Bad decision on yesterdays ride
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Banned
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 11,232
Likes: 16
From: Socialist Republic of the USA
Bad decision on yesterdays ride
Decided to take a super twisty ride up what we call gaps around here that put me up on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Once there I had to be pretty careful as there were patches of snow/ice in places. Trying to head home the parkway was closed just shy of where I was gonna get off so I took a side road which my GPS told me would take me where I wanted to go. When saw the sign "End of maintained roads" I should have turned around but nooooooo.
All of a sudden it turns into a downhill dirt road covered in ice!!!! I just know I am gonna drop the bike (Road King) and only way I figure I can make it is both feet on the ground (not allowing use of rear brake). So I am going as slow as possible and miraculously make it to the bottom. At that point there are a couple houses but the road ahead looks even worse. I knocked on a door and the guy told me the road ahead no longer joins the main road so I have no choice but to turn around. My only chance of making it back up the hill was riding the grassy part of the roadside. At some point a cage was coming down, slid off the side of the road, thus creating a crossways ditch. When I went over that my bike bottomed out and soon found my jiffy spring was gone. I kept going a ways until I came across a 4X4 post, leaned the engine guard against it between the highway peg and secured the jiffy with a zip tie.
The moral of the story ? Don't trust your GPS in extremely rural areas and when you suspect possible road hazards follow your better instincts. Especially on a touring bike.
All of a sudden it turns into a downhill dirt road covered in ice!!!! I just know I am gonna drop the bike (Road King) and only way I figure I can make it is both feet on the ground (not allowing use of rear brake). So I am going as slow as possible and miraculously make it to the bottom. At that point there are a couple houses but the road ahead looks even worse. I knocked on a door and the guy told me the road ahead no longer joins the main road so I have no choice but to turn around. My only chance of making it back up the hill was riding the grassy part of the roadside. At some point a cage was coming down, slid off the side of the road, thus creating a crossways ditch. When I went over that my bike bottomed out and soon found my jiffy spring was gone. I kept going a ways until I came across a 4X4 post, leaned the engine guard against it between the highway peg and secured the jiffy with a zip tie.
The moral of the story ? Don't trust your GPS in extremely rural areas and when you suspect possible road hazards follow your better instincts. Especially on a touring bike.
Last edited by mikelikesbikes; Dec 31, 2012 at 01:04 PM.
Road Warrior
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,468
Likes: 4
From: South Carolina
I'm laughing cause the same thing happened to me on the parkway a few years ago. A morning ride turned into riding in 3 inches of snow when we came to the barricade closing the parkway with a bright idea to go down hiway 151 in N.C.to find it covered with snow and ice. I didnt know till then that you can bobsled a bagger....woohoo!!! lean left...wooohoo!!!! lean right....when we got down I had to let my bike sit in the sunlight for hours to get the pinch marks out of the seat.....
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 14,778
Likes: 69
From: Badlands of ND
Years ago, before GPS, we followed written directions from Map Quest on a trip through Canada. The directions put us on a barely maintained gravel path for about 30 miles as we crossed the country. We survived without as much grief as you got into, but still are very cautious on any directions in unknown territory.
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Tourer
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 256
Likes: 0
From: Upstate NY
funny thing about seasonal roads.... they were rarely designated on a 2003 model GPS map..I found that out in late March in upstate NY.. Before I knew it, I was on a seasonal road..gravel dirt, mud, etc...too narrow to turn around.
I was on a 2000 RK ..After a couple of miles of pucker factor, I loosened up and re-lived my dirt biking past...The road finally widened when it terminated, and I was able turn around and ride back to pavement. The return was almost fun...
I was on a 2000 RK ..After a couple of miles of pucker factor, I loosened up and re-lived my dirt biking past...The road finally widened when it terminated, and I was able turn around and ride back to pavement. The return was almost fun...
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,305
Likes: 2
From: southeastern, ma
sometimes even your better judgement just doesn't trump what you want to do. a couple of years ago my son and i were on our way up mount washington in NH. there was a severe rain storm looming and i knew if it hit on the ride up or the ride down, it would be treacherous on the unpaved area. we went anyway - i think i **** myself a few times, but we have a campfire story to tell every once in a while.
glad you're OK
happy new year - tim
glad you're OK
happy new year - tim
