So I had my first lowside crash today....

[Biznerto]

An S turn on Pinehurst right before Redwood. On the 2nd part I hit some loose dirt and leaves and and the back tire slid out and it went down into a pile of leaves, kicking up a nice little dust cloud. The bike slid about 10 feet, broke the shifter peg, scratched up the left side of the tail, and mysteriously made the left frame slider disappear. I got a little road rash on my left knee (no more jeans after today), but other than that, I made it out okay.

Maybe I wasn't wide enough for the second part (left turn)? I wasn't riding super fast or aggressive, maybe my entrance was incorrect? I believe I was generally in the middle of the lane before the right turn.

Any suggestions for next time?

[Amandyke]

I think the lesson is to avoid loose material (dirt, rocks, leaves, oil slicks, dumped KY shipments) that are on the road. Keep your eyes up and watch your 2/10/30 second zones.

Glad to hear you didn't get hurt.

[cold100onhw1]

ride at a speed that lets you change your line if there is dirt or such in the road. develope the skill to avoid dirt and such at the speed you were riding.

[slydrite]

clearly the lesson is to avoid riding in the EB AT ALL....I mean you crashed in the EB hills and there's been sooooo many posts recently about crashing in the EB hills due to gravel, debris, careless drivers, squids crossing into the oncoming lane and taking out innocent riders, deer and other critters and to top it off, residents putting motor oil out on the road to make motos crash...

so why ride there?

everybody knows that the Peninsula, with it's endless supply of god-like roads, is the place to ride always.

I live in the EB hills and I always cross bridges to ride on the best roads in the BA....9/35/84...I won't ride in my own backyard because I know better,

nothing bad ever happens there and that's where you and everybody else should go...just think if you were over there, you wouldn't have crashed and wouldn't have had to make this thread..

you're welcome...

[KennyMonster]

I rode all of Pinehurst today for the first time... it was the scariest road I've been on.

Between the overly-tight turns, that giant oil spot, the narrow lanes, and the obscene amount of dirt that slid off the mountain, I am perfectly happy with staying on Redwood.

Glad you are ok and didn't go over one of those nasty road edges.

[afm199]

I ride Pinehurst and Redwood at a brisk pace no exuberance on blind corners. You will find gravel and dirt in the most unexpected places there.

[Biznerto]

On a related note:

While waiting for my replacement shifter to come in, I started wondering if should take my bike to a mechanic to check it out. I inspected it as best I could after I picked it up, no leaks, no major dents, etc. I was able to ride it home (Vallejo) without problems, where I looked over it more thoroughly. Are there some things I may be missing that a mechanic might catch?