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- Joined
- Nov 11, 2007
- Messages
- 4,803
- Reaction score
- 1,776
- Location
- Rendon TX
- First Name
- Mike
- Last Name
- Brewster
I was riding home today on I20 just west of 287. I don't really know how fast I was going, but considering the traffic was light to moderate I was likely somewhere close to 75 or so. Suddenly - very suddenly I couldn't see a thing. I was literally at zero zero visibility. This was like flying inside of a cloud but rather than experiencing it from the inside of a cockpit or cabin of a modern jet it was like being in an open air biplane. I'd had a radiator hose pop a year or so ago at low or no speed, and I was pretty sure that something similar was happening now. I was enveloped in a cloud of steam. As that idea registered in my head, I found it perplexing because all of the hoses are pretty new. Its funny the things that run through your mind at time like that.
I had no idea how the traffic picture was changing around me or if I was maintaining my lane. I pulled the clutch and I know I took a couple of seconds to flash my brake lights with my front brake lever because I was worried about being hit from behind as I decelerated rapidly. It suddenly seemed I had to get my visor up. I reached up with my right hand which is not the hand I normally use and I fumbled around with it before I got it opened. It didn't do any good anyway, I was still in the soup. My right hand went back on the handle bar and I became aware that my thumb was being burned. I'm concentrating on keeping the thing upright and as straight as I can when I become vaguely aware of a car passing on my left. Within a few moments my vision begins to clear and I move into the left lane and then to the shoulder. I figure it took th better part of a minute for the cooling system to vent its pressure and I probably traveled about an eighth of a mile in that time without being able to see anything.
I got off the bike pumped that I had pulled that off, but at the same time surprised I was not badly shaken. A quick examination of the bike revealed that the coolant filler neck failed just below where the cap seats. The burning on my thumb was the steam taking a trip directly at my hand.
I think I was real lucky. I was riding with my visor down which I rarely do. If I had gotten hot steam and or antifreeze on my face or in my eyes there's no telling how I might have reacted. I was wearing leather gloves which kept the heat bearable. For some stupid reason I wasn't wearing my jacket and I very, very rarely ride without it. Fortunately I didn't need it for its abrasion resistance. Of course I really got luck on the traffic. There are tons of different scenarios that could have made that worse. Heavier traffic or so much as a slight curve could have done me in. Just a couple of hours before, I was in a tight group of about 60 bikes. I shudder to think what could have happen if it had let loose there.
Yep, today is my day.
I had no idea how the traffic picture was changing around me or if I was maintaining my lane. I pulled the clutch and I know I took a couple of seconds to flash my brake lights with my front brake lever because I was worried about being hit from behind as I decelerated rapidly. It suddenly seemed I had to get my visor up. I reached up with my right hand which is not the hand I normally use and I fumbled around with it before I got it opened. It didn't do any good anyway, I was still in the soup. My right hand went back on the handle bar and I became aware that my thumb was being burned. I'm concentrating on keeping the thing upright and as straight as I can when I become vaguely aware of a car passing on my left. Within a few moments my vision begins to clear and I move into the left lane and then to the shoulder. I figure it took th better part of a minute for the cooling system to vent its pressure and I probably traveled about an eighth of a mile in that time without being able to see anything.
I got off the bike pumped that I had pulled that off, but at the same time surprised I was not badly shaken. A quick examination of the bike revealed that the coolant filler neck failed just below where the cap seats. The burning on my thumb was the steam taking a trip directly at my hand.
I think I was real lucky. I was riding with my visor down which I rarely do. If I had gotten hot steam and or antifreeze on my face or in my eyes there's no telling how I might have reacted. I was wearing leather gloves which kept the heat bearable. For some stupid reason I wasn't wearing my jacket and I very, very rarely ride without it. Fortunately I didn't need it for its abrasion resistance. Of course I really got luck on the traffic. There are tons of different scenarios that could have made that worse. Heavier traffic or so much as a slight curve could have done me in. Just a couple of hours before, I was in a tight group of about 60 bikes. I shudder to think what could have happen if it had let loose there.
Yep, today is my day.
