FORTUNATE ONE

I nearly wrecked yesterday but I was, apparently, a fortunate one.

While returning from my first ride in weeks I approached a 180 degree turn that I was expecting. The road had gravel on it due to snow and ice which fell some days earlier. However, I'd ridden similar roads for the last few hours, roads in far worse shape, and had no problems. I simply watched my technique and kept my speed down. But due to a number of factors this one corner nearly took me out.

After I cleared the corner, heart beating and right ankle aching, I pulled over at the first rest stop, a mere twenty seconds and three turns down the road. I looked down at my right foot and noticed my boot was covered with gravel that I must have picked up during my near collision with a guard rail. Steadying the bike with my left foot, I reached for my camera and snapped the following picture, thinking it would serve as a nice souvenir of the time I nearly went down.

After taking that pic I put up the camera and started to get off the bike. As I looked down to my left I was shocked to see a large clump of dirt and roots covering my foot controls. I got off the bike, inspected her for damage, and took the following shot.

Walking around the bike in a bit of shock I was surprised at the amount of dirt and gravel which had been thrown upon during my ten seconds of hell, just moments earlier.

After taking a few pictures I decided to double back and revisit the turn in an attempt to reconstruct what I did wrong.

I had stopped for a break atop Neel's Gap in North Georgia. There's a rest center at the gap and I walked around an outdoor shop enjoying a break from concentrating on the gravely roads. The last several hours were spent on very dangerous roads but I had enjoyed my time on the bike. Neel's Gap was going to be my last stop before I got to the gas station where the divided highway led to home. It was also the top of the last mountain I'd be riding for the day. Once I hit the valley below I would be out of the gravel and back onto pristine roads under a blue sky punctuated with puffy clouds. The temperature was in the low 60's and my new leather jacket with shoulder, elbow, and spine armour had served me well. As I started down the mountain I was aware of a 180 degree turn just a mile ahead. I checked my speed several times as I approached the curve and lined myself up on the right side of the road.

I approached the turn from the upper left side of the above pic and continued through the right side of the frame. As I approached the position just before where my bike is placed in the photos I saw a wet area on the road with a large amount of gravel.

In the picture below you can see the wet area starting right where the guard rail begins. Note the rusted section of the guard rail just behind the end of the tractor trailer. From my perspective the gravel seemed to cover my side of the road and appeared thick...thick and wet.

This is where I made my mistake. Gravel has been the bane of my riding existence since the first time my rear wheel slid out from under me. I didn't go down that time but came damn close and I've spent too much time concentrating on avoiding gravel ever since that scrape. When I saw the wet gravel yesterday I immediately began pulling the bike more upright--i.e. "out" of the turn. Of course, the road kept turning as they are want to do. I can only imagine that my mind reasoned that I would low-side if I kept my current lean angle so the best thing to do is to straighten her up and slow down. I seem to have a vague memory of trying that strategy. The next thing I remember is suddenly being back on the right side of the road shortly after passing the apex. By coming out of my lean I set up a chain of events governed by physics that almost caused the bike to crash.

The picture below shows the wet, gravely area. Note that if I had stayed on my line and tightened it just a little more then I would have exited the curve near the yellow center line and avoided all but a light sprinkling of gravel. As it was, due to coming out of my lean just before or at the apex I was now riding in the gravel at the far right side of the picture below.

In the photograph below note the amount of gravel on the right and the position of the rusted section of the guard rail. Also note the soil on the far right side of the road just past the yellow road sign. The area between those two points was the worse part of my day. And while it isn't evident in this photo, there was a large amount of gravel in the right hand lane up to about one foot from the center line.

On the picture below I've superimposed a red line over the mark left by my rear tire.

The photo above shows my route. I've duplicated the photo below and superimposed a red line over my rear tire track.

The picture above shows how close I came to the guard rail. Below you can see my tire track beginning at the toe of my boot and continuing within the shadow created by the guard rail.

I have highway bars on my bike and when I compared the distance of my tire track to the guard rail it was obvious that the bike could not fit in that tire track without scraping the highway bar unless the bike was layed WAY over. I recall approaching the guard rail and pushing hard on the left handlebar. At some point my right foot went down. I don't know if it caught the guard rail or if I put it down while in "panic mode" but there is a boot mark on my exhaust pipe in the area where my foot would land were it pulled back. I also had a mild sprain to my right ankle as a result of this incident. One other fact that makes me think the right foot was pulled back is that I distinctly recall laying forward, my belly almost on the tank. I still had my hands on the grips but it was awkward to control the bike. I did keep the throttle on throughout this near-wreck. I also vividly recall seeing the guard rail to my immediate right. I thought to myself "I'm going to have my first wreck. At least I'm going slow enough that I probably won't be too hurt and the bike will probably survive." I actually thought those exact words. And just as I was about to reconcile myself to my fate the wheels got traction. Since I was already leaned to the left she shot back onto the road way. I believe it was during this section that I picked up all the soil and roots in my left side foot controls and highway bar. The two photos below show where I shot back onto the street. Note how close I was to the guard rail.

The photo below is the reverse shot of the two pics above. It was shot looking back up the hill.

As I rode the rest of the way down the mountain I had plenty of time to reflect on my experience. There was no question about how it happened. I screwed up. While I kept my speed slow and approached the curve on a good line, when I saw the gravel I got gripped and my fear of a possible low side wreck nearly caused what at best would have resulted in my right leg being crushed against the guard rail. As the miles wore on I realized that it may very well have been a high side wreck that could have thrown my body over the guard rail and into the trees beyond.

With my psyche drained I returned to town a little pale and, hopefully, a much wiser rider. Will I learn my lesson and put my fear of gravel into perspective? I sure hope so.

T.W.O. For the Road!

Spring is here I say! Well, almost spring anyways...

It had been weeks since I'd last ridden the bike and when I saw that Thursday's weather was suppose to be in the mid-60's I found an excuse to head out of work early and ride to the mountains.

Highway 60 just north of Dahlonega cuts along the side of a mountain and leads to the town of Suches, Georgia.

There was very little car traffic. In fact I saw more bikes than cars on the road.

As noon passed the skies cleared and I could actually hear spring springing.

Suches is the home of Two Wheels Only (T.W.O.) Motorcycle resort.



As the name implies, T.W.O. was founded and is run for the enjoyment of motorcyclists. The main house features a bar/restaurant and a few upstairs rooms for rent while the grounds feature camping spots rented by the night. Anyone who wishes can rent a locker for the season and leave their camping gear at T.W.O. so that they can pull up on a bike and spend a night or three of hassle free camping. I've heard that at least one patron leaves his guitar at the lodge every season so that he has something to play while sitting around the campfire.

The building features a large porch which connects to a deck. Parking is always close by....



The deck provided an opportunity for me to play with my new camera.

I can't quite figure out what the following sign means so I'm open to any suggestions:

The view from the deck overlooks a creek which cuts through the camping area.






Though the bench was inviting I choose to leave T.W.O. and head over Wolf Pen Gap, Georgia's own "little" Dragon. The pass had a good deal of gravel on it due to the snow that had fallen just a few days earlier. And while the upper elevations still had some snow on the ground, most roads were clear.

This one road, below, was still covered with a mixture of snow and slush. Wolf Pen Gap enters the picture below from the left and travel across the frame to the right and across the bridge. Every season a bike or two comes around the curve too fast and the rider ends up in the lake with his bike crushed against the guard rail. I guess that's better than bike winding up in the lake with the rider crushed against the guard rail.

I didn't see any auto traffic on the gap but a few sport bikes were riding that day.

All in all I had a great day in the mountains...well, at least until I headed home. But that's for another post, another time.

tjb