"Glad I was in the car" story

Jesse H · Oct 22, 2004

Ever have one of those incidents where you're glad you were caging instead of riding?

I was caging my way to a job interview at about 80 mph when a truck in front of me kicks up a fist sized chunk of tire. I always keep my distance from trucks or anything for this very reason. Debris flies up and lands in front of me *whew* then it bounces and smacks into my hood putting a nice dent/gouge all the way to bare aluminum. :angryfir:

Mazda Miatas have expensive aluminum OEM hoods.

Then I thought about if I had been riding I may have suffered some damage despite wearing gear. What if it had nailed me in the neck.

Good news is I got hired on the spot and my first paycheck will go into a new hood.

Squeaky · Oct 22, 2004

Whoa. Weird chain of events. Glad you got the job, and glad you weren't hurt.

I like to think positively about these things. Maybe on the bike you would have had more space in the lane and quicker ability to move out of the way of the flying debris?

Chirpy · Oct 23, 2004

Ouch. That brings back memories...

1982 on a Honda Ascot single. Winter, and I was drafting a semi both to lessen drag and keep warm. When I mean drafting, I mean drafting. Close enough to feel being sucked along, and see abotu a 500rpm drop. This was on 45 coming back from Conroe so I figured I had a long way to go at constant speed so no worry about the truck slowing down.

Then a loud noise, and something slammed across my full face helmet, one of the original Simpsons. As I'm being rocked back, hands off the bars something else slams into my left foot.

As I realize I don't have the bars anymore, I manage to get my hands back on the grips, and start heading towards the shoulder. I realize my shifter is gone as I try to downshift, and my left foot hurts bad. I look down and my shifter is bent parallel to the footpeg! I just leave the clutch in and get to the shoulder and kill the motor.

After I finish shaking, realizing that a tire blew and that road gators almost took me off the bike at 65, I got a grip. Bent the shifter back to where I sould shift, and got the bike back into neutral. Rode home.

No more drafting semis though.

Anonymous · Oct 23, 2004

"Road 'Gators"... DANGER!

I was riding second in staggered formation with four other riders on I-45 south about 1/2 way Dallas/Houston in a HARD DRIVING RAIN... All of a sudden the lead bike (1980 GL1100) began to swerve and wallow all over the right lane... He had been in the left tire track, I was about 3 seconds back in the right tire track... When I could make out what was going on, the bikke pilot: Ray Pursley of Willis, was fighting a big long black "gator"... He'd seen it too late to miss it, caught just one end of the thing at about 60mph... it dang near took him off the bike... Now, old Ray has some experience. He's been riding since Moses went for floating in the backwater of the Nile. He managed to stay upright and not take a road rash tumble. When we got stopped, he had bruises thru his rain gear, his bike had "gator tracks" all over it...

Not a good idea to be ANYWHERE near big trux. They carry around 200psi in those tires. When one goes POP, it does so with a vengence! There's only one safe place for a bike in reference to a big truck... that's ahead of him and pulling away!

Doc JR

paul14814 · Oct 31, 2004

Thanks for those drafting stories!

I ride home on the bike late at night all year round and often draft 18 wheelers for reasons already mentioned, but as of today, never again.

gotdurt · Nov 1, 2004

uberhawk said:
Ouch. That brings back memories...

1982 on a Honda Ascot single. Winter, and I was drafting a semi both to lessen drag and keep warm. When I mean drafting, I mean drafting. Close enough to feel being sucked along, and see abotu a 500rpm drop. This was on 45 coming back from Conroe so I figured I had a long way to go at constant speed so no worry about the truck slowing down.

Then a loud noise, and something slammed across my full face helmet, one of the original Simpsons. As I'm being rocked back, hands off the bars something else slams into my left foot.

As I realize I don't have the bars anymore, I manage to get my hands back on the grips, and start heading towards the shoulder. I realize my shifter is gone as I try to downshift, and my left foot hurts bad. I look down and my shifter is bent parallel to the footpeg! I just leave the clutch in and get to the shoulder and kill the motor.

After I finish shaking, realizing that a tire blew and that road gators almost took me off the bike at 65, I got a grip. Bent the shifter back to where I sould shift, and got the bike back into neutral. Rode home.

No more drafting semis though.

Hmmm, Conroe and blow-outs.... In '95 I was on my Zuk GS650 on I-45 just north of Conroe going to Houston. I was in the left lane behind an car, which was behind a front wheel drive minivan. The right front tire on the van blew, causing it to steer left sending it into a roll down the left lane/shoulder. the car in front of me slammed his brakes which put him in a skid. I had a small openning available in the right lane, took it, narrowly missing the sliding car but taking some rubber shrapnel to the gas tank (how?) and the helmet. Even though it only grazed the top of the helmet, it did a number on my neck, I'm glad I didn't take it in the shield. Anyway, this one case where had I been in a cage, things could have been worse; I probably wouldn't have made the fast squeeze into the right lane.

Tx Rider · Nov 1, 2004

paul14814 said:
Thanks for those drafting stories!

I ride home on the bike late at night all year round and often draft 18 wheelers for reasons already mentioned, but as of today, never again.

LOL it's a bad practice but if ya do it stay out from behind their tires.

I use to do it when I was a teenager, but I got enough truckers dropping a wheel off onto the shoulder to throw stuff at me I stopped the practice.

Dragwn · Nov 9, 2004

Another for the "Glad I was caging it" file...was in the fast lane eastbound on LBJ (635) following a sedan, sedan drives over a 4x6 section of 3/4" plywood, the sheet gets lift and slams into my headlight, twists and bounces off the right front fender and settles nicely on the pavement behind me, not hitting anyone else...
despite having had changed to liability only less than a week before..if I'd been on the bike, that sheet could have easily taken me out, and possibly removed my hard head from my body. :shock: