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buck000
0
Well, I had a nice little reminder about how mist and roads don't make for the best traction in the world.
This a.m, I was doing 40 in a 40 on a city road in Austin. A light turned yellow when I was at that exact distance where I'd either have to stop firmly, or risk entering the intersection when the waiting car would've have already started crossing.
So, I elected to start firmly applying the brakes. Most front, just a little rear.
I saw that I was going to be running a bit past the crosswalk, so I continued to squeeze steadily on the front. I'll be ok, maybe just a few feet past the crosswalk/painted stripe.
Oh. Yeah. Crosswalk. Painted. With a nice little film of water on it.
As soon as I got to the paint, the bike's rear end skidded out to the right, and tilted to the left.
All I could think of was, "No, No, NO! I don't want to drop it again, and I don't wanna deal with picking up the bike in a city intersection."
Somehow, I got my left leg down, and managed to right the bike and stop it, about 8 feet into the intersection. Clutch was in, engine revving quite nicely, thanks (funny how it does that when one is freaking out, and grips the bar while the bike is falling over).
Fortunately, I was just a minute or two from work, where I tiptoe'd (as much as one can tiptoe while riding) around a final corner or two, park the bike, and let the shakes come...
Strange: the D220s that seemed so sure-footed before the slide now seemed to be covered in grease afterwards...
So, what are the learning points here? I'm thinking they include:
1. The MSF ain't lying when they talk about drizzle or light rain being a crappy riding surface. I should've worked at home instead of trying to get in early.
2. I wonder if the better thing to do in this case would be to move to the left lane and just roll on through, maybe even accelerating a tad (I was in the right lane)? Barring a oncoming left-turner, this would give me the best buffer from the vehicle entering the intersection from the right. "Officer, there was a bit chance of sliding into the intersection, so I chose to go on through it."
3. Nah, probably the better, MSF thing to do would be to recognize the 'stale' green light / wet road / painted lines combo, assume the light'll turn yellow, roll off a bit down to 35 or even 30, and come to a controlled stop before the painted area...
I think I'll take a cab home this evening...
shiver
This a.m, I was doing 40 in a 40 on a city road in Austin. A light turned yellow when I was at that exact distance where I'd either have to stop firmly, or risk entering the intersection when the waiting car would've have already started crossing.
So, I elected to start firmly applying the brakes. Most front, just a little rear.
I saw that I was going to be running a bit past the crosswalk, so I continued to squeeze steadily on the front. I'll be ok, maybe just a few feet past the crosswalk/painted stripe.
Oh. Yeah. Crosswalk. Painted. With a nice little film of water on it.
As soon as I got to the paint, the bike's rear end skidded out to the right, and tilted to the left.
All I could think of was, "No, No, NO! I don't want to drop it again, and I don't wanna deal with picking up the bike in a city intersection."
Somehow, I got my left leg down, and managed to right the bike and stop it, about 8 feet into the intersection. Clutch was in, engine revving quite nicely, thanks (funny how it does that when one is freaking out, and grips the bar while the bike is falling over).
Fortunately, I was just a minute or two from work, where I tiptoe'd (as much as one can tiptoe while riding) around a final corner or two, park the bike, and let the shakes come...
Strange: the D220s that seemed so sure-footed before the slide now seemed to be covered in grease afterwards...
So, what are the learning points here? I'm thinking they include:
1. The MSF ain't lying when they talk about drizzle or light rain being a crappy riding surface. I should've worked at home instead of trying to get in early.
2. I wonder if the better thing to do in this case would be to move to the left lane and just roll on through, maybe even accelerating a tad (I was in the right lane)? Barring a oncoming left-turner, this would give me the best buffer from the vehicle entering the intersection from the right. "Officer, there was a bit chance of sliding into the intersection, so I chose to go on through it."
3. Nah, probably the better, MSF thing to do would be to recognize the 'stale' green light / wet road / painted lines combo, assume the light'll turn yellow, roll off a bit down to 35 or even 30, and come to a controlled stop before the painted area...
I think I'll take a cab home this evening...
shiver
There is an elementary school a few blocks from our house. Recently, they repainted all the crosswalks, yellow curbs, etc,... About a week after repainting the crosswalks with that refelctive white paint, they laid down what looks like some kind of plastic strip over the paint stripes. It is textured with dimpes about a 1/16" to 3/32" high with pretty good density. They are extremely reflective! I have yet to ride on them when wet, but they look like they'd offer susbstantial grip. I have not seem them anywhere else yet, just the school.
