I came close to messing my britches this morning on the way to work. Headed south on 405 and preparing to get into the right HOV only lane which is the HOV interchange with I-90. Traffic in front of me was starting to brake just as I changed lanes into the far right lane. As soon as I was in teh lane, I could see the reason for the braking. One of those plastic road construction barrel thingies had been hit and was rolling on its side across my lane. Not time to do anything but swerve slightly away from it and get my right leg up. I missed it clean except for the right side highway peg which clipped the edge of it. The peg just flipped up and that was it. Another 6" though and I fear I might not be typing this.

In retrospect, there were probably a couple things I could have done to prevent being in that situation. First, I was too close to the car in front or I would have had a better view of the lane. Secondly, when I saw them braking, I should have gotten off the throttle sooner until I could tell what was causing the slowdown. Oh well, luck was with me but it just goes to show, ***** happens fast.

Ride safe -
D.

 

Glad it worked out. Ride safe.

 

At least you have a good outlook on it and learned from it, sometimes we are not so lucky.

 

Well you learned from your mistakes and it didn't cost. Those are the best lessons.

 

To close! Glad everything is cool now.

 

Although I'm new to motorcyles in my years of driving I always found that the close calls were the best lessons. Thanks for sharing yours . . . it will help the rest of us.

 

+1 sorry to hear about the dirty britches. We've all been there.

 

Everybody needs a wake up call from time to time. Keeps you on your toes. I got mine last week- car stopped in front of me, road was wet/oily, locked up the rear- you get the picture. Glad you didn't get hurt. Bet you'll pay closer attention for at least a little while.

 

If it was empty... makes you wonder what it weighs and if you hit it head on, would it bounce off or toss you on your head...

Glad you're okay. Having a scare once in a while is a good thing I suppose.

 

The 405 can be a nightmare. Been there done that. I'm from Longview and I visit Kirkland from time to time.

The thing I like about your story is that you took responsibility for what you did wrong. Many times I see the "crash" posts and it's always someone else's fault. I laid my XL down a few years ago when I hit a large dog. Yes, the damn dog jumped under my front tire. At the same time, I was riding too fast and not paying attention. I also was riding in a T shirt only. I learned my lesson and it made me a better rider.

Glad to hear you learned from this. Ride safe and have a great riding season up there in Seattle.
Steve