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[ST] Just Give Me 2 Seconds...



> You know how they tell you to "always ride like there was a truck stopped
just around the next corner"??
> Well...sometimes there is.

Marc...your close call inspired me to write.  I'm happy you survived to
share your tale.  I also have a story about a truck being around a blind
corner.

Last March, I was invited to ride to a house in the Foothills to BBQ and
watch the Daytona races on TV with members of the River City Beemers
http://www.rcb.org/ .  My friend on a R850 Roadster and I departed on
Saturday morning separately from the other club riders.  This turned out to
be a good move...

As we made our way up a favorite road
http://www.pashnit.com/roads/cal/LatrobeRd.htm to access Amador County, an
oncoming rider waved at us to slow down.  We quickly found out why...some of
the RCB riders ahead  had just gone down.  Open this link for photos if you
have Acrobat Reader: http://www.rcb.org/Newsletter/rcb_200304.pdf .

The first accident occurred because a newbee on a CBR600 (not on the club
ride) failed to negotiate a tight blind corner and hit barbwire.  Ouch!  He
had less than a thousand miles experience as a rider and was trying to
follow another faster CBR600.

A truck, coming from the opposite direction, sees the downed Honda on the
left and wants to help.  However, he has no shoulder to pull right. So, he
parks in the left oncoming lane (on a blind curve), just as the RCB
guys/gals are rounding the corner.  The lead rider braked hard and swerved
left .  A close following rider was on the leaders' tale and could not react
as quickly.  He went down and caused the lead rider and a third to all go
down.  The leader broke his collar bone but that was the worst of the
injuries.  All tolled, four bikes down in two accidents, minutes apart.

Lessons Learned:
1) Don't try to keep up with your faster buddy.  Ride your own pace.
2) Don't park in oncoming traffic on a blind curve (Doh!)
3) Give the rider ahead of you 2 seconds.  It could give you the time to
save your skin and theirs.

George Cope
Roseville, CA
'99 ST Midnight




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