My first hair raising moment

[danielle]

Ok so i've been biking for a year and have thankfully never really had a real hair raising moment where i feel i've been put in danger. I suppose it helps that i ride like a nana and never take risks, but i am aware that even that cannot save me from the uncertainty on the road.

Anyways to the main event, i was biking from feilding to palmy the back way that goes past the awahuri tavern (i think) with my boyfriend behind me and we hit the passing lanes, i was travelling 100ks and saw a car turn out to pass us so i retained the same speed thinking this guy was going 120 or so. Then instead of passing us he just sat next to us in the passing lane without actually passing so i reduced speed to maybe 90 because i didnt want him to turn into me! So then once he passed and we passed the sign that says merging in 100m or so i look in my mirror and see that a bus is trying to pass me when i know for a fact that there is not enough room. So i freak out and cant decide wether to speed up or slow down (keeping in mind that from 100ks the fxr cant speed up much more) in the fear that the bus would end up next to me and push me out of my lane. So i let off the throttle looked straight ahead and pulled to the left a bit and the bus finally got past after the passing lanes had ended (thank gosh another car wasnt coming in opposite direction)

While this may seem like a relativly small and insignificant experience to others, to me it was the first time i got the shakes and the heart race going, i think i reacted right and i know there will be many other hair raising experiences that will trump this one but i just thought ild share regardless!!

[Sentox]

A whole year until your first hair-raising moment? Mine came in week 1 :laugh: Apexed way, way too early going into a left turn, ran wide on the exit, and found myself looking into the grill of an oncoming SUV. Target fixation kicked in, and I went for the brakes, so it was pretty much a trifecta of the worst possible actions. Managed to get back to my side just in time, but my lines got a whole lot more disciplined afterwards, that's for sure.

Second one was coming round a corner in the wet to find some dairy cows had resurfaced the road with a considerably less abrasive material. Serious back end wiggle at about 70kph. I would have crapped myself, but my bum was much too tight...

In your situation, that's when it's nice to have a bike that will at least clear 100 ok. When in doubt, throttle out? :p To be honest though, if I was in your position and decided to back off, I probably would have braked as well (within reason, and subject to what's behind you). Better to let the bus clear you quicker.

[Maha]

You can do it, dont be intimidated by other road users.
You did the right thing with the car dude is 90-100kph is your comfort zone, but where the bus is concerned, your FXR would easily put 10-20 mts between you and it within seconds.
If it happens again, keep your eyes straight, twist that throttle, count to three then release. You'll love the feeling.

[wbks]

No offense, but maybe you should have a play around a track day one day? Not trying to sound critical, but it doesn't really sound like that should have been as much of an issue as it was, and "freaking out" at anything on the bike, let alone a bad merging situation probably wouldn't have happened if you were a little more confident, or knew what you and your bike could do? That said, I wasn't there, so good job staying out of trouble, anyway

[CookMySock]

@danielle, I think you did the right thing. Stupid cunt bus driver shouldn't have been there. Once you are on a bike with moar boogehhh you can just smoke them all, mwaaah!

@Sentox, geez man I think you should just slow down on the road ay.

Steve

[Sentox]

geez man I think you should just slow down on the road ay.

Tis the truth :mellow: In all honesty, though, I have actually stopped trying to ride so far over my ability level. Can't say I'm perfectly disciplined in this department, but at least I'm not an accident waiting to happen anymore.

[howdamnhard]

You did the correct thing Danielle. Soon as you have your full you can get yourself a faster more powerful bike. The advantage a bigger capacity bike has over other vehicles is acceleration and being able to fit into smaller gaps. Something you will learn to exploit once you have one. More power if used sensibly is better than less as it gives you more options. Hang in there ,take care and have fun.

[Tryhard]

I think you made a great decision on the car. Well done.
As for the bus I reckon the driver has issues. He/She should be a more responsible driver being in charge of passangers and the like.

A bit more top end would give you more options. However I will say it again you made some good choices

[YellowDog]

You can do it, dont be intimidated by other road users.
You did the right thing with the car dude is 90-100kph is your comfort zone, but where the bus is concerned.................

Hey Danielle, well done for surviving your first scare. There are some good points here and IMO the main one is confidence. It was your road and the bus driver also knew it. If you had held your line, the bus would have had to take action and not you. I know the fear of getting squished is not a nice one, but was never going to happen. You just need to believe it as the biggest danger to you at that moment was the resulting actions of your panic.


Lucky for you your instinctive reaction was good.

Well done. Next time hold lane and your nerve :)

[CookMySock]

Well done. Next time hold lane and your nerve :)There is a time to get out and not be so brave.. Like a bus next to you running out of lane... :shit:

Anyway, once you are on a larger and noisier bike all this goes out the window. People don't fuck with you any more. It's great. :niceone:

Steve

[ESXB0Y]

Well done! Can be a daunting experience when a few tonnes of vehicle is fighting you for your lane, even when you are in the right. I would have personally giving the throttle a bit of a squirt to stay in front of the bus, but that moment of indecision can be a b*tch when it comes! I definitely agree about the louder bike, though. Jumped on a mates Ninja with a really loud exhaust and its like the parting of the red sea when you come up to cars - they dive for cover.

[2wheeled Gasman]

best err on the side of caution Danielle....did you happen to get the bus rego plate or even see the bus co logo? how about a complaint to the company? because thats just intimidation on the road. it might not acheive much but it might make you feel better

[Laxi]

Anyway, once you are on a larger and noisier bike all this goes out the window. People don't fuck with you any more. It's great. :niceone:

Steve
shit DB! does your bike have a built in IED dispencer or sumint??? :rofl:

[sinfull]

Good on ya !

[danielle]

No offense, but maybe you should have a play around a track day one day? Not trying to sound critical, but it doesn't really sound like that should have been as much of an issue as it was, and "freaking out" at anything on the bike, let alone a bad merging situation probably wouldn't have happened if you were a little more confident, or knew what you and your bike could do? That said, I wasn't there, so good job staying out of trouble, anyway

I am doing the womens training course at manfield in may so hopefully that should help. In hindsight i proberly could have droped a few gears and gased it out but hindsight is a wonderful thing isnt it!

I was considering selling my bike and looking for a bigger 250. Not a ultra speedy one but something like a hornet or bandit that would proberly have double the horse of mine, be more comfertable cruising at 100, al round be more comfy on the road, and would be a good step before a 600 or watever.

Thanks for all the votes of confidence guys!

[Bikernereid]

Hey as a fellow newbie I know where you are coming from. I wasn't there but from what you said erring o the side of caution sounds better than pushing your limits and not likeing he end result. As long as you are in one piece and have learnt something useful for the future the ride was a great learning experience. Go you!

[DJSin]

Sounds like you made the right choice!

Are buses restricted to 90kph on the open road?? If yes I'm not sure why it was trying to pass you. If no, nothing to see here please move along.

:)

[Sentox]

Are buses restricted to 90kph on the open road??

Not to the best of my knowledge.

[ReigN]

GG Danielle with not schiz'ing out totally, had my big incident in the 2nd week of riding, truck won in the end :P Anyways, good to hear you kept it together for the most part and still riding!!!

[robboh]

Hey Danielle, well done for surviving your first scare. There are some good points here and IMO the main one is confidence. It was your road and the bus driver also knew it. If you had held your line, the bus would have had to take action and not you. I know the fear of getting squished is not a nice one, but was never going to happen. You just need to believe it as the biggest danger to you at that moment was the resulting actions of your panic.

Actually, Im going to argue that point. I dont know what the road code says (will have to look), but I dont recall seeing anything in it about the right of way (or even any guidance about it) when merging.

However, given that the standard rule is 'give way to the right', that would infer that actually the left hand lane should give way to the right hand lane in a situation where you have two vehicles side-by-side. On the other hand, if you are 'merging like a zip' and its 'your turn' then to me that would give you the moral 'right of way'. It would also possibly depend on whether the left lane is merging into the right 'main' lane, or if the right lane is merging into the left 'main' lane. Also, the onus is on the passing vehicle to do it in a safe manner.

But 'rights' aside, personally, I wouldnt argue with a bus, especially if I wasnt sure if he had seen me, or I had a suspicion that he didnt know exactly where I was :)

I will agree with you though, that your 'body language' and 'attitude' definitely seem to make a difference to how the cages treat you on the road. If you ride with a mental attitude of 'i deserve to be here as much as you do' then people dont seem to try and mess with you as much. The size (and visibility) of the bike makes a difference too...

As for the ones that DO push it, I usually try it make it a slightly 'close call' on purpose. Not enough to be dangerous, but enough to give them a fright. I reckon that works far better than giving them a finger or kicking in their door. People remember 'frights' and maybe they wont do it again next time.

[swee]

Are buses restricted to 90kph on the open road??

:)

"90 km/h is the maximum open road speed limit for all heavy vehicles, except school buses, which are limited to 80 km/h" - NZTA

What was your road position like when you slowed down and the car passed you? If you were clinging on the left side, the bus might have taken that as an invitation to pass. Either way the bus would have been in the wrong, seeing that it would have been exceeding 90km/h and the passing maneuver wouldn't be considered safe, as you had to take evasive actions.

[whowhatwhere]

Try to avoid being parallel with other vehicles - can really save ya bacon in town, as you're already in the clear if someone does a SMIDSY as it's LFYIWAOTWOIWPYOAGYAWTNEMHE (lucky for you I was already outta the way otherwise I woulda punched you one and given you a wedgie that not even Millhouse has experienced).

[danielle]

Before the bus passed me i was on the right hand side of my lane, and i wasnt side by side with the bus until i slowed right down to let it pass so if we were talking "right of way" i had right of way the whole time vs the bus until it got ahead of me at a dangerous point

[whowhatwhere]

Before the bus passed me i was on the right hand side of my lane, and i wasnt side by side with the bus until i slowed right down to let it pass so if we were talking "right of way" i had right of way the whole time vs the bus until it got ahead of me at a dangerous point

Yeah, the bus shouldn’t have even attempted the overtake. I'd have done exactly as you did (if on a 150). Good that you had your b/f behind you looking out for you so you knew you could slow down a lot and the person behind you was aware of what was happening.

Don't worry, soon you'll be on a bigger bike and you'll be able to accelerate out of trouble.

[davebullet]

Don't be so hard on yourself. You are still here, unhurt and no accident. You made the right choice. You aren't blaming anyone else. You reacted and dealt with the situation appropriately. That is what saved you. Blame never changed someone elses behaviour (eg. car driver, bus). Well done.

[Buckets4Me]

you did the right thing

let them pass
specialy if you are having trouble keeping up a good speed
think what you would have been like if the bus had of been behind you for the next 30 k's
if you cant out accelarate them (you had an fxr and probably would not have been comfy traveling at 120k/h)
let them go. Pull over and stop if you have to
nothing worse that following a nervios bike rider (speeds up then nearly stopes for a corner)

and ye some track time whith no buses and cars to get in the way

good on ya

[R-Soul]

Before the bus passed me i was on the right hand side of my lane, and i wasnt side by side with the bus until i slowed right down to let it pass so if we were talking "right of way" i had right of way the whole time vs the bus until it got ahead of me at a dangerous point
Thats where it is so much nicer to have the confidence to know that when you open throttle you will burn all and sundry. You would then just stay in front of bus and merge in front of him.


But if you are not sure of wht your bike can do, then you should probably play safe. After all, you are living to tell the tale, and bike is healthy, and thats all that counts right?

[R-Soul]

A whole year until your first hair-raising moment? Mine came in week 1 :laugh: Apexed way, way too early going into a left turn, ran wide on the exit, and found myself looking into the grill of an oncoming SUV. Target fixation kicked in, and I went for the brakes, so it was pretty much a trifecta of the worst possible actions. Managed to get back to my side just in time, but my lines got a whole lot more disciplined afterwards, that's for sure.



Seriously it sounds like you are (were?) itching to throw the bike around to find its limits- and the road is just not the place to do it.

You dont need "lines" on the road. You ride in the middle with most swerve room for whatever. It literally is life or death. Yes its tempting to pretend - but ist just not worth it. and its even more tempting when you have more power.

[hellokitty]

Before the bus passed me i was on the right hand side of my lane, and i wasnt side by side with the bus until i slowed right down to let it pass so if we were talking "right of way" i had right of way the whole time vs the bus until it got ahead of me at a dangerous point

Unfortunately, buses will push bikers around in my experience (but I am in Auckland).
Better to be safe than sorry - I have had buses fail to give way on roundabouts and there is no way you can miss me in hot pink!
I would go for a bigger and louder bike as well, just so people can be more aware that you are there. If you go to a 250 get the exhaust done (take a baffle out? or whatever they do)

[Sentox]

Seriously it sounds like you are (were?) itching to throw the bike around to find its limits- and the road is just not the place to do it.

Oh, absolutely. I was in far too much of a hurry when I started riding. Luckily I survived the first few months and came to the realisation that self-preservation is a better approach.


You dont need "lines" on the road. You ride in the middle with most swerve room for whatever. It literally is life or death. Yes its tempting to pretend - but ist just not worth it. and its even more tempting when you have more power.

Honestly, the only time I would ever put myself in the middle of the lane is when possible hazards on both sides dictate it. Otherwise, it's one of the tire tracks (again, as road hazards dictate). I believe lane positioning is pretty vital in general, and there's a lot of reasons to stay out of the middle imo: avoiding oil and other residue, extending the vanishing point in blind corners, maximising visibility to other traffic...

As for apexing a corner... at any given speed, it lets you take the corner in a more relaxed manner, and with late apexes you maximise distance from the opposing lane at the point where oncoming traffic is most apt to cut the corner.

[R-Soul]

Oh, absolutely. I was in far too much of a hurry when I started riding. Luckily I survived the first few months and came to the realisation that self-preservation is a better approach.



Honestly, the only time I would ever put myself in the middle of the lane is when possible hazards on both sides dictate it. Otherwise, it's one of the tire tracks (again, as road hazards dictate). I believe lane positioning is pretty vital in general, and there's a lot of reasons to stay out of the middle imo: avoiding oil and other residue, extending the vanishing point in blind corners, maximising visibility to other traffic...

As for apexing a corner... at any given speed, it lets you take the corner in a more relaxed manner, and with late apexes you maximise distance from the opposing lane at the point where oncoming traffic is most apt to cut the corner.

Fair enough -sounds like you have had a good thought about it with an eye on self preservation (rather than the fastest line).
My apologies. I tend to enter a corner late, make a faster turn, to maximise visibility around the corner, and allow a straighter turn exit- I suppose that also results in a later "apex", but I dont neccessarily move (much) to either side of my lane- I prefer to stay in the middle (or slightly to the right) so that I have either side to swerve to if, for eg, a dog had to run out.

[scumdog]

best err on the side of caution Danielle....did you happen to get the bus rego plate or even see the bus co logo? how about a complaint to the company? because thats just intimidation on the road. it might not acheive much but it might make you feel better

I'm with him on this - the bus company would just love the 'advertising' that this jerk of a drivier is giving them.

And there's a ticket in there too for the driver if you report it to the cops.