Another newbie scorned by gravity.

[zeocen]

Well, that was a humbling experience, I just crashed. Yay.

For the South Auckand people, I was heading up Grand Vue Road coming up to the primary school and row of shops..

I'm still learning and I don't like to go fast, especially on wet loose gravil, but the other cars behind me didn't seem to think so.
I was putting along at a modest 50kmph or so when 2 cars come up behind me and one of them erradicly starts tooting to I assume was me, now, being a learner I was already as far left as I could go so anyone could pass, but no, they would rather toot and ride up the ass of a bike with an L plate riding up, I got kinda spooked since he was VERY close, so I ended up going about 55 - 60.. queue loose wet gravel on corner where I was already damn close to the curb trying to allow these (now) 3 cars behind me.

Not quite sure what happened next, I breaked lightly and progressivly up to the corner, tried to move away from the curb with this maniac tooting at me from behind then *skiiiid* goes the front wheel for a split second, by then it was too late.. not enough experience to not think about what I have to do.. so I hit the curb and take a dive.

Left indicator came off, gear peddle is bend almost all the way in making it impossible to now change gears.

I was very lucky, I don't even know how since the bike's damage is on the left, but my right leg has a few soon-to-be battlescars but other than that I'm alright.

What pisses me off the MOST though, is that when I looked back up, I saw all 3 cars driving off into the distance. Way to go new zealand traffic, or is it just south auckland? :/
Anywho~ I pushed/rode it back to my house which thankfully was downhill most of the way and came back to think about what I have done.

Was this my fault? I'm pretty sure it was.. but people tailgating me and tooting just wasn't called for I don't think, I gave them ample room to pass. Oh well, live and learn.

Has this put me off biking for good? Fuck, no. It was a rookie mistake, I'll learn how to corner better later in life, I'm stoaked my limbs work and that I have insurance. The second my bike is fixed I'm going back out there, just a bit humbled.

Sorry, longer post than I first imagined, I hope someone can shed light on what I did wrong (apart from not being able to think fast enough hehe).

Cheers

[emaN]

you didn't do anything wrong...it's dipshit nz drivers who still haven't put two & two together (ie - schools and kids; yes it's holidays, but you never know!).

my advice; do not ride in the left of your lane. dominate your lane; occupy it; make em realise you ain't budging.

potentially, if you ride way over on the left, they will try and squeeze past - endangering you & oncoming traffic. Make 'em do a lane change to get past you.

I use a scooter for commuting (saves getting the RF out) and do this. If you're going the limit, there's no reason to budge.

Sucks big time that none of them stopped...twats.

[Squeak the Rat]

Zeocen,

I just type almost exactly what emaN just said:
---------------------------------------------

I've been tailgated on a bike a couple of times and it is my least favourite experience when biking - so you aren't alone there. I'm not sure what was going on in the minds of these idiots.....

What I would say though is don't ride on the very left of the lane. You should ride just to the right of the center of your lane. Don't encourage cars to share it with you or they will force you into the curb.

If you really want them to pass indicate, move over, and slow down.

Anyway, glad you are ok and great attitude mate.

[MidnightMike]

The same thing happened to me on monday ( cept i didnt crash )

I was in a 100k k zone going about 85 - 90 ( all the voltinator could do into the wind ) :scooter:

Next thing i know i have on car full of dickheads blasting past me and a big truck up my ass getting as close a possible.

I think its the L plate. :rockon:

Wankers. :angry:

[skelstar]

Bummer mate. Do you have an 'L'-plate on your bike? This bright peice of decoration usually ellicits this type of attention from motorists. Get a bit more confident and ditch the plate to be honest.

Awesome thread title BTW. Green coming your way.

[zeocen]

Yeah my BHS instructor said to stick left if you're on learners because chances are you won't be going the speed limit, I was going around 40 - 50 initially, I always make a note of whats on the other side of the road incase people can't pass me.

But yeah, really sucks.. without a bike for a while I suppose. If it was just scratches to the fairings that'd be cool but it had to shove the gear pedal right in to make it unridable :(

/edit - Oops while I was posting other people had posted hehe, It seems the general concensus is that riding on the far left = bad, I'll definately keep that in mind, thanks guys

[Sniper]

Sorry to hear about the off dude. Next time just stop in the middle of the road. Get off the bike and tell them that you pay fucken registration costs too and that they should go screw their sister or something.

[John Banks]

The only thing you did wrong was take crap from pricks in cages. Next time you need to learn how to take one hand off the bars, move it around and give them the finger.

Of course there were things you could have done differently if you were more experienced, but I think everyone can say that. You're still learning and don't need pressure from anyone else on the road being a dick. Next time just ignore them. They can wait.

[BeakerRAT]

Arrhh hard luck! Bastard's didn't even stop, what's this country coming to? I agree with eMan, stick to your lines, if you are feeling pressured just wait until there's a safe option to pull over and let them pass. Sounds like a combination of things went wrong, when you've got arseholes like that up ya date it's understandable to get nervous and then tense up. From there it only takes one thing to go wrong and it becomes a domino effect.

At least you're ok. :yes:

[Str8 Jacket]

The only advise I can give you is to lose the L plate. You'll find people will leave you alone if you do. I remember starting a thread in my newbie days titled "Does L really mean loser"? Cause as soon as I lost my L plate cage drivers stopped tailgating and trying to intimidate me! Also never pull over or worry about cars behind you when you are doing the speed limit, stay in the right of the lane and keep riding. If they want to pass you than thats up to them, just dont let them intimidate you....

[Macktheknife]

You could try bending the lever back out again. Bummer to hear about the off tho mate, always own the lane you are in. If you let the cagers intimidate you like that then you will always feel like a second class road user. If they want to pass let them but dont sacrifice your own safety for it.
Good luck with the repairs.

[eliot-ness]

First, and only mistake was to let the bastard intimidate you. You are under no obligation to ride in the gutter, L plates or not. Control the lane you are driving in by keeping to the left hand wheel tracks of the car in front or in the centre of the lane. Your positioning should be such that the driver of the car in front can always see you in his mirrors. It's up to following traffic to find a safe place to overtake, not for you to put yourself at risk trying to make it easy for them. If you think someone is following too close dab lightly on the rear brake pedal to operate the brake lights. That usually encourages them to drop back.

[zeocen]

You could try bending the lever back out again.

Yeah I gave that a go, to no avail, it's bent in a pretty weird shape sadly. I have full coverage so thing's aren't *too bad*

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys.

[snuffles]

i say arseholes to them.

occupy lane and stick to speed limit, I would leave the plate on until you feel confident, it at least allows the decent drivers to be aware that you are a learner.

get a high vis jacket....... works for me.

[Squeak the Rat]

While I personally have been known to follow the advice of some above regarding the abuse of fellow motorists, I would not recommend it. You should remember two things before considering that course of action:

You are a learner, if they go psycho and try to take you out you may have trouble outrunning them and living to tell the story.
You live in South Auckland, refer to point 1

[RantyDave]

Big suckage, man. It basically wasn't your fault. That being said I proffer the following (non guaranteed) advice:

1, It's your lane too. Screw them. Particularly in a 50 zone. They will not, actually, deliberately hit you because car bumpers are really expensive.
2, Particularly on left handers don't get too close to the curb. I mention left handers particularly because there can be a car parked round the corner you didn't see when you entered it. Zoooom, splat.
3, If the front wheel slides there's not a lot anybody can do. Come off the brakes, if on them, but whatever's going to transpire will do so very quickly one way or the other. The trick, therefore, is to stay on the grippiest looking piece of road. (see 1 and 2).

Wet loose gravel is the worst. Your attitude's just fine though. Can't believe the cars, what bastards.

Dave

[emaN]

i wouldn't ride in the center of a lane...especially in cities, too much crap on the road.

try to ride in the r/h 'tyre tracks' - you'll usually find 'em cleaner, and you'll be right in their mirror.

oh, my gpz250r was v capable of holding it's own, i'm sure your gpx will too; your instructor probly assumed you would be on something smaller when he mentioned going slow...

[Crisis management]

I would agree with all the comments above but given you are just starting out and sound a touch nervous I would pull over and let any tail gaters go. Build up your confidence first by getting rid of the problems behind you. This might sound a touch soft but you need your bike control skills developed first without trying to avoid frustrated people behind you.

You did nothing wrong, just out rode your skills in that situation, it will improve but it does take some time.

Good luck!!:scooter:

[kiwifruit]

:(
never good to hear of anyone coming off m8, im glad to hear it hasnt put you off or broken your body (or bike) too badly.

As has been said above, own the lane, you have every right to be there.

If some dickhead is sitting right up ur ass tooting and carring on just pull over and stop (if possible) and let them go. Its not worth the hastle of getting into road rage by pulling the finger or whatever.

Its the hardest time when you are learning. I respect you for learning in such a difficult envornment with igronant drivers all around you.
Stick with it and try not to let them make you bitter :)

I hope you and your bike are back on track ASAP

-Allan.

[Firefight]

glad your ok,

got that first bin out of the way..

apart from that how is the bike going ?



F/F

[ldnz]

Sorry to here about that mate. Thing to do with a malicious tailgater is to dab the brakes, wave them back, and then note the plate, pull over and call *555. Dunno if it works up there, but i've had great satisfaction in watching a cop come past and dealing with them. Its usually not the only thing these drivers have been pinged for.

Oh and as others have noted - try and ditch the L plate, its just a great big magnet for shitty attitudes and weeny dicks to try and prove something.

[zeocen]

Hey F/F, the bike is a dream - I couldn't have asked for more (well, I could have asked to not fall off!).

But yeah, apart from todays shenanigans it's been running as smooth as silk. :)

[MD]

Technically it may be your lane but from you said I think discretion may be the better part of valour here, or whatever that saying is. Not the wisest idea to try and dominate the lane and further piss off irate South Aucklanders that probably keep a supply of axes and baseball bats at the ready. From what you said there was one car on your tail tooting to get passed. Then it built up to 3 cars, so it sounds like you were holding up traffic, learner or not, best pull over to left and let them go. Stay in one piece that way until you feel confident to ride at a faster pace.
Hang in there. I remember riding my first bike home as my Dad followed in his car. His first words when I pulled up our drive were; did I realise I was doing under 20mph all the way, so stay off busy roads until I can go with the flow... I was shitting myself at the sensation of speed I thought I was doing.

[Bend-it]

All these woosies giving advice to pull over...

Now listen to some real advice... get a firearms licence and ride with a 12ga shotgun on your back. They will all leave you along... well, apart from coppers, I guess... ;)

Yeah, pulling over and letting them pass would have been the sensible option. Either that or just ignoring them and riding at the speed limit.

Sorry about the off. If you got their rego, you can pay $2.25 at the post office and get their address! What you do with the address is up to you... ;)

[dnos]

hey man, bummer bout the off.
Bunch of wankers tooting and shit, its a 50 zone ffs. and then the pricks drive off when they cause you to crash. grrrrr makes me angry.
Have to say that i reckon sitting in the right hand tyre mark on the road is the way to go, much less chance of loose gravel, even through road works.
If there is someone up my arse i flash my brake lights they usually back off. just the other day i did that to a guy and then watched his wife give him a bollocking from the passenger seat - sucker.
And if that doesnt work try obscene gestures or stop in the middle of the road and yell at the fucker.
ok maybe thats not the best advice, try indicating and pull over to let them past instead.
Good luck with the confidence building, u will get the hang of it much quicker than u realise.

[zeocen]

Thanks again all for the reassurance..
Most of my ride side is aching today but that's about the extent of my sore spots which I'm pretty damn thankful for!

And another bonus today was that my old man and I managed to bend out the gear pedal without snapping it (I wasn't quite sure but my dad said something about it being cast and would probably snap.. or something like that). He took it out for a very quick spin to make sure everything was all hunky-dory and there were no complaints from him!

So I'm very happy on that, all I have left is to find an Indicator and it'll be road-worthy once again (with some additional fairing battlescars hehe)!

So yeah, I'm very relieved, but I think I'll have a few weeks of serious-and-slow riding around the deserted streets in my suburb before going out in the open once again.

[Hawkeye]

did I realise I was doing under 20mph all the way.


MD You still do under 20mph (but only up your drive. Ha!)

[Hawkeye]

I'm lucky enough that I've never had a cage tailgating me (up to now).
That sucks but I do agree with most of the replies. If your doing the limit, make the lane yours. If you are slower, pull over and let them past. It's not worth causing yourself grief by slowing them up.

Good attitude though. Get up, dust yourself off and get back on.:clap:

[Da Bird]

While I personally have been known to follow the advice of some above regarding the abuse of fellow motorists, I would not recommend it. You should remember two things before considering that course of action:

You are a learner, if they go psycho and try to take you out you may have trouble outrunning them and living to tell the story.
You live in South Auckland, refer to point 1

Totally agree... you are likely to end up dead if you try and confront someone around here and its not really surprising no-one stopped. Knowing Grande Vue Rd, I would suggest just stick to the limit and occupy your lane or pull over and stop completely to let the cars pass. Its not a really good road for overtaking (unless you are doing the overtaking on your bike).

I had a young fulla tailgate me out to Kawakawa Bay several months ago... was a shame for him I didn't have "Police" written all over my Blackbird and he ended up with a $600.00 ticket, much to his mother's disgust. Perks of the job.

We all fall off at some point. (Some of us, including me, more than once). You just want to try and minimise the number of times it happens. Just take it easy and good to see you haven't been put off.

BC.

[smokeyging]

You are very lucky it wasn’t worse. Great advice from everyone here, I’m not sure throwing away the ‘L’ plates is a good idea. You could get pinged by a cop for that. And those darned cages could have had the decency to stop to see if you were ok. I am a little luckier than some on the road, I ride my bike to work like most, I also drive a truck,….a BIG truck, and I have an amazing memory for number plates…..

[jazbug5]

Lots of excellent advice here, but I'd just like to add (and please correct me, anyone that disagrees - I am not the biggest expert here):

braking on surfaces such as gravel = be wary of using the front brake quite as much/hard. In these conditions, and in the wet, the back brake is your friend, especially with 'progressive' braking.

That's how I do it, anyway, and it seems to work for me. My first spill was pretty similar to yours (too far left into the crap piled at the side of the road trying to avoid something).

By the way, I'm a little surprised at your instructor's advice. When I was learning, if cars built up behind me, I learned to pull over periodically to let them pass* - are you sure that's not what he meant?
It's not worth getting a hernia over, or risking some dick rearending you or attempting a dangerous overtake.

*(Incidentally, by that I mean pull over and stop, not wobble to the left hand side of the lane and slow down.)

[smokeyging]

Lots of excellent advice here, but I'd just like to add (and please correct me, anyone that disagrees - I am not the biggest expert here):

braking on surfaces such as gravel = be wary of using the front brake quite as much/hard. In these conditions, and in the wet, the back brake is your friend, especially with 'progressive' braking.

That's how I do it, anyway, and it seems to work for me. My first spill was pretty similar to yours (too far left into the crap piled at the side of the road trying to avoid something).

By the way, I'm a little surprised at your instructor's advice. When I was learning, if cars built up behind me, I learned to pull over periodically to let them pass* - are you sure that's not what he meant?
It's not worth getting a hernia over, or risking some dick rearending you or attempting a dangerous overtake.

*(Incidentally, by that I mean pull over and stop, not wobble to the left hand side of the lane and slow down.)

Good advice on the back brake. If that locks up usually we have a little more control, were-as if the front locks up,…..well…..

[Unforgiven]

I hate tailgaters :mad: no matter what im driving!!
Had the same problem first I rode at night on the open road, some prick up my arse with his high beams on :angry: When we hit town I jumped off the bike at the lights an told him what I thaught of his driving,:innocent: he was very apoligetic.
I love hideing behind leathers and a helmet :laugh: nobody can tell how big/small you are and arnt willing to take chances :blip:

[crazybigal]

take that dam L plate off!!!

[The Joka]

Not the most exprienced rider but have extensively driven a car around South Auckland .... And do not recommend the offensive body language!!! Nothing wrong with yelling and swearing no one can see behind the mask :yes:

I think I only need to mention the Hammer incident!!

And I know that nearly all the guys at work have steal bars and baseball bats in their cars supposedly for self defence but in the heat of the moment??? Who knows...:gob:

Infact that pretty much goes for the whole of Auckland really! (not too sure about other areas around NZ...)

So sorry to hear that you had a bad experience as I am learning too and really nervous about coming off... "O" for awesome attitude though

Also trying to weigh up the odds off having or not having the L Plate on! So easy for everyone to say leave it off but $400.00 fine

Maybe see you around the place...

Cheers
The Joka

[Calo]

We usually have the last laugh anyway. I've lost count as to how many times some cager has run up my ass before passing me on a two-laned road only to be subsequently blocked by a stationary queue of traffic whilst I gleefully filter to the front. As I pass them, I always give them the "haha look". :motu:

[hsvboy06]

Does the tailgating cage actually have to hit you (and then drive off) for this kind of incident to be considered a hit and run? Or does intimidating you into falling off count, too?

[ManDownUnder]

Having not read all the replies (sorry - slow connection)... the main thing I can see you may have done wrong is let the pressure get to you.

Cars up your butt getting impatient can get stuffed. They lose time or you lose skin... it's pretty clear to me what should happen.

When you can safely do so - pull over and let them passed, but until that time, own the road. Stay where you are comfortable in your lane, and ideally in a place where they cannot squeeze past you if they want to. That'll squeeze you into the path of something solid. And that hurts as you can now verify.

As Jazbug said above - on wet road rely more on the back brack, it's like someone grabbing the bike from behind and pulling backwards. If the wheel slips it'll only follow the front wheel. If the front locks up it'll find somewhere to go, and you'll follow it quicksmart.

Go easy on brakes around corners and on gravel too.

Practice and experience will be your friends - you'll be fine in time, don't give up and if you need help feel free to ask for it. There are a number of good people on here that would be willing to spend an hour or two with you to help. If you're ever up my way (Kumeu) PM me - I'll help out.

MDU

[Insanity_rules]

I had the very same thing happen to me a few months ago. Its really scary being tailgated aint it? I lost my L plate and it hasn't happend since.