Kissed someones back bumper with my front tire this morning

[YORCHI]

First 'oh sh!t!!' moment in a while...

Got on the bike this morning to go to work. I was coming into a left turn only lane that goes into the freeway and there was a car about 20 yards in front of me already in the lane. The light turned yellow and I know the guy in front of me had more than enough time to make the turn but right as he got to the line he slammed on his brakes and stopped. I quick stopped but because it was early morning and I happened to be right over the huge painted arrow on the floor I had very minor traction so the rear wheel started sliding. I kept sliding and sliding closer to him and right at the very end nudged his back bumper and stopped without falling or dropping the bike. The guy didn't even get out of his car he just moved forward a foot or two and then waved his arm like if he was saying "sorry about that".

I backed the bike up and saw that there was no damage on his car so I just started the bike again, made sure it was in first, and went on my way when the light did turn green. It was definitely a huge wake up and I thought about just laying it down but stuck to my brakes and maintained enough pressure to slow down without locking anything up. I'm glad I did because it showed me that even when I think I'm not gonna make the stop in time to just trust the bike and my skills and I can avoid dropping or laying it down.

Moral of the story, make sure your tires are warmed up and give yourself even more space than normal when the road is even a tiny bit slick...and practice your quick stops often , even on slick roads so you never panic

[krolinked]

And always expect the Unexpected!

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by YORCHI

I thought about just laying it down

Next time, more front, less rear.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by YORCHI

.......and practice your quick stops often ......

Good save !!

More braking tips:

http://www.msgroup.org/Articles.aspx?Cat=2

[psych0hans]

Originally Posted by Motofool

Good save !!

More braking tips:

http://www.msgroup.org/Articles.aspx?Cat=2

at least it wasn't you kissing his rear window... Lol

[csmith12]

Nice!!!! Crash avoided Nice cager too.

Next time, instead of spending even a fraction of a second thinking about laying it down, think about an escape route instead. It will save your arse on the highway, I know it has saved mine.... seriously.

Hmmm, thanks for the reminder. Been a while since I have practiced my estops.

[pomartin]

whoever think, even for a second, about laying it down, is stupid... almost no situation is unsolvable.

nice save

[YORCHI]

I thought about laying it down once I was already balls deep in the quick stop slide but only because the rear started sliding sideways. I pictured hitting the bumper on my left side and hitting my leg against the bumper maybe causing more damage to myself than simply falling on my right side and putting the bike on the floor but keeping myself up like when you drop your bike on accident in a very slow tight turn. My first reaction was to quick stop and once I hit the painted line is when it started to slide, and that's when the laying it down thought came to mind. I'm glad I didn't though and just stayed with the brakes and eased pressure on the rear when it started sliding to get it back to a straight line. Everything worked out and I think I may of peed myself a little lol

[Jiggles]

Bottom line is, rubber will always stop faster than plastic and metal (and skin)

[choneofakind]

Great line from bikers who crash: "I thought about laying it down."


right...

[YORCHI]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

Bottom line is, rubber will always stop faster than plastic and metal (and skin)

[Ytse Frobozz]

I know exactly how you feel. I almost hit someone myself who had plenty of time to get through a yellow but disagreed with my assessment at the last second.