the scene of the accident
Just to show how easy it is to wipe out, I went back and snapped a picture of the seemingly insignificant patch of dirt I slipped on last week. It was mud at the time, after a day of heavy rain.
Here’s my technique: I approach the end of the cul-de-sac and whip left up this curb-cut, then immediately make a fun-filled, sharp flip to the right, proceed straight ahead and down the next curb-cut, then curve to the left and I'm there, on that next street – a shortcut limited to bikes and peds. Only this time I didn't get further than my first left turn because of that mudpatch.
This is a route I’ve taken hundreds of times, so take note: don’t get overconfident. You know what they say: “Most accidents happen within three miles of home.”
2 Comments:
Yep. Changing conditions will get you. When the wet trails dried out for the summer, I found myself crashing. I blamed my tires at first, but finally realized I needed to adjust my technique for the slippery dirt and sand. The wet, high traction dirt was letting me get away with being lazy.
Thanks for the visual and play by play account of the action!
Three miles from home, huh? I'm going to put the bike on the car, drive three miles, and then ride from there!
Hey, now there's a strategy!
Interesting about the transitional wet-to-dry stage being more slippery than just plain wet. Could this be partly because the expectation of danger is lessened when the bad weather has ended? Or is is really more slippery?
It was the day after a huge rain that this happenend. But it hadn't rained for several days in a row before that.
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