First crash

[Brayden]

Don't know how many of these threads pop up and my crash isn't very exciting but shit I feel like sharing it somewhere so here we are xD

Basically I was driving on a back road that connects the Hutt motorway to whitby. It was a fucking dodgey road, it had like pine cones and big sticks all over the road not to mention basically a layer of flower crap on the road. It was dodgey but I took the road very very slowly and cautiously and all was well.

On the road there are a series of one way bridges. The first one I took very cautiously, however it was concrete and had no problems. I slowed down for the second bridge, but not as much, checked it out and it was all good. I rode over the third one at a reasonable speed and half checked if it was sweet, it was concrete like the last two so again I rode over it.

So the fourth and last bridge came up, the bridge veered quite quickly to the right, but the last 3 bridges were cool so I took it at about 20 km/h. I rode onto the bridge and instantly lost control of the bike and crashed.

Turns out the bridge had 2 raised platforms for car tyres, and a drop in the middle about 30cm deep. The gap was wood and was covered in this nasty moss shit, basically it was slippery as fuck. My mates saw me crash and basically I drove into the gap, pretty much instantly slid along the gap, and my front tyre hit straight into the raised wood, resulting in and my bike front flipping, me hitting my head on the guard rail and flying a few metres.

The worst was a bruised hand, and a big dent in the helmet. Although I was going slow, I flew quite far, and my gear saved my precious bones etc, and the helmet pretty much saved my life. The bike is in fixable condition, frame and forks are fine, but all the levers and footpegs are bent/ come off, but easily fixable.

The main thing that really irritated me was that the crash was just a pain in the ass more than anything. I stood no chance in controlling the bike, it was certain that I was going to fuck myself up. I envisioned my first crash resulting in me going to fast, or doing something wrong around a corner. With something like this I can actually learn from the crash and take something away to make me a better rider. With this it was just a crash for a crashes sake, and the only thing I've learnt is to not trust 1 way bridges and to not take farm backroads.

GRRR!!!!! I guess the main thing is that I'm ok, I'm lucky i didn't land in the river below. Just very annoying that I had to have an accident in such a lame way.

The crash itself was quite cool. I've ridden skateboards and mountain biked since I was about 10, and have definitely have had my fair share of crashes. However the difference between crashing on a motorbike and a skateboard is that on a skateboard it happens in slow motion. On a motorbike it happens in a split second, I didn't even have time to register I was crashing until I was laying on the road. However I'm wondering if that had something to do with me head hitting the rail. It was actually quite exhilarating in a way, it sounds dangerous and silly but I quite enjoyed the crash. However I feel it was a crash that wasn't particularly my fault, and it makes me even more angry that I was driving really cautiously on that road.

Sorry if it was a shit read but hell I had to post it somewhere! Cheers, and for you Wellington riders watch the fuck out for 1 way bridges

[Bend-it]

Well, good to know you're alright!! Crashes happen, and if you can find something to learn from it, then you'll be better off. Not always the case though... sometimes you've done everything right and shit still happens...

Again, even though I don't actually know you, I'm glad you're well enough to be posting this! :) Have a safe winter!

[jaffaonajappa]

ouch, yeah man - glad to hear all is ok and you have learnt from your episode.

some people are likely to have some negative comments - its a bitch of a forum in that respect.

One thing I remember from years ago - when your scanning the road surface in front of you (as in a periodic fast check), as your speed decreases, you need to force your viewpoint lower, and check just a few meters in front of you - if you had seen a 30cm hole im assuming you may have stopped?

[superman]

Write a well reasoned letter to the council and demand action. It seems to be the only way NZ's shitty road quality ever improves is because of crashes and/or deaths.

Good that you're ok!

[IdunBrokdItAgin]

Sounds like the bridge needs to be assessed for suitability, for both cars and bikes.

Seems like they have just thoughts about cars.

Notify it to NZTA or MSAC so hopefully it won't catch out another rider.

Glad you came out of it as well as could be hoped for.

[Brayden]

Cheers for the replies. Yeah I would have stopped if I had seen the gap but the road went straight, and then as the bridge started it angled to the right. In effect in order to see the bridge I would have had to come to a complete stop and look around the corner. However since the last 3 bridges were sweet, I thought this one would be the same, but, unfortunately, it was not lol

[Blinkwing]

Write a well reasoned letter to the council and demand action. It seems to be the only way NZ's shitty road quality ever improves is because of crashes and/or deaths.

Good that you're ok!

This. I'd hate to hear of someone dying or seriously injuring themselves when it could have been prevented.

[riffer]

That'll be Moonshine Road. It's basically a back country road that provides access for the lifestyle farmers area in the Hutt Valley.

It's a tricky road, and a good challenge for experienced riders, almost more suited to adventure riders than commuters or scratchers.

While there are some areas which could catch the unwary out, the one-way bridges are well signposted and I would also venture to say that if you go out on country roads you shouldn't be expecting the same level of road surfaces that you would get on Highways.

The majority of people get around in 4WD vehicles in Moonshine Valley.

[riffer]

However since the last 3 bridges were sweet, I thought this one would be the same, but, unfortunately, it was not lol

Y'see here's your problem. Don't ever assume on a country road that there's going to be ANY consistency whatsoever.

A shitty learning experience for you there Brayden, but I daresay you've learned a bit.

[Nasty]

...

So the fourth and last bridge came up, the bridge veered quite quickly to the right, but the last 3 bridges were cool so I took it at about 20 km/h. I rode onto the bridge and instantly lost control of the bike and crashed.

Turns out the bridge had 2 raised platforms for car tyres, and a drop in the middle about 30cm deep. The gap was wood and was covered in this nasty moss shit, basically it was slippery as fuck. My mates saw me crash and basically I drove into the gap, pretty much instantly slid along the gap, and my front tyre hit straight into the raised wood, resulting in and my bike front flipping, me hitting my head on the guard rail and flying a few metres. ...

Heya - that sounds similar to the Bridge that Zuken (RIP) had his accident one up in the coromandel area. I would write to council regarding it as they are bloody dangerous.

Glad to hear you are ok .... and as Riffer says country roads are not always suited to commuter type rides ... so just to be aware of that .. even in Welly there are a number of country roads.

[rustyrobot]

Hey Brayden. Glad to read that you are okay and that the helmet took the brunt of the impact. You'll have to share some of the experiences of riding that go well for you here too :)

I just bought a part for my new bike from this wreckers in Australia (http://www.hillsmotorcyclewreckers.com.au/) and I noticed they are parting out three spadas, so might be a good source if you need new levers etc. They were easy to deal with and just had to pay $15 to my bank to transfer the funds to their account.

I had actually eyed up that road on google maps yesterday when I was looking for a potential ride. Think it might give it a miss now. The road to the Wainuiomata Coast however = sweeeet! :scooter:

[Nasty]

Hey Brayden. Glad to read that you are okay and that the helmet took the brunt of the impact. You'll have to share some of the experiences of riding that go well for you here too :)

I just bought a part for my new bike from this wreckers in Australia (http://www.hillsmotorcyclewreckers.com.au/) and I noticed they are parting out three spadas, so might be a good source if you need new levers etc. They were easy to deal with and just had to pay $15 to my bank to transfer the funds to their account.

I had actually eyed up that road on google maps yesterday when I was looking for a potential ride. Think it might give it a miss now. The road to the Wainuiomata Coast however = sweeeet! :scooter:

FYI both moonshine road and wainui road are shit in winter .. mainly due to lack of sun and ever growing layer of moss on the roads.

[oneofsix]

Glad you survived your experience. You said complained that there was nothing to learn from this crash but also said
With this it was just a crash for a crashes sake, and the only thing I've learnt is to not trust 1 way bridges and to not take farm backroads so you have learned something from it, hopefully the first point and as to the second just don't trust the farm backroads. Then again in NZ why trust any road? Main lesson; treat each bridge and corner as unique. Once you had hit the moss in the middle you didn't get a choice, your avoidance was your only option. Because you had taken the previous bridges as indicators of the state of the bridge you couldn't see onto you removed your only chance at avoiding the crash.
Lesson over, fix up the bike and try again. :yes:

[unstuck]

Glad your ok, as previous posters have said never take country roads for granted,things are changing all the time.Shitty way to learn,but a bit of learning none the less. Stay safe dude, you will be back in the saddle before you know it.:woohoo:

[Berg]

Arse bit of road that. I wont take anything but the work ute through there. That way work will pay for the damage when somebody runs into me. Glad you are ok though. Wet wooden bridges have caught more than you out.

[White trash]

Moonshine's a great little goat track, it's challenges only surpassed by Akatarawa hill road. Great fun leading TRTNR over there when some of them get a bit cocky in their self belief. Doesn't win ya many friends at the pub though.........

[Ender EnZed]

I've ridden Moonshine Road plenty of times in the last few years, including mid winter on a Spada. There is nothing particularly wrong with the road. It's not one to fly along but it's not in any way unique. The type of bridge that caught you out is also, while annoying, far from uncommon on NZ back roads.

If you were taking it easy and you still ended up flying through the air and smacking your head on a guard rail then I'd say you could probably benefit from a little extra instruction. Were there any experienced riders with you or were the others at a similar level to you?

[Brayden]

No it was my friend in his car. He suggested we take the road. Bad decision seeing as though he is a bit of a retarded driver and thinks that going quickly increases his penis size. I swear it does the opposite for him.

While I was taking my time with the road, he would speed off down the road and then wait for me to catch up by parking in the middle of the road with his hazard lights on. Once he saw me coming up behind him he would take off again. He did this about 5 times.

When I saw the bridge coming up, I saw him parked up with his hazard lights on, as per usual. I thought cool, hes just waiting for me so this is also in part why I didn't check the bridge. Then I crashed.

I don't know why he didn't park before the bridge rather than after it. He told me he thought I would see it as a warning and stop. I explained to him that it was not a warning the 5 other times he did it before. My mind boggles at why he just didn't park before the bridge.

However I can't fully blame him for the crash, at the end of the day it was partially my own fault for not checking the bridge. But still I was quite annoyed about it and trust me I won't be going for a drive with him again..

[Katman]

:facepalm:

[Emlyn]

Bummer :( Pleased you didn't get hurt though :)

[unstuck]

If you think you can blame him in any way shape or form tells me you have much to learn my friend.:innocent:

[White trash]

No it was my friend in his car. He suggested we take the road. Bad decision seeing as though he is a bit of a retarded driver and thinks that going quickly increases his penis size. I swear it does the opposite for him.

While I was taking my time with the road, he would speed off down the road and then wait for me to catch up by parking in the middle of the road with his hazard lights on. Once he saw me coming up behind him he would take off again. He did this about 5 times.

When I saw the bridge coming up, I saw him parked up with his hazard lights on, as per usual. I thought cool, hes just waiting for me so this is also in part why I didn't check the bridge. Then I crashed.

I don't know why he didn't park before the bridge rather than after it. He told me he thought I would see it as a warning and stop. I explained to him that it was not a warning the 5 other times he did it before. My mind boggles at why he just didn't park before the bridge. But hey, some people are just born fucking retarded.

However I can't fully blame him for the crash, at the end of the day it was partially my own fault for not checking the bridge. But still I was quite annoyed about it and trust me I won't be going for a drive with him again..

Quick question. What were you looking at approaching that third bridge? From memory, it's easily spotted that it has a trough between the wheel boards. For future reference, I'd be inclined to ride in a wheel track of a single lane road/track/bridge anyway. There's far less chance of oil build up and moss in the wheel tracks.

[Ender EnZed]

However I can't fully blame him for the crash,

No you can't.


I won't be going for a drive with him again..

That would be sensible.

[Brayden]

I was looking at the bridge but It was night time so yeah.. I didn't even notice the trough so I guess it may have surprised me when I went into it. The car with the hazard lights on was also quite distracting..

[White trash]

I was looking at the bridge but It was night time so yeah.. I didn't even notice the trough so I guess it may have surprised me when I went into it. The car with the hazard lights on was also quite distracting..

Aha. Makes sense. Next time your twit mate in his car suggests you go for a a ride on an unfamiliar goat track at night, tell him to get fucked.

[Gone Burger]

pleased you are ok mate.

But what a SHIT weekend for bike crashes in Wellington. This makes 5 that I know of and one of the riders is still in a serious condition.

[Brayden]

5 crashes? Man.. I think it has to do with it being really rainy up until sunday and then is suddenly fine.. It's been like that the past few weeks. I think the sun can be deceptive as the roads are still quite wet even after the sun comes out on the Sundays

[ukusa]

The crash itself was quite cool. It was actually quite exhilarating in a way, it sounds dangerous and silly but I quite enjoyed the crash.

sounds like you might be a bit disappointed you didn't get a cool scar to brag about :woohoo:

[Kickaha]

it's challenges only surpassed by Akatarawa hill road.
That is the shittiest road in the country that I have ever ridden (so far)

[Gone Burger]

That is the shittiest road in the country that I have ever ridden (so far)

I loved it - lived up by staglands for the last 3 years and would often head over the summet to cut through to the coast. Loved it! Miss it!

[riffer]

I loved it - lived up by staglands for the last 3 years and would often head over the summet to cut through to the coast. Loved it! Miss it!

Totally agree Katipie. And since you used to be my in-laws neighbour I know exactly the road you'd take to get to your place.

Any road can be great or shitty. You just need to ride to the conditions and your experience.

[Nasty]

No it was my friend in his car. He suggested we take the road. Bad decision seeing as though he is a bit of a retarded driver and thinks that going quickly increases his penis size. I swear it does the opposite for him.

While I was taking my time with the road, he would speed off down the road and then wait for me to catch up by parking in the middle of the road with his hazard lights on. Once he saw me coming up behind him he would take off again. He did this about 5 times.

When I saw the bridge coming up, I saw him parked up with his hazard lights on, as per usual. I thought cool, hes just waiting for me so this is also in part why I didn't check the bridge. Then I crashed.

I don't know why he didn't park before the bridge rather than after it. He told me he thought I would see it as a warning and stop. I explained to him that it was not a warning the 5 other times he did it before. My mind boggles at why he just didn't park before the bridge.

However I can't fully blame him for the crash, at the end of the day it was partially my own fault for not checking the bridge. But still I was quite annoyed about it and trust me I won't be going for a drive with him again..

i am sorry .. you can't fully blame him for the crash .... FSS ... You can't blame him at all ... its entirely your own fault - how is he culpable in your actions. Now this one I can fully understand katmans reaction.

:facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm: :facepalm:

[sugilite]

That is the shittiest road in the country that I have ever ridden (so far)
It's my favourite road in the lower North Island. :yes:

[Brayden]

i am sorry .. you can't fully blame him for the crash .... FSS ... You can't blame him at all ... its entirely your own fault - how is he culpable in your actions. Now this one I can fully understand katmans reaction.

:facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm: :facepalm:

I know I can't blame him for the crash. That's why I didn't include it in my first post and quite clearly mentioned that I am not blaming him for the crash.

?? Fuckin read?

[Katman]

?? Fuckin read?

Can you?<hgvhgvhjv>



However I can't fully blame him for the crash, at the end of the day it was partially my own fault for not checking the bridge.

[Brayden]

Can you?<hgvhgvhjv>

..... :facepalm:

Cheers everyone for your posts and comments. Next time I'll be posting up some good stories of riding and will put some pics up of the fresh bike with a new paint job.

Thanks for the replies, and be careful on those backroads!

Happy riding

[Nasty]

..... :facepalm:

Cheers everyone for your posts and comments. Next time I'll be posting up some good stories of riding and will put some pics up of the fresh bike with a new paint job.

Thanks for the replies, and be careful on those backroads!

Happy riding


Your first post was good it was the follow up which I did read and quote that raise my ire ...

I know what road and have ridden and driven it, it's by no means a favorite and never will be for some of the reasons you mentioned in your first post. I hope you are healing well.

[Banditbandit]

:facepalm:

Shit - you toned that response down ... are you actually taking notice of what we say to you???

[Murray]

Hey Brayden. Glad to read that you are okay and that the helmet took the brunt of the impact. You'll have to share some of the experiences of riding that go well for you here too :)

I just bought a part for my new bike from this wreckers in Australia (http://www.hillsmotorcyclewreckers.com.au/) and I noticed they are parting out three spadas, so might be a good source if you need new levers etc. They were easy to deal with and just had to pay $15 to my bank to transfer the funds to their account.

I had actually eyed up that road on google maps yesterday when I was looking for a potential ride. Think it might give it a miss now. The road to the Wainuiomata Coast however = sweeeet! :scooter:

When did you move to Wellington?? Yep Wainui coast road is fun, done it many times.

[riffer]

?? Fuckin read?


Dude. Until you learn to read the road, don't go criticizing anyone else for supposed inability to read.

You may not have mentioned it in your first post, but subsequent ones have definitely taken on the predictable line of trying to blame everything but yourself.

Man up mate. Accept you stuffed up, learn from it, and move on.

[rustyrobot]

When did you move to Wellington?? Yep Wainui coast road is fun, done it many times.

Came down in November to procreate. Thanks to MikeMike I've got some flash new wheels too. Brayden is the person who bought my old bike :facepalm: Top guy, bad luck. Missing the laxed out riders - and the ability to ride off in a plethora of directions rather than 'North-west' or 'North-east'. And DANG the tag-o-rama is hard down here - these guys are like two wheeled encyclopaedias of Wellington. Impossible to beat them to a tag. Less fog though! :woohoo: