how easy is it to die

had a close one today...coming back from a ride I was just north of Bega and came up behind 3 Torana xu1 s doing about 90k. they were about 100m apart,so no problem there were 3 places to overtake (in the next 5k ) if you are ready and the road clear...........all good so far . as we came up to the first overtaking spot I moved up safely close. we went around the corner I looked far down the road and all was clear, I put blinker on ,moved out and suddenly 2 BLOODY CARS are right in front of me. I was still behind the car in front so went left in a hurry. I think I was ON the white line ,not over it. missed the first car by about 30cm . shit was trumps!!! using tunnel vision I had looked PAST these cars without SEEING them. being old I think myself safe and do not take risks. almost another old bike rider statistic . HOW EASY IT CAN HAPPEN.........................Grumpy

Well at least you know the plumbing still works, even if the eyes are shot.

Good to still have you with us.

I know where you're comin from - concentrate 99.9% of the time and the 0.1% kills ya. We all have the odd lapse and thankfully most of the time we get away with it.

I, for one, am glad you lived to type the tale - and thanks for sharing.

Glad you are OK and you will learn something from it I recon.

Sounds like this could be a little related to fatigue. tunnel vision can be a symptom of being worn out after/during a ride where you have been concentrating hard.

Glad you have enough road sense to get away with the error.
I wonder what the drivers were saying.....................................

grumpy60 wrote:....came up behind 3 Torana xu1 s doing about 90k.....

There's your problem, you were perving on that fine example of Oz muscle......
Mind you, no responsible XU-1 driver would be seen dead doing under 150. What was the matter with those guys.

Glad to hear you are OK.. It's a good lesson to remember - anything less than 100% concentration is dangerous.

At our age Grumpy an egg and bacon sandwich is dangerous.

today on the Putty Rd I was doing about 100 & something k/hr on a fairly fast section of the road and my eyes were taken off to the left side of the road and about 25 metres away from the side of the road was a bloody DEER ... and to top it off it was looking at me ... either that or it was eyeing off something on the other side of the road that took its fancy.
Kangaroos I can handle, I know generally when they'll be on the side of the road, and I know what they'll do (most of the time) ... Deer are unknown to me, their habits are unknown, how they go about crossing a road is unknown to me.

One part of the Putty (southern end) has a warning sign warning of deer but I've never seen a deer there (I've never seen a deer at all anywhere in Oz), but this was close to the middle of the Putty ... for those who travel the Putty a lot, where the road cuts through a hill and they have sprayed concrete on both sides the bend immediately to the south of that .. but I reckon you could get them anywhere along the the road now days.

Bring on the shooters ... quick before someone is killed.

The nature photo thread did come to mind but I had nowhere to turn around and if I did I thought the deer would bolt anyway

Baz wrote:today on the Putty Rd I was doing about 100 & something k/hr on a fairly fast section of the road and my eyes were taken off to the left side of the road and about 25 metres away from the side of the road was a bloody DEER

I know what you mean, coming back from a ride in the Adelaide Hills on the Chain of Ponds to Adelaide road today and have to pull up as an emu wanders across the road and hops over the fence and into the scrub around the reservoir.

Why is it we have 2 of the world's dumbest animals on our coat of arms???

because it's how you start the menu

thanks for the wishes guys...have always said I'd rather die across the front of a Mack truck than shitting my bed in a nursing home .......went past that area today and think the cars were in a bit of a dip (not much) and I simply looked over the top of them...pretty much ruled out fatigue as I only went from Bermagui to Bemboka about 85k, had coffee and talked shit with the Ulysses gang then headed for home........about half way when SUPPLIES SUPPLIES. the XU1's were on a club run ..saw 8 ..all doing about 90k (looked good fof old bangers).............Gus ..take note ....I fear NO egg and bacon sandwitch !!!!!!!(mind you cream cakes are a different matter)......(diabetes).......again thanks for your concern...take care ....it can happen VERY easily.............Grumpy

Saikhan wrote:Well at least you know the plumbing still works, even if the eyes are shot.

Good to still have you with us.

could be ....mother told me that if I didn't stop it....................... ...............Grumpy

glad to hear ur ok big fella
keep your eyes open
had a mate on a cb900 bol`dor years ago hit a fox round the back of hunters hill in sydney
hit the brakes as the fox went through the forks.you know the result
poor kid was only 22
ride safe guys

Dingo-Kenilworth.QLD

It doesn't have to have a motor! I was riding my mountain bike back into town and on the down hill section, when I noticed a couple of Roos, one standing (male ) doe laying down. The buck looked up and saw me coming and shit himself! Fell over and tried to get up again! as with all married couples the female looked calmly at him as if to say "You dick, what r u doing now?" Obviously he was freaking out and couldn't tell her! Meanwhile I'm closing at a rate of knots! She looks over her shoulder and finally notices me, now she freaks! Jumps up! and all would of been good if they both headed in the same direction! Watching 2 Roos have a head on was pretty funny, except that when they recovered and started off down the road i was between them!
Now were all in the shit! and we all look at each other ( we all had fear in our eyes!) and I'm hitting the breaks hard as and they both cross in front of me jump over a fence and out of harms way! Hole thing took about 8 seconds to unfold! Imagine if I was on the Bike! Morale of the story is I lived to tell you blokes about it !

the other day when i took that pic of the screen, there was a wallaby on the OPH at about 11am in the morning - it was standing beside the road but i stopped until it went away - never know what they are going to do. aren't they meant to be asleep at that hour?

Greetings Gents,
when I go for a big ride (more than an hour one way) I wear ipod with good country songs playing, recently for the first time wore them when just going to work and realised they can be a distraction when riding in traffic, don't think I will make a habit of it around town. Just a thought anyway.
truck

grumpy60 wrote:had a close one today...coming back from a ride I was just north of Bega and came up behind 3 Torana xu1 s doing about 90k. they were about 100m apart,so no problem there were 3 places to overtake (in the next 5k ) if you are ready and the road clear...........all good so far . as we came up to the first overtaking spot I moved up safely close. we went around the corner I looked far down the road and all was clear, I put blinker on ,moved out and suddenly 2 BLOODY CARS are right in front of me. I was still behind the car in front so went left in a hurry. I think I was ON the white line ,not over it. missed the first car by about 30cm . shit was trumps!!! using tunnel vision I had looked PAST these cars without SEEING them. being old I think myself safe and do not take risks. almost another old bike rider statistic . HOW EASY IT CAN HAPPEN.........................Grumpy

How very true although nothing as dramatic for me. 30 kms on a wet day on a roundabout. Suddenly no grip on the front wheel and slipping sideways . I just managed to get my foot on the ground to stop the bike going over totally and into the right hand lane of the roundabout where a car was just waiting to collect me. What a great way to finish a wonderful Easter break. It will certainly make me more vigilant about checking tyre wear and road conditions in the future. 2 Factors where the root cause of this potential disaster, a worn front tyre and fatigue from not having proper attire for the weather conditions.

lesson learnt i hope i will never leave home on long rides without wet weather gear and will be checking wear rates of my tyres more frequently. I was only out on the friday morning with a riding instructor when we noticed the excessive wear on the tyre but being cavalier though oh well i'll just replace it at the next service in 1000 k's. Never again.

by the sound of things you did very well not finishing up on your ass ..............................Grumpy