chunkygoat
Member
died yesterday - or at least almost crashed. I credit what I learned in both of the rider courses for saving my @$$.
So how it goes...it was a rainy day yesterday. It started off sunny, and I woke up later than I wanted to for work - so I didn't bother checking the weather, it was nice out. Well I got off of my 10 hour shift and it was raining lightly.
Having ridden in torrential downpours and floods before, a light rain does not phase me like it used to. So I am riding down road, going 50 in a 55, and my visor is fogging up and water dropplets on the outside of the visor are really inhibiting my ability to see. Luckily, i have squeegee's on my fingerings of the gloves. So i go about squeegeeing the water off the visor, and as soon as I could see adequately again, it was too late.
Traffic in front was at about 2 carlengths in front of me, completely stopped. I am still going 50 when the "oh ****" moment occurs. I knew immediately I didn't have enough room to stop, and luckily it was an instinctual reaction for me to swerve towards the shoulder to clear my path of travel, THEN squeeze the brakes.
By the time I had stopped, I was next to the 3rd car up, meaning I would have hit car number 1, 2, and 3 before I would have stopped. Had I not swerved towards the shoulder, or even had I grabbed the brakes, I could have layed it down and skidded into the car in front of me or the guard rail.
The rider course here taught us how to stop efficiently, and quickly, without locking the brakes. The fact that we did the course in the rain REALLY opened my eyes to how fast you can truly stop, even in on wet pavement - if done properly. Secondly, scanning ahead is crutial to planning your escape route. I never have had to apply this truly to my rides until yesterday.
My instincts served me well, and the muscle memory learned in riding class - I credit at least - for saving my life and or bike yesterday. I learned from this though about the true value of riding far enough back to react to a surprise in the road. I realize my mistake, and should not have been as close as I was, and probably should have slowed down when my visor became fogged and wet.
Sorry for the rant, I had to vent. I hope somebody gets something out of this.
So how it goes...it was a rainy day yesterday. It started off sunny, and I woke up later than I wanted to for work - so I didn't bother checking the weather, it was nice out. Well I got off of my 10 hour shift and it was raining lightly.
Having ridden in torrential downpours and floods before, a light rain does not phase me like it used to. So I am riding down road, going 50 in a 55, and my visor is fogging up and water dropplets on the outside of the visor are really inhibiting my ability to see. Luckily, i have squeegee's on my fingerings of the gloves. So i go about squeegeeing the water off the visor, and as soon as I could see adequately again, it was too late.
Traffic in front was at about 2 carlengths in front of me, completely stopped. I am still going 50 when the "oh ****" moment occurs. I knew immediately I didn't have enough room to stop, and luckily it was an instinctual reaction for me to swerve towards the shoulder to clear my path of travel, THEN squeeze the brakes.
By the time I had stopped, I was next to the 3rd car up, meaning I would have hit car number 1, 2, and 3 before I would have stopped. Had I not swerved towards the shoulder, or even had I grabbed the brakes, I could have layed it down and skidded into the car in front of me or the guard rail.
The rider course here taught us how to stop efficiently, and quickly, without locking the brakes. The fact that we did the course in the rain REALLY opened my eyes to how fast you can truly stop, even in on wet pavement - if done properly. Secondly, scanning ahead is crutial to planning your escape route. I never have had to apply this truly to my rides until yesterday.
My instincts served me well, and the muscle memory learned in riding class - I credit at least - for saving my life and or bike yesterday. I learned from this though about the true value of riding far enough back to react to a surprise in the road. I realize my mistake, and should not have been as close as I was, and probably should have slowed down when my visor became fogged and wet.
Sorry for the rant, I had to vent. I hope somebody gets something out of this.
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