[greenaero]

I dumped my Ninja today near the end of a group ride around the Uvas Reservoir near south San Jose. We were pulling off the roadway onto a shoulder that had grit or sandy crap onto it. I applied the brakes a bit too hard and slid. I wrestled with it for a bit and almost recovered but fell over on the right as I came to a stop. I wasn't hurt at all and got up right away. We picked my bike up and I thought that I had escaped any damage but found that the base of the right turn signal stalk was broken.

This incident was 100% preventable; I was following a bit too close, then braked too hard for the slippery surface and then didn't react quickly enough to recover from the slide. Maintaining a slightly bigger space in front of me would have probably prevented this incident. Fortunately I suffered no injury and damage to the bike was minimal. The lesson learned is to always maintain your focus and to always give yourself the time needed to react to a hazard.