New riders and road hazards

[DiggerDr.]

I truly believe those of us that have ridden for years are much more vigilant about objects ahead in the road. The object of this hopefully will be to enlighten a newer rider to things they have not worried about before. Gravel on the inside of a corner can put you down. In farming operations, corn and soybeans in a corner can ruin your day rather quickly. Yesterday while cruising one of my favorite roads I came across a 17 year old and his dirtbike up against the fence on the outer side of the corner. A little scraped up but much wiser. The culprit: A walnut! There is a walnut tree that drops nuts onto the road there just prior to a downhill turn to the right. Holes, bumps in the corners and foreign objects can be disastrous. Hoping this helps a new rider realize that things his or her car cruised right over need to be seen long before they are a problem. 2x4's, railroad crossings....the list goes on and on...

 

[garyahouse]

Objects in the road:

Years ago I had a brand new 78 Suzuki GS1000. It was their first 1000cc bike and I was so proud of it: not a scratch. One day a friend convinced me to allow him to swap bikes for a short ride. I took his Suzuki GS550 and he took mine. We talked about riding safe and being careful and all that good stuff. He claimed to be a fairly experienced rider, but you be the judge. I was following him on eastbound M-59, a 5 lane highway just outside Pontiac, Michigan. He swung into the left turn lane and banked her over at about 15 -20 mph. He didn't notice all the gravel in the middle of the turn lane that had somehow gotten spilled there. I'd been through that same corner a zillion times, but didn't particularly remember EVER seeing gravel there in the turn lane. But on this day, there it was. And there right in front of my eyes, my beautiful new Zookie went down and both rider and bike when spinning and sprawling across the pavement. He got some cuts and bruises, but nothing serious. The biggest bruise was his ego, followed by his wallet as he had to pay for the damage to the bike. 3 weeks later, both were as good as new, but needless to say, that episode knocked the wind out of his confidence, and he never asked to ride my bike again.

Gary

darksider #44

 

[Uncle Hud]

Wet leaves are slippery, too. Pine needles are dangerously slick when dry, but far less so when wet.

 

[Intech]

Wet road lines too! Came about as close as you can get to laying the '15 down a few weeks ago. Taking a right turn on a wet road I made the mistake of putting the front tire on a white line that was about twice as wide as normal, Just before I got to the paint I thought, "this is probably not a good idea". I was right. The front tire slipped out like it hit a patch of ice. Already being leaned over it just magnified the slide. I counter steered and firmly planted the right foot. Fortunately, I had room to maneuver wide. My brother was behind me and was amazed that I saved it.

 

[lonerider]

And those in the summer that mow at the road's edge and blow cut grass across the travel lane. If the grass is let grow tall enough, it can make a carpet of potentially slippery green with few options for picking one's way through. Any time I see anything other than clean, dry blacktop ahead of me, I go into "careful mode".

 

[mcatrophy]

Wet road lines too! Came about as close as you can get to laying the '15 down a few weeks ago. Taking a right turn on a wet road I made the mistake of putting the front tire on a white line that was about twice as wide as normal, Just before I got to the paint I thought, "this is probably not a good idea". I was right. The front tire slipped out like it hit a patch of ice. Already being leaned over it just magnified the slide. I counter steered and firmly planted the right foot. Fortunately, I had room to maneuver wide. My brother was behind me and was amazed that I saved it.

Had a similar occasion.

In the UK, the white paint is normally pretty good in the wet, nearly as good as the tarmac. So once when I was exiting a roundabout, there was a zebra crossing just after the exit [don't know if you have them in the US, alternate stripes of white on the road to mark where pedestrians can cross]. Without thinking, I went over the white part. The front wheel slid out about a foot until it hit the tarmac. A real pucker moment.

Why was this paint so slippery? Because it wasn't in the UK, I was in Spain.

 

[NightShine]

Bridges with an uncovered wooden decks, wet from morning dew or rain . . . slippery as ice!

 

[RossKean]

Tarsnakes too; either in very hot weather or when wet.

 

[Uncle Hud]

City riders know: avoid wet manhole covers.

 

[wnyfjr]

Those rubber/plastic railroad crossings are a bit squirrely when wet too. Or even just the rails themselves when wet.

 

[Big Sky]

In ag country we also watch for cattle crossings, aka cattle guards. These are racks of pipe embedded across the road that are slippery when wet or dry, and can be very hazardous if you're leaned, like railroad tracks are. I always try to square up before I hit these. This time of year, too, the ranchers are bringing their cattle off the public grazing leases in the mountains, and down into the valley bottom pastures for the winter. After unloading, some of these truckers will add water to the mess in the bottom of the trailer, then let it slosh around for awhile until they've got a nice emulsion. Then, before a set of curves, open the drains and let centrifugal forces push the goo out onto the asphalt. This stuff is like moly if wet and its almost always found in curves. Then there's frozen sugar beets up to 20 pounds and an occasional lost hay bale. Wood cutters lose blocks of firewood, too...and sand and rocks after a rainstorm... Surface hazards in these parts are everywhere and constant.

 

[infrared]

The path you take with the bike also has a lot of influence on your safety. If you ride in the (preferred) drivers' side tire tracks of cars, oncoming drivers will see you sooner, and hopefully, they will be less likely to turn across the road and hit you. Riding in the wheel tracks of cars can also help you to avoid any sand and gravel that may be spilled in a turn, or at a stop. I usually only use the passengers' side wheel track briefly, when I am about to turn off the road to that side.

The center of the lane (between cars' wheel tracks) is usually somewhat contaminated by leaked oils, especially at intersections, where cars stand still for a while. Aside from the obvious hazard of oil on your tires, oil just rots rubber, and so oil can cause premature tire wear. When traveling fast, every car ahead of you may be straddling some debris in the middle of the lane, but you could hit that unseen junk, before you can evade safely. I try to avoid riding in the middle of the lane, for those reasons.

Cheers,

Infrared

 

[Fly Bye]

https://archives.mtexpress.com/2002/02-08-14/02-08-14crickets.htm

These guys can put a motorcycle down in a hart beat.

Thankfully the local news media puts out a warning immediately.

 

[rbentnail]

Tires have no traction when you run over a squirrel in a curve. Makes for a real pucker moment.

 

[mcatrophy]

Tires have no traction when you run over a squirrel in a curve. Makes for a real pucker moment.

Especially for the squirrel.