I almost wrecked my motorcycle today.

[Squatch]

Unless it's blowing a gale outside, I normally ride in to work. This morning, I thought that the weather was cold, but really not the worst I've ridden in.

I get into Arlington, and am just cruising to work. I pull behind some dude in a Prius doing about 20 miles under the speed limit, so I pull out to pass him at the first opportunity. As I came around him, I saw a patch of 20 feet of sheet ice. Let me tell you...motorcycle tires and ice are not the best of friends.

My ass end swung out to the side about 20 to 30 degrees from my direction of travel, and all I could think was I was going to highside it when I reached the dry pavement on the other side. Luckily, before got to the dry pavement, my rear tire was pointed in the right direction and I was able to avert a disaster.

My heart was pounding for a good 1/2 hour afterwards. I think I'm going to park my bike for a couple months until the weather breaks. :scared:

[kwassa]

1. unfortunately ...

everyone i've known, and I mean everyone, who has owned a bike for a length of time has been in an accident, many of them serious and resulting in hospital stays.

I hope you have better luck. There is just no protection on a bike, and what would be a minor accident in a car would cause major injuries to anyone on a bike.

[Wcross]

2. Look at the bright side. No need for coffee today!

Man, I am glad you didn't lose it.

[Squatch]

3. Me, too. I think what saved my ass was the MSF course I just took

I make it a point to enroll in motorcycle safety courses every couple of years just to refresh my skills, yano?