What would make you say, "OH SHIT!"?

[Wayne-o]

What is or would be the situation that would make you say OH SHIT when you're riding.

I'll skip the obvious one I experienced this year. But one of mine is.....................Traveling too close to a car in front of me and all of a sudden Bam there's a chunk of truck tire or worse yet a piece of lumber with nails in it that all of a sudden pops up in front of me cuz I didn't leave enough room between me and the car in front of me.

Whats yours?

Wayne-o

[jodymac]

loosin' my bike and jumpin' a curb into 2 lanes of traffic

[JeffL]

The one that sticks out in my mind is coming flying around a blind corner, and mid-corner at a heavy lean, seeing a car/truck/bus/tree stopped in the road in front of you.

[Nikon]

Originally posted by JeffL
The one that sticks out in my mind is coming flying around a blind corner, and mid-corner at a heavy lean, seeing a car/truck/bus/tree stopped in the road in front of you.

Similar - on route 17 sometimes trucks use it and cross over lanes. Been heading into a turn a few times to see a vehicle over the center line - happens A LOT at the Smuggler's Notch (108) too.

For those that have been on 108 they know that there is NO PLACE TO GO and there are rv's that use it.
Here's a shot of one of the turns on 108: (this is a 2 lane roadway)

[JeffL]

I gotta start sucking it up and just slab my way north into VT, are there more corners like that on 108 Wil?

[R7]

Oh Shit...rabbit!! thump thump

[Nikon]

Originally posted by JeffL
I gotta start sucking it up and just slab my way north into VT, are there more corners like that on 108 Wil?

Yeah.

I just thought about another one too. I mentioned it here before, last year sometime, about the Bolton Valley access road. Comin around a corner at about 60/65 or so and see mommy moose with her 2 babies standing in the middle of the road. That's some pucker factor. - I was able to stop about 10 feet from them. I was actually considering either trying to gun it around or dropping on my side and trying to slide under. SCARIEST moment of my life, well second.

[JeffL]

Yeah, I almost hit a turkey the same way, came around a corner, it was either hammer on the binders, or shoot past the thing. I should have gone with the brakes......I tried flying by and the thing took flight and just missed me mid-take off.

[Half Squid]

Skiier X can tell you about his surprise Beaver encounter!

I have had many "Oh Shits" In my 9 years of riding.

What comes to mind right away:

HUGE pot hole on 93 North three years ago I hit dead on because I may have been riding a bit too close to the car ahead of me... Dented my both rims blew the rear shock and the rear tire scrapped up my undertail. I kept the bike upright and continued on and even rode about 350 miles following not knowing the full extent of the damage. I did realize the shock seal was blown, because every little bump I would see a puff of smoke from oil comming out and leaking onto my exhaust.

The other one is my experience riding into Boston, all in one trip returning home from Landsdown st. I almost got taken out by a lost cager that preffered my lane, then not long after a Cabby that decided he would also rather be in my lane. I seriously almost died. I have not ridden into Boston since. That was the begining of last riding season..

[RandyO]

actually not much makes me go "oh shit" anymore, I'm kinda oblibious sometimes, I've discovered that not reacting has probably saved me a few times

the most recent thing that happened to me is having my rear caliper fall off and punch a hole thru my rear rim while I was going 60mph

I pulled over to side of road, assessed situation and waited for a truck to come get me ... KB was trying to get me to ride almost 100 miles thru Georgia twisties and the Cherohala back to the house with no rear caliper and no air in my rear tire

[Tricky Mike]

Originally posted by Nikon

Here's a shot of one of the turns on 108:

but that's a great shot.

As far as "oh shit" moments go on the street, I've dodged a fair amount of shit. Aluminium extension ladders on I93, a mattress (looked like a queen) on 95, and more than a couple of crackheads on FDR Drive (seriously), but that moose story takes the taco. At least the ladder wouldn't kick my ass after it crashed me. A momma moose might.

I did see a guy I was riding with get blind-sided by a wild turkey once in the Groton TF (RIP). Frickin gobbler meant business. They're nasty fuckers. I laughed so hard it hurt.

[Aaron]

Begging of this year i was on Prison hollow rd (highsider and nikon should know what i'm talking about) leaned over pretty far to have an Excursion XL half in my lane...that scared the shit out of me...or another time on Richmond road having a piece of a 2x4 fall off the back of the truck infront of me and come flipping irratically my way...i hit it though....but nothing bad came of it...just the pucker factor.

[R7]

Originally posted by trickphoto
:I did see a guy I was riding with get blind-sided by a wild turkey once in the Groton TF (RIP).

Man do i miss the days of GTF What a fun little place that was to ride

[Tricky Mike]

Originally posted by R7
Man do i miss the days of GTF What a fun little place that was to ride

Yeah... so close to me, too...
As soon as I saw all those huge houses going in off of TF road I knew it was pretty much done. Within a year it was all over. Too bad, too. People had been riding there forever.

[LiononaLeash]

This spring I went out for a ride with a friend of mine.

I railed an offramp(plenty of runoff, and no fixed objects to run into, so don't yell at me), not expecting him to follow me in so hot, I looked into my rear view after I completed most of the corner just in time to see him lowside from running out of corner clearance on his bike. His crash was around 25-30 mph I would estimate on this decreasing radius turn.

He was fine as he was wearing all his gear. 3 weeks later we had all the parts for his bike. We put it together and went for a ride.

All better!

[Nikon]

Originally posted by trickphoto

but that's a great shot.

Thanks

[cexley]

I am most fearful of the tail gating issue.
Following a car and Bam there's a chunk of truck tire or worse yet .......

So I try to never ride in the center of the lane, keeping an eye out of what is happening in front of the vehicle in front of me.

[capt1014]

Tuesday night on the way home from MCN, OH SHIT a fookin Cat in the road, the horn didn't scare it enough to move so I was about 2 inches form running them damnthing over, with two people behind me.

[Paul_E_D]

following to close has to be the most dangerous habit a motorcyclist can have. Since I started teaching MSF, I now always have a 3 second following distance and my close call incidence has dropped to ZERO.

Oh shit fo me these days would be a decreasing radius turn in the rain. Racing on rain tires has given me too much confidence in the wet. I realize I'm taking a chance way too late!

[keet]

.........many years ago when i was on "the honeymoon"...(bike trip cross country)...we were on our way to MT Hood ..the camping area was called Robin Hood campground....we had to cross the Columbia river from Wa state to Oregon.....anyhoo..the bridge was a one lane deal...no guard rails...metal grating..and it arched way high above the river....i dont know exactly how high...and the wind was gusting...i was on the old GL1000 (goldwing)...and i was seriously shitting meself all the way across...i have never crossed such a weird bridge since....as u guys know...the metal grating is easy to look thru and i can tell u i never want to do another bridge like that again....im amazed that the bridge was open to the public.....luckily..we got across and didnt meet another vehicle....but the ride was prolly half a mile across...

keet......(it was Miller time at the campground later.... )

[mzdagrl]

Oh shit for me always seems to be animal related. First a beaver. Then a bear. Then a farking horse takes off after me....

[mikeb]

well i guess most of my " oh shit " moments have been covered here already but i have one more.

my biggest fear is over riding my ability. i love a good strait and leave the throttle open a little to long sometimes. there's always that fear i won't make the corner but i keep pushing it anyways . i have this ability to ignore common sence sometimes. nothing like coming into a corner and needing your lane, the other lane, the breakdown lane to make the corner!

[Ken C]

If you're smart, your "oh sh*t" moments are few. But, there are some things that even the most skilled (mentally and physically) rider can't avoid, such as deer or drunks who come into your lane without warning. I'm not talking about drivers crossing into your lane in a corner-- that you can anticipate. I'm talking about totally random acts. Scary.

[bigred875]

I think I am most afraid of getting rear ended sitting in traffic....or a random animal shooting out from the side...

[StumpyNB]

two worst for me were

1. Coming around a nice curve in the Berkshires, doing around 75-80ish, to find a moose standing on the double yellow.

2. Someone chucked a pizza box out their window at me on the mass pike. Almost took my head off.