Very bittersweet logging in today...(8/10/08)

[Toecutter]

We've all heard about the tragedy of LaCoFireman's Captain. I also had a great bit of good news that arrived by PM today, so I'll share the anonymous part of it here:

On my recent trip to CA I had your "stay right" advice running in the back of my mind every time I came to a blind curve, then on a very narrow 1.5 lane road on the side of Mt. Hood it happened. A dually pick up pulling a trailer met me in the apex of a very sharp LH curve with no shoulder and a lethal drop-off to my right. I had just enough room to squeak by as did my riding companions. There was no time to do anything. Had I not been repeating your words of wisdom to myself I would not have made that turn and who knows.

Again, giving credit where it is due, I picked up this riding style by following Highlander on a past group ride. I just believe in it enough to prostheletise. I stay "center" whenever there is good visibility and confirmed clear road ahead, to have a better chance to avoid the surprise critter. But whenever I can't confirm that there is no oncoming traffic, I move over into the right tire track and stay there, figuring anything is better than impact with an oncoming vehicle of any type.

Peace, and let's be more carefuller out there among them English. They don't give a **** about us until after they kill one of us and, even then, it's likely a small ****.

 

[dcarver]

Toe and Highlander,

This advice has saved my ass twice since May 2006 (FJR delivery date).

I think much of this riding strategy has to do with the types of roads ridden. I routinely ride 2 lane, minimal width roads with extremely poor visibility. I now play a different kind of 'speed' game; it's much slower than the optimum speed path, but much safer.

I now run no more than 18 inches away from the right stripe.

Sure, someday I *may* run out of tarmac and go off-road. Sure, some day on an inside I *may* hit a fallen rock. I'll take either any day, any time, anywhere, as compared to clipping a truck bumper or radiator.

Just yesterday, driving my 1 ton dually with full camper, very centered in my lane (not that much room in the lane with a full sized rig) an idiot on a Buell came screaming wide on corner, over the center line. I had no where to go, and if I did could not have gotten there quick enough. Somehow, he cleared. He would have died, I would have had a dent.

Just sayin'....

 

[artistonFJR]

I've been meaning to post something about this but kept delaying. Now IS the time...

Toe, I do owe you "something" but not sure how to pay it. I read your "stay right" post a while back and it resonated with me. I too have that at the forefront of my riding awareness BECAUSE YOU PUT IT THERE... and on more than a few dozen occasions in just the last month it has been the difference between my posting here and someone else posting about me in the Lost Riders section. In all sincerity, thank you.

We have some amazing rides around here, but trucks pulling their ******* boats seem to think blind curves are safer if they speed up and cut to the inside. I have quietly thanked you on many occasions (after wishing a pox on the SOBs who almost ruined my family's lives).

Hope it's heeded by many.

Chris

 

[HIGHLANDER]

Keep spreading the word Toe.. your doing an excellent job!! :clapping:

 

[FatNakedGuy]

Wow.. I was almost taken out this weekend on the EXACT turn as described below. I too will now be riding the right side of the road.

>On my recent trip to CA I had your "stay right" advice running in the back of my mind every time I came to a blind curve, then on a very narrow 1.5 lane >road on the side of Mt. Hood it happened. A dually pick up pulling a trailer met me in the apex of a very sharp LH curve with no shoulder and a lethal >drop-off to my right. I had just enough room to squeak by as did my riding companions. There was no time to do anything. Had I not been repeating your >words of wisdom to myself I would not have made that turn and who knows.

 

[mcatrophy]

... Peace, and let's be more carefull out there among them English. They don't give a **** about us ...

If you have "English" over there, we get Americans over here doing the same thing . To all those this side of the pond, "Keep to the left on right handers" :yes:

 

[madmike2]

Yup! I always trust the unseen driver to do something really stupid and dangerous/hazardous for me.

Please ride your "sight lines", if you can't see, neither can they! It is a bad habit that many drivers get away with so many times they don't see the inherent danger until they meet another cage or RV coming the other way. It they happen to meet a motorcycle...well...the bigger vehicle wins.

Riding in the Sierra Nevada mountains, I've experienced the same treatment from other motorcyclists who are cutting a tight apex with reckless abandon. What were they thinking? Had I been a motor home or dcarver's 1-ton, they would be dead!

Be careful out there. You are the only one looking out for you.

And Bob, the bittersweet feeling is your heavy heart at the loss we all share. Another fellow being has lost their life sharing the passion we all enjoy. Being a brother "in service" makes it especially close for you. Just remember that there were thousands who came home safely but your warning is justified lest any of us forget what can be wrought in a moment's lapse.

 

[Aasland]

Is this "stay right" method another version of the "delayed apex" ?

 

[Silver Penguin]

Yup! I always trust the unseen driver to do something really stupid and dangerous/hazardous for me.

That's pretty good advice. When I find my mind wandering, while riding, I re-center myself by trying to imagine what the worst possible move the driver near me might try, and all my possible get-outs.

Thanks for posting some good news Toe. It helps to dilute some of the bad stuff we've been hearing lately. Not sure about them there English though.

Jill

 

[artistonFJR]

Jill, +2 on that English thing... nothin' like a windscreen full of bad teeth bearing down on you!! haha

C

 

[Toecutter]

If you have "English" over there, we get Americans over here doing the same thing .

Not sure about them there English though.

No offense intended. It's a line from the end of the movie "Witness" where the Amish elder is warning Harrison Ford's character to be careful outside of the American Amish culture, which he was heavily involved with while investigating a murder. In this context, it's meant to take the place of "Cagers", as well as squidly riders that borrow oncoming lanes when they borrow too much traction.

Is this "stay right" method another version of the "delayed apex" ?

Sort of, but not. I personally do not apex corners on the street, unless I'm in a big hurry. While apexing is hands-down the fastest way to get from Point "A" to Point "B", I try to stay away from lane centers, where slicker conditions and debris tend to accumulate, from the lack of tires constantly cleaning that part of the pavement. On tight right-handers, I encounter more kicked-up roadside gravel than if I apexed the turn, but I don't ride close enough to max for it to cause problems, to date.

Delayed entry and riding your sight lines will most likely serve you well, but I feel that "staying right" in the twisties will have me making unscheduled course corrections (which demand additional traction) fewer times than the alternative. Besides, following the curve, rather than straightening it out, makes my "Paced riding" more enjoyable for me. JMHO, YMMV, etc...Why straighten out a perfectly good corner?

 

[Auburn]

Snip...
Riding in the Sierra Nevada mountains, I've experienced the same treatment from other motorcyclists who are cutting a tight apex with reckless abandon. What were they thinking? Had I been a motor home or dcarver's 1-ton, they would be dead!

...Snip

I had a Buell coming toward me on a blind right turn for me in my lane. He was lucky I was practicing stay to the right and had slowed down because I could not see far enough through the turn while riding my ZRX 1100, or he would have been toast. He damn near ran off the turn as it was when he finally saw me.

I was glad that I did not have to go back an pick him up.

 

[Silver Penguin]

Jill, +2 on that English thing... nothin' like a windscreen full of bad teeth bearing down on you!! haha
C

Thank you for that visual that I did NOT need! I guess orthodontists never went down well in the UK. One only has to look at Charley Boorman, who made it as an actor, without getting his teeth fixed.

 

[Low Level FJR Pilot]

Thanks Toe, every ride I take now, when in a blind corner I am repeating over and over, stay right! Find that when I have been in the saddle to long, I kind of drift to the middle a bit more than I should so I have to repeat it even more. B)

 

[mcatrophy]

If you have "English" over there, we get Americans over here doing the same thing .

No offense intended. It's a line from the end of the movie "Witness" where the Amish elder is warning Harrison Ford's character to be careful outside of the American Amish culture, which he was heavily involved with while investigating a murder. In this context, it's meant to take the place of "Cagers", as well as squidly riders that borrow oncoming lanes when they borrow too much traction.

Thanks for the etymology, and apologies for my misconceptions!

Jill, +2 on that English thing... nothin' like a windscreen full of bad teeth bearing down on you!! hahaC

Thank you for that visual that I did NOT need! I guess orthodontists never went down well in the UK. One only has to look at Charley Boorman, who made it as an actor, without getting his teeth fixed.

Actors have to depict real people. Some real people don't have perfectly aligned, pristine white teeth. Particularly all we English who historically weren't as obsessed with the "perfect body". Look at all Westerners now. We're all getting fatter. Perhaps bad teeth will make us eat less? Anyway, Charley rides. You can surely forgive a fellow rider a few miss-shaped molars?

This is all too deep. I wanna go ride ...

 

[Silver Penguin]

Actors have to depict real people. Some real people don't have perfectly aligned, pristine white teeth. Particularly all we English who historically weren't as obsessed with the "perfect body". Look at all Westerners now. We're all getting fatter. Perhaps bad teeth will make us eat less? Anyway, Charley rides. You can surely forgive a fellow rider a few miss-shaped molars?
This is all too deep. I wanna go ride ...

You're right - Charley is a funny guy and he doesn't just play at riding, he really does ride.

Have you noticed the difference in the US/UK soap operas? Not that I watch either but the US stories are populated by the beautiful people, who wake up fully dressed with hair and make up perfect. In contrast, the Brits watch Coronation Street and Eastenders, where the people look like real, ordinary folks.

Time to ride now. It's almost light and I have to get to work.

Jill

 

[Bounce]

We've been preaching this since before the first SFO. You can't depend on what other people SHOULD do or on what might (or might not) be around the next bend.

Keep up the good work!

 

[daveski]

Thanks for the etymology, and apologies for my misconceptions!

QUOTE (Silver Penguin @ Aug 12 2008, 04:10 AM) *

etymology! Honey, what is etymology mean???

And my friend say I am erudite!!!

As far as staying in the right, the more post I read on this board about riding, I think I need to enroll in additional safety/riding courses. The stuff that I haven't seen can kill me.

 

[mcatrophy]

QUOTE (daveski @ Aug 19 2008, 12:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Thanks for the etymology, and apologies for my misconceptions!

QUOTE (Silver Penguin @ Aug 12 2008, 04:10 AM) *

etymology! Honey, what is etymology mean???


Hey, it's MY word, and I'm not anybody's "honey" (even if I do wash my bike occasionally). (My wife calls me all sorts of things, but NEVER "Honey".)


QUOTE
(from Oxford English Dictionary)
etymologyn. (pl. -ies) 1 a derivation and development of a word in form and meaning. b account of these. 2 the study of word origins. etymological adj. etymologist n. [Greek etumos true]





QUOTE (daveski @ Aug 19 2008, 12:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
And my friend say I am erudite!!!


You are a bit more now.


QUOTE (daveski @ Aug 19 2008, 12:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
As far as staying in the right, the more post I read on this board about riding, I think I need to enroll in additional safety/riding courses. The stuff that I haven't seen can kill me.


No rider knows it all. We can all learn to be safer. Whether we want to be safer or not is another matter. It's all a question of risk management, balancing fun against danger.

But we do need to be aware of what the dangers are so we can manage the risks!

FWIW I've noted a few "real world" events here that have raised my awareness.