Nearly nearly!
 

Sorry for the long post...

One to wake me up the other day;

So I was going along a dual carriageway towards a signal controlled roundabout, perhaps 10 cars stopped in each lane, in lead in left lane is an ambulance, I am taking the first exit.

I filtered down as the lights changed to green, and merged with the ambulance and the car behind. The ambulance "twitched" slightly to the right, I accelerated slightly and moved to pass him on the left. As the exit I was now committed to taking came into view I was face to face with the back of a car.

Given a strong self preservation instinct, I braked hard. Too fast. The front locked and began to slide out to the left, luckily I let go of the brake before it had gone too far and recovered it. It came back in line with enough of a bang to spin the mirror around on it's mounting. I dodged the car in the left lane of the first exit and luckily the second lane was clear for a few car lengths, enough for me to get on the brakes more sensibly and then filter through the queue.


Time to give myself a serious talking to, because that's the stupidest near miss I've EVER had.

1; I ignored visibility, I let the fact that I have been around that roundabout probably 1000 times with that exit always being clear of traffic, and a general slip of concentration (I should have seen the queue before the lights, never mind before the exit) allow me to put myself in a situation where the only escape route was dumb luck.

2; Crap braking. I was confident in my braking ability, I knew I could count on myself to release and reapply the brakes in case of lock very quickly. I knew where the brakes would lock the wheel. But, the last time I practised that it was a lot warmer, on a warm tyre but a wet day, on a clean road, with a much harder comp. damping setting (loads the front faster, changes how fast you can brake).
If I wasn't rusty, I would have easily brought my speed down or stopped (albeit briskly) before the car.
So guess what I have been practising today.


I honestly don't mind the situations where you're bloody tazzing it on a country road and you have a little slide, you know if that went badly you'd be hitting a stone wall at 100mph. I'd rather avoid those slides but they're just part of the whole risk vs reward equation. Just the same as filtering fast, you know it can and will go wrong and are ready for it. This situation was just stupidity.

However I'm kicking myself for this situation, if I hadn't of recovered the slide, which my record of isn't great, then the bike would have hit the right rear quarter of the car, I'd probably have missed the car and possibly hit the armco, possibly not. Falling over it would be bad, as there's a 200ft drop.

Re: Nearly nearly!
 

Bloody hell fella glad your okay and you had the experience to stop that being painful. I would definately have been down the road.

Re: Nearly nearly!
 

More luck than management, like I say my record of front end slides is not great. Point is I should not have got into situation in the first place.

Just food for thought for people anyway.

Ride faster, concentration 100%, reactions honed and this crap won't happen! Slow, relaxed riding is dangerous!

Re: Nearly nearly!
 

mate you were lucky

you've said tho you went into auto, and its hard not to using the same roads all the time

Re: Nearly nearly!
 

First time i tried to ride fast i went into a corner with little experience panicked grabbed the brakes which sat the bike up threw me off into a hedge etc and ended up with two broken ribs and a torn shoulder blade muscle!

Re: Nearly nearly!
 

They say you are twice as likely to have an accident on a road you use regularly...

Glad you're ok though, I'd have come straight off!

Re: Nearly nearly!
 

But I'm on roads I regularly use more than twice as much as roads I don't?

I've never had an accident on a road I don't use, they must be really safe :-P

Re: Nearly nearly!
 

It happens mate

The first run me and a mate did up the hartside last year someone binned it about hour after we left

Re: Nearly nearly!
 

Don't count yer chickens.

What a crock of **** Chris. Unless of course its a usual form of sarcasm

Don't count your chickens, I'd consider, overconfidence, and the lack of 'all year round riding' you haven't been out as much lately have you. Plus you have a new perspective of road using to look from, driving a car, changes your perspective of riding....for a short while. You need to switch on and off between the two, its not something you notice until you actually tell yourself to. When sitting in the car next to Pete, when hes been on the bike....I have to tell him to change his style...because he drives the car like hes riding the bike.

I'm not being condescending, just the reality check. And I can be as bold as I feel I need to be, because I'm a mate, and not some person off the net.:kiss:

Re: Nearly nearly!
 

I get told that quite often too. But I'd rather that than the other way round.