Monthly Archives: June 2006
June 4, 2006
Oops...
Everyone else likes to sleep in late on Sundays &mdash Carole especially &mdash so I headed out around 7:30am this morning for a quick ride up Big T, Angeles Forest, and Bouquet Canyon.
After the run on the 210 to Sunland Blvd., I hit Big T feeling good. The cool air was a nice change from the 95+ temperatures back home, and I was working well with the bike. Angeles Forest went well, with a nice high-speed run on the shooting range straightaway.
I made my customary stop at Toms #25 on Palmdale Blvd. in Palmdale for breakfast. They had a steak-and-egg special that looked good, and I read the first three sections of the LA Times while I ate.
Heading west, Palmdale Blvd. changes into Elizabeth Lake Rd. at 25th St., and six miles out you hit Bouquet Canyon. Things were working well, and I was having fun — until Big Oaks Lodge, one of those biker bars along most every canyon road in LA County.
Just after the tavern there's a tight left-hander. I was well under control speed-wise as I setup on the outside of the lane for a delayed-apex corner. I must have hit some gravel as I started my lean and slid out just enough. I over-corrected just a hair, but still wound up in the dirt on the shoulder. I bounced around for a while, and finally wound up with the bike leaning into the soft dirt on the right side of the road, just off the roadway, at about a 45° angle. I had to pull my right leg out from under the bike, and wound up with a little bruise.
Some nice guys on sport bikes stopped to check on me, and helped me get the bike upright. I wound up with a couple of scratches on the hard bag, and the lower front fairing has a couple of other scratches, but otherwise the bikes in good shape. I had slowed way down on the shoulder, and I was wearing all my gear - including my Hein-Gericke mesh overpants, which wound up with a line of foxtails up the outside of the right ankle.
I made it home without incident, and cleaned the bike up as best I could. These things are always a little demoralizing, but I resolved to add it to my riding experiences and make the best of it. Too bad you can't practice gravel in the corner on a holodeck or something.