It’s dark, and you’re riding in heavy traffic. You’re in the right lane with three lanes to your left and traffic merging from the right. This is a commonly congested area because an exit is approaching and people don’t want to merge nicely. Everyone is fighting for space on the road with the cars trying to merge into the people trying to exit. There are a lot of brake lights ahead. You’re keeping your two second following distance. Other people aren’t paying attention, and soon the sound of screeching tires pierces the air. It’s coming from the vehicles in front and then from behind. What’s your plan?
I’ve rehearsed this exact scenario almost daily in my head. With my lane-sharing experience earlier this year, my plan is to squeeze between the cars to avoid becoming the filling in a car-motorcycle sandwich. Without thinking, my SV650 swerved onto the dotted line and darted out of the situation. It’s sometimes faster to swerve rather than try to stop. This was one of those times. I’m glad I practice.
The blue car behind me stopped within a few feet of the car I was following. It would have been a bad day had I stayed in my lane. After passing a few cars, I got back in my lane and exited the road as planned.
The most shocking thing about the entire experience was my reaction after the fact. I was surprised how calm I was. Where was my shot of adrenaline? How disappointing. I made up for the lack of it on the twisty road a few miles ahead. The SV is quite a fun bike!
I was fortunate it was unseasonably warm and in the 50s today, so I could ride my SV. The Ural wouldn’t have been able to pull off the swerve. There wouldn’t have been room. With the Ural, I leave a much bigger stopping distance since it doesn’t do anything quickly: accelerate, turn, or stop. Well, I suppose that isn’t entirely true. The only thing it does quickly is attract attention and a crowd.
URAL Update:
I replaced the battery and the starter relay, and it’s running again. It took way too many hours of fiddling around to figure it out. I also disassembled what felt like half the bike. The new battery was a tad larger than the old, so I had to remove the airbox to get it into the spot where it just barely fit. While I was at it, I also changed the spark plugs and air filter. It runs nicely now.
Practice, practice, practice until it becomes second nature. But you're right, it does take all the excitement and drama out of it and you just shrug it off.
ReplyDeleteyes, that's what i tell my students, practice, practice.
DeleteYep, glad you had a plan...and, glad you didn't have the Ural. There is one rider I know whose every commute is fraught with near misses and drama. He always seems a hero in a sort of pseudo-Norse epic. Glad your into practice, into having a plan, and into paying attention. It makes for a story I much prefer.
ReplyDeleteyup, regularly play the "what if" game as I'm going along. what if he moves into my lane? what if there is a hunk of debris? what if that car stop quickly? etc...
DeleteThe rider you know is probably not looking far enough ahead, and perhaps is also following too closely. he sounds like the example some of the rider coaches use in class. should be at least two seconds from the vehicle in front and looking four seconds ahead for immediate hazards and 12 seconds (as far as you can see) for other hazards.
Good advice for driving a car too.
DeleteGlad you didn't become another statistic.
me too. wish more people drove with intent rather than lazily steering while trying to do ten other things.
DeleteI'm glad this incident didn't take another direction. I think hearing things like this make me want to avoid cities altogether. I even avoid downtown Fairbanks...
ReplyDeleteThank you for the Ural update. I'm one of those sick individuals who enjoy these types of problems. Years ago when I worked as a mechanic, they used to save these types of problems for me.
You can have situations like this where ever you find more than one other vehicle. you might be dodging animals more than i dodge cars. :)
Deletemechanical problems can be fun. when i used to do breakfix on computer hardware i enjoyed it a lot. you can always win in the end after replacing enough parts. trick is to get to that state quickly. i dont have the exp yet to do that with the ural, and there isn't a nice factory service manual like there is with yamaha, suzuki, kymco, etc.
Chris:
ReplyDeletethankfully you practiced and it became a non issue. We also have bad, erratic traffic here, you always have to be aware of your surroundings.
glad you figured out the starter relay
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
My Flickr // My YouTube
yea, the relay was a tricky one. vancouver does have a bountiful amount of traffic for sure, and enough stop lights to build a tower to the moon if you stacked them up.
DeleteWell executed evasive maneuver. I am glad your instincts/practice kicked in and it was second nature to swerve. A testament to your powers of observation. So many people when riding or in a car are daydreaming and not paying attention to their surrounding.
ReplyDeleteBeing hyper aware of our surroundings keeps us alive when riding - as you well know.
they've been practiced. they were pretty weak when i started riding. too many years of driving a car made me lazy. like Dan likes to say "use expert mental skills to avoid expert physical skills"
Deleteyes, hyper aware or as the MSF likes to say aggressively scanning.
I don't think about these things enough when riding, so thanks of the reminder. I try to pay more attention to the 'what-ifs' but probably like many, I can always do more.
ReplyDeleteI much prefer it when people like you relate good advice like this to real situations and real events they have experienced. Reading 'preachy' advice is a turn off for some, including me.
Good for you that you were on the ball and ready to take action. Do Americans say "on the ball"?
Glad this one resonated with you Gary. I try hard to keep focusing on the what-ifs, and try to keep the wandering mind in check. it's hard.
Deleteyes, they say "on the ball" here. i think it's a bit silly though. have you tried to stand on a ball? not easy at all! lol.
I think "on the ball" refers to "Keeping your eye on the ball" which seems to make sense. Standing on a ball is for those with much more skill than me, like Sea Lions.
Delete