about close calls. One that made me decide to SELL MY BIKE in 1988. And it was all my fault.
Back at that time I had a Honda V65 Sabre. It had a Top speed of 165+ and was a standard type bike with a 1100cc V4 engine and shaft drive. I loved that bike. For its day it was fast but smooth. Very comfortable too.
http://www.hondamotorcycle.com/miles...bre/index.html
Anyway, I'm at a light in a new part of town where the road was overbuilt for the existing traffic, so plenty of lane and no cars. The road is straight and long. I can see more than a mile of it ahead of me. It's late afternoon and I'm headed south. The weather is clear and the sun is casting a warm, golden glow across fields of grass and cotton on either side of the 6 lane, divided street.
As I'm stopped at the light, a little black car comes up beside me and starts revving on me and jutting forward a few times. I smile with anticipation of the green light, knowing I will become "vapor" instantly and this guy will only think he saw a bike next to him at the light
(a figment)The moment comes and I let it go moving through redline at each gear. The scenery blurs, stripes on the road look like a solid line and there is a small almost imperceptible black dot in my rear-view mirror which used to be a RX7 behind me. My eyes move from the right side mirror at this point across to the speedometer. It's measuring 148!
As I look up at the road ahead of me I see a huge boulder not more than 100 feet in front of me square in the center of the lane that is so big it will destroy the bike on impact, certainly. There is NOTHING I can do. At that speed gyroscopic force of the wheels spinning prevent any sideways lean to avoid the boulder and no way or time to even move to the brakes before impact.
You can not imagine the amount of processing your brain can do until you have an experience like this. In 5 nanoseconds I wondered how I did not see that huge boulder, relived my entire life and relinquished myself to an early ending of it. The next few seconds however were vague, clouded and confusing. I think I closed my eyes just before impact.
Hey! How did I miss that boulder??!!! Did God pick me (or the boulder) up and set me back down safely somehow? Or is this what the afterlife is like? Continuing on with out experiencing the END? Did I really die and am now living in some alternate reality?
I look back in my mirrors to see a thousand shreds of paper as the HUGE brown paper bag I ran over was confetied by my bike. In the afternoon sun, the crumpled bag looked a large rock! In retrospect, it may have blown into the road, or I may have not seen it in a slight dip on approach.
After a clean pair of underwear
and some serious introspection I resolved to sell the bike and use the money to buy an engagement ring for my fiancé. A decision I would regret for two reasons later I hope you enjoyed and maybe learned something from this story! I sure do miss that bike!
[Modified by figment, 1:49 AM 5/23/2001]
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Joined: May 2001
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From: Everywhere
Re: close calls (figment)
Back in "the day" I got my first bike. A Honda Hawk (2 cylinder 400 cc). That was around 1978-79. I BARELY passed the riding test as I bought the bike, rode it directly to the DMV, and took the test. The Highway Patrol guy was "concerned" about me.
I rode for quite some time around the Dallas area without any problems. Later one night I was driving on a two lane blacktop road and had to stop for an on-comming ambulance. The second I stop I hear tires screaching behind me. I'm a gonner. Somehow the old guy in the car only bent up the rear tail section of the bike when he hit me. The police who responded to the accident told me they thought they were responding to a fatality.
[Modified by Thought Police, 3:21 AM 5/15/2001]
I rode for quite some time around the Dallas area without any problems. Later one night I was driving on a two lane blacktop road and had to stop for an on-comming ambulance. The second I stop I hear tires screaching behind me. I'm a gonner. Somehow the old guy in the car only bent up the rear tail section of the bike when he hit me. The police who responded to the accident told me they thought they were responding to a fatality.
[Modified by Thought Police, 3:21 AM 5/15/2001]
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Joined: May 2001
Posts: 825
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From: DFW AREA, TX, USA
Re: close calls (Thought Police)
Thought Police,
I think I may know you! Did you know a guy who ran a Kawasaki 900 from the cops? He got beat to heck when they caught him in Denton. This was around 1978-79 period and he lived in Richardson.
[Modified by figment, 3:03 AM 5/18/2001]
I think I may know you! Did you know a guy who ran a Kawasaki 900 from the cops? He got beat to heck when they caught him in Denton. This was around 1978-79 period and he lived in Richardson.
[Modified by figment, 3:03 AM 5/18/2001]
My Name is Nobody
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Posts: 14,438
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From: Las Vegas, NV
Re: close calls (mike)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mike »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Has anyone had any close calls in the recent past? I had at least one close call today and a couple not so close calls. My close call involved a truck pulling out in front of me and then coming to a complete stop on an empty stretch of highway. I was doing a little over 80 and ended up locking the rear brake up and sliding for about 100 feet. The other not so close calls were mostly cause by my inexperience/stupidity.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
Sorry about that situation, locking up a tire for a 100' means we need more practice. Be safe and if you see a truck sitting at a crossing on a hwy, perhaps we'll think about lowering our speed.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
Sorry about that situation, locking up a tire for a 100' means we need more practice. Be safe and if you see a truck sitting at a crossing on a hwy, perhaps we'll think about lowering our speed.
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From: Soon to be Phoenix, AZ, US
Re: (sup gurl)
Haha...back from the dead. Geesh, this thread is 5 years old.
I lock up my rear tire from time to time on purpose just to know the feeling. The only close call I've had in the last year is when I was FIRST teaching myself to ride and somehow I didn't let the throttle off all the way while I was breaking. Needless to say I almost ran into a parked car but managed to dodge it.
On a side note I went riding today and gummed up the very outer edges of my rear tire. Ahhhhh, goodbye chicken strips, haha.
I lock up my rear tire from time to time on purpose just to know the feeling. The only close call I've had in the last year is when I was FIRST teaching myself to ride and somehow I didn't let the throttle off all the way while I was breaking. Needless to say I almost ran into a parked car but managed to dodge it.
On a side note I went riding today and gummed up the very outer edges of my rear tire. Ahhhhh, goodbye chicken strips, haha.
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From: nashville, sup?
Re: (hybridcrx)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hybridcrx »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Haha...back from the dead. Geesh, this thread is 5 years old.</TD></TR></TABLE>
HAHA didn't even notice
HAHA didn't even notice
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From: Bay Area, CA, USA
Re: (sup gurl)
i've had more close calls than i could possibly imagine.. some that stick in my head:
1. 4 second tankslapper merging onto freeway at 80mph
2. canyon wall approaching at 120mph
3. sliding on gravel who knows how many times. when in doubt , GIVE IT Gas <--- live by it
4. being caught in a torrential downpour and hydroplaning even just going straight
1. 4 second tankslapper merging onto freeway at 80mph
2. canyon wall approaching at 120mph
3. sliding on gravel who knows how many times. when in doubt , GIVE IT Gas <--- live by it
4. being caught in a torrential downpour and hydroplaning even just going straight
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From: Funfax
Re: close calls (mike)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mike »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">...</TD></TR></TABLE>
What kind of bike do you ride? And why is this thread back from the dead?
What kind of bike do you ride? And why is this thread back from the dead?
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Joined: Dec 2004
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From: MD
Re: close calls (Ross R)
I've had a few... some stupidity on my part and some road conditions - gravel is the devil
2 weeks back I was riding with 2 harley's and coming back into town after our ride and they had done fly by's on me and left me in the rear of the group so when the road opened up so I could pass them I did... Well that meant I was going about 80 and climbing fast and well we had just gotten back into the city limits which meant it dropped to 40mph and turning into a school zone... Well I'm accelerating and see a cop at the crest of the hilll....
since I had just been pulled the week before for 20 over (got out of it because i cooperated and he was cool) I was scared shitless. Hit the brakes super hard and the rear got squirrely. The other 2 bikes flew by me (they were doing about 60mph) and were confused as to what was going on. My rear got back into shape and the cop didn't even give us a second glance.... I honestly was more scared about the cop then the rear braking loose... I've had the rear brake loose on my old bike and this one so it's not too hard to deal with...
that weekend I was riding on sunday and coming up to a blind turn and it just didn't feel right... saw some gravel in the turn, front slipped a lil and I ended up in the other lane and was scared shitless that a car might come... We did the same turn this weekend and I was fine even though the gravel was still there. I was closer to the leader so followed his line and was fine... If someone had been coming at me I'd be either dead or still in the hospital...
that's about it... I've learned from my mistakes and I my opinion on it is every screws up at some point and the real test is to make sure you learn from it. Like this weekend I had new rubber on and was riding even harder but my focus was much better and I could follow the lines of the leaders better as well... BUT!! The lesson learned is to make sure you ride at your own pace because we had someone else go down bad cause he pushed too hard... Now I know my limits pretty good but even my limits for most roads are well... too fast... So it made me definetely think about gee maybe I should slow down a lil and late the real speed out on a controlled environment instead of the streets which are so unpredictable in terms of other cars, cops, and road conditions...
and holy crap this thread is old as expletive....
2 weeks back I was riding with 2 harley's and coming back into town after our ride and they had done fly by's on me and left me in the rear of the group so when the road opened up so I could pass them I did... Well that meant I was going about 80 and climbing fast and well we had just gotten back into the city limits which meant it dropped to 40mph and turning into a school zone... Well I'm accelerating and see a cop at the crest of the hilll....
since I had just been pulled the week before for 20 over (got out of it because i cooperated and he was cool) I was scared shitless. Hit the brakes super hard and the rear got squirrely. The other 2 bikes flew by me (they were doing about 60mph) and were confused as to what was going on. My rear got back into shape and the cop didn't even give us a second glance.... I honestly was more scared about the cop then the rear braking loose... I've had the rear brake loose on my old bike and this one so it's not too hard to deal with...that weekend I was riding on sunday and coming up to a blind turn and it just didn't feel right... saw some gravel in the turn, front slipped a lil and I ended up in the other lane and was scared shitless that a car might come... We did the same turn this weekend and I was fine even though the gravel was still there. I was closer to the leader so followed his line and was fine... If someone had been coming at me I'd be either dead or still in the hospital...
that's about it... I've learned from my mistakes and I my opinion on it is every screws up at some point and the real test is to make sure you learn from it. Like this weekend I had new rubber on and was riding even harder but my focus was much better and I could follow the lines of the leaders better as well... BUT!! The lesson learned is to make sure you ride at your own pace because we had someone else go down bad cause he pushed too hard... Now I know my limits pretty good but even my limits for most roads are well... too fast... So it made me definetely think about gee maybe I should slow down a lil and late the real speed out on a controlled environment instead of the streets which are so unpredictable in terms of other cars, cops, and road conditions...
and holy crap this thread is old as expletive....
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From: Orange County, Ca, USA
Re: close calls (Ross R)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ross R »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What kind of bike do you ride? And why is this thread back from the dead?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Holy resurrection Batman!
Holy resurrection Batman!
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From: San Gabriel, CA
I was going for a ride to a local twisty piece of road, and on the way had to travel through some local community. I checked my six, and saw some other motorcyclists coming up FAST (I was riding solo). I pulled towards the right and waved 'em by, but I didn't notice the road began to curve. I ended up riding onto the "sidewalk" (mostly dirt/sand) while they flew past. I looked back to see if it was clear, and when I looked forward, I was heading straight towards a telephone pole. I managed to slip right past the pole and a fence next to it, slowed down, and took a breather on the side of the road. Smoked almost a pack of cigarettes, then turned back down the road and went home.
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From: Old Dominion
Re: (marmaladeboy)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by marmaladeboy »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Smoked almost a pack of cigarettes, then turned back down the road and went home.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Glad you pulled out of it, but damn I do the same thing. Smoke'em like they are O2 tanks.
I'm a newb but so far I've had some guy that thought he was cute in his Cavalier and cut into my lane almost pushing me off into a ditch.
I've overshot a gas station entrance and braked way too hard in the gravel almost losing my front end.
On my very first ride on the road, I almost accelerated into a school bus.
The day I had my bogging problem I was at full throttle in 2nd gear and it bogged; I thought I was going to lose the bike.
I'm also curious to see as to what mike rides.
Glad you pulled out of it, but damn I do the same thing. Smoke'em like they are O2 tanks.
I'm a newb but so far I've had some guy that thought he was cute in his Cavalier and cut into my lane almost pushing me off into a ditch.
I've overshot a gas station entrance and braked way too hard in the gravel almost losing my front end.
On my very first ride on the road, I almost accelerated into a school bus.
The day I had my bogging problem I was at full throttle in 2nd gear and it bogged; I thought I was going to lose the bike.
I'm also curious to see as to what mike rides.
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From: sunnyvale, ca, usa
Re: close calls (figment)
Originally Posted by figment
I live in Plano, Texas. I have close calls every day here when I drive in town in my ITR or my bike. (no exaggeration) The only time I feel remotely safe on the road is in my Dodge Ram 4x4. The people here DO NOT SEE motorcycles and they seem to dislike small cars by the way they drive, tailgating and cutting off. (most people here are not natives so no "Texan" stereotypes need be imagined or postulated)
I consistantly have people run stop lights and stop signs (in front of me thank goodness). I had a girl in a prelude turn sharp on a left into my lane and almost run me over as I was approaching a stop sign last week! She was looking RIGHT AT ME! I was wearing bright clothing, my running lights were on (helmet etc) and at the last second she "woke up" and spun the wheel to miss me! She probably gave it a few seconds thought and forgot about it. I haven't. I sat there at the stop sign for a few minutes contemplating life.
I had a little old lady back out of a parking spot on me yesterday at lunch while I was on my bike. Besides the failure to yield, she sat there for a long time waiting for me to go into the OPPOSING traffic lane so she would not have to back up and get in her lane. (She's out of the parking spot in MY lane directly facing me in MY lane). When she finally backed up and went around me looking at me as if I was a jerk! PEOPLE IN CARS HERE HAVE NO CLUE WRT bikes.
AHHHHHHHHH! Thanks for the vent!
Here is my favorite story about close calls. One that made me decide to SELL MY BIKE in 1988. And it was all my fault.
Back at that time I had a Honda V65 Sabre. It had a Top speed of 165+ and was a standard type bike with a 1100cc V4 engine and shaft drive. I loved that bike. For its day it was fast but smooth. Very comfortable too.
http://www.hondamotorcycle.com/miles...bre/index.html
Anyway, I'm at a light in a new part of town where the road was overbuilt for the existing traffic, so plenty of lane and no cars. The road is straight and long. I can see more than a mile of it ahead of me. It's late afternoon and I'm headed south. The weather is clear and the sun is casting a warm, golden glow across fields of grass and cotton on either side of the 6 lane, divided street.
As I'm stopped at the light, a little black car comes up beside me and starts revving on me and jutting forward a few times. I smile with anticipation of the green light, knowing I will become "vapor" instantly and this guy will only think he saw a bike next to him at the light<IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://images.zeroforum.com/smile/emwink.gif" BORDER="0"> (a figment)
The moment comes and I let it go moving through redline at each gear. The scenery blurs, stripes on the road look like a solid line and there is a small almost imperceptible black dot in my rear-view mirror which used to be a RX7 behind me. My eyes move from the right side mirror at this point across to the speedometer. It's measuring 148!
As I look up at the road ahead of me I see a huge boulder not more than 100 feet in front of me square in the center of the lane that is so big it will destroy the bike on impact, certainly. There is NOTHING I can do. At that speed gyroscopic force of the wheels spinning prevent any sideways lean to avoid the boulder and no way or time to even move to the brakes before impact.
You can not imagine the amount of processing your brain can do until you have an experience like this. In 5 nanoseconds I wondered how I did not see that huge boulder, relived my entire life and relinquished myself to an early ending of it. The next few seconds however were vague, clouded and confusing. I think I closed my eyes just before impact.
Hey! How did I miss that boulder??!!! Did God pick me (or the boulder) up and set me back down safely somehow? Or is this what the afterlife is like? Continuing on with out experiencing the END? Did I really die and am now living in some alternate reality?
I look back in my mirrors to see a thousand shreds of paper as the HUGE brown paper bag I ran over was confetied by my bike. In the afternoon sun, the crumpled bag looked a large rock! In retrospect, it may have blown into the road, or I may have not seen it in a slight dip on approach.
After a clean pair of underwear<IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://images.zeroforum.com/smile/emsmile.gif" BORDER="0"> and some serious introspection I resolved to sell the bike and use the money to buy an engagement ring for my fiancé. A decision I would regret for two reasons later <IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://images.zeroforum.com/smile/emsmileo.gif" BORDER="0">
I hope you enjoyed and maybe learned something from this story! I sure do miss that bike!
[Modified by figment, 1:49 AM 5/23/2001]
I consistantly have people run stop lights and stop signs (in front of me thank goodness). I had a girl in a prelude turn sharp on a left into my lane and almost run me over as I was approaching a stop sign last week! She was looking RIGHT AT ME! I was wearing bright clothing, my running lights were on (helmet etc) and at the last second she "woke up" and spun the wheel to miss me! She probably gave it a few seconds thought and forgot about it. I haven't. I sat there at the stop sign for a few minutes contemplating life.
I had a little old lady back out of a parking spot on me yesterday at lunch while I was on my bike. Besides the failure to yield, she sat there for a long time waiting for me to go into the OPPOSING traffic lane so she would not have to back up and get in her lane. (She's out of the parking spot in MY lane directly facing me in MY lane). When she finally backed up and went around me looking at me as if I was a jerk! PEOPLE IN CARS HERE HAVE NO CLUE WRT bikes.
AHHHHHHHHH! Thanks for the vent!
Here is my favorite story about close calls. One that made me decide to SELL MY BIKE in 1988. And it was all my fault.
Back at that time I had a Honda V65 Sabre. It had a Top speed of 165+ and was a standard type bike with a 1100cc V4 engine and shaft drive. I loved that bike. For its day it was fast but smooth. Very comfortable too.
http://www.hondamotorcycle.com/miles...bre/index.html
Anyway, I'm at a light in a new part of town where the road was overbuilt for the existing traffic, so plenty of lane and no cars. The road is straight and long. I can see more than a mile of it ahead of me. It's late afternoon and I'm headed south. The weather is clear and the sun is casting a warm, golden glow across fields of grass and cotton on either side of the 6 lane, divided street.
As I'm stopped at the light, a little black car comes up beside me and starts revving on me and jutting forward a few times. I smile with anticipation of the green light, knowing I will become "vapor" instantly and this guy will only think he saw a bike next to him at the light<IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://images.zeroforum.com/smile/emwink.gif" BORDER="0"> (a figment)
The moment comes and I let it go moving through redline at each gear. The scenery blurs, stripes on the road look like a solid line and there is a small almost imperceptible black dot in my rear-view mirror which used to be a RX7 behind me. My eyes move from the right side mirror at this point across to the speedometer. It's measuring 148!
As I look up at the road ahead of me I see a huge boulder not more than 100 feet in front of me square in the center of the lane that is so big it will destroy the bike on impact, certainly. There is NOTHING I can do. At that speed gyroscopic force of the wheels spinning prevent any sideways lean to avoid the boulder and no way or time to even move to the brakes before impact.
You can not imagine the amount of processing your brain can do until you have an experience like this. In 5 nanoseconds I wondered how I did not see that huge boulder, relived my entire life and relinquished myself to an early ending of it. The next few seconds however were vague, clouded and confusing. I think I closed my eyes just before impact.
Hey! How did I miss that boulder??!!! Did God pick me (or the boulder) up and set me back down safely somehow? Or is this what the afterlife is like? Continuing on with out experiencing the END? Did I really die and am now living in some alternate reality?
I look back in my mirrors to see a thousand shreds of paper as the HUGE brown paper bag I ran over was confetied by my bike. In the afternoon sun, the crumpled bag looked a large rock! In retrospect, it may have blown into the road, or I may have not seen it in a slight dip on approach.
After a clean pair of underwear<IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://images.zeroforum.com/smile/emsmile.gif" BORDER="0"> and some serious introspection I resolved to sell the bike and use the money to buy an engagement ring for my fiancé. A decision I would regret for two reasons later <IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://images.zeroforum.com/smile/emsmileo.gif" BORDER="0">
I hope you enjoyed and maybe learned something from this story! I sure do miss that bike!
[Modified by figment, 1:49 AM 5/23/2001]
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 12,794
Likes: 1
From: Funfax
Re: close calls (TrnsferErr)
Ok, here's mine.
I was on my SV a few weeks after I got it (miss that bike), and I was entering Rte. 27 from Columbia Pike (for you NoVA folks). It's basically a soft 90-degree right-hander for an entry ramp, and it's separated from the exit ramp only by a little concrete island with a yield sign on it for the exiting traffic.
I badly mis-judged the braking distance needed to complete the maneuver, and the bike basically went straight while locking up the rear tire. I succeeded in leaning the bike a little bit to the right, but it wasn't nearly enough. So I plowed into the island's curbing, and popped into the air.
That doesn't sound so bad, but I was headed right for a taxicab that was exiting Rte. 27, merging onto Columbia Pike. I landed on the surface of the island, and I guess I was still squeezing both brakes, because I stopped about five inches from the guy's door. The look on his face was priceless.
Nothing like heading for a car's door while you're in the air.
I was on my SV a few weeks after I got it (miss that bike), and I was entering Rte. 27 from Columbia Pike (for you NoVA folks). It's basically a soft 90-degree right-hander for an entry ramp, and it's separated from the exit ramp only by a little concrete island with a yield sign on it for the exiting traffic.
I badly mis-judged the braking distance needed to complete the maneuver, and the bike basically went straight while locking up the rear tire. I succeeded in leaning the bike a little bit to the right, but it wasn't nearly enough. So I plowed into the island's curbing, and popped into the air.
That doesn't sound so bad, but I was headed right for a taxicab that was exiting Rte. 27, merging onto Columbia Pike. I landed on the surface of the island, and I guess I was still squeezing both brakes, because I stopped about five inches from the guy's door. The look on his face was priceless.
Nothing like heading for a car's door while you're in the air.
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Tyson
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Jan 14, 2004 10:54 AM