Maintenance, Ride, and Pics
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Maintenance, Ride, and Pics
I decided that today would be a good day to invest time into my bike. I cleaned her chain, lubed it, and gave her a bath.
After all that, I set out to the local twisties on the other side of town. About half way through my ride, I approach an intersection (road entering from the left) that I need to take to complete my loop around the lake. Having been down this road many a time, I know that the intersection is covered with gravel and must be taken at a snail's pace. I began steadily braking. As I approach and slow to approx 40, grandpa pulls up to the intersection in his red Pontiac Vibe. I am rougly centered in my lane and he is on my left. As I approach 20 mph, I realize I can't see his face because of his passenger A pillar. I know what is going to happen and it does. He pulls halfway out into the road before he sees me. I immediately apply additional pressure to the brakes. I do not lock the front tire up, but I stop quick. My weight shifts forward, my left foot doesn't come down in time, and I'm off my bike in the middle of a two lane road with a speed limit of 55.
I quickly get up and check both directions for traffic. There was none so I squatted and picked up my bike. Grandpa was nice enough to ask "are you alright" as I push my bike off of the road and next to his car. I told him I was fine, but his question is about the only nicety he gives before leaving. He doesn't wait to see if my bike will start or if I am really ok. I was not angry, but I did make a note of his license plate number as he left (handicap 3120N). I was just annoyed by his lack of compassion after causing me to brake hard and drop but I did not want the hassle of reporting it. I did not really want this to consume the rest of my riding time.
I inspected my bike before I started it again. My frame sliders did their job and kept my plastics safe. My jacket and various pieces of armor kept my skin safe. My mirror has some additional scratches on top of the ones I gave it earlier in the year, but besides that, the bike was in just as good of shape as it was before the incident. At that point, I was not upset. I just wanted to ride and get this behind me. A couple of cycles of the ignition and engine kill and I finished what I had started.
After all that, I set out to the local twisties on the other side of town. About half way through my ride, I approach an intersection (road entering from the left) that I need to take to complete my loop around the lake. Having been down this road many a time, I know that the intersection is covered with gravel and must be taken at a snail's pace. I began steadily braking. As I approach and slow to approx 40, grandpa pulls up to the intersection in his red Pontiac Vibe. I am rougly centered in my lane and he is on my left. As I approach 20 mph, I realize I can't see his face because of his passenger A pillar. I know what is going to happen and it does. He pulls halfway out into the road before he sees me. I immediately apply additional pressure to the brakes. I do not lock the front tire up, but I stop quick. My weight shifts forward, my left foot doesn't come down in time, and I'm off my bike in the middle of a two lane road with a speed limit of 55.
I quickly get up and check both directions for traffic. There was none so I squatted and picked up my bike. Grandpa was nice enough to ask "are you alright" as I push my bike off of the road and next to his car. I told him I was fine, but his question is about the only nicety he gives before leaving. He doesn't wait to see if my bike will start or if I am really ok. I was not angry, but I did make a note of his license plate number as he left (handicap 3120N). I was just annoyed by his lack of compassion after causing me to brake hard and drop but I did not want the hassle of reporting it. I did not really want this to consume the rest of my riding time.
I inspected my bike before I started it again. My frame sliders did their job and kept my plastics safe. My jacket and various pieces of armor kept my skin safe. My mirror has some additional scratches on top of the ones I gave it earlier in the year, but besides that, the bike was in just as good of shape as it was before the incident. At that point, I was not upset. I just wanted to ride and get this behind me. A couple of cycles of the ignition and engine kill and I finished what I had started.
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thirdgenlxi
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May 18, 2009 01:24 AM