| Can you pass me the heart rate monitor please?
In a few minutes I'll be slinging some stuff in a bag to go on a business trip, so I couldn't join in any rideouts today.
Since I was up and about early, I thought I would go out for an hour or two on the bike and check out some roads near where I live for possible BHC rideout loops. They're the sort of roads that look promising, but ones which are a bit off my beaten track, so I've only driven them in the car, and then not very frequently.
So, I'm out on the Beds/Bucks borders riding towards Cranfield from the Salford direction....mmmmm....nice road. Smooth, a couple of nice sweepers and some tighter twisty bits. A short stretch of road but spot on.
I reached the roundabout at the Cranfield Technology Park and turned left towards Moulsoe. Now I haven't been riding particularly fast, because I've been dodging showers and the roads are still very wet in places with lots of puddles and standing water. As I said, they're also roads I've only driven down once or twice so I don't really know them either. So I accelerated away from the roundabout and set the bike up for an approaching right hander. A 30 degree bend but the road is minor B road wide and a bit bumpy so I'm over to the far left of the road, knock it down a cog, just roll off the throttle down to about 60, little farm track off to the left at the start of the bend looks like a good turn in point, I can see the apex and the exit so tip it in and roll on the throttle again...BANG....
Suddenly I hit something in the road with enough force to jar the wind out of me. The front wheel is violently flung into the air and my hands are almost thown from the bars. The front of the bike comes back down to earth all crossed up and suddenly I'm in a full on lock-to-lock tank slapper. This was no little shimmy or lively head shaking this is one of those 'Oh my God, I'm gonna crash' moments. Some instinct told me not to fight it and just loosen my grip. As it happens my natural riding style is one where I ride with very 'soft hands', I just hold the bars gently and hardly put any weight on my arms which are normally very relaxed. Sure enough as soon as I let go, the front gave another couple of slaps then sorted itself out...fortunately the tank slapper had drifted the bike towards the middle of the road so I had made it round the bend as well.
I've talked about the bike feeling a little overdamped in another thread, but this felt as if I had girder forks on it, so I turned around to see what had caused it. As I rode the other way past the entrance to what turned out to be Leys Farm the bike gave another fierce jolt...This time I was only doing 30mph. I went back over this bit of road about four times and it turns out that there is a lump right across the road that's like a small speed hump, but here's the thing...even sat right next to it it looks almost invisible and completely harmless...
I'm off to report it because it's potentially lethal...If the road had been dry I'd have hit it even harder.
I had to ride off the adrenalin then, so I did another 50 or so shaky miles to try and get my confidence back, which I did of sorts, round some better roads. Got home and the bike is covered in salt and road grime and I haven't got time to wash it.
So BHC guys, I think we'll give that road a miss unless we all want to try some formation tank slapping
[Edited on 14-3-2004 by Jools]  | 
Jools
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