made mistake riding the other day, got lucky

[subxero]

Took a decent ride yesterday on some unfamiliar roads. Had a lot of fun, lots of really nice roads, it was nice to just cruise around it was beautiful out. That being said stuck speed limit pretty much whole time, whole trip was relaxed and non issue except one part.

at one point I was anticipating my next turn, i knew the road name and approximately where it should have been give or take after a certain land mark. I hate road signs, you are lucky if the road is even labeled let along the sign is positioned where you can actually read it, plus my vision is not the best so often by the time i can read the sign clearly it's to late to make the turn anyway.

Back to the story, coming up on 4 way intersection on this road that i have been on for close to 20 miles, it is a main 2 lane road 45mph, in the middle of nowhere and i had not encounter a single intersection where the main road had a stop sign or even a yield.

As i approached the intersection i was very concentrated on trying to find a road sign to tell me what the road was incase it was the one i wanted. During this time i somehow managed to miss the stop sign on the right before the intersection and i rolled through it at around 30mph give or take. Only after i got through the intersection and someone had honked at me i started to think huh? was there a stop sign there?

Looked on google maps and sure enough, stop sign and even a notice of upcoming stop few hundred yards before hand

I say i got lucky because there was a vehicle that was getting ready to make a left across my lane in front of me. I think the only thing that really prevented them from turning was there was another car perpendicular to our direction of travel and it was their turn to go through the intersection

a mistake like this does not sit easy with me as i full understand what is at stake.

so check one off of my freebies , if only we knew how many we had

[jeffb502]

Thanks for sharing. I'm glad you made it through. Definitely a reminder that a brief lapse of concentration can have life altering consequences.

[EsrTek]

I did something like that my 1st yr riding...
I was sticking close to house, but all on roads I didn't know. I only knew the main road the side ones I was on, connected to. Which is not a main road, but a busy enough 2 lane (1 each way).
Anyway I ended up crossing that busy road, totally missing the stop sign I had, crossed the road at 35-40mph...Luckily not 1 car was around, but I still stopped after I realized and took 5-10 mins off the bike to re-group.

Thankfully you got away with it and I doubt you ever do that again, nor will I

[kdogg2077]

One of us needs to get GPS we can see on our bike.

Glad you didn't wreck...my Pacific Rim blu-ray was in your backpack!

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by subxero

...............a mistake like this does not sit easy with me as i full understand what is at stake.

so check one off of my freebies , if only we knew how many we had

[Kscreations08]

Is it possible that fatigue had anything to do with it? Just food for thought.

[subxero]

nah, no fatigue. lack of focus/concentration, situational awareness.

It's been discussed in other threads other places and I feel I was not alone in those discussions when I said I feel I am a much less attentive driver/rider when I am going slow, at those speeds/ at that pace the mind is left to wonder a bit, when I am at a faster pace I tend to be 100% focused because I need to be. I think this played a part in my lack of focus ect...

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by Kscreations08

Is it possible that fatigue had anything to do with it? Just food for thought.

Heat and fatigue are big factors that commonly go unnoticed until it's too late. This weekend surely showed me that. 4 ambulance rides and 1 worse....

Get your rest, stay hydrated and eat a good a good meal to have the energy ya need. It's important stuff.