What's the craziest thing you've avoided?

This is nowhere near as exciting at the rest of the posts, but i missed a chunk of a hay bale a couple months ago on the highway. Pretty much exploded on impact. POOF!

 

Avoid trucker's tyres - or remnants of their tyres

Two years ago, on tour with buddies doing the first run in the early morning. Was a still a misty. Cruising the highway at 100+kph ( just warming-up ). Suddently noticed a large black object looming out of mist ahead, situated in the middle of opposite lane ( fortunately ) ... turned out to be a very large truck tyre tread which had completely delaminated from its wheel/tyre ( one of 'lots' of wheels on a big rig ). It had ended-up sitting in the middle of the highway. Too big for a car, let alone a bike to hit.

I hadn't witnessed the drama ahead of me that my buddies had experienced. They encountered the rig out of sight from me in the fog. They passed ( rig travelling in the opposite direction ) at the time the tyre was delaminating from the side of the rig nearest to our lane - they were still shaking from the experience when we stopped - apparently the end of the tyre rotated in a spiralling fashion above their heads, but at that juncture ( fortunately ) it was still anchored ( only just ) to the disintegrating tyre/wheel. Clearly this drama had played-out only seconds before I'd reached the debris on the road. We didn't see the rig stop ... and to this day wonder if the driver would ever have any idea of the wee drama had played out that morning in those few seconds.

 

We call those tire pieces "Aligators" around here. They lay in the road waiting to bite anyone not paying attention or following to closely to avoid them as they are kicked up.

 

One of the many "crazy things" I've encountered on a bike. Riding my first street bike, a Kawi 250 and late for work. Dressed in a leather jacket, leather boots and a full circle skirt which I tucked under me (riding pants in my backpack), I came to a stop light on Marine Drive in Vancouver and my weight shifted as I put my foot down. Started up and the skirt went right over my helmet. Rode the rest of the way in First Gear with my left hand trying to get the skirt back down and the right hand on the gas. Tried to ignore/avoid the hooting and hollering from the cars next to me and remain calm and on the road. Got to work shaken - with a vow never again to ride so foolishly in a skirt. Now that I'm older and ride a VFR. It's full leather pants/jacket/boots/gloves and a fullface helmet, thank you. Lesson learned.

 

Now that's scary ... but since you lived to tell about it, it becomes a real hoot ... interesting how one's perspective changes with time (and in keeping the shiny side up). but, I'm with you ... I don't think I'll ride in a skirt ...... ever

 

last week i was riding to work and came across a deer laying in the middle of the road. i couldnt tell if he was hit or just tired. in my younger days i would have brought him home(and put him in the freezer) growing up at the ranch you didnt let an animal go to waste. if he were smaller he would be a pet.

 

This post is worthless without pictures !!! :biggrin:

 

The 2 scariest and most remembered for me are when i was living in Darwin, NT Australia, 1988. As it happens i was riding a VFR 400 at both times, and it was pitch black night in the tropics, out of town on the Stuart Highway so no road lights or anything.
Both incidents on the same night, one on the way to work and the other on the way home.
1. Asian water buffalo, just caught the reflection of the eyes at the edge of the road. There was a group of them, but only 1 ran out in front of me. Due to my awareness of these beasts(and others) at night i was riding at a sensible speed and able to avoid hitting it.
2. On the way home from work, a little tired (it's after midnight) and before i know it i see a flash of white about helmet height, the headlights just picked it out and i was inches from impacting it, i shit myself almost. I braked further down and did a u-turn, at this time i was going back up the wrong side of the road but i had to know what i just missed.
A native aboriginal person was crossing the road, all i got a glimpse of was the white TEETH!!! The native ones are very dark skinned so blend in perfectly with a dark night with nothing but stars around.

 

....My ex girlfriend.....

 

not so much a miss as a meeting

Out blow-drying the 750 after wash, I went to scrub the brakes and give them a bit of a test. So I wicked it up to rather fast then hauled up hard at the next intersection, where I focussed on putting the front tire at an imaginary stop line.

As I put my foot down and let blood return to normal flow, I looked up at an enormous kangaroo. This guy was standing side-on 10m in front of me - must have been jumping across the intersection and stopped to watch me approach.

I looked, he looked back. He continued on his way, then so did I.

Sooo glad the brakes worked as well as expected.
Ez

 

I was in Custer Park a few weeks ago and came upon a group of stopped cars blocking the road. They were gawking at a herd of buffalo in and on the side of the road who would not budge. The big (huge) bull was standing smack dab in the middle of the road with his two body guards on either side of him facing off the cars.

I got tired of waiting, so I slowly inched forward around the cars and onto the shoulder and came to within about three feet of the hairy beast. He suddenly snorted and startled and backed away several feet, and I drove on by feeling victorious.

Later that night at the V-Strom Gathering dinner (I was one of two VFRs there), I related my story. Some locals looked at me aghast. They related stories of bull buffalo throwing a rider AND his motorcycle straight up in the air like it was a toy! They also informed me that besides being incredibly strong, buffalo are faster than horses, and can get off the line faster than just about anything.

I guess God really does look out for children and fools. I'm living proof.

 

I avoided drilling a Prius, on purpose,, with an "Obama" sticker on the rear window.
Good judgement got the better of me,,,

 

Yeah, better to let them live and suffer like the rest of us through the "change" they voted in. Good call! (If this starts anything, I'm out of here!)

 

A toilet seat in the middle of the lane. It was a long straight road, no other debris anywhere around. Just a white toilet seat in the middle of the road.

I'm not sure why it still makes me laugh, but it does.

 

Drinking almost killed me; that and breaking the 3 seconds rule. I was tooling along behind a Ford Expedition and not really focused on the ride, definitely closer to his A$$ than I should have been--My bad.

I'm going about 60 when suddenly right in front of me from under the Expedition appears a BIG freakin semi-transparent bag of beer can returnables! An Expedition sits so tall that he drove right over the bag with no problem; I on the other hand had eyeballs the size of dinner plates; swerved as hard and as quickly as I could and nicked the side of the bag just enough to get a momentary wobble. A good reminder of why the 3 second rule exists...plus a good reminder to stay out of the middle of the lane.

 

Hmmmm. lets see the scariest thing I have ever avoided.....

here was this really big girl that I thought was really good looking after I drank 5 Long island ice teas and a few beers........my friends had mercy on me.. they saved me...she was nasty...we are talking sweat stains, thighs rubbing, grunted when she walked, triple cheeseburger eatin in one bite NaSTey...........oh wait on the bike....... Uh, I would have to say the wierdest thing was a storage shed, it was all together pretty big maybe 14x14 like you would get at home depot...any way I rounded a corner and there it sat in the middle of the road. It was in a residential area. it aparantly was migrating across the street to a new residence. and the two guys thought that they would be able to move it by themselves.....they got that far and one of thier backs goes out so they set it in the middle of the road. and were gonna move it as soon as help arrived.....well the kawasaki fit perfect through the open door ways. I pulled over and gave them a hand getting it moved........good times. got a free BBQ dinner out of the deal