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Went down Saturday — lessons learned
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November 9, 2009 at 6:17 pm #3557SantaCruzRiderParticipant
Went down Saturday in minor mishap, first time in 15 years and thought I’d share the details: both to immortalize it and put it behind me, as well as to possibly benefit others who might avoid my mistakes.
(I was uninjured and bike will be repaired and back on the road later this week.)
Here’s the story:
I got a call from a friend to join him and a guy who wanted to test out his newly running little dual sport by going for a quick Saturday morning ride into the mountains. We joined up and headed into the hills, they on their 125-400cc dual sports (with semi-knobby tires) and me on my 1-liter sport touring bike (street tires).
30 minutes into the ride, I’m third in the line and we’re on a beautiful 1-lane mountain road, riding into the rising sun and enjoying the view down to the ocean. But as we start descending, the road is increasingly wet and getting narrower with room for only one car, despite being a two-way road. We’re still moving pretty fast as we wind through the forest and I notice that parts of the road are covered with a layer of mud. But I can still see pavement in places, so we keep going.
Then I come around a corner and maybe 50 feet ahead see my 2 fellow riders stopped in the middle of the road, essentially blocking it from anything but a thread-the-needle split. I gently apply the brakes (no panic yet) and expect that I’ll be able to glide to a stop behind them. But both my tires immediately lock because for the last 20 feet the road has been completely covered by mud (which I didn’t see because of the sun in my face, too little differentiation between wet pavement and mud, not paying sufficient attention, etc.) And this isn’t just any old mud, this is California clay, the kind that’s so slippery you can hardly keep your balance walking on it with boots on.
So now I’m at full lock, sliding downhill towards my companions. I’m also painfully aware that the road is bordered on one side by a steep drop and on the other by a 2-foot deep rut and the uphill side of the mountain – so I need to stay on the road. So, about 1-second later I’m completely sideways, sliding at full lock and angling towards the rut. Then 20 feet from my friends, I’m on the lowside, plowing mud with my bike’s faring and hard parts.
Friends help me lift the bike, we retrieve various pieces (driver foot peg and bracket), I walk the bike back around, get it restarted and then use the passenger pegs for a slow ride home and a little garage-time.So, what did I do wrong and what did I do right?
Wrong
1. Being the faster rider, I was in back of the group (which is typically correct). But being back there, I got comfortable and put too much confidence in the lead rider to know when road conditions required a stop. My friends were on dual sports, so they were fine on this muddy patch and might have even been able to keep going. But I need to stop BEFORE I got to the mud. Another rider can not be responsible for determining when the road is safe for ME to ride, especially when they are on a different bike and getting entirely different feedback from the road. I got lazy.
2. I should have stopped or seriously slowed the first time I saw the road half covered in mud. If I had been going 10 mph, I probably could have controlled a sliding stop. Better yet, I should have stopped and walked around the next corner, where I would have seen that the mud only got worse. The signs (mud) were their, but I was optimistic and ignored them.Right
1. I stopped the bike without hitting my friends – which I guarantee would have been more costly and possibly resulted in injury.
2. Once in full lock and fully sideways, I staying in lock and kept the bike upright for most of the slide. This kept me from doing a highside, kept the bike on the road and probably cut my speed from 25 mph to about 10-15 mph.
3. The bike went down before I got to the gully – which would certainly have trashed the front end. I can’t take credit for this, as I think the bike slid out from under me, rather than me putting it down, but I’m lucky it went that way.
4. When I went down, I did not try to catch myself and instead kept my hands on the bars. But I also lifted my inside (left) leg and kept it from getting pinned under the bike. (None of this was conscious, but my friends were amazed that I got up covered in mud but with no injuries.)
5. I was wearing all my gear! That morning, I almost talked myself into going in just jeans – it was a beautiful day and just a short little ride with friends. But I geared up anyway. My leather jacket and elbow armor took the upper body force and my textile pants and hip pad cushioned my hip and kept my leg from even getting muddy. A quick wash and my gear is still good (once down, the mud probably helped here). I’m 45, but the next day I was able to hop out of bed and go for an hour-long walk with the wife, then spend the afternoon stripping and repairing fenders. It may not have sent me to the hospital, but if I was in jeans and shirt sleeves, I would have definitely have been working the Advil and very sore.So there it is. Hurt my pride and billfold a bit, but someone was definately watching over me. I’ll be back on the road by Thursday, so can’t complain.
Hope this helps someone else keep it safe,
DanNovember 9, 2009 at 6:30 pm #23242brickerenatorParticipantGood for you for wearing your gear.
November 9, 2009 at 10:43 pm #23244MunchParticipantWell def. good you had gear. I am assuming full lock meant just the back tires were locked and the front was being either pulsed or let go of all together?
Anyhow glad you and the bike are ok. Though I agree with your assessment that it’s your responsibility to be aware, however it also lies with them, being lead, to know what your equipment is set to handle and what warning of hazards will be needed. Even if its a hand gesture to slow down or to point or exagerate movements to indicate potential hazards.November 9, 2009 at 11:31 pm #23245eonParticipantI agree your friends take some responsibility. I mean, if they had not blocked the road then would there have been any drama? But I guess the buck stops with you and you alone. I’m glad there was no major damage. In some ways your fall was similar to mine, slippy conditions caused the fall but probably aided in reducing the damage.
I’m curious though why you believe using your hands would have resulted in more injury. It’s instinctive to use your hands to break your fall. I certainly did and thankfully did not damage anything but I do wear expensive gloves (Held Steve).
November 10, 2009 at 12:34 am #23246SantaCruzRiderParticipantI can’t say with any certainty that putting my hands out would have resulted in injury, but it is easy to have shoulder or elbow injuries result from catching yourself and having your arm wrenched into an unnatural position. I’m not an expert in crashing (and REALLY hope never to become one), but in this specific instance, I took the fall on the side of my body, which absorbed the impact without yanking my arm as I fell.
It’s completely possible that I could have put a hand down and come through unscathed.
There was nothing intentional about my hand position, it was all instinct. At the time, I think my body was still trying to ride it out and not give up on the bike. Luckily, this also turned out to be advantageous to my old bones.November 10, 2009 at 2:39 am #23248JtownJJAParticipantThank you for the lessons learned. Certainly is helpful to all of us. Great to hear that you came out of it injury-free.
November 10, 2009 at 2:49 am #23249eonParticipantLike you in my crash everything happened in the blink of any eye and all my actions were instinctive. I landed on my left side but it was my right hand that came down to absorb some of the impact, which makes sense I guess. Anything with my left arm and that would easily have been bent backward out of shape. I actually spent most of my time sliding along on my ass (which is a good reason not to wear chaps).
Be careful when you get back on. I was surprised to find the moment of my crash going through my mind the first time I leaned for a corner after my bike was repaired, which resulted in me wobbling through a few corners. Hopefully you won’t be affected like that.
November 10, 2009 at 9:49 pm #23252Gary856ParticipantI’m in San Jose and often ride in the Santa Cruz mountains. Dan (OP), I’ve got a few questions in addition to what you’ve already addressed:
1. “First time in 15 years” means you had never gone down prior to this, or you had gone down 15 years ago? I’ve had one lowside and I felt that made me a more cautious rider, so I’m wondering whether a prior crash (15 years ago) affected how you ride during the 15 accident-free years.
2. Which road and what section was it? Are you familiar with the road and its conditions thru out the year, or was this a new route, or new condition (due to recent rains)? You were obviously surprised by the road condition when you rounded a corner, and I’m wondering if that’s from having never ridden that road before.
3. You hinted that your 1-liter touring bike was perhaps not the best choice for the road/condition. In hind sight, would you avoid taking that bike on that road and condition, or is it a matter of slowing down further for the condition?
November 11, 2009 at 12:01 am #23257SantaCruzRiderParticipantHey Gary,
In answer to your questions:
1. Last time I had a bike off its wheels was in ’94 when I dropped by new Sportster while coming to a stop. It was lame and was really just a drop, while this last weekend’s episode was more of a low-speed crash. The first incident left little impression, though I’ve had a number of close calls over the years that have certainly added to my caution. Saturday’s crash will likely make me very cautious the next time I see mud beginning to stretch across substantial parts of the road.
2. It was on Highland Way (which is the 1-lane goat path that Summit Road becomes south of Old San Jose Road) as it descents into Corralitos. I’d never been on Highland (though I ride Summit, Old SJ and 17 everyday on my commute). But it wasn’t being unfamiliar with the route, it was the unexpected mudslide that has covered the road (and this is supposedly not the normal state – according to one of my fellow riders).
3. My Concours weighs 600lbs+, is top heavy (especially with it’s 7.5 gal tank full) and has road tires. It just doesn’t belong on mud. If I’d been going slower, I might have been able to stop safely. But it would only have been to turn the bike around and get back to pavement. I don’t think I could have safely gone far at any speed. Even 1 mile back up the road, I was still having the rear tire break loose in corners as it would hit a spot of mud still sticking to the sides of the tires. Now if I’d been on my friends KLR or DRZ400, the conditions would have been just fine and I would have been able to play on through.November 11, 2009 at 1:02 am #23259Gary856ParticipantHi Dan,
Thanks for your response. Just reading other people’s account on thier crashes brings back the memory of events leading up to my lowside (i.e., ignoring plenty of early warning signs), which serves as a good reminder to be careful out there.
I’ve taken Summit-Old San Jose a few times but haven’t had the chance to explore the Highland Way side.
7.5 gal tank for the Concours?! Wow, that’s a huge tank!
One time I led a friend up Alpine and down Page Mill. I was on my GS500, which was totally in its element on those tight and twisty roads. My friend was a much, much more experienced rider, but I coudln’t help but think he must had been working a lot harder on his FJR On another occassion I let him try my SV650N; he kept saying, “it feels weightless.”
November 14, 2009 at 10:54 pm #23324owlieParticipantHeya,
Glad to hear you came out of it okay. +1 for the gear. I always think that it is more valuable to hear about how gear has saved someone’s hide than how having worn gear might have.
Owlie
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