CLOSE CALL
CLOSE CALL
It was wonderful being off the Friday May 4 2000 because it allowed me to play on several nice roads off and around hwy 281 while going down to the WOTI "Alamo Run" a BBQ gathering of fellow Gold Wingers from the http://www.woti.org group. It was this trip that I discovered 580 over to San Saba, hwy 16 south of there and some other great "side trips" before threatening rain made me decide to miss the Friday outing at pappy's and hole up somewhere.
Saturday early I showed up and (ignoring the edict to stay outside) went in and woke everyone up and proceeded to bug Pappy until he actually let me help. A few hours later there wasn't much more to do so I went out front to tell everyone when the food was likely to be ready and meet some of my old friends. Mario was down, and I had a great time chatting with him, and Mike and his wife were there ... heck I guess I'd better not even get started on names or I'll be here all day. Suffice to say I had a great time. I even managed to keep my eating under control this time: one SMALL piece of brisket and a sausage with some potato salad and I was done. Hardest thing I've ever done (G) that Pappy can COOK!
I was needing to get back to Dallas Sat. night since my wife and I had plans together on Sunday so I decided (big mistake) to back up I-35 "to save time" - this never works. First I ran into traffic slowdowns due to flooding, then due to accidents, THEN I almost had an accident of my own in Temple TX.
I had pulled into the "passing" lane since the cars in the center lane were doing 45 mph (due to visibility I assume) and had just slowed to 60 from 65 because I was feeling the front end become a little "heavy" - a sure sign of imminent hydroplaning. As I slowed I noted this late model Japanese car on the service road speeding up VERY fast and quick calculations showed he'd enter the highway about even with me two lanes over.
I made the SIPDE (See Identify Plan Decide Execute) MSF assumption that anyone accelerating like that in the rain would come all the way over (and possibly not see me) so I covered my levers and slowed a bit more, also tapping my rear brake to make the car behind me drop back a bit. It's a good thing I did, because the car did indeed pull across all three lanes and as he pulled in front of ME (less than 2 car lengths) he lost his rear end and crashed into the retaining wall.
Having practiced covering my levers and emergency braking to the tune of an extra set of tires and brake pads over the past few years I didn't even have to think. I angled slightly towards the yellow line, straightened the bike and began to brake as hard as the wet streets would allow, knowing it could not be enough. Sparing a quick glance at the mirror told me the car behind me would hit us both also so I picked a spot to begin my swerve and then focused far ahead and away from the car bouncing back towards me and pressed with my right hand while re-engaging the clutch and rolling on the throttle slightly. Once the bike began to lean I looked over my right shoulder to see if I was going to be able to get completely into the center lane and saw that I could so I pressed harder as the bike continued to lean. I didn't see how it would be possible for me to avoid being hit by the car, last seen bouncing out into traffic from the wall. I kept expecting to feel an impact on my left-hand side at any moment but kept my focus forward where I wanted to go. Out of the corner of my eye I saw clear space and glanced in my left rear view to see the car still spinning about 15 feet behind me. It appeared as though the car that had been following me hit it a glancing blow as it attempted to follow my path around it but I wasn't positive as I immediately looked forward to ensure I was tracking true and that I wasn't about to go down from my swerve correction.
I was all alone, and traffic had stopped behind the accident now blocking two lanes so I continued on expected to become shaky or frightened. I never did. It wasn't until several moments later that I reflected on how fast I must have reacted and how lucky I had been. The rest of the way home I kept focusing on the distance and counting off how long it was at 60 mph before I'd reach that spot: 1.5 seconds. Forty feet in HEAVY rain on flooded streets. Somehow I'd seen the rear break free, changed my angle, braked, checked my mirror as I quit braking, began a swerve and then managed to swerve back again without breaking the tires free all in FORTY feet in @ 1.5 seconds. I'm sure those watching from behind will remember this (as will I) for the rest of their lives. God had his hand on me, and fortunately I had a GoldWing under me. A lesser lighter bike would not have been able to do this in the rain ...
At any rate I thought I'd share. Lessons learned:
SIPDE does work. Especially if you're paranoid.
Training your mind (thinking what you'll do ahead of time) works. People do stupid things, and no matter how good a rider you are there are some things you cannot control like idiots merging across three lanes at 70 MPH in a heavy rain storm. Going through something like this makes your WHOLE BODY sore and tired. Riding on I-35 is stupid, especially in the rain.
And the #1 lesson for which I will be eternally grateful: PRACTICE IS NEVER WASTED. Flatten your tires, wear out your pads, risk dropping your bike in a parking lot by locking the front wheel - the one time you NEED that knowledge you'll not regret the energy and $$ it cost you to become experienced at those skills.
It was wonderful being off the Friday May 4 2000 because it allowed me to play on several nice roads off and around hwy 281 while going down to the WOTI "Alamo Run" a BBQ gathering of fellow Gold Wingers from the http://www.woti.org group. It was this trip that I discovered 580 over to San Saba, hwy 16 south of there and some other great "side trips" before threatening rain made me decide to miss the Friday outing at pappy's and hole up somewhere.
Saturday early I showed up and (ignoring the edict to stay outside) went in and woke everyone up and proceeded to bug Pappy until he actually let me help. A few hours later there wasn't much more to do so I went out front to tell everyone when the food was likely to be ready and meet some of my old friends. Mario was down, and I had a great time chatting with him, and Mike and his wife were there ... heck I guess I'd better not even get started on names or I'll be here all day. Suffice to say I had a great time. I even managed to keep my eating under control this time: one SMALL piece of brisket and a sausage with some potato salad and I was done. Hardest thing I've ever done (G) that Pappy can COOK!
I was needing to get back to Dallas Sat. night since my wife and I had plans together on Sunday so I decided (big mistake) to back up I-35 "to save time" - this never works. First I ran into traffic slowdowns due to flooding, then due to accidents, THEN I almost had an accident of my own in Temple TX.
I had pulled into the "passing" lane since the cars in the center lane were doing 45 mph (due to visibility I assume) and had just slowed to 60 from 65 because I was feeling the front end become a little "heavy" - a sure sign of imminent hydroplaning. As I slowed I noted this late model Japanese car on the service road speeding up VERY fast and quick calculations showed he'd enter the highway about even with me two lanes over.
I made the SIPDE (See Identify Plan Decide Execute) MSF assumption that anyone accelerating like that in the rain would come all the way over (and possibly not see me) so I covered my levers and slowed a bit more, also tapping my rear brake to make the car behind me drop back a bit. It's a good thing I did, because the car did indeed pull across all three lanes and as he pulled in front of ME (less than 2 car lengths) he lost his rear end and crashed into the retaining wall.
Having practiced covering my levers and emergency braking to the tune of an extra set of tires and brake pads over the past few years I didn't even have to think. I angled slightly towards the yellow line, straightened the bike and began to brake as hard as the wet streets would allow, knowing it could not be enough. Sparing a quick glance at the mirror told me the car behind me would hit us both also so I picked a spot to begin my swerve and then focused far ahead and away from the car bouncing back towards me and pressed with my right hand while re-engaging the clutch and rolling on the throttle slightly. Once the bike began to lean I looked over my right shoulder to see if I was going to be able to get completely into the center lane and saw that I could so I pressed harder as the bike continued to lean. I didn't see how it would be possible for me to avoid being hit by the car, last seen bouncing out into traffic from the wall. I kept expecting to feel an impact on my left-hand side at any moment but kept my focus forward where I wanted to go. Out of the corner of my eye I saw clear space and glanced in my left rear view to see the car still spinning about 15 feet behind me. It appeared as though the car that had been following me hit it a glancing blow as it attempted to follow my path around it but I wasn't positive as I immediately looked forward to ensure I was tracking true and that I wasn't about to go down from my swerve correction.
I was all alone, and traffic had stopped behind the accident now blocking two lanes so I continued on expected to become shaky or frightened. I never did. It wasn't until several moments later that I reflected on how fast I must have reacted and how lucky I had been. The rest of the way home I kept focusing on the distance and counting off how long it was at 60 mph before I'd reach that spot: 1.5 seconds. Forty feet in HEAVY rain on flooded streets. Somehow I'd seen the rear break free, changed my angle, braked, checked my mirror as I quit braking, began a swerve and then managed to swerve back again without breaking the tires free all in FORTY feet in @ 1.5 seconds. I'm sure those watching from behind will remember this (as will I) for the rest of their lives. God had his hand on me, and fortunately I had a GoldWing under me. A lesser lighter bike would not have been able to do this in the rain ...
At any rate I thought I'd share. Lessons learned:
SIPDE does work. Especially if you're paranoid.
Training your mind (thinking what you'll do ahead of time) works. People do stupid things, and no matter how good a rider you are there are some things you cannot control like idiots merging across three lanes at 70 MPH in a heavy rain storm. Going through something like this makes your WHOLE BODY sore and tired. Riding on I-35 is stupid, especially in the rain.
And the #1 lesson for which I will be eternally grateful: PRACTICE IS NEVER WASTED. Flatten your tires, wear out your pads, risk dropping your bike in a parking lot by locking the front wheel - the one time you NEED that knowledge you'll not regret the energy and $$ it cost you to become experienced at those skills.
Labels: Safety tips
posted by DAbbott @ 8:59 PM
