Average rider with average ability takes a corner that he knows well only to find a tractor with a hedge cutting attachment covering the apex with bits of hedge and crap and still cutting just past the corner, couldn't brake but couldn't keep going so what did he do ??? I can't remember how I got around the corner not to mention getting past the tractor when I was already committed to the corner, 10 minutes later sat at a bike stop with a cup of tea and feeling a little sick! I was not riding too fast for the conditions and yet somehow I'm sure that would have been my fault?
My riding instructor mate has told me after a 'moment' or after a good / bad spin out to write down what went well, and what you could have done differently. Were there clippings from the tractor / hedge cutter to indicate he would have been 'just up ahead' ? Had you made a real good look for a 'cross view' as your approached the corner which may have given you some advance warning (cab / flashing light in view above hedge?) Glad you did not hit it - fireblade vs back end of a tractor would not have been good. I took a fast corner in North West Scotland on a quick ride out - sign to a right turn should have made me slow down, just as pickup pulling a trailer pulled out in front - like you could not stop and went round it - feedback I got was 'you were not reading the road correctly - the sign was there' (its all on camera) - I just did not react to it.
I have it on official authority mate that agricultural vehicles can deposit whatever crap whenever and wherever they like and needs to be about ankle deep before it can be referred, so fortunately you sorted it yourself cos backup would not have been forthcoming.
Quite a few years back I knew of someone that came off their bike (resulting in quite bad injuries) on a load of mud and crap that had been deposited in a field gateway plus down the road. He went to court and received a major payout i'm guessing from the farmer!
someone up there looking after you!Had a moment like that once and I can honestly say someone above got me past the car that cut straight across me.It wasnt my riding skill cos all I can remember thinking was who will I get to trailer my bike home.Next thing I was past the car.
Interesting read that, lets just hope that one of the council officials has a half decent smack on that road then something might get done about it!
Yesterday on the track bike......a quick glance at my clocks briefly (i know you shouldnt look) 120.......just about to tip into Gerrads at Mallory Park 5th into.........4th.........oh Fuck..... false Neutral....! onto the grass fast approching tyre wall ! "Dont Panic Mr Mannering" ringing in my head......stood up on pegs and rode the lumps and bumps till she came to a steady halt !!!! Thank god it was nt raining ! Phew !!
Thankfully you never got hurt chap but its interesting that you say you were not riding too fast for the conditions the clues are nearly always there we just miss them sometimes a little extract from roadcraft may make you think differently...in particular points 1 and 3. Roadcraft is the UK's police handbook that outlines a system of car and motorcycle control split into five phases represented by the acronym IPSGA: 1.Information received from the outside world by observation, and given by use of signals such as direction indicators, headlamp flashes, and horn; is a general theme running continuously throughout the application of the system by taking, using and giving information; 2.Position on the road optimised for safety, visibility and correct routing, followed by best progress; 3.Speed appropriate to the hazard being approached, attained via explicit braking or throttle control (engine braking), always being able to stop in the distance you can see to be clear on your side of the road; 4.Gear appropriate for maximum vehicle control through the hazard, selected in one shift; 5.Acceleration for clearing the hazard safely. BTW i had a similar incident a few years back but to be fair i wasnt hanging about, up hill dual carriageway coming out of Malborough only to be faced with a tanker lorry held across both lanes waiting for a gap in the stationary traffic heading down the hill. The signs were there as traffic into the town was stationary but i didnt calculate a lorry being across my lane. Could i stop in the distance i could see to be clear.....nope i was still doing about 20mph, despite my best efforts to stop, as i sailed past the rear of the lorry missing it by about 6 inches.
Without wishing to appear patronising or getting on a high horse, your opening comment said it all, in that it was a corner you know well. That suggests that you were riding using local knowledge rather than making riding plans based on what you can see, and you are not alone, it is a common mistake made by the majority of road users. When people drive or ride on a road they know well, it becomes to a large degree instinctive to expect certain things to be in place, the favourite is often during the morning rush hour. Drivers come out of their driveway day after day using the same route, and they know from familiarity that 99% of the time they will have as near as dam it an identical drive or ride. They know where the potholes are, or that certain vehicles will stop in certain spots, and so on, and so it lulls motorists into a false sense of security and they base their drive or ride on what happened the previous day. Then one day they go around a corner at 60 MPH which they have done every day for the previous 365 days when they are suddenly confronted by the broken down vehicle, or pedestrian in the carriageway or whatever, but because they had failed to read the road and were driving or riding on what they know rather than what they could see, they get upset when it goes pear shaped. Which is why I always teach people to ride according to what they can see, not what they know, thereby eliminating the risk of getting sucked in with local knowledge, and for motorcyclists, one of the biggest risks is riding the twisties that they know well and for want of a better phrase get carried away by the fun of the road and therefore forget the potential hazards that could be lying in wait just around the next bend. As I said, it is not my intention to patronise or teach you to suck eggs, but it is something I come across on a very regular basis, unfortunately with far more catastrophic end results, so the fact that you came out in one piece, then fair play, just put it down to experience and a lesson learnt.
Glad your OK Carl. Keep it shiny side up!! I know after our run out yesterday ( only 258 miles) I was mentally knackered and I could feel my concentration starting to lapse ( out of practice with this sh1ty weather) towards the end of the ride. Decided to slow the pace down a little and air on the cautious side.
