Staying right on IDBDR

[rwadamsidaho]

It is easy to get in a zone riding a great road, be it the Bear tooth highway or a BDR. But then that happens and you loose focus, bad things can happen. I am typing this with my right hand and one finger on my left, as I suffered broken fingers due to a dirt bike rider forgetting others might be on the road also and cut a blind corner. I rode out, his bike was trailered as he was taken to the local clinic to be checked out for injuries. Both of us were lucky, this could have been much worse!

 

[lkraus]

I make it a point to stay on the outside of a curve until I can see and aim for the beginning of the next curve. This allows me to to maximize my view of the road ahead and also makes me visible to oncoming traffic as soon as possible. It may not be the fastest line, but I don't ride on a race track, and I don't get prizes for saving a fraction of a second. The riding sensations that I love, the lean, the g-forces, the acceleration, are the same, they just happen on a different part of my lane.

Hope you heal quickly!

 

[grabcon]

Many of the roads on the IDBDR are logging roads. Monday thru Friday are logging days. Many of the logging roads will have signs on them the designate the CB channel number that the logging trucks are on for that road. If you have a CB let them know where you are and the mile markers you are between and what you are driving/riding. If no radio stay to the right. Put a little arrow pointing to the right on your windscreen as a reminder.

 

[rwadamsidaho]

Add a Weekend and near a popular camping area

This event took place a few miles away from the Deadwood camp ground in Bear Valley between Lowman and Yellow Pine, Idaho. The group of dirt bikers were of mixed ages, from mid teens to at least one adult and were not riding the BDR, but just zooming around the local roads and trails. The road is a wide, single lane for the the most part with wider areas for passing and the traffic at this time consisted of 4-wheelers, side-by-sides, trucks pulling trailers, mountain bikes, dirt bikes and a few adv riders doing this section of the BDR. There was no logging in the area. One of the reasons for me posting this is to remind riders that even 40 miles from the nearest paved road you can encounter other users who are not focused on safe riding technique, just consumed by the adrenaline rush.

 

[skibum69]

BDR is pushing their mantra of "ride right" to help educate people to stay to the right of their lanes.

A guy up here who was a rally organizer for the Funny Rally and others and big man in the community was killed in a head on collision with a truck when he didn't stay far enough right.

I had a very close encounter with a dump truck on the Trans Labrador highway on a blind left uphill that had me very close to being off the road in the ditch and his mirror was less than a foot from my head.

Ride right!

 

[omega man]

Baby steps. Start with shopping carts in the supermarket and expand from there.
OM

 

[6322]

Working for the USFS for nearly forty years, one of the first things we learned driving the forest roads was to make an unending series of concessions to the other drivers we encountered. We also learned that forest roads are single lane roads with turnouts, not two lane roads. Always drove with headlights on, always wore seat belts (since when I started with the FS in the ‘70’s), and were taught to be able to stop in half of your sight distance.

 

[rwadamsidaho]

Right on the Money

Since 2000, as a member of Back country horsemen of Idaho, doing volunteer trail work for the USFS in the Boise & Payette national forest I have spent a lot of time on USFS roads, mostly in an F250 towing a horse trailer and you are dead on how you must drive this type of road. With a trailer you also have to plan ahead so that you can make room if you meet someone coming the other direction. Time of day often makes a difference which way traffic is flowing.

 

[chrisinsc]

View attachment 84605It is easy to get in a zone riding a great road, be it the Bear tooth highway or a BDR. But then that happens and you loose focus, bad things can happen. I am typing this with my right hand and one finger on my left, as I suffered broken fingers due to a dirt bike rider forgetting others might be on the road also and cut a blind corner. I rode out, his bike was trailered as he was taken to the local clinic to be checked out for injuries. Both of us were lucky, this could have been much worse!

Dirt biker had a death wish or had no common sense. I am in the right 18 inches of all the way around the left hand turn until I can see the next turn and then I will rotate the bike and twist the wrist.

From the other direction I am creeping around the tight blind right hander until I can see the next turn and if offroad will not wear earplugs and will have my helmet open so I have a shot of hearing oncoming vehicles.

Even if its dead straight but with a severe blind rise I will creep up the very right hand side of the road and assume a yahoo is hogging the road. Assuming worst case which is a 4 wheel offroad vehicle on the gas which could end your life. Again this is narrow paved or narrow dirt roads but even on big fat two lane roads with the blind rise on a straight the worst case is someone in the middle of a pass in your lane. I slow way down and get far right even if everyone is going 70mph. On these kinds of roads you can jet up ahead and get a gap behind and then slow for the blind rise etc.