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11,456 Posts
Half a friggin' lane!!!!
That's all the SUV lady gave me.
She wasn't on a cell phone (she may have just hung up, but she wasn't on one when she passed me), she wasn't eating, and she had both hands on the wheel. She was, quite simply a sufferer of termial stupidity. Her cerebral cortex had a short.
I'm heading towards a nice, tight, 90-degree, slightly-banked right-hand curve Saturday morning. It used to be covered in a fine, chalky white dust from the crushed rock this particular county uses for road repairs, but it has recently cleared, so I thought I'd hit it like I used to (before the dust).
Just in case there's still a little dust on the road, I decide to run tight (to choose the right-hand side of my lane). There was a lot of high grass on the right side of the turn (that ain't no excuse for her mistake!!), so she couldn't see through the turn (neither could I).
Usually these folks run the centerline (skinny roads) or barely stay in their own lane, but this chick needed 75% of the road to turn her compact SUV.
Had I been railing along, not planning for trouble (the white dust), I would have needed the other 50% of my lane.
Luckily, I was riding about 70%, looking for a possible compromise in traction at any second. Had I been in a car (or another SUV) there would have been a crash . . . possibly BAD.
I mention this because I feel that it is important that we share our "Oopsies." Maybe someone will realize that they are riding too high in the danger zone (70-80% is the most anyone should ride on the street), that they can't see through the corner, whatever, etc., etc., and slow down a tad.
We have some folks here that are starting that downward spiral into "too fast land," and I like to think that posting "what ifs" and "almosts" may save their bike at the very least . . . and possibly their skin.
[EDIT: I had a GREAT ride Sunday morning to make up for it!!!]
That's all the SUV lady gave me.
She wasn't on a cell phone (she may have just hung up, but she wasn't on one when she passed me), she wasn't eating, and she had both hands on the wheel. She was, quite simply a sufferer of termial stupidity. Her cerebral cortex had a short.
I'm heading towards a nice, tight, 90-degree, slightly-banked right-hand curve Saturday morning. It used to be covered in a fine, chalky white dust from the crushed rock this particular county uses for road repairs, but it has recently cleared, so I thought I'd hit it like I used to (before the dust).
Just in case there's still a little dust on the road, I decide to run tight (to choose the right-hand side of my lane). There was a lot of high grass on the right side of the turn (that ain't no excuse for her mistake!!), so she couldn't see through the turn (neither could I).
Usually these folks run the centerline (skinny roads) or barely stay in their own lane, but this chick needed 75% of the road to turn her compact SUV.
Had I been railing along, not planning for trouble (the white dust), I would have needed the other 50% of my lane.
Luckily, I was riding about 70%, looking for a possible compromise in traction at any second. Had I been in a car (or another SUV) there would have been a crash . . . possibly BAD.
I mention this because I feel that it is important that we share our "Oopsies." Maybe someone will realize that they are riding too high in the danger zone (70-80% is the most anyone should ride on the street), that they can't see through the corner, whatever, etc., etc., and slow down a tad.
We have some folks here that are starting that downward spiral into "too fast land," and I like to think that posting "what ifs" and "almosts" may save their bike at the very least . . . and possibly their skin.
[EDIT: I had a GREAT ride Sunday morning to make up for it!!!]
