Explosivpotato
Junior Member
Hey everyone, thought I'd recount my near-miss experience, along with a positive one. I apologize in advance for the wordiness..
A little history about myself: I'm a 23 YO new rider with an 09. I've been riding for almost 2 months, and around 2700 miles (bought the bike brand new)
Well I was out of Gin... This was a problem (no I have not been drinking today at all... yet - read on!). I wanted a martini with which to end the day. So I grabbed my backpack and hopped on the bike to go to the store (I would like to reiterate that I had NOT been drinking at all - for days. Just wanted a martini and I was out of the necessary ingredients).
As I was pulling up to a stoplight near the store, using both brakes to slow, everything was peachy. Then, as I started to lighten up on the brakes (down to around 8 mph now) BAM the back tire locks up and slides around to the right.
I tried 3 times to reapply the rear brake after releasing (was going slow enough that I knew I wouldn't highside, and holding the brake was not an option with how fast the rear was coming around due to the slope of the road) and each time it locked, even with the lightest pressure.
The suddenness of the whole thing, and the speed with which I reacted was pretty impressive. Adrenaline works fast, it would seem.
As I came to a stop, around 1.5 bike lengths past the stop line, I turned around to see a cager looking *very* worried, and around 50' of dark, splattery pavement that I had apparently totally missed coming up to the intersection.
MFer someone dropped a friggin oil slick!!
Well once I released the godlike clench on my butthole I backed the bike up to the stop line and all was well from then on..
I also wanted to share a somewhat positive (albeit minor) experience I had on the way home from work the other day.
I was first in line in the left lane of a southeast Michigan-style highway stoplight. You know the kind... divided highways intersecting making a shape that looks like this: #
There was a backup with the cross traffic, and a couple cars got stuck in the center area near the square bit of median. Suffice to say there were cars where there aren't usually, but they were out of the way. There was a lady in front who looked particularly upset about this, and as the light turned green for me she seemed to inch forward a couple times.. like she was about to go right were I was gonna be. :eyebrow:
So I slowed down... and if you knew me in person you'd know that things I raise an eyebrow to I occasionally point at... don't know why I do it but I do. Well I raised an eyebrow at this chick and without even thinking about it as I was creeping across the intersection I was pointing at her. She then looked right at me, pointed back, and nodded. As if to say without a doubt, "yes, I do see you, and I do not plan on committing murder at you today."
I was all like :thumbup: and then :BLAA:
It was pretty cool to see a cager unquestionably acknowledging my existence and then reassuring me of the fact in a way that was impossible to confuse.
Then on the way home 3 other cages tried to take my lane from me by force.
So morals of the stories: LOOK OUT FOR JAMES BOND-STYLE OIL SLICKS, and NOT ALL CAGERS WANT TO MURDER YOU. However, the ones that do greatly outnumber the ones that don't. Don't let your guard down.
EDIT:
My martini glass is now chiling in the freezer. It will be a good one!
A little history about myself: I'm a 23 YO new rider with an 09. I've been riding for almost 2 months, and around 2700 miles (bought the bike brand new)
Well I was out of Gin... This was a problem (no I have not been drinking today at all... yet - read on!). I wanted a martini with which to end the day. So I grabbed my backpack and hopped on the bike to go to the store (I would like to reiterate that I had NOT been drinking at all - for days. Just wanted a martini and I was out of the necessary ingredients).
As I was pulling up to a stoplight near the store, using both brakes to slow, everything was peachy. Then, as I started to lighten up on the brakes (down to around 8 mph now) BAM the back tire locks up and slides around to the right.
I tried 3 times to reapply the rear brake after releasing (was going slow enough that I knew I wouldn't highside, and holding the brake was not an option with how fast the rear was coming around due to the slope of the road) and each time it locked, even with the lightest pressure.
The suddenness of the whole thing, and the speed with which I reacted was pretty impressive. Adrenaline works fast, it would seem.
As I came to a stop, around 1.5 bike lengths past the stop line, I turned around to see a cager looking *very* worried, and around 50' of dark, splattery pavement that I had apparently totally missed coming up to the intersection.
MFer someone dropped a friggin oil slick!!
Well once I released the godlike clench on my butthole I backed the bike up to the stop line and all was well from then on..
I also wanted to share a somewhat positive (albeit minor) experience I had on the way home from work the other day.
I was first in line in the left lane of a southeast Michigan-style highway stoplight. You know the kind... divided highways intersecting making a shape that looks like this: #
There was a backup with the cross traffic, and a couple cars got stuck in the center area near the square bit of median. Suffice to say there were cars where there aren't usually, but they were out of the way. There was a lady in front who looked particularly upset about this, and as the light turned green for me she seemed to inch forward a couple times.. like she was about to go right were I was gonna be. :eyebrow:
So I slowed down... and if you knew me in person you'd know that things I raise an eyebrow to I occasionally point at... don't know why I do it but I do. Well I raised an eyebrow at this chick and without even thinking about it as I was creeping across the intersection I was pointing at her. She then looked right at me, pointed back, and nodded. As if to say without a doubt, "yes, I do see you, and I do not plan on committing murder at you today."
I was all like :thumbup: and then :BLAA:
It was pretty cool to see a cager unquestionably acknowledging my existence and then reassuring me of the fact in a way that was impossible to confuse.
Then on the way home 3 other cages tried to take my lane from me by force.
So morals of the stories: LOOK OUT FOR JAMES BOND-STYLE OIL SLICKS, and NOT ALL CAGERS WANT TO MURDER YOU. However, the ones that do greatly outnumber the ones that don't. Don't let your guard down.
EDIT:
My martini glass is now chiling in the freezer. It will be a good one!