How to recognize this gravel hazard?

[chickenfried]

Going down a steep hilly residential area with a couple of stop signs, my rear tire got squirrelly once or twice. Blew it off as shit happens. Going back uphill later I saw the cause. A construction truck (I'm guessing) left a trail of gravel on it's route. Maybe it was the slope or the sun/shade at that time, I couldn't see the gravel. But the it was easily seen later.

[budman]

Depending on the road pavement color and what kind of gravel it can be really hard to see. Same with dirt.

I had a nice two wheel drift on dirt on HWY 4 a couple years ago.
Thank goodness for years of dirtbiking allowing me to hold my balance while I slid sideways until I got off it.

Total surprise not to pucker my rear on that one..

[berth]

Originally Posted by budman

Depending on the road pavement color and what kind of gravel it can be really hard to see. Same with dirt.

Yea, done right it's almost impossible.

I was on a road and passed something, so I wanted to turn around. It was a snap decision, but there was a turn right there, so I dove in to that and hit the brakes.

It gray gravel on gray asphalt, and the brakes weren't braking. Stopping on marbles.

Managed to stop in time, but the pucker factor was bouncing off of 11.

[Underdog]

Expect this everywhere, and don’t try to “fix it”. Unless it’s ice or oil, you still have traction.

[cheez]

This is from one of my commutes home in Texas- I'm coming off a 70mph zone into a right hand exit to a stoplight, and a truck has slopped gravel all over the turn. Almost lost the bike.


youtu.be/WRocr8EPpcQ

[CDONA]

Winter in Flagstaff, they use local volcanic sand, same color as the pavement, it can be everywhere, without Azdot's help.

[Haket]

Originally Posted by cheez

This is from one of my commutes home in Texas- I'm coming off a 70mph zone into a right hand exit to a stoplight, and a truck has slopped gravel all over the turn. Almost lost the bike.


youtu.be/WRocr8EPpcQ

Holy sheet that was a great save !, kudos to you !.

[mjj]

Originally Posted by Haket

Holy sheet that was a great save !, kudos to you !.

I'm surprised we didn't hear the hollering (anger, relief, whatever )

[chickenfried]

Glad you saved it. Skill or....?

Originally Posted by cheez

This is from one of my commutes home in Texas-

[cheez]

Originally Posted by chickenfried

Glad you saved it. Skill or....?

Mostly luck. I saw a dust trail coming off of the tires of the car that was 2 ahead of me, so that gave me an idea something was off and let me shed a little more speed before getting into the turn. That's the furthest I've ever had the front slide on that bike.

[N4teTheGreat]

After a few close calls (one VERY close) I've learned to take it easy where Bofax and Ridgecrest road meet on TAM. There's always at least one dirty corner and I've never been able to see it prior to the bike getting loose. Almost parked my bike in a Redwood once after loosing the front and then the rear diving into a corner before I knew better.

[cellige]

Originally Posted by Haket

Holy sheet that was a great save !, kudos to you !.

Indeed, and nice little runoff is lucky. You would think if police saw a dirty road they would call it in out of concern for motorcyclists... Wonder if that ever happens.

[Holeshot]

Originally Posted by cheez

Mostly luck. I saw a dust trail coming off of the tires of the car that was 2 ahead of me, so that gave me an idea something was off and let me shed a little more speed before getting into the turn. That's the furthest I've ever had the front slide on that bike.

Good save Dan!

Probably the best advice is in Dan's post: Saw the dust trail off the cars.

It doesn't matter what you ride or where, the number one thing that will improve your riding and make you much safer is looking way ahead (keep your eyes up).
This is something you'll have to remind yourself as the lazier/ more tired we get, the closer in our vision comes to our front tire. Even racers have to remind themselves "eyes up", constantly....

[dravnx]

I always try and take the inside line on on/off ramps. If there is going to be gravel or debris falling off work trucks, it'll be on the outside of the lane.

[ThinkFast]

I’ve got a buddy who went down on a load of crap that a honeydew truck dropped on an on-ramp. His new riding nickname was, from then on, Slider (of course). He thought it was just some dirt.

Another buddy went down right in front of me while I was following him in my car. Off ramp situation, his riding line happened to be exactly on the same line as a trail of diesel fuel that a truck had left for him. Hard to see, and slick as he11.

No easy solutions for these, other than to modulate your speed when visibility is poor. I’ve noticed that when I ride at night - which is very seldom anymore - I find myself feeling very unsure about high speed corners due to the lack of long range visibility of what lies ahead. I realized how much I’m constantly scanning the road surface for water, debris, anything else that looks suspicious.