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Riding dissapointment

WalterK75

WalterK75

Active member
I went out to find one of my favourite twisty side roads. It took me a bit of time to get there and I was anticipating the pleasure of putting on a little speed to really enjoy the twists. I usually find 20-30 kph over the posted speed is safe and fun. Finally, I reached the section of road I wanted just as a car pulled out in front of me. This law abiding citizen insisted on driving at exactly the speed limit (about 20 kph less than good motorcycle speeds) and slowed down even more in the curves. It took a certain amount of maturity to follow this car, but I made it to the end of the section and felt I'd been cheated out of the best part of my ride. Some days things like this happen. Maybe next time will be better.
 
I feel for you on this. I have had it happen too. It is frustrating when you cannot safely pass. I often pull over and take a few minutes to check the phone, look something over on the bike, make a gear adjustment...anything to eat a bit of time. I resume riding and usually do not catch up to the "offender". They have either driven far enough ahead I do not catch up to them or perhaps they turned off somewhere along the way. This works well on lightly traveled roads. On a busy road you may end up substituting one slow poke for another. Taking a break is hard to do, but it provides the opportunity to ride the road at an enjoyable pace.
 
Has happened to me many times on The Dragon.

Some days you're the pigeon.......... some days, the statue. :banghead
 
Easy fix

Stop on the side of the road and wait at least a minute. Then take off and you'll probably not catch up to them again.

That, or pass on the double yellow! :ha


On edit: whoops, Bluehole beat me to it. I usually sit there ready to get going again, just in case some othe slowpoke comes around the corner, going my way.
 
All part of riding

I know it hard to follow a car or worst a tractor-trailer, on a good curvy road. You must or you become one of those guys that make people hate motorcycles. I watch sport bikes weave in and out of traffic, pass on double yellow (okay some car do that too), and you thank them for making a jury give a low ball settlement for a car that kills a and light charges against the driver, for motorcyclist who was doing nothing wrong.

When you have to you just back off and take a breath and trip to enjoy a slower ride. There are too many riders out there that make people think you get what your deserve, when something happens to a rider.
 
bluehole said:
I feel for you on this. I have had it happen too. It is frustrating when you cannot safely pass. I often pull over and take a few minutes to check the phone, look something over on the bike, make a gear adjustment...anything to eat a bit of time. I resume riding and usually do not catch up to the "offender". They have either driven far enough ahead I do not catch up to them or perhaps they turned off somewhere along the way. This works well on lightly traveled roads. On a busy road you may end up substituting one slow poke for another. Taking a break is hard to do, but it provides the opportunity to ride the road at an enjoyable pace.
Click to expand...

I think this reply is exactly right. If possible, pull over where you have a long view back through your left mirror. Then pull out before the next slowpoke passes you and have your fun. If you catch up to the original slowpoke, do it again. If there a LOT of slowpokes, you picked the wrong day or wrong time of day for your fun ride. Relax and enjoy the scenery. Riding slowly on twisty roads can be fun too.

I always try to remember my primary goal is to reach my destination and return home with bike and body intact. Sometimes I ignore speed laws and even double yellow lines, but only when they don't violate that primary objective.
 
Thanks for the support and sympathy from all of you. I was actually hoping to hear of some of your dissapointments, like the 24 day tour of the Maritime provinces with 23 days of rain I heard about from a damp rider.

Today I had another one like the one I originally posted. This was even more frustrating because I was being held up by someone driving a Porsche! He must have thought I was a cop and wouldn't go over the speed limit, which is about 30 bike kph too slow for the road in question. I eventually passed in a safe zone, but had the zip taken out of several lovely turns before I got past him.
 
Last edited:
I feel for you. Back in June 2010, just as my brother and I reached the best part of HWY33, heading east, a car turned on the road ahead of me. Lack of prudence and patience overtook me and I, and my brother, passed the car in a 35 zone, over the double yellow solid line, doing close to 50.

All right in front of the Town of Ontario police chief. DOH!

We had a roadside chat, flashy lights blinking, and I got off reasonably easy with a $139 fine but no points or insurance report. So, patience is a virtue and dollar saver. Still didn't get to enjoy that road either.
 
One other option not mentioned-
go "around the block" and have a second go at the fave road.

Sorry, don't have any tales of woe to impart.... :thumb
 
greenwald said:
Has happened to me many times on The Dragon.

Some days you're the pigeon.......... some days, the statue. :banghead
Click to expand...

My first time riding the Dragon, I came upon a tractor-trailer working its way through the curves. It wasn't a great ride but it sure was fun to watch.
 
It is a well known fact that 93% of all car and truck drivers know that a motorcycle will pass them. 93% expect you to pass if you are on a motorcycle.
These are the facts.
dc
 
My one time on "the dragon" was a Tuesday night in early June, about 5pm, had it almost entirely to myself. I had a rental Mustang as I was working in Knoxville for my employer in Wisconsin. What a night! Bob Seeger's Greatest hits on the CD, only one Chyrsler (they let me pass) and one couple on a Harley that WOULD NOT lean (they too let me pass). I just left that 6-cyl Mustang in 2nd gear on the automatic and made the tires sing! Oh, and I did manage to always stay in my lane, not like the doofus riders and drivers on Killboy.com.

Stopped in Robbinsville for a steak dinner, and then blasted the Cherahola at night, by myself, back to Knoxville, watching a lightling storm approach from the west. Still a memorable night.
 
A few weeks ago I was riding on the Russell Scenic Highway in the north Ga. mountains, and had pulled in to one of the overlooks to take a break and enjoy the view. I had only been there for a couple of minutes when I heard this thundering rumble coming around the curve right before the overlook. It was about a dozen Harley's riding in perfect parade formation. They were going so slow that there were several cars following behind them. Since I ride this road regularly, I knew there would be no place with a straight section long enough to pass that many vehicles. I stayed there at the overlook for about 10 minutes hoping that would be long enough to not catch up to them. I did finally catch up to the end of the caravan about a half mile before the road ended at an intersection, but I was happy that my patience to wait a while paid off.
 
David13 said:
It is a well known fact that 93% of all car and truck drivers know that a motorcycle will pass them. 93% expect you to pass if you are on a motorcycle.
These are the facts.
dc
Click to expand...

I don't know the % but a personal dislike is the guy that rides my butt on any kind of road-my bitch & moan for the day...:)
Watch out what you wish for.
 
My first time on the Dragon, I had a couple on a Harley with a side car, moving way too slowly, always edging over the centre line, as well as his companions riding in front of them, going equally as slowly. Whenever I got close, I dropped my speed to a crawl until they were out of sight, but always managed to catch up with them. It was a Wednesday in early October, with no other traffic!! :banghead
 
You were very wise... A couple of years ago I had a VERY similar experience on a rural road in Virginia; got behind a jeep pulling a trailer. I couldn't resist, so the first chance I got I passed him on a double yellow line and continued to enjoy the rest of the little ride. About 10 minutes later I was pulled over by a County Deputy shortly followed by the jeep/trailer showing up. The jeep driver was an off duty Deputy (he had a radio and had called ahead)... Short story, I was convicted of Careless & Reckless driving (even my lawyer was no help). This stays on my record for 11 years!
 
gunnert said:
You were very wise... A couple of years ago I had a VERY similar experience on a rural road in Virginia; got behind a jeep pulling a trailer. I couldn't resist, so the first chance I got I passed him on a double yellow line and continued to enjoy the rest of the little ride. About 10 minutes later I was pulled over by a County Deputy shortly followed by the jeep/trailer showing up. The jeep driver was an off duty Deputy (he had a radio and had called ahead)... Short story, I was convicted of Careless & Reckless driving (even my lawyer was no help). This stays on my record for 11 years!
Click to expand...

same thing happened to 4 or 5 of my friends ion Rt 250 in VA, passed a slow poke and stopped for gas a little after and in rolled 2 cruisers, ticketed them all, with several charges. They did get out with training etc, after each paid a lawyer$700

Note to self, DO NOT STOP shortly after making a DY pass in VA.
 
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Riding Dissapointment

Two options: I do both. Wait for a clear run (See the first half of Post #7) or pass on a double line. Passing on a double line has already been named. There should be a name for waiting for a clear road. There should also be passing zones for motorcycles, designated by 2 or 3 broken lines, where it it is obvious that a bike can pass safely.
Charlie
 
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