D
David Kerber
Guest
Today I had my first crash/fall in about 20 years. It was the first decent weekend day we've had in
RI in about 3 weeks, after about 3:00 this afternoon, when the sun finally came out after the rain
had stopped earlier in the afternoon. I waited until about 4:00 to let the road dry a little, then
headed out for a short 12-mile ride to the beach to check out the waves. There was still some
standing water on the shoulders in places, but traffic was light so I was mostly able to take a lane
and avoid the water. I got a few splashes, but nothing big. The sun was out, it was about 60°F and
(miracle of miracles) there was no wind, which is very unusual for coastal RI. It had been blowing
up to about 35 mph early in the morning. The ride was mostly uneventful except when I almost
rear-ended a car which came to a sudden stop just after I had moved over into the lane behind him in
order to go through an intersection where the marked shoulder is only about a foot wide and full of
sand. He was turning left into the gas station, but like most RI drivers, neglected to put on his
turn signal. No harm done, but I had to hit the brakes harder than usual.
At the beach, the waves were rolling in pretty strong and the surfers were out in force in full wet
suits, with the water temperature still in the low 40's. I watched for a few minutes and then turned
around to head back home so my wife could go for her walk without leaving the kids home alone.
The ride back was uneventful until I was about two blocks from home. There an s-curve which first
makes a 90° turn to the left and then about 50 feet later makes another 90° curve back to the right,
and it's a steep downhill all the way. In a car, I usually slow to about 20 mph or less for the
curve, and do about the same on the bike when road conditions are good. Unfortunately, I had
forgotten about the water and wet sand I noted here on the way out. I started into the first part of
the curve about my usual 20 mph, and immediately realized I was going too fast for the amount of
traction I had available. However, I figured some careful use of the brakes, and using most of the
road would allow me to negotiate it safely. Unfortunately, I then noticed that there was a SUV
coming the other way so I could see right away it was going to get interesting. I stuck to my wet
lane using the brakes as hard as I dared, trying to get slowed down before I hit the sand which
builds up part way around the first curve. I estimate I was down to about 10 mph by the time I got
to the sand and had to ease up on the brakes some more, but I figured I was still going too fast to
make the turn in the sand. I had a choice of running up the shallow curb into the mud and weeds, or
trying to tighten the turn to stay on the road. Because of the trees only a few feet from the edge
of the road, and there being nobody behind me, I decided to take my chances on the road. As I
expected, I couldn't hold the line, and the tires went out from under me. I bashed my left hip on
the road, leaving a nice road rash and a slightly warped back rim, but no other significant damage.
The SUV was right across the road from me at this point, and slammed on her brakes to ask if I was
ok. I told her yes and she went on.
I got back on and rode the last two blocks home, remembering that the last time I crashed, when I
was in college back in the early 80's, it was also from taking a turn too fast and losing traction
on the front wheel. I guess if I go another 20 years before having another crash, I won't be doing
too bad, though I'll probably be a little more brittle by then <GG>.
Take care out there!
--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!
REAL programmers write self-modifying code.
RI in about 3 weeks, after about 3:00 this afternoon, when the sun finally came out after the rain
had stopped earlier in the afternoon. I waited until about 4:00 to let the road dry a little, then
headed out for a short 12-mile ride to the beach to check out the waves. There was still some
standing water on the shoulders in places, but traffic was light so I was mostly able to take a lane
and avoid the water. I got a few splashes, but nothing big. The sun was out, it was about 60°F and
(miracle of miracles) there was no wind, which is very unusual for coastal RI. It had been blowing
up to about 35 mph early in the morning. The ride was mostly uneventful except when I almost
rear-ended a car which came to a sudden stop just after I had moved over into the lane behind him in
order to go through an intersection where the marked shoulder is only about a foot wide and full of
sand. He was turning left into the gas station, but like most RI drivers, neglected to put on his
turn signal. No harm done, but I had to hit the brakes harder than usual.
At the beach, the waves were rolling in pretty strong and the surfers were out in force in full wet
suits, with the water temperature still in the low 40's. I watched for a few minutes and then turned
around to head back home so my wife could go for her walk without leaving the kids home alone.
The ride back was uneventful until I was about two blocks from home. There an s-curve which first
makes a 90° turn to the left and then about 50 feet later makes another 90° curve back to the right,
and it's a steep downhill all the way. In a car, I usually slow to about 20 mph or less for the
curve, and do about the same on the bike when road conditions are good. Unfortunately, I had
forgotten about the water and wet sand I noted here on the way out. I started into the first part of
the curve about my usual 20 mph, and immediately realized I was going too fast for the amount of
traction I had available. However, I figured some careful use of the brakes, and using most of the
road would allow me to negotiate it safely. Unfortunately, I then noticed that there was a SUV
coming the other way so I could see right away it was going to get interesting. I stuck to my wet
lane using the brakes as hard as I dared, trying to get slowed down before I hit the sand which
builds up part way around the first curve. I estimate I was down to about 10 mph by the time I got
to the sand and had to ease up on the brakes some more, but I figured I was still going too fast to
make the turn in the sand. I had a choice of running up the shallow curb into the mud and weeds, or
trying to tighten the turn to stay on the road. Because of the trees only a few feet from the edge
of the road, and there being nobody behind me, I decided to take my chances on the road. As I
expected, I couldn't hold the line, and the tires went out from under me. I bashed my left hip on
the road, leaving a nice road rash and a slightly warped back rim, but no other significant damage.
The SUV was right across the road from me at this point, and slammed on her brakes to ask if I was
ok. I told her yes and she went on.
I got back on and rode the last two blocks home, remembering that the last time I crashed, when I
was in college back in the early 80's, it was also from taking a turn too fast and losing traction
on the front wheel. I guess if I go another 20 years before having another crash, I won't be doing
too bad, though I'll probably be a little more brittle by then <GG>.
Take care out there!
--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!
REAL programmers write self-modifying code.
