If it hasn’t happened, it’s gonna happen.
Just as sure as Police are going to warn of a biker invasion around budget time.
Be prepared. Think the situation through before it occurs. What do you do when the unthinkable happens.
The dog might suddenly appear as if from nowhere, moving low to the ground at full speed, barking with ferocity.
Or the heart thumping action may unfold as you hear the dog first, launching itself from a lawn on the side of the highway running at breakneck speed at a 45 degree angle to cut you off.
Sorry to sound blasphemous, but praying doesn’t help. Keeping a cool head does.
And once you’ve been through this harrowing experience you will instinctively make the right moves the next time around.
If you cannot stop or outrace the marauder intent on ruining your day then it is no time to slow down. The slower you are going the easier it’s going to be for the dog to dump you.
Believe it or not, little dogs aren’t much of a threat. Big dogs are.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a dog lover. Always have been and always will be.
But wiping out ain’t no fun.
Straighten the bike up. If no cars are approaching, align yourself in the truck rut nearest the center line. If there are, choose the rut nearest the shoulder.
The key is to go straight maintaining speed but never slowing down.
I like to accelerate as I feel I have more control or maybe I just have to be doing something to steady my nerves.
Do not deviate! It will work.
I’ve had dogs run under my bike between the wheels. I’ve clipped them with a crashguard. I’ve hit them with the front wheel and I’ve missed many more than I’ve hit. It’s up to the dog.
If you try to dodge it you will be off balance at speed. You may careen off the road or into oncoming traffic.
Straighten the bike up and hit it as close to 90 degrees as possible.
And guess what? You’ll survive. Hopefully the dog will too. The impact will hardly cause the bike to twitch as momentum forces it forward.
We were riding side by side in a light drizzle in Northern Ontario. Out of the corners of our collective eyes my road mode partner and I spotted the rapidly accelerating dogs angling the field to head us off. They were soon running as fast as dogs can run. We instinctively sped up to about 80 mph hoping to outrun them before double impact occurred. The 45 pounder clipped Johnny’s crashguard as simultaneously the 60 pounder went under my front wheel. With nary a blip we survived with our hearts in our mouths.
Thirty miles down the road , a bear runs out. Too big to hit. We watched helplessly as it turned to face us. Just as suddenly, it turned and ran back into the bush.
The late Marla Garber hit a cow at 60 mph crossing a pass into Arizona square on, killed it and had minimal damage to her FLHT and none to herself.
Survival is possible, even in desperate situations.
Another friend killed a cow with his Jap bike in the Dominican Republic. He survived although his injuries painfully taught him not to speed at night especially in a Third World country.
Speaking of nightime riding. Don’t do it up north or in any area known to be inhabited by moose or deer. Way, way too dangerous. Pull over before dusk and set up camp.
My friend, Dave, was commuting home on his shovelhead just north of the city. Done it a hundred times. He doesn’t do it no more. A deer jumped into the side of his bike and the side of his face. Dave ain’t so pretty no more. Good thing he’s a biker where character etched in a face is considered cool.
How bout my friend Paul who rode under the belly of a moose ambling across the highway late at night. The bike survived ok but Paul was idled for awhile.
Deer and moose can be avoided for the most part since they mainly come out at night while you’re moteling or sitting around the camp fire.
But dogs are dogs. They are everywhere. They can be running after you at anytime.
So learn to maintain or increase speed, straight up, centered where it is safest and let fate take it’s course over something of which you have no control.
http://s15.zetaboards.com/Triumph_Motorbike_Di/topic/75423/1/#new
Just as sure as Police are going to warn of a biker invasion around budget time.
Be prepared. Think the situation through before it occurs. What do you do when the unthinkable happens.
The dog might suddenly appear as if from nowhere, moving low to the ground at full speed, barking with ferocity.
Or the heart thumping action may unfold as you hear the dog first, launching itself from a lawn on the side of the highway running at breakneck speed at a 45 degree angle to cut you off.
Sorry to sound blasphemous, but praying doesn’t help. Keeping a cool head does.
And once you’ve been through this harrowing experience you will instinctively make the right moves the next time around.
If you cannot stop or outrace the marauder intent on ruining your day then it is no time to slow down. The slower you are going the easier it’s going to be for the dog to dump you.
Believe it or not, little dogs aren’t much of a threat. Big dogs are.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a dog lover. Always have been and always will be.
But wiping out ain’t no fun.
Straighten the bike up. If no cars are approaching, align yourself in the truck rut nearest the center line. If there are, choose the rut nearest the shoulder.
The key is to go straight maintaining speed but never slowing down.
I like to accelerate as I feel I have more control or maybe I just have to be doing something to steady my nerves.
Do not deviate! It will work.
I’ve had dogs run under my bike between the wheels. I’ve clipped them with a crashguard. I’ve hit them with the front wheel and I’ve missed many more than I’ve hit. It’s up to the dog.
If you try to dodge it you will be off balance at speed. You may careen off the road or into oncoming traffic.
Straighten the bike up and hit it as close to 90 degrees as possible.
And guess what? You’ll survive. Hopefully the dog will too. The impact will hardly cause the bike to twitch as momentum forces it forward.
We were riding side by side in a light drizzle in Northern Ontario. Out of the corners of our collective eyes my road mode partner and I spotted the rapidly accelerating dogs angling the field to head us off. They were soon running as fast as dogs can run. We instinctively sped up to about 80 mph hoping to outrun them before double impact occurred. The 45 pounder clipped Johnny’s crashguard as simultaneously the 60 pounder went under my front wheel. With nary a blip we survived with our hearts in our mouths.
Thirty miles down the road , a bear runs out. Too big to hit. We watched helplessly as it turned to face us. Just as suddenly, it turned and ran back into the bush.
The late Marla Garber hit a cow at 60 mph crossing a pass into Arizona square on, killed it and had minimal damage to her FLHT and none to herself.
Survival is possible, even in desperate situations.
Another friend killed a cow with his Jap bike in the Dominican Republic. He survived although his injuries painfully taught him not to speed at night especially in a Third World country.
Speaking of nightime riding. Don’t do it up north or in any area known to be inhabited by moose or deer. Way, way too dangerous. Pull over before dusk and set up camp.
My friend, Dave, was commuting home on his shovelhead just north of the city. Done it a hundred times. He doesn’t do it no more. A deer jumped into the side of his bike and the side of his face. Dave ain’t so pretty no more. Good thing he’s a biker where character etched in a face is considered cool.
How bout my friend Paul who rode under the belly of a moose ambling across the highway late at night. The bike survived ok but Paul was idled for awhile.
Deer and moose can be avoided for the most part since they mainly come out at night while you’re moteling or sitting around the camp fire.
But dogs are dogs. They are everywhere. They can be running after you at anytime.
So learn to maintain or increase speed, straight up, centered where it is safest and let fate take it’s course over something of which you have no control.
http://s15.zetaboards.com/Triumph_Motorbike_Di/topic/75423/1/#new
