[DrX512]

I was riding around last night in north San Antonio in the rain. The wet roads really arent that bad, it is more the fact that San Antonio has terrible drainage and that every time it rains, alot of the roads flood like you wouldnt believe. For example, the moron city engineers built a major road, on a dry creek bed. Now what exactly do they think will happen to it every time it rains?

Well anyways...back to the point. I was riding around on a fairly long road that has quite a few businesses as well as very few puddles. Because it was raining I decided to swing by an Auto Zone to buy a shammy or some kind of cloth to dry off my mask which was covered in little tiny dropplets that are too small to be blown away by wind. As I am going along, I realize that I almost missed my turn, so I pull on the brakes and change into the left lane to turn. Ok, I didnt really pull on the brakes...the more accurate term would be grabbed. My rear wheel locked up due to the slick roads and I began fish tailing. This caused my to panic slightly and I just released the front and rear brake....and the clutch. (WHOOPS!) I almost was flung into oncoming traffic because my rear wheel began spinning and the bike was pointed in a different direction than I was headed!!!


Moral / Cliffnotes: When your rear tire locks up, make sure the clutch is pulled in before you let out the brake!

 

[zom]

Glad you weren't hurt.

Some of the slickest parts of the road is at stop lights and stop signs especially after it rains and the water brings the oil to the surface.

 

[ispeed77]

rr crossings

don't forget about railroad tracks.

glad to hear you're alright, lesson learned.

 

[DrX512]

Yeah, I am always careful with my speed and angle if I need to ride over wet concrete or wet railroad tracks. I have actually felt my rear tire skid a little when turning onto a street with a wet concrete crosswalk. That was pretty scary (first day riding).

 

[2WheelFun]

Yea...it's those "UNEXPECTED" surprises that can kill!

I'm glad your story had a good ending!

 

[ispeed77]

concrete

not a whole lot of concrete up here to worry about, but those RR tracks can be murder, even in a car/truck. first time i found that out was in a flatbed dual wheel pickup, just about did a 180, oops. luckily nobody was coming and i learned a valuable lesson. the other kicker up here is the road lines, you know, the ones that have a few layers of paint so they are like a bubble. gets a little hairy changing lanes sometimes.

 

[zom]

We can't forget about those big steel plates that they put on the road after they have been digging. i was coming around a curve one day and came up on one of those. I knew the curve real well and was going pretty fast but what I didn't know was that **** thing was there :? I didn't see it untill I was right up on it because of the shade and I did get a little squirrly but I recoved quickly.

 

[ispeed77]

plate

zom
good call on those plates, i had forgotten about my near miss this year. i was on a main secondary road, late at night, probably going around 50mph. i noticed a construction barrel on the sidewalk a few hundred feet ahead of me. about 50 feet before the barrel, the pavement ended, and large rocky gravel began. just as the bike was almost sideways, boom, up onto one of them plates, about a six inch jump. and then, of course, as soon as the plate ended, back to the gravel. my buddy was riding staggered back from me on the road side so he was able to go around it, but couldn't figure out how my bike did not go down. i was livid and was heading to the state police barracks when i remembered that the contractor doing the work is politically connected, which is why they get those jobs. man, that sucked, i was not happy.

 

[kyhick1]

DRx512,

Glad you weren't hurt and that you and the bike recovered OK. Also watch out for the reflective road lines and arrows.....they get very stick too in the rain.

I just slow down a bit , leave more reaction space around me and keep my eyes wide open.

Heather

 

[zom]

Re: plate

zom
good call on those plates, i had forgotten about my near miss this year. i was on a main secondary road, late at night, probably going around 50mph. i noticed a construction barrel on the sidewalk a few hundred feet ahead of me. about 50 feet before the barrel, the pavement ended, and large rocky gravel began. just as the bike was almost sideways, boom, up onto one of them plates, about a six inch jump. and then, of course, as soon as the plate ended, back to the gravel. my buddy was riding staggered back from me on the road side so he was able to go around it, but couldn't figure out how my bike did not go down. i was livid and was heading to the state police barracks when i remembered that the contractor doing the work is politically connected, which is why they get those jobs. man, that sucked, i was not happy.

Man, that could have been nasty. The one I hit there were no construction warning signs or anything. I'm thinking if I would have crashed they would have been re naming the city after me because I would have sued someones @ss

 

[DrX512]

If I do find myself in trouble due to construction ineptitude, then I would be really pissed too. Especially because all of the construction in San Antonio is politically tied, it ends up taking forever and nothing is ever done. For example, one of the access roads in town goes to a T intersection. At this intersection, they closed off an ENTIRE LANE FOR TWO YEARS. Just in the past month they opened the second lane in one direction. I believe they are doing it because a few of the businesses in that area can only be accessed through that road, and one of the businesses there pissed off an entire neighborhood.

Either way, construction sucks and I hate it.

 

[ispeed77]

construction

zom
yeah, that could have been really bad, and that was the first thing i was thinking, who's a** is on the chopping block. unfortunately, like DrX512, most state construction jobs up here are politically connected also, and i don't have the money to go after a losing cause. good thing it turned out for the better, 'cause that could have been a double loss trying to go after someone.
david

 

[jono]

Ive heard that, prior to my inclination, slamming on the front brake is better in a panic for just that reason. When you lock your back brake, and it starts to fishtail, then you release, the centrifical(sp) force of the bike trying to right itself can throw you off. Also, keep out of the center of your lane in the rain. Thats where car oilpans leak...

 

[DrX512]

At the time I was trying to slow down AND change lanes (it had a turn only lane...which was thoroughly covered in oil and grime because people actually stop there and wait). Im not quite sure how safe it would be to lock up the front tire, because that might cause me to Stoppie and if I come down off of that at an angle, pain would definitely ensue.

 

[kyhick1]

DrX512,

I believe that most of us have enough riding experience to be able to act correctly in most situations by instinct. That has saved me more than once. The roads here in KY aren't in very good shape and there is construction everywhere too.

Heather

 

[DrX512]

You may have enough experience, but I have only been riding for a few weeks now, so my skills are not quite that good yet.

 

[bross]

Be glad you don't live in northern Canada, we have 2 seasons, Winter and Construction! It was -26 C yesterday, I'll let you guys guess which one we're in now.

 

[ispeed77]

You may have enough experience, but I have only been riding for a few weeks now, so my skills are not quite that good yet.

props to you then, especially for coming here for advice, good call and good save

 

[kyhick1]

Drx512,

Have you taken the MSF course?....If you haven't it will give you a definite advantage over those who just get on a ride. I have taken it several time and have learned something new each time.

Heather

 

[heffjay9000]

When I first started riding I went into a slide after changing into second gear while in the inside left turn lane and a truck (raised of course, what else would there be in sac-town) on my right. Everything was soaked from the fog. There's nothing like those extreme close calls to gain experience from. Glad to hear you're alright.