the Art of Crashing

[Social Distortion]

thanks for the gravel tip.
what really gets me a tad anxious is all of the new home construction around my community. Trucks pull in and out of sites, so much dirty and junk on the road. I am definitly aware of it when i am in my car and have been straetgizing on how to ride the road when the day comes that i do get my bike. I have look at alternative routes as well, and the lighting isnt all the great as well. Haven't seen too many areas were water can build up, but i remember in my MSF class- we were riding on a rainy day and the water was horrible. I actually felt pretty good riding at about 30 MPH on someone else's bike, going in cicles ( ha ha ha). As for the real road.......well.....we'll have to see about that!


Today on the way back from work, i noticed an area- over some railroad tracks, then the road started off going downhill, with a turn onto another street that was
A) tight right
B) the corner was in a descending angle

I thought that i would want to put my brake on before entering the turn, but i also realized that it may cause me to have a lowside crash and that the downward angle of the tight turn may increase my speed to help me throuhg it.
Havent quite figured out how i would do it yet, but any feedback is appreciated. I think A) slow down before turn B) no throttle during the turn since the downward angle of the street will pull me through and then throttle to pull me through it

Stay warm everyone..only 31 degrees in Chicago today!

[Sev]

Depends how steep the hill is, but I'd start by downshifting leading up to the turn. It's never a bad idea to enter a turn slower then you think you need to (afterall we aren't getting paid for the fastest lap times) so run it down to first leading into the turn, and if you need to light on the front brake.

When you slow using the front brake you're going to shift all your weight forward, so be prepared for this. It also puts downward pressure on the front forks due to weight shifting forward. This is going to be compounded by the fact you're leaning forward already due to the hill.

Once you've slowed to a comfortable speed and are approaching the turn make a concious effort to look around the corner to where you want to end up. And just let your hands guide you through it. As you come around start to roll on the throttle, this will help smoothly shift the weight to the rear tire that you've effectively loaded onto the front with your downhill stopping antics.

[scan]

I say you should have all the slowing down done while you are still going straight. Once you begin execution of the turn you should not use any front brake at all. I typically would make sure I'm a little fast for the gear in which I'm approaching the turn. For example on my bike when I'm just about finished braking in your situation I'd have dropped to 1st gear to cause some drag from the back tire. I try to stay off the brake at all and keep the bike as straight up and down as I can as I execute the turn. If you are going slow enough you only need to balance around the corner, not lean.

If it weren't for the dirty conditions you mention AND going down a hill to the turn, I would have stayed in second and hit the turn a little faster and leaning more. Maybe even feathered my rear brake to keep a good line on the turn. See, it depends on your bike and your style, which you will develop. When it comes to gravel, dirt, and sand keep the bike slow and as straight up and down as you can. No sudden changes in speed or pressure until you are back in a straight line and possibly clear of the traction handycap.

After you get use to it you'll be able to slide the bike a bit and not have it effect you very much. I now can feel the bike slip under hard acceleration, in dirt or grass, or sliding a bit under a hard stop and it always feels controled to me now. When I found something hard to do I would try to practice over and over. Mine was stopping at an intersection, pointing up a hill, turning right into 55MPH traffic. Stopping with the brake and holding myself on the hill to look both ways before the turn was a real challenge.

[Sev]

Whoops, sorry, forgot to mention that you should be getting off the brakes before you start to turn.

[Kal]

Because I'm a muppet and havent found an affordable pair of Kevlar jeans in my size yet.

Its on the list of things I need to get.

[greenmountainman]

On really hot days the tar they put down in the roads to fill the cracks so water doesn't get down in there for the winter and chew the roads all to heck, it's slippery. I found out the hard way, was messing around with a Buick Century one day, the bike didn't like the greasy tar on a really hot day. Scratch that, I didn't like the the greasy hot tar. As has been mentioned - gravel. Also, wet railroad crossings.

[snwbrdr]

also if you like to ride year round be careful in the winter. it just started getting cold here and i rode my bike everyday till i had a chance to get it home. the dew freezes on the road so if you like me go into work early in the morning and come home late at night the road will be frozen even when it doesnt snow or rain. this ice is really hard to see, but if the sun hits right or your light i should say then you can see them shimmer. i had never thought or heard of this till i was riding to work one morning at about 6am or so and i was by myself on a wide open highway ran it up to about 90 in this nice long sweeping turn, halfway through i looked at the road and realized why it was shimmering. i had never thought of it scared me $%^&less. i stopped immediately and looked at the road--it was frozen no rain or snow for at least a week. scary stuff.