Got out of work at 4:15 am, onto the bike and onto the hwy. I was doing a fair clip on the on a poorly lit on ramp, when a pretty fresh roadkill skunk appeared from under the car in front of me right in my path. Options were to lean in more to get around it on the inside; risking a slide if I caught the guts, hit it and maintain my path risking a slide, or throttle off, stand the bike up a bit more and go around it on the outside; risking an encounter with the guardrail. Ungraceful as it was, I took the 3rd option and got around ok. I'm always scanning for hazards, but was following too close to the guy ahead of me to see this one until it was almost too late. Just a reminder that critters use ramps to get on and off the hwys as well, and leaving space helps lots to plan for them.
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Surprise on an On Ramp
- Thread starter Gsus
- Start date
CanadianBiker
Well-known member
Cars can safely pass over some pretty large objects that will easily bring down a bike. Skunk guts would be adding a lot of insult to injury.
Boots
Well-known member
Never mind the roadkill. Obstacles in general. I was riding to York U a couple days ago and all of a sudden the bottom part of a pilon (rubber or plastic ring) appeared under the car in front of me. Lucky for me I was really close to the right tire track (left turning lane).
Just a hi-viz stripe.
Reminds me of something I read somewhere that sounded like good advice:
Don't ride (street) at more than 80% of your skill level. If s#*t goes down, you may need to pull that other 20% to stay safe.
I was following in traffic on 410 fast lane. 2cars a head the guy drops his right side rear suspension and wheel assy...coil spring flies out from under car ahead of me and goes under my car...then rotor flies up and burries itself in passanger side of windshield. ALL I COULD THINK ABOUT WAS...THAT IS WHERE I WOULD HAVE BEEN IN BLOCKING POSITION ON MY BIKE!!! FCUK!
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For sure...a skull cap, wife beater and flip-flops
Big stinks save lives.
407 eastbound during morning rush. 8ft 2 x 4 pops up from under the car in front of me and puts a long creased dent across the hood of my car and cracks the windshield. I had the same thoughts as you, except no matter what my lane position I would've eaten the 2 x 4 if on the bike, unless riding on a line.
I've also narrowly missed a ladder while on the 407 while on my bike. It was inline, on a line, and as I moved to pass a car in front of me I saw it at the last second. I swear it passed under my left foot peg. Bit of an adrenaline rush from that one.
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You just found a way to justify lane splitting yo
A couple years back I was following an SUV way too close through downtown Hamilton, when suddenly I heard a loud thud, which was fallowed a split second later by a huge jolt, leading to an airborne Buell, both wheels clean off the ground! Landing into a slight tank slapper, I managed to straighten out, and gave myself a 10.0 on form. I then set about circling back to figure out what the hell I hit. It seems an SUV can almost clear an entire exhaust system laying on the road, a Buell cannot.
This is getting worse. This stupid trend of pickup trucks (hurrrr....) causes all kinds of sh-t to fall off on the highways, mostly thousands of double - double cups, but I've seen more and more buckets, ladders, saws, etc. Wasn't a problem when most trades used panel vans.
CanadianBiker
Well-known member
Face
Well-known member
A few years ago, inside lane of the 401 in heavy but moving traffic, a 2' long steel rod came off the underside of a transport truck trailer. The shoulder was blocked by a construction barrier. Fortunately it bounced the right way and I was able to swerve around it in my lane. If I was in my car, it would have probably gone through my rad as there was no room to swerve a car.
Btw, how long did it take to wash that skunk smell off your bike? Must have been a fun job!
Btw, how long did it take to wash that skunk smell off your bike? Must have been a fun job!
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PLau
Well-known member
A few years ago, it seemed like a common occurrence to see people going up/down an on ramp the wrong way. Now I probably see that once a year or so..
Common as in once every month or 2.
A shredded tire flew out from under the car in front of me earlier this year. I swear to god I instinctively moved my head to the side and it missed me by an inch. Scary ****.
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