Gravel

[roncg41677]

Just wanting some advice....

On my ride to work I have to turn onto more than a few streets that have a lot of sand/gravel at the intersection. I go very slowly over it; basically just a tad over idle in first. If I come to a rolling stop and am in 2nd gear, I freak out if I start to lean on the gravel at all.

Is gravel THAT bad? I've read enough stories on this board of people dropping the bike on gravelly roads or shoulders. I'd rather not do that .

[sv-wolf]

Hi roncg

Hitting gravel can be dicey on the road, and most especially when it's on a corner. I ride a lot of small twisty roads and after rain, gravel often washes out of the banks onto the tarmac. I've had a number of slides and scary moments coming across patches of gravel on a blind corner when I am leaned over.

But more dangerous than the gravel itself, is panic. The panic scenario goes like this:
See gravel - panic - target fixate - hit gravel - slide off.

If you see gravel then you need to stay focused and relaxed:
See gravel - stay calm - steer round gravel - go safely on your way.

Like everything else about motorcycling, your safest bet is to learn your skills and build confidence in your handling of the bike. The physical hazards won't go away. You have to learn to manage them safely.

When everything is considered, the most dangerous things you will meet on the road are your own reactions. And the good news is that, with a bit of work and a lot of awareness, you can do something about them.

(BTW, I think it is probably fair to say that the most persistent fear of motorcyclists anywhere is losing grip - so, be assured, you are not alone!)

[roncg41677]

Thanks sv-wolf!

The gravel is actually more than a spot. It is usually at the bottom of a small decline, so there is a 2 or 3 foot strip of gravel and sand across the entire road. Is it best to just stay upright? And I am learning not to target fixate (gravel AND potholes ).

[roncg41677]

(BTW, I think it is probably fair to say that the most persistent fear of motorcyclists anywhere is losing grip - so, be assured, you are not alone!)

Glad I'm not alone on that . I find when I'm leaning around a curve I can't help wondering about that sometimes. But I guess it would have to be more than a few loose pebbles or a tiny spot of sand to steal traction from your tires.

[Dystopian]

At least your town doesn't have chip and oil roads, my entire down is one big gravel path at the moment.

[Ivan M]

There's gravel all over the place up here too. It's really a pain sometimes. You can definitely go over it faster than you are though, you're not going to lose traction unless you've got a good lean or you suddenly accelerate /brake /down shift. Make sure that coming into the turn, you choose a line that allows you to lean as little as possible.

[Nalian]

If it's an entire strip of gravel all across the road - the good news is that it's not likely as bad as it would be if it were just a patch. Gravel is a loose, slip-shod surface, but when it's a wide swath, unless you're going a really good clip, turning isn't as likely to make the gravel slide out if it's packed in a strip. Then again, I could be misunderstanding what you mean by a strip of gravel.

We encounter it all the time up in MA, rural, urban, whatever. The key is definitely as others have said - keep calm, ride carefully. Don't make sudden movements or drastically change speed while you're traveling over the gravel (braking or accelerating). Just proceed as you normally would and don't get a death grip on your bars. Your bike will wiggle around - let it find it's footing and don't fight it. It may slip some on you but resist the urge to panic.

Of course - if it's avoidable then go around it.

[sv-wolf]

Thanks sv-wolf!

The gravel is actually more than a spot. It is usually at the bottom of a small decline, so there is a 2 or 3 foot strip of gravel and sand across the entire road. Is it best to just stay upright? And I am learning not to target fixate (gravel AND potholes ).

Hi roncg. Sounds like a good opportunity for a bit of practice

There are many kinds of gravel. As Nalian says, it is the really loose stuff that you need to treat with the most respect. Sand and packed gravel are generally less of a problem.

I go with Ivan on the basic technique: stay relaxed, keep the bike upright as far as you can and don't make any sudden inputs. If the gravel is rough the bike may need to find its own way a little. The trick here is to keep your arms sufficiently loose so that the front wheel can pick its way through the gravel but not so loose that you lose control of your general course - you still need to steer. It's hard to describe. I hope that makes sense.

Keep in a low gear, of course, like second. I'd suggest you stay within your comfort zone but don't ride too slowly. Learn to trust the bike a little. And most important, don't fixate on the ground in front of your wheel (- dead easy to do). Keep looking ahead. If there are any hazards, like bigger lumps of rock, spot 'em well before you get to them so that you can steer to avoid them.

You'd be surprised how much an ordinary road bike can cope with. Here's a couple of photos of a trip I took to India a couple of years ago.



This is just hard core. We were riding along a sandy lane when we came across a gang of road builders. They had laid the hard core down in preparation for tuning the lane into a surfaced road.



This is a mountain track we hit two days later. Larry, on the left, decided he was going to take no chances - LOL. And who can blame him. He was 65, and had only ridden a motorcycle for three weeks before coming out to India - and this. Eventually he decided that trying to stay on the flat bits near the edge was too much trouble. Once he started riding the rough stuff he had a lot of fun. The bikes coped with this surface easily.

You'll be fine.

[jrdudas]

I'll re-inforce what some others have said. Keep the bike in the most upright position possible, absolute vertical is the best since it keeps the weight of the machine squarely over the center of the tires. All pressure on the tires is then straight down and the chance of the tire slipping out to one side or the other is minimized. Gravel is never fun in my book, and pea gravel and smaller sizes sitting on top of an otherwise hard surface, such as blacktop, is the most trouble.

JR

[roncg41677]

Thanks sv-wolf!

The gravel is actually more than a spot. It is usually at the bottom of a small decline, so there is a 2 or 3 foot strip of gravel and sand across the entire road. Is it best to just stay upright? And I am learning not to target fixate (gravel AND potholes ).

Hi roncg. Sounds like a good opportunity for a bit of practice

There are many kinds of gravel. As Nalian says, it is the really loose stuff that you need to treat with the most respect. Sand and packed gravel are generally less of a problem.

I go with Ivan on the basic technique: stay relaxed, keep the bike upright as far as you can and don't make any sudden inputs. If the gravel is rough the bike may need to find its own way a little. The trick here is to keep your arms sufficiently loose so that the front wheel can pick its way through the gravel but not so loose that you lose control of your general course - you still need to steer. It's hard to describe. I hope that makes sense.

Keep in a low gear, of course, like second. I'd suggest you stay within your comfort zone but don't ride too slowly. Learn to trust the bike a little. And most important, don't fixate on the ground in front of your wheel (- dead easy to do). Keep looking ahead. If there are any hazards, like bigger lumps of rock, spot 'em well before you get to them so that you can steer to avoid them.

You'd be surprised how much an ordinary road bike can cope with. Here's a couple of photos of a trip I took to India a couple of years ago.



This is just hard core. We were riding along a sandy lane when we came across a gang of road builders. They had laid the hard core down in preparation for tuning the lane into a surfaced road.



This is a mountain track we hit two days later. Larry, on the left, decided he was going to take no chances - LOL. And who can blame him. He was 65, and had only ridden a motorcycle for three weeks before coming out to India - and this. Eventually he decided that trying to stay on the flat bits near the edge was too much trouble. Once he started riding the rough stuff he had a lot of fun. The bikes coped with this surface easily.

You'll be fine.

How fast were you going on those kinds of roads? I'm assuming you weren't going 15 mph (or whatever the metric conversion of that would be. Are you metric in the UK? Sorry I just don't know. That's a long parenthetical, isn't it? ).

Gravel is never fun in my book, and pea gravel and smaller sizes sitting on top of an otherwise hard surface, such as blacktop, is the most trouble.

That's almost exactly what it is, with some loose sand. I'll have to try to get a pic tomorrow and upload it if I can figure out how to do that.