Cynos
29th October 2007, 15:56
So, here's the scenario. I live down a gravel road, and they have recently reshingled it. I was riding home on Friday night, it was dark, and that light, greasy rain that sticks to visors really well started falling just as I hit the gravel.
I was trying to pick the tyre tracks in the gravel, when my visibility got too bad because of the rain on my visor.
As I was raising my visor with my left hand, my bike suddenly leant to the right. I thought I was going to be thrown, and then I was expecting to have the bike fall sideways underneath me. Out of instinct I put my right leg down, and that stopped the bike, although it hurt like buggery.
But then, the bike, which was still learning greatly over to the right, leapt back to the left, and once again I thought I was going to be thrown. Just as the bike was leaning enough to the left for me to think that I was going to be dropped, it went back to the right. It oscillated like this two - three more times. but always had more lean to the right than to the left.
All this time I had my right hand on the accelerator, I can't recall what I did with it, and I'm not sure when my left hand made it back to handlebars. I was still trailing my right foot when it straightened out.
Now, I'm pretty sure it happened because of the gravel, but what I'm not sure of is what happened precisely to cause the initial slip, and why it oscillated like that. Perhaps I was subconsciously increasing throttle?
Also, during this I had an instinctive thought of "don't let go of the throttle" - was that smart or stupid?
I've attached an MSPaint diagram of the motion of the bike as viewed from head-on, black bits are tyre, red bit is fiery redhead riding the bike.
Has this happened to anyone else? I just want to minimise my risks if it happens again, as the gravel is a perpetual issue until I move.
I was trying to pick the tyre tracks in the gravel, when my visibility got too bad because of the rain on my visor.
As I was raising my visor with my left hand, my bike suddenly leant to the right. I thought I was going to be thrown, and then I was expecting to have the bike fall sideways underneath me. Out of instinct I put my right leg down, and that stopped the bike, although it hurt like buggery.
But then, the bike, which was still learning greatly over to the right, leapt back to the left, and once again I thought I was going to be thrown. Just as the bike was leaning enough to the left for me to think that I was going to be dropped, it went back to the right. It oscillated like this two - three more times. but always had more lean to the right than to the left.
All this time I had my right hand on the accelerator, I can't recall what I did with it, and I'm not sure when my left hand made it back to handlebars. I was still trailing my right foot when it straightened out.
Now, I'm pretty sure it happened because of the gravel, but what I'm not sure of is what happened precisely to cause the initial slip, and why it oscillated like that. Perhaps I was subconsciously increasing throttle?
Also, during this I had an instinctive thought of "don't let go of the throttle" - was that smart or stupid?
I've attached an MSPaint diagram of the motion of the bike as viewed from head-on, black bits are tyre, red bit is fiery redhead riding the bike.
Has this happened to anyone else? I just want to minimise my risks if it happens again, as the gravel is a perpetual issue until I move.