A moment's error, and a spared life...

[madbikeboy]

This thread is a totally honest and humble admission of fault from me. No stone throwing.


We have a brutally Darwinian past-time, and I've often wondered how things can go so wrong, so quickly. There have been numerous examples in the past few weeks of a person's misjudgement ending in a fatality (or several).

I've worked hard at making sure I'm capable on the bike, and I ride on the road with loads of capacity spare. I rode with Toto's crew today, thirty or so took the KB trashtalking onto the street and rode the Northland loop.

I have the attention span of a sugared 4 year old, one with ADD. Today's ride is one of the longest that I've done, and I think it was a contributing factor. After 7 hours on the bike, physical pain (buggered knee), dehydration, plain old fashioned fatigue (we rode some great roads, so the concentration level was huge) contributed to my bain fart.

I was riding through a winding valley with ZXRider a while north of Wellsford. The road was two laned, meaning a lane in both directions. As I cut through the valley - I felt like I was in another valley that I know really well in another country, but that other valley and two laned road is a one way stretch. It felt correct to be on the right hand side, as the other valley is actually in a country where people ride/drive on the right. Perhaps the passing lane sign contributed.

Whatever the reason, my brain fart put me onto the wrong side of the road, and as it was an entry to a right hand bend, the white 4wd ute coming towards me appeared at the worst moment, with very little warning.

Now, I want to be clear, it wasn't intentional, I wasn't cutting the line, the ute was perfectly in the right - I was completely in the wrong.

He swerved while I was still trying to work out what was wrong with this picture - his quick thinking spared my life and just about put him in a bank.

This is the first time in 20 odd years of being on the road in cars and on bikes that I've ever made any error close to this magnitude.

My point is that I've had an epiphany - I know understand how it's possible to make such a stupid and critically important error that costs someone their life. No amount of track time, training, reading, practice - prepared me for the fact that my brain could malfunction and put me in harms way.

I'm having a week long stand down from the bike.

[Usarka]

I'm having a week long stand down from the bike.
A good idea occasionally. Put things in perspective.

[Pussy]

Good on you for owning a massive fuck-up, Mike, and big ups to the quick thinking ute driver

[jaymzw]

Damn Mike!
Thats some crazy shit!
At least you really know how to put it in perspective and im sure you will be doing all you can to right everything else you "could of done"
Keep Safe!

[riffer]

Driver/rider fatigue.

It's a killer.

Get a good night's sleep mate. And don't forget to thank your guardian angel.

[Subike]

Im glad you survived the incident.
But much happier that you worked out where you went wrong, and have the humility to admit it.
Summer riding is great, but it has its dangers as much as winter riding does.
The lesson of having a break, have a coffee or a ciggy, let your body and brain rest every couple of hours when riding was reinforced today for you.
It great to be out with the boys, on the road with good weather,
just being aware of the limitations and kerb the excitement is as important as being a good rider.
Give your significant other an extra hug tonight, they nearly didnt have you.

[Ixion]

Y' owe the Biker Gods a sacrifice. Just make sure the mouse is a virgin.

Such things happen. Best that they only happen once.

[roy.nz]

So you are human.... shit happens stop thinking about it and get over it. Peace

[madbikeboy]

Yeah, I'm off to bed now, can hardly keep my eyes open. I have no idea how GIJOE manages his escapades...

I posted this for two reasons. The first is that I think we've got a responsibility to share this sort of stuff too - for me it's a learning experience in the biggest way. The second is that other people can add perspective to this - this means it becomes a learning experience for our wider group as well.

I'd like to buy that Ute driver a dinner or a week in Fiji. It was his quick thinking that spared my life. With a closure speed of 160 km/h (assuming both of us were doing 80), I would have been vapourised.

[98tls]

This interweb motorcycling thing is getting well out of hand.Glad you made it and rest assured the sun will still come up in the morning.Whilst we are confessing sins can i ask forgiveness for for at the tender age of 7 taking great delight in chewing (yes i enjoyed it) a rather large piece of snot from my nose.

[ManDownUnder]

I'd like to buy that Ute driver a dinner or a week in Fiji.

Sleep well man - take some time off - put things in perspective - then pay it forward.

You'll be good.

[Maha]

I'd like to buy that Ute driver a dinner or a week in Fiji. It was his quick thinking that spared my life. With a closure speed of 160 km/h (assuming both of us were doing 80), I would have been vapourised.

It was me Mike, when do we leave??....:cool:

[gixxer-king]

Good stuff mate, thanks to the ute driver! big ups for saving our mate:niceone:
Hoping people take note that just coz there's wind across your helmet doesnt mean your any more awake then a cage.
Good stuff, glad to hear your all good and not too shaken

[sidecar bob]

Well thank god im not the only one. Thanks for sharing & id like to share my expierence from my Tauranga Wanganui trip this week.
After 28 years as a licenced rider & over 25 years since i bought my first litre plus bike i damn near killed myself too.
I was near Mission bay between Taupo & Turangi amongst a bit of slower traffic on a curving but totally visible piece of road, i checked ahead & saw a red car several hundred metres ahead, but somehow, possibly because of the curvature of the road, i percieved it as travelling in my lane in the same direction as me. I pulled out & started to pass & suddenly it wasnt. I did an un planned 11 o'clock stoppie next to the drivers window of the car i was overtaking & got back behind it in the nick of time.
Years of riding, thousands of overtaking manouvers & somehow i got it all wrong.

[Mom]

I am just happy you are here and posting about what happened and not reading a RIP thread mate. Shit happens, we all cock up from time to time, thank God you met a thinking ute driver, not an all out have to get there friggen car driver.

Sleep well tonight, take the lessons you feel you need to from this. You have had a lucky escape, pay your good fortune forward.

Ixion reckons virgin mouse, I want to know how you prove them virgin before you sacrifce them :yes:

Take care eh :love:

[Ixion]

..

Ixion reckons virgin mouse, I want to know how you prove them virgin before you sacrifce them :yes:



Always a conundrum that. Same way as chicks, I guess. Start on in and if you meet resistance, withdraw. Just need to find an assistant with a shit load of will power and a VERY tiny dick. The latter should be easy enough round here , just start out with the Gixxer thou riders. The former, may be more of a problem.

[Mom]

Always a conundrum that. The former, may be more of a problem.

Now see that is where I have to totally agree with you. I have a theory about tiny appendages too, we should "talk" sometime. Virgin Rats are the same I take it?

[Ixion]

See, this is where KB is really good.

We take a thread that starts as a noble and humble ackowledgemnt of thanks, and within less than 20 posts we've turned it into one of obscenity and grubby innuendo

Good , eh :yes:

It's a natural gift, I reckon.

[jrandom]

I was completely in the wrong.

Isn't it odd, and yet wonderful, how cockups can still provide opportunities to retrospectively wallow in one's own awesomeness?


Years of riding, thousands of overtaking manouvers & somehow i got it all wrong.

I happened to notice some years ago that when two cars pass on the road going in opposite directions, there is always enough space for a motorcycle in between them.

It's a bad look having to be in that space, I suppose, but it's there if you need it.

[jrandom]

noble and humble...

:lol:<tenchars>

[mattian]

Takes some big balls to own up to something like that mate...... I dear say alot of people would have kept something like that under their hat and maybe even bragged about it (the name "carver" comes to mind for some reason)
You made a mistake, we all have at some stage. You have already recognised the reasons why this could happen to anyone under those circumstances. Fatigue is definately a major.........
Thanks for being here mate and thanks for sharing it.

[skidMark]

Yeah, I'm off to bed now, can hardly keep my eyes open. I have no idea how GIJOE manages his escapades...

I posted this for two reasons. The first is that I think we've got a responsibility to share this sort of stuff too - for me it's a learning experience in the biggest way. The second is that other people can add perspective to this - this means it becomes a learning experience for our wider group as well.

I'd like to buy that Ute driver a dinner or a week in Fiji. It was his quick thinking that spared my life. With a closure speed of 160 km/h (assuming both of us were doing 80), I would have been vapourised.


Did you go back and talk to him? / get his rego so you can thank him, but i suspect you were too shaken to think.

[<Rhino>]

Today's ride is one of the longest that I've done, and I think it was a contributing factor. After 7 hours on the bike, physical pain (buggered knee), dehydration, plain old fashioned fatigue (we rode some great roads, so the concentration level was huge) contributed to my bain fart.

Guess you've found a limit to be aware of? The more I ride the more I think its similer to when I was a diver - you dive and dive within your limits then one day you push it to far and alomost become fish food. I once did a controlled dive to asses just how deep I could go before I got narked! turned out that was pushing 60 meters!

The positive thing about this is that now you know what your "hit the wall" point is and maybe if you do a ride like that again you will know at which point you will need a stop and energy boost.. a positive lesson I would say :sweatdrop

[Tone165]

Good post or thread or revelation or whatever.

If sharing our mistakes can encourage ppl to think, who knows what the benefits might be! This small reminder that our brains are not necessarily "on our side" might save a life...or many!

Glad to see you are still with us, and that there are still a few quick witted cagers around, and I can relate to the brain fade myself. Mostly it happens to me driving car or truck, but I will be thinking about it a bit more now.

[GSXR Trace]

shit mate! you said to read about your mistake... didn't realise it was this serious! well glad you made it out, and made it home with your bike all in one piece. Definitely good to hear there was a ute driver with their mind switched on!

Hope your knee is feeling okay as well!

[sidecar bob]

I happened to notice some years ago that when two cars pass on the road going in opposite directions, there is always enough space for a motorcycle in between them.

It's a bad look having to be in that space, I suppose, but it's there if you need it.
Always enough space??? Really!!
I have never used that space & never will. I dont trust it, its a variable that is far to variable to gamble on.

[Hinny]

Keeping hydrated is extremely important at this time of year.
Coffee being a diuretic won't do it for you. Fatigue follows the buzz.
Apples, Water and Electrolites do the business for me.
The apples let you know if your brain isn't functioning properly. You bite your tongue if the gang upstairs are on holiday or having a tea break The fructose feeds your brains powerdrive.
Good thing about riding a sprots bike. You get plenty of opportunity to rehydrate yourself when refuelling the bike.
Simple test. If your urine has any colour in it apart from the first leak of the day then you are not drinking enough and you won't function as well.

[FJRider]

I happened to notice some years ago that when two cars pass on the road going in opposite directions, there is always enough space for a motorcycle in between them.



Don't they call that lane splitting... ???

Bikes were narrower then though...

[Badger8]

:shit: Fookin 'ell mate! That's enough to make the ringpiece pucker just reading about it! :crazy:
Glad to hear you are alright, and made it back home in one piece.

Endurance is definitely something that is hard to gauge, you only tend to notice it when you become aware you are past your limits. At least you are aware of it, and will be better equipped for future rides :yes: Rest up well...

[Badger8]

Keeping hydrated is extremely important at this time of year.
Simple test. If your urine has any colour in it apart from the first leak of the day then you are not drinking enough and you won't function as well.

Have learnt that one m'self at the start of this summer. Luckily nothing bads went down, but really felt the effects one ride on a hot day. Spent 35 bucks on a camel pack off retardme, and damn i find myself a lot more focused on long rides now. Dunno how i used to do without it! :yes:

[98tls]

Keeping hydrated is extremely important at this time of year.
Coffee being a diuretic won't do it for you. Fatigue follows the buzz.
Apples, Water and Electrolites do the business for me.
The apples let you know if your brain isn't functioning properly. You bite your tongue if the gang upstairs are on holiday or having a tea break The fructose feeds your brains powerdrive.
Good thing about riding a sprots bike. You get plenty of opportunity to rehydrate yourself when refuelling the bike.
Simple test. If your urine has any colour in it apart from the first leak of the day then you are not drinking enough and you won't function as well. Jesus:2thumbsupHow the fuck us old motorcyclists survived without the interweb is beyond me.38 years riding and much the same number of bikes owned with never an apple along the way.:beer:Xcuse am just off to the loo to work out if i should ride tommorow.No wonder you fuckers fall off,your to worried about crap to worry about stuff you should worry about.

[FJRider]

After completing five 1000 milers myself, seven hours riding is not even half way. For the very fast one or two... it may be half way. You have to fuel the body and bike.

[jrandom]

Always enough space??? Really!!

Yup.

Of course, when it's two trucks...

[Badger8]

There's always enough space... it's just a matter of whether you come out the other side of the gap as wide as you went in...
Not something i would want to depend on, but that gap has saved my ass once before

[TOTO]

Oh my god. Glad you are with us. may you ride many many more trouble- free years (and so all of us). Some of us can relate to what has happened to you very strongly. Every meal will taste better now for a few days, every class of water will be so sweet. Enjoy life brother.

[more_fasterer]

Glad you're OK man.

[Hinny]

After completing five 1000 milers myself.....

Man, you are a tiger for punishment.
I'm guessing the mental toughness would be extremely important. An attribute which us old fookers are supposed to have an advantage over the young thrusters.

[longwayfromhome]

Glad to hear you are still up and about.

One of the things you are talking about is the tendency of the body to slip into old habit patterns. I think because you were pretty tired, your mental strength was lessened and your instinctive part took over, pulling out an old pattern from long ago. I have some examples from my riding:

I rode a Suzuki 120 when I started uni in 1972. It has a 4 down gearbox. Even today at 54 years, I still occasionally find myself changing from first to second by tapping down, worse is redlining 3rd to 4th and changing down to 2nd. Not often, but when I'm tired. I only had the bike a year or so, but that first learned behaviour still pops up now, 36 years later.

The other example is more worrying....after 10 years in America, driving on the RHS....empty roads and intersections still call for some deliberate thought at times. Both in the US after having been back here or now that I am here and when I visit the US occasionally, this is a definite issue, not very often, maybe once or twice a year, but its a deadly problem as you found out. On this specific point, I feel that this is one of the most important things that RHS-riders visiting NZ need to be careful of, much more so than visiting drivers.

I think the key is to make sure your mental acuity is still performing as a gatekeeper role on top of the latent body reactions/conditioning - you can do this by forcing yourself to take breaks/drinks etc, its so tempting to just go on. Also to acknowledge that things learned when you were younger still live with us today. All this is a challenge because our most enjoyable rides are those where we go with the flow..where mind/body/emotions seem to become one.

[sinned]

This thread is a totally honest and humble admission of fault from me. No stone throwing.

I have the attention span of a sugared 4 year old, one with ADD. Today's ride is one of the longest that I've done, and I think it was a contributing factor.
As I cut through the valley - I felt like I was in another valley that I know really well in another country, but that other valley and two laned road is a one way stretch. It felt correct to be on the right hand side, as the other valley is actually in a country where people ride/drive on the right.

This is the first time in 20 odd years of being on the road in cars and on bikes that I've ever made any error close to this magnitude.

I'm having a week long stand down from the bike.

If this happened to me the first thing I would do is go to my GP and tell him about the experience. Get the medical check up and then decide what to do. In the meanwhile a stand down from riding sounds like a good idea. We all get older and things do change.

[madbikeboy]

shit mate! you said to read about your mistake... didn't realise it was this serious! well glad you made it out, and made it home with your bike all in one piece. Definitely good to hear there was a ute driver with their mind switched on!

Hope your knee is feeling okay as well!

Been icing it for an hour, can actually bend it now. I can't understand why Gixers are advertised as touring bikes....

You ride really well. Thanks for being the only one who stopped for the upchuck guy on the loop yesterday.

[madbikeboy]

Oh my god. Glad you are with us. may you ride many many more trouble- free years (and so all of us). Some of us can relate to what has happened to you very strongly. Every meal will taste better now for a few days, every class of water will be so sweet. Enjoy life brother.

I don't think it was quite that dramatic, but it gave me pause for though.

Now, Toto - good day yesterday, thanks for organising a good ride. You need to have a chat with the young guy on the HyoDung, PM me or Trace.

[madbikeboy]

The rehydration thing - I'm a long time cyclist as well, so I was reasonably well dehydrated. I recall taking a piss at Wellsford soon afterwards, and it was normal.

In retrospect, I reckon it was rider fatigue. We did enough mileage to put 5 tanks of gas in Scoot, and a lot of the ride was on twisty roads with 1st gear corners - the roads we're great, and the focus is similar (if not more) to what you put in at the track, despite the speeds obviously being much less.

One guy (MP, I'll let you write about it) dropped his bike in the twistiest of twisties - an experienced rider, not speeding, but the roads were bumpy and not in great repair.

I stopped at Wellsford with ZXRider - I was ashamed to tell him about my stupid mistake, and to be honest, if the trailer was there (instead of at home), I would have cheerfully loaded Scoot up and fallen asleep.

[sinfull]

I'd like to buy that Ute driver a dinner or a week in Fiji. It was his quick thinking that spared my life. With a closure speed of 160 km/h (assuming both of us were doing 80), I would have been vapourised. A funny thing happened while driving my ute along a two laned road yesterday !!!


Guess you've found a limit to be aware of? The more I ride the more I think its similer to when I was a diver - you dive and dive within your limits then one day you push it to far and alomost become fish food. I once did a controlled dive to asses just how deep I could go before I got narked! turned out that was pushing 60 meters!

The positive thing about this is that now you know what your "hit the wall" point is and maybe if you do a ride like that again you will know at which point you will need a stop and energy boost.. a positive lesson I would say :sweatdrop
Don't think it's a matter of hittin the wall, sure ride fitness is an issue and i hit that wall alot (soooo unfit lol) but a brain fade has alot to do with dehyd.



Keeping hydrated is extremely important at this time of year.
Coffee being a diuretic won't do it for you. Fatigue follows the buzz.
Apples, Water and Electrolites do the business for me.
The apples let you know if your brain isn't functioning properly. You bite your tongue if the gang upstairs are on holiday or having a tea break The fructose feeds your brains powerdrive.
Good thing about riding a sprots bike. You get plenty of opportunity to rehydrate yourself when refuelling the bike.
Simple test. If your urine has any colour in it apart from the first leak of the day then you are not drinking enough and you won't function as well. What was it dpex said to me ? If ya aint taking a clear piss every two hours ya aint drinkin enough and if ya feel a thirst coming on its too late !
I used to go all day without taking a piss at the track ! Wasn't till i read his thread on dehydration and its effects that i googled, researched it rah de rah and changed my habits a bit ! Now i force myself to drink a half ltr after each session at a track day !
Still foookin useless but boy do i piss alot !!!


Have learnt that one m'self at the start of this summer. Luckily nothing bads went down, but really felt the effects one ride on a hot day. Spent 35 bucks on a camel pack off retardme, and damn i find myself a lot more focused on long rides now. Dunno how i used to do without it! :yes: Wow we might have just come up for a new idea to use up that waist of space hump in race leathers !!!!


am just off to the loo to work out if i should ride tommorow.No wonder you fuckers fall off,your to worried about crap to worry about stuff you should worry about. Noooooo 98 its not the night before ! Cause if ya anything like me ya been pissin clear since ya cracked that first beer

[sidecar bob]

There's always enough space... it's just a matter of whether you come out the other side of the gap as wide as you went in...
Not something i would want to depend on, but that gap has saved my ass once before

Sorry, i disagree. Its arrogance like that that makes motorcyclists look like a bunch of fuckwits, or dead.

[Badger8]

Sorry, i disagree. Its arrogance like that that makes motorcyclists look like a bunch of fuckwits, or dead.

Sorry if my point didnt come across there. Was taking the piss, but saying in a roundabout way that the gap aint always big enough, if it's there at all.
Definitely shouldnt be considered as a legitimate option whilst riding :no:

[Badger8]

Been icing it for an hour, can actually bend it now. I can't understand why Gixers are advertised as touring bikes....

You ride really well. Thanks for being the only one who stopped for the upchuck guy on the loop yesterday.

Gixxers advertised as tourers? :crazy: What have you been reading? I know some people who do tour on them, but most find themselves rather uncomfortable by days end.

And i stopped and hosed the lad down thank you very much :bleh: we were back on the road for a while before trace had realised noone was going to stop and turned back to check on us. On ya Trace :niceone:

[GSXR Trace]

Gixxers advertised as tourers? :crazy: What have you been reading? I know some people who do tour on them, but most find themselves rather uncomfortable by days end.

And i stopped and hosed the lad down thank you very much :bleh: we were back on the road for a while before trace had realised noone was going to stop and turned back to check on us. On ya Trace :niceone:

definite props to badger for stopping... and yes by the time i had had a chance to pass the front riders (a straight was not all that common) to get the others guys to stop (and been ignored) and then found somewhere to turn around that wasn't dangerous... i was still on the way back when i spotted glice coming through.... but i was still going back! hehe :bleh:

[madbikeboy]

Gixxers advertised as tourers? :crazy: What have you been reading? I know some people who do tour on them, but most find themselves rather uncomfortable by days end.

And i stopped and hosed the lad down thank you very much :bleh: we were back on the road for a while before trace had realised noone was going to stop and turned back to check on us. On ya Trace :niceone:

A joke - a GIXER is the worst torture device known to man to tour on. If I ever decide to chuck it all in, I'll take the CBX and leave the Gixer at home...

Good on both of you, your kharma will pay you back tenfold.

[jrandom]

There's always enough space... it's just a matter of whether you come out the other side of the gap as wide as you went in...
Not something i would want to depend on, but that gap has saved my ass once before

Just to be clear, I'm not advocating foolish overtaking. Finding oneself in that gap means that you're only a few inches removed from becoming strawberry jam on the road, after all.

Just pointing out that that solution (using gaps between vehicles that you wouldn't normally consider) is often available if things turn to custard, and it can be better to use it rather than panic, freeze up and target-fixate.

[retro asian]

Did a similar thing in my car many years ago. Was following an evo that casually changed into the right lane. So did I, then I realised it wasn't a RH lane...but the other side of the road! Luckily it was a long straight, and there were no cars coming opposite anyway.

Glad I was the only one who felt totally exhausted after the ride.

[madbikeboy]

Just to be clear, I'm not advocating foolish overtaking. Finding oneself in that gap means that you're only a few inches removed from becoming strawberry jam on the road, after all.

Just pointing out that that solution (using gaps between vehicles that you wouldn't normally consider) is often available if things turn to custard, and it can be better to use it rather than panic, freeze up and target-fixate.

I have used the cannonball lane twice when there was shit happening in front of me and there was no other possible escape routes. I have also used the footpath once as well.

My point is, don't discount any escape route when shit happens.

[madbikeboy]

Did a similar thing in my car many years ago. Was following an evo that casually changed into the right lane. So did I, then I realised it wasn't a RH lane...but the other side of the road! Luckily it was a long straight, and there were no cars coming opposite anyway.

Glad I was the only one who felt totally exhausted after the ride.


Dude, good effort on the ride. I was wasted, I got home, ate weet bix (couldn't be arsed cooking or riding somewhere for dinner), and then crashed out...

[Badger8]

Dude, good effort on the ride. I was wasted, I got home, ate weet bix (couldn't be arsed cooking or riding somewhere for dinner), and then crashed out...

Was probably a good recovery plan. I arrived home with sore shoulders to a flat of drunkards. Got called a power ranger and tackled for a hug before i'd even made it off the driveway. Lets just say pineapple flips (rum, pineapple, crushed ice... in that order...) weren't such a great re-hydration idea :laugh: nor was a can of spaghetti and a tin of tuna a good dinner idea... oh well :2thumbsup

[GSXR Trace]

Was probably a good recovery plan. I arrived home with sore shoulders to a flat of drunkards. Got called a power ranger and tackled for a hug before i'd even made it off the driveway. Lets just say pineapple flips (rum, pineapple, crushed ice... in that order...) weren't such a great re-hydration idea :laugh: nor was a can of spaghetti and a tin of tuna a good dinner idea... oh well :2thumbsup

shit... sounds better than just being awake til the early hours! but bet im feeling better than you today!

[Badger8]

shit... sounds better than just being awake til the early hours! but bet im feeling better than you today!

yeah, early hours here too :laugh: the girls were supposed to be heading to town around 10... so of course didnt leave til well after midnight :shutup:

[Gremlin]

Yeah, I'm off to bed now, can hardly keep my eyes open. I have no idea how GIJOE manages his escapades...
Simple riding fitness and being aware of what you can and can't do.

Remember that the summer weather will tire you out faster, and if you aren't used to the longer riding, your concentration will drop much faster after your normal period of riding has passed.

Sell that silly sportsbike, get something more practical, do some grand challenges, and suddenly 500km is regular stuff :laugh: (actually... thats pretty much what I did :confused:)

[Insanity_rules]

Sobering and brutally honest Mike, Glad your OK. I have a habit of going on torturous long rides with guys that have a lot larger bikes than mine and I know what that deep down tired feels like.

[vifferman]

I guess it's supposed to be manly or heroic to do really long rides without sufficient rest time? I'm "lucky" in that my lack of fitness and crappy joints prohibit me from riding or driving for more'n about 90 minutes without a break, so I'm forced into being a wimp.

A few years ago, when the vifferbabe and I did a 5-day tour of Northland, I was being pretty careful and sensible, with one notable exception. We traveled over lots of roads with one-lane bridges, which were almost without exception had no-one coming the other way. I guess I'd become used to that, or was just too settled into cruise mode or summat, because on the one bridge that did happen to have a vehicle coming the other way, I carried on going, despite not having the right of way. I'm not dead now (at least, I think that's the case) because those narrow one-lane bridges have enough room for a ute (coincidentally a white one - mebbe the same guy? :blink:) and bike to cohabitate peacefully if they both keep left.

Later on in the tour, I did have the sense to stop when after several km of very winding road, despite riding safely and sensibly, I didn't feel like I was. A few minutes' rest, and I was back in the groove.

[Blackshear]

I must spread some rep around before giving it to you dude.
Good man for not turning it into a raging penis thread, that's +1.
You can only pay it forward now.
Just try not fine more reasons to fess up about brains lapses :eek5:

[Winston001]

Big ups to you for honesty and your experience is a timely reminder of how brain fade can happen to anyone.

I've just come back from a NI trip with a couple of long days thrown in. Blenheim/Auckland, Blenheim/Invercargill. A non-biker friend asked me if I got tired and my answer was No. For one thing I take breaks every hour, but truthfully, riding a bike is such an intense experience that tiredness isn't evident.

That is an illusion of course. It is only when I stop and nearly fall off the bike that reality hits. Even then I'd only admit to feeling stuffed, not tired, because riding makes me feel wired. Thats why I do it. Still, this thread has made me think again about long trips.

[gijoe1313]

Crikey! :gob: Glad to hear that all is in the land of the living! MBB that ute driver was on the ball and did the right things at the right time!

As for my own experiences, it is to be noted I have high levels of energy - this has been built up over years previously in the gym, martial arts training and my own personality make up.

I recognise the importance of fluids, the need to take a break and when not to push it. I actually train myself to do the riding I love. It may not come as a surprise to some that I love to ride and ride long and often, pootling to Wellington and back with only fuel stops and meal breaks (usually incorporated together). Its about training, I love doing things that challenge myself and I do things differently to a lot of people.

Things that people take as being sensible or the "done" thing I challenge. I have found over time what makes me tick and to keep riding longer and longer and enjoy every bit of it!

It's all relative, people who have done events like 1000 milers or Grand challenges may see things completely different. To me a good start to a ride is 300-400km. A long trip that I love to enjoy is the classic "Ride to Wellington, eat dinner/breakfast and ride back to Auckland" done it many times.

But above all, as has been said by many people already, we all have our limitations and factors that affect our responses/decision processing. The trick is to know when the panic buttons are lighting up and being able to take effective action.

Heck, when I feel the sandman coming, I will pull over if I have to and park the bike up and kip for 5-10 minutes. Those signs on the side of the road do have important messages. Take a break!

And I haven't even got on a bike yet today! :shit: Guess I know I must need a break from riding! :gob: (mind you, tonight may prove I want to ride! :innocent:)

MBB, glad to hear you taking a little sabbatical from scoot, she'll be there waiting for you when you are ready to ride her in the right frame of mind! :yes:

[Macontour]

Scary stuff. I drive tour coaches for a living and the usual is to have lunch in Rotovegas and then drive North into the sun shining through the big windscreen and then try to keep eyes open. Not a lot of fun with up to 45 passengers on board. The can of V is always there and I usually have cold water as well.

It is easy to get the thousand mile stare when faced with tiredness and maybe familiarity with the roads. the TV ad is quite correct.

Also big Ups to Toto and others for the ride. 675 ks is a pretty big day by my standards and my butt felt like my seat was pywood. Lots of fun though and the rain stayed away thankfully.

[mnkyboy]

675 ks is a pretty big day by my standards and my butt felt like my seat was pywood. Lots of fun though and the rain stayed away thankfully.

Your seat is plywood compared to mine ;) - Good to say hello again today too (Gassie in GI)

Good on ya mike for owning up - I have learnt from it. I occasionally find my brain wandering and heading into autopilot mode. Makes me more alert to the symptoms

I find that I can ride long distance but make myself ride slower as I get on in the day just to allow for the slower reaction times due to fatigue. However it takes some practice and discipline to do it. Very hard to force yourself to ride at 90kms; but I have found it allows me another half second or two to react/decide.

[carver]

im not even going to say anything

apart from

think twice before you rant off at me again