Last Sunday, I took advantage of the 57˚ temps on the BRP. Getting to Mabry's Mill around 1:30 PM, my two buds and I had the road virtually to ourselves. A couple of miles north, I rounded a gentle curve at around 40 mph saw a straight, shaded stretch. The road looked wet but it turned out to be black ice. I never touched the brakes. I went down so fast I didn't even have a chance to utter my favorite profanity reserved for such situations. The rear end of my '14 GSA slid to the right, low-sided, skidding across the on-coming lane and down a six foot embankment. Landing on my left side, I followed my pride and joy. My 14 year old Darien has a few new holes, the Schuberth C-3 took a good hit, the BMW City Pants have two very small holes and the Sidi Adventure Rain boots show no damage. I very slightly sprained my right wrist, a small bruise on my left hip and broke a thumbnail. The bike needs new handlebars, lower engine guard and a Jesse pannier. Lessons learned: 1. Good gear is very cheap insurance. 2. Al Jesse's make a sturdy product that took the brunt and helped keep the bike's damage minimal. Mike
First. Glad you weren't damaged more, broken thumbnail What was the temp? Duh, I see 57 degrees. Lower in the shade!
Thank you, Frank. When I got home, I hosed the grass and dirt off the GSA. My wife, knowing that wasn't my modus operandi, came down to see what I was doing. I told her about the get-off and she said, "I think you should quit riding." I agreed and told her I would until the new parts came in. She made dinner for me later and I didn't get sick. Mike
Could have been much worse. Great that you're ok. I ran into black ice in a car once. No fun. Like a skating rink.
After 46 years of marriage, it's the usual and not unusual She's a great lady and good to put up with my sorry butt! You're right, I was lucky. I bought some more cheap insurance today: Another Darien and Schuberth. Mike
First of all, I'm very happy you emerged from this potentially disasterous occurance relatively unscathed. Secondly, I totally agree, good gear, albiet expensive, is very cheap insurance. I ride in a Roadcrafter one piece, Arai XD4, Gaerne boots and quality gloves. ATGATT! I have some lighter gear for when the mercury goes over 85 or so. I wonder if there was much of an ascending elevation change from the start of this trip to the ice encountered. When planning a trip, especially in spring and fall, one must always take elevation changes into account. I learned this lesson very well a few years ago. Rented a bike in Las Vegas to ride with my son, who lives there, to a cabin that we rented that was half way between Zion and Brice NP in Utah. It was May and a beautiful sunny 75 degrees in Vegas at 2000 ft elevation. Kept getting cooler as we rode through Zion and headed up to the cabin. Then, kept getting cooler and some snow on the sides of the road. Then it began snowing! By the time we got to the cabin there was 3 ft of snow on the roadsides and it was snowing steady!! The cabin was at 7000 ft elevation. Stayed for five days and thankfully it wasn't snowing when we left to return to Vegas, but still cold and lots of snow on the roadsides! Back in Vegas it was a nice sunny 75 degrees! So, just wondering.....
Glad you're OK. My Dad and I did the exact same thing on the back side of the Sandia's. We each had one of my sons on the back though...we looked like spinning hockey pucks on that ice, kind of funny now that I remember it
Thank you, Gary. Yes, there certainly was an ascending elevation change. We started the ride in High Point, NC, a little over 900' above sea level. The Parkway is 2000'-2500' where we were. There was a warm front rolling in fast and, prior to riding "up the mountain," it was 52˚<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o> and, when we got to the Parkway, it was 57˚. That's very unusual for this area. There was hardly a cloud in the sky but, where I went down, was very shaded. Mike
I think I'll remember the view through my formerly very clear Schuberth visor as is skidded along the Parkway. Mike
You can't beat good gear! There are some sections of the BRP where you could go over the edge and not be discovered for days. Lucky the spot where you hit the ice was not one of those spots!
So were you leading?....took one for the team? Black ice on a motor....sure does not sound like fun. Glad it was all minor stuff and you walked away...ok maaaybe limped a bit
Glad you're OK. I'm always wary when riding in the winter when the temps have been below zero within a few days. I don't know how people in colder climates ride in the winter months without crashing often on ice.
Yeah, I was leading. The guy behind me, a motor officer instructor on a spanking new RT, said I was down in the blink of an eye . . . . like I didn't know it. He knew immediately why, pulled his clutch in and coasted to a stop about 30 yards past my prone butt. My riding gear plus the Jesse pannier (RIP) saved me from injury. There was probably some luck in there somewhere, too. Mike
With these , I do run bare tires also but cut the heck out of them for extra siping grooves and biting edges. Black ice is just bad junk, OP took got away mild thanks to some good gear .
Sounds like you hit black ice twice once on the road and at home. Glad you walked away from it . Was in a car once that hit black ice at 50 mph end up doing about five 360 till a snow bank stop us. Got out and it was lucky because 5 feet back it was 200 foot drop off.
I hit black ice once at about 40kph. My bike just flipped out from under me and I was on my ass before I even knew what was happening. Then I was up and chasing my still-revving bike as it slid on it's side down the road. No injuries and no damage but I was pretty shaken and pushed my bike the last mile home.