[eon]

Well, I’m sorry to say I fell off this morning. Feeling kind of embarrassed and annoyed with myself. Spend all this time practicing and reading and get caught out when I should have known better. Anyway, the gory details…..

It was pretty wet when I got up this morning. First rain we’ve had in some time. It was easing off when I headed out to meet a friend for a ride but was still coming down. He was late arriving and by the time we headed out it had stopped raining but was still pretty damp. I could feel the roads were slippy so I was taking it nice and easy. We get to a downhill section with some nice corners that is fun in the dry but I was taking it slow. Obviously not slowly enough as I start to lean into a left hander and I get the feeling my front tire has gone flat, then the front washes out from under me and I am sliding down the road. I get a glimpse of the bike sliding on its left side heading for the curb and I hope it does not hit it too hard. Then its all over. I quickly get up, kill the engine and lift the bike back upright.

I was probably only doing 20mph when this happened. I had just started to lean the bike into the corner when I had that flat tire feeling. In hindsight the bike was already sliding at this point but I did not realize it. Not sure I would have been quick enough to do anything about it anyway but next time I will recognize what’s happening sooner. As I’m standing there I can slide my foot along the road really easily. I knew the roads were slippy but this was almost like ice. My friend pulls up (he had been in front) and tells me he had almost lost it at that point as well. He then points out the sand in the middle of the road (why had I not noticed that?). I guess all the crap that had been in the road had washed out after the rain. I know they say to be careful the first hour or so when it rains after a dry spell but it had been raining for several hours by this point and was in fact drying up. I guess this time frame varies depending on the length of the dry spell and the amount of rain. It certainly took me by surprise.

I was uninjured. A slight bump to my left hip (which was the first part of me to hit the ground) but I routinely take worse than that at soccer. Got me thinking about the thin pads that are in my pants on the hips. If that is the first part to hit the ground it would be nice to have more padding there. Other than slight scuffing to my pants there are no marks on my clothing. Helmet did not touch the ground. I was able to ride the 3 miles back home (don’t mention that damn Hurt report!) but the steering was slightly off so that was fun.

So after all day to think about it I am bummed that I did not recognize the dangers sooner. I’m bummed that my friend went through it just before me at the same speed but did not fall. Not that I want him to fall but if he did not, why did I? Especially since I have 2 wheels up front that are supposed to give me more grip!

So all in all not a major drama but something very annoying. Here is the aftermath…

[Elias]

I love how you and me both post on BBM within 30 minutes of eachother about our first fall Very similar accidents actually! Don’t let it get you down, just be glad you are ok, and start thinking of all the cool things you can do to fix her up again!

[Munch]

Glad to hear your ok. As far as timing goes… these are guidelines as you have found out. A lot depends on traffic (usage) the mechanical soundness of the vehicles using the area, type of terrain around the area, etc. As far as why you went down and he didn’t, my guess would be a couple of things, response time, line of travel, weight distribution and tire(s) condition, tread design.
Best thing is you walked away for the most part unscathed, and you are in the mental capacity to store that “feeling” in the memory banks for later times.
Now..just gotta get ‘er fixed up and cowboy up!

[JtownJJA]

I cringed when I saw the title of the thread and who wrote it. Then I saw the pictures and it almost made me sick to think about. If Eon could have a fall, I could, too. It’s definitely a good reason for me to be extra cautious.
Glad to hear you escaped unharmed and was able to get back on and go again!

[eon]

Thanks for the vote of confidence but I’m still just a rookie. I have a few thousand miles under my belt now but still learning. If anything is to be learned from this particular fall it is to not underestimate how slippy roads can be after a dry spell and then some rain. I know I will not make that mistake again and if I can help someone else from doing so then so much the better.

[ranette]

I had the same feeling as Jtown. First I saw the title of the thread, when I saw who started it I was stunned. Hoped that it was a sarcastic title, first time you tripped and fell on your new carpet or something. Oh well, glad you’re ok, hope that the mp3 ends up fairing as well, and yup, it’s a lesson for us all, no matter how much practice, no matter how much we ride in a way that safety truly does come first, in the blink of an eye we can go down. Again, glad that you’re fine.

[owlie]

Glad you’re okay. Those are some pretty impressive scrapes to the bike.

As for sand, it doesn’t necessarily wash away with the rain. It is all of the chemicals and road gunk that the rain clears. The roads around my house are still choked with gravel from last winter even with all of the rain from this summer.

Thanks for sharing. I hope the fix to your steering is easy so you can get back out there.

[megaspaz]

glad to hear you’re ok. hope it’s relatively cheap to fix.

[SafetyFirst]

Glad you’re OK.

With all the gunk on the road, it’s awful.

I’m sure if I was a county DPW boss, the main twisties would be cleaned by a street-sweeper every Friday afternoon before the guys ride it.

[wbsprudels]

Glad you came out better than the bike, eon.

[nok610]

Glad to hear you’re alright. I just got back from a night ride and then to sign on read this gave me a funny feeling in my stomach.

[Author]

Posts