Is it just me?

[dpex]

I seem to have this amazing talent for finding and running over every pothole, fire-plug, drain-cover, you name it. Frosty says it's because I look at them and so I'm drawn toward them.

Given the old "Your bike goes where you look" missive, this made sense.

Today I made a steadfast effort to not look at the road ahead. Result?

Bump, rattle, bump, thud. I managed to run into even more than I do when I'm looking.

Does anyone else do this, or is it just me?

[The Stranger]

I seem to have this amazing talent for finding and running over every pothole, fire-plug, drain-cover, you name it. Frosty says it's because I look at them and so I'm drawn toward them.

Given the old "Your bike goes where you look" missive, this made sense.

Today I made a steadfast effort to not look at the road ahead. Result?

Bump, rattle, bump, thud. I managed to run into even more than I do when I'm looking.

Does anyone else do this, or is it just me?

Nope. Just you.

By the way, where were you looking if not at the road ahead?

[R6_kid]

Keep your eyes up and ahead so you see them early and can take action so you don't go over them.

I do it all the time, even when I dont really need to. Breaks up the boredom when riding through suburban streets.

[Ixion]

Make a slalom course out of them. See how close you can get to them, and still avoid them with judicious last minute counter steering and body lean. Then you spot them , but avoid them. And it makes if fun and scares the cagers. Works for me

[Motu]

Ignore them - they will get bored and leave.

[Flatcap]

Ignore them - they will get bored and leave.

I reckon they move under their own power

[Ixion]

Only the ones on corners move, and it is not under their own power. That would be silly, they are not animate or alive. They are moved by the bump-moles who burrow under the road and move the bumps and potholes under your wheel, once it is just to late to adjust your line.

[Grub]

They bloody well put manhole covers in the middle of the lanes just so they can catch bikes. On a wet day when you're really avoiding them because they're like ice, they seem harder to dodge ... I agree.

[jtzzr]

In most cases, if you hit a manhole-cover ,move to the right about a half a metre , you should avoid the rest of them because they usually put them in a straight line. ( USUALLY)

[Mom]

Those babies sit and wait for you mate :yes:

Really they do, they are telepathically linked to your brain and know where your wheel is going to go and they move right under that place. Not sure if the bump-moles are responsible or not though.

Being aware they are there is your only defense against them. Scare the shit out of them by pretending you are going to hit them and then avoiding them at the last moment (they hate that), failing that ignore them, look away, they hate that even more.

The worst thing though is to ride over them and maintain control, it about sends them spastic!

[BBzz]

Our Roads down here are Crap. Alot of the time you have to drive on the other side of the road to miss road patches pot holes etc. We have restricted the speed limit to 100 KPH to compensate.:shit:

[Duke girl]

So where does our money go then seems to be the unanswered question as it surely doesn't go on our roads if thats what we are riding on and over. Got to have your witts about you while on them where ever you may be especially if thats the condition they are in.

[Kevnz]

In most cases, if you hit a manhole-cover ,move to the right about a half a metre , you should avoid the rest of them because they usually put them in a straight line. ( USUALLY)

They have manhole covers in the middle of roundabouts in Hamilton. I bet no one in the council Roads Division or Planning rides a bike ? Anyway,lots of rain over winter = lots of pot holes.

[cs363]

Frosty's on the money, the old 'look where you want to go' thing is so true.

[rocketman1]

[QUOTE=dpex;1760335]I seem to have this amazing talent for finding and

Mate I used to do that too, hit every one I saw, I discovered that you can miss them all by consciously looking (focus, very quickly) like about 100mm to your near side of every one, and you miss them. It becomes second nature after a couple of dozen.
If you look too far aside you will be all over the place, just 100-150mm is all it needs to miss 95%..
i Hit a pothole near the white line doing well over the legal.. recently, now that was hard to avoid, like you can come up on them so fast, just hold on and tuck your knees in and hope the suspension does it job
Good luck

[varminter]

Do what I do, wear my helmet on back to front. No problem with target fixation and you don't have to look at all the mad cage drivers. Get to strange and unusual destinations too:eek:

[Kiwi Graham]

Target fixation dude :niceone: If you look at em you'll hit em.

[blossomsowner]

I find steering works real well.........either round them or sometimes over them like targets.........best to go round in the wet tho.........

[sunhuntin]

i go around them as second nature now. its a 50-50 split when it comes to manhole covers... they are either slippery, or they are about 5 meters below the road surface. :no:
theres a real bitch of one right in the middle of a corner apex that i use almost daily. its right where my line for cornering is. grrrrr. i hit it a few weeks back in the wet. front tyre got spat off to the left without any warning. stayed up somehow, but its made me that much more aware of it, so now i ride that corner attempting to perfect my line while avoiding the cover.

look as far ahead as you can, that way you should be able to spot them and make compensation.

[Luckylegs]

...manhole covers... they are either slippery, or they are about 5 meters below the road surface...

...Or above if theyve been scraped ready for re-surfacing... thats always fun

[MSTRS]

... right where my line for cornering is...

That is precisely the rationale for the bods that install them. Your best line is also the best (pipe) line.

[Usarka]

Target fixation, they say you go where you look but i keep getting slapped or drinks thrown in my face :crybaby:

[Kiwi Graham]

Target fixation, they say you go where you look but i keep getting slapped or drinks thrown in my face :crybaby:

Get a pair of wrap round sunnies dude but dont tell the ladies shhhhhh :shifty:

[avgas]

run over em - make life exciting

[Headbanger]

I'm especially fond of giant white arrows painted in such a position that I have to ride over them, They are right up there with pedestrian crossings on corners.

Fantastic fun in the wet.

[dpex]

I find steering works real well.........either round them or sometimes over them like targets.........best to go round in the wet tho.........

Am I to understand from this that you actively direct a bike where you want it to go? Jesus H. Leprechaun! This is obviously the bit I've been missing. I thought the bike made the play.

[dpex]

Nope. Just you.

By the way, where were you looking if not at the road ahead?

Well, because my helmet's so heavy and caused my head to sag, most of the time I'm looking at my willy scruntched up against the tank. I look up only when when the next pothole of sewage lid is within 50 M.

Is this good or bad practice? Hell. I have so much to learn....And now there's this stuff about 'steering' my bike. I hadn't thought of that.

[Guided_monkey]

There does seem to be a lack of understanding in traffic designers of bikers road positioning. Around Whenuapai there's a road with two manholes within 4m's of each other. No matter how you approach the corner you end up running over either one or the other cover..... not good on an unlit 100kph road.

I've bought up the positioning of manholes with various agancies but they all seem to blame someone else......

[dpex]

Make a slalom course out of them. See how close you can get to them, and still avoid them with judicious last minute counter steering and body lean. Then you spot them , but avoid them. And it makes if fun and scares the cagers. Works for me

Hey, speaking of slalom courses. On a dead straight road, at 100K's plus a bit, I have found I can slalom every second reflector bump. Also I have learned, dead possums, in the middle of the road, do not reflect. Personally, I think DOC should be charged with heinous disregard for bikers for failing to scrape road-kill off the road. After all, we're supposed to be a protected species. Where's our protection against road-kill? After all, the little dead bastards are just manhole covers in disguise.

[The Stranger]

Well, because my helmet's so heavy and caused my head to sag, most of the time I'm looking at my willy scruntched up against the tank. I look up only when when the next pothole of sewage lid is within 50 M.

Is this good or bad practice? Hell. I have so much to learn....And now there's this stuff about 'steering' my bike. I hadn't thought of that.

I know, so much to remember.
Probably best you chop your willy off, that way you wont have to keep an eye on it and we have the added benefit that you won't be breeding.

[cs363]

I know, so much to remember.
Probably best you chop your willy off, that way you wont have to keep an eye on it and we have the added benefit that you won't be breading.


Breading? You mean he has a bread fetish????? :rofl: