- Joined
- Nov 15, 2013
- Messages
- 50
- Location
- Lynnwood, WA
First, Happy New Year's ladies and gents!
What better way is there to start the new year than with a short ride?
When you do, always remember to look /through/ the turn!!
Today I was out east near Monroe, and ahead of me was a slow 25mph uphill left hander, and though the ground was wet, it wasn't really of much concern. As I was approaching, my mind wandered and thought of, "Gee, what would happen if I slid here..." and my gaze drifted outwards towards the wet grass/mud/leaves beside me.
Sure enough, the bike follows where you look, and off I go. I'm sure glad that these things are as light as they are - perhaps it was the adrenaline - but I was able to pick her back up without a fuss. After a quick check for glaring damage, leaks, and cleaning the mud out from the moving bits - I rode out of the grass and slowly made it a bit before stopping again to check for damage - and a lovely photo op!!
I think I clipped the right mirror as I went off the bike, because she certainly went down on her left.
All things considered, having only a broken mirror and a snapped shift lever isn't the worst outcome I could've imagined. It's the first time I've gone down on a bike, and though I don't wish it to ever happen again, I'm glad it was relatively mild and I doubt I'll be 'afraid' to keep riding. I rode her home, after all. There was some weird ankle-rolling to get enough leverage to upshift but everything felt to be running in fine working order. The paint itself even held up extremely well! No cracked bodywork, no gouges or scratches to speak of. Just need to wash her down and she'll be good as new.
Oh, yeah, and that whole ordering a new mirror and rearset.
It's funny, because as upset as I was, I knew /exactly/ what I had done wrong as soon as I went off.
C'est la vie.
What better way is there to start the new year than with a short ride?
When you do, always remember to look /through/ the turn!!
Today I was out east near Monroe, and ahead of me was a slow 25mph uphill left hander, and though the ground was wet, it wasn't really of much concern. As I was approaching, my mind wandered and thought of, "Gee, what would happen if I slid here..." and my gaze drifted outwards towards the wet grass/mud/leaves beside me.
Sure enough, the bike follows where you look, and off I go. I'm sure glad that these things are as light as they are - perhaps it was the adrenaline - but I was able to pick her back up without a fuss. After a quick check for glaring damage, leaks, and cleaning the mud out from the moving bits - I rode out of the grass and slowly made it a bit before stopping again to check for damage - and a lovely photo op!!
I think I clipped the right mirror as I went off the bike, because she certainly went down on her left.
All things considered, having only a broken mirror and a snapped shift lever isn't the worst outcome I could've imagined. It's the first time I've gone down on a bike, and though I don't wish it to ever happen again, I'm glad it was relatively mild and I doubt I'll be 'afraid' to keep riding. I rode her home, after all. There was some weird ankle-rolling to get enough leverage to upshift but everything felt to be running in fine working order. The paint itself even held up extremely well! No cracked bodywork, no gouges or scratches to speak of. Just need to wash her down and she'll be good as new.
Oh, yeah, and that whole ordering a new mirror and rearset.
It's funny, because as upset as I was, I knew /exactly/ what I had done wrong as soon as I went off.
C'est la vie.
