Great countryside to ride in for sure. I won't comment on the move, as people who live in glass houses shouldn't........... jes sayin' BTDT.

 

I admit that pass was not the best choice I could have made. Made me think a bit on the rest of the ride. If I saw someone else doing that pass I would be thinking what an idiot. In fact I think that thought passed through my mind a bit afterward.

 

Another fear I have on those sorts of passes is if I need to cut back into the lane after realizing I can't make it to the front. Will the stacked up cars let me in or hold their ground? Always thinking of an out, right?

 

Yesterday coming home from work the left lane was slow but right was clear, so I decided to take the right lane - unfortunately an RV decided he needed to enter the gas station on the right straight from the left lane, so I had to hit the brakes pretty hard. I hit the horn as well, and the stupid driver was waving to kind of apologize. What an ass.

 

........ and the stupid driver was waving to kind of apologize. What an ass.

Well would you rather he gave you the finger?

I stopped complaining about other driver's mistakes the day I realized I wasn't perfect either.

 

With regard to the RV, I think everybody should drive one, or a bus or better yet a semi for a few hours..... which I've done lots of..... you'll realize they have limited vision in those mirrors... but cutting across two lanes, that's just shitty planning on his part.

 

Yep, it ain't easy. I drove a big cargo box truck for a while, all the time wishing for surround cameras.

 

I had a job in college driving twin axle tanker trucks. If anyone realized what happens when you have to panic stop one that is half full, they would not cut in front and take up their braking room.

 

On this pass the road was wide open with no oncoming for a good mile so wasn't worried about getting back in. my mistake was rolling on the throttle which got me going real fast in third gear. The guy behind the RV didn't expect me to come up on him that quick I think, so he pulled out without his signal. I saw that bumper coming at me real quick. Im glad we also have pretty good brakes. If I was a bit easier on the throttle things would have happened at a much slower pace.

 

Some times we do something that we should not have rushed into and when we settle back into riding we think we could do better . I believe that every acting has its reaction and yes I'm way not perfect and made silly mistakes. I'm now 71 and try to think about what Ia might do while out riding, to come home safe and alive. Don't get me wrong I still push the boundaries sometimes ,to date, I have been very lucky. I wish all of us safe riding and driving regardless where we are.

 

I also turned 71 this year and should have many riding years left

 

I did a similar multi-car pass this week with an unexpected reaction from one of the vehicles.
There were seven or eight cars and pickups gathered up behind a pickup and trailer hauling hay at about 50 on a road where we usually run 60mph.
The afternoon commute is usually slower than the morning. I think people are tired and get lulled into pacing along, which is what was happening here.
As I got to a passing zone, no none had tried to make a move yet. There was one car in the oncoming lane, but a good ways out. I could easily pass about four without building much speed. Say about 75 or 80.
I don't like passing multiple cars, but when I do, I usually play it conservative to allow time to squeeze back in. I pick a gap, come up alongside, match speed, and scootch in. The cars behind me typically back off slowly to open up the gap. Then when I have another opportunity, I go again. Rinse and repeat.

But THIS time, when I drew up alongside with a pickup ahead and a car behind that I wanted to squeeze in between, I must have confused the pickup's driver. They hit the brakes and veered right to give me more room to pass them before the oncoming car got there, but I was not trying to pass them. Their caution and thoughtfulness screwed up the whole flow.
I ended up with no gap to duck into, no momentum to go past them in time. I ended up next to the trucks bed as I was waving them to "Fricking GO!" I was still there next to them with the pickup's tires on the rumble strip as the oncoming car went by on my left.

The pickup finally got back up to speed so I could drop in for a bit before passing the rest a few at a time.

Passing multiple cars at once is generally a bad practice. Yet I keep reminding myself why I shouldn't do it when crap like this happens.

On a similar note, I passed a car once that hit its brakes as I was going by. I thought they were helping me to get by them quicker, but they were actually slowing for a DEER that was trotting across the road. I saw it in time to slow down right next to the car. We both avoided it and then picked up where we left off. One more reason not to go to max boost when passing.

 

I believe it's Oregon (maybe ID or WA) that has law that says if more than 5 vehicles being held up, you must pull over.... onto pull-offs they have every once in a while.... This presumably lessens the line-ups behind RV's in particular.

 

I almost gotter last night. Totally on me too. Went out last evening to get a feel for my bike loaded down for a trip. Was on the hwy & gonna pass on the left, had a real good clip going so figured I was king daddy (Im in a great mood knowing Im outa here today) & gonna blast around this car. Did a slight look in the mirror, almost 100% sure theres nobody there. Went to change lanes & at the last minute saw the shadow of a car that was in way more of a hurry than I was. Im glad that sun was where it was or it woulda been ugly. I need to keep that in front of my memory bank & learn from it.

 

.." ...also turned 71 this year and should have many riding years left "..
Kids..I passed 72 ( 6 mos ago) & hope I have many riding years left..

 

Sometimes we create our own problems. Sometimes others create them for us. Last Friday on US 2 in Michigans UP there was a line of maybe 8 vehicles headed west. Someone thought they were more inportan than the rest decided to pass. I was with a group three headed east and this numbscull decided he was going to pass the west bound group. 3 bikes all running multiple lights on the front and he NEVER slowed down. Thank God there is a wide shoulder on US 2. All 3 of us had to bail out to keep from getting hit head on. Some people should just not be allowed to drive. Right or wrong I wish I could have found a rock and pitched it on to his windshield but I probably couldn’t have caught him anyway and I know that could have caused other problems for me.

 

I found that regardless how many lights or bright clothing you wear there are some out there that must be blind and ride / drive with a brail white stick in front of them. It is sad I know , but all any of us can do is expect the unexpected and hope we do the right thing also. I'm glad that you are safe

 

Yep, been there done that in several countries....two types of drivers on any vehicle worldwide: the few that are masters at surviving and all others. (Giving my Guar🙏dian Angel all the credit!)

 

"Giving my Guar🙏dian Angel all the credit!) "... I certainly have kept mine busy in years past.. or I wouldn't be here.

 

Here’s a funny story. I was by myself riding from the UP to the Twin Cities a couple years ago. The UP has their 2 lane blacktop posted at 65 mph. Once in Wisconsin, the posted limit changes to 55mph. Just east of Rhinelander, I’m still cruising along at 65 and come up behind a newer Tahoe, lightly optioned and doing 55. No one is coming the other way, so I stay on the throttle, signal and go around him thinking nothing of it. A little traffic is coming the other way including a few motorcycles and I wave, they wave back. After a few minutes, I think I can hear a siren in the distance. I glance in the right rear view mirror, it’s angled to see behind me, no one there. I look to the left and here is the Tahoe all lit up with sirens going! I can see him pointing at me to pull over, looked unhappy, too. He pulled up behind me, got out and walked up to me. Turns out that when I passed him, he immediately started chasing me with lights and sirens. I didn’t hear him until he was right next to me, I have pretty good earplugs! To make a long story short, he ended up ticketing me for Inattentive Driving, citing failure to pull over. I can only imagine what the oncoming riders thought seeing me casually waving while being chased by an unmarked police vehicle with lights and sirens turned on!

 

Gotta love the braking ability. I learned one does have to regularly practice HHHAAARRRDDD braking stops. Otherwise when the time comes, might not take full advantage. Avoidance... the opposite of target fixation is also a key mindset. Most people (not you) spend most of their miles on four wheels and unwittingly take part of that mindset with them when on two. Motorcycles can fit into spaces quad-rollers can't, and should be taken full advantage of where appropriate.

One thing I've noticed about myself over the decades is,
the longer I stay on the road, the more impatient I get.
Never been the type to be rude or risky with other drivers, I simply accelerate and cruise faster is all.
The feeling of "impatientness" is not nearly as bad as it used to be.
Besides waiting until my mid-30s for a motorcycle, avoiding insanely powerful rides, what has personally helped avoid most potential trouble is remembering to ask myself, "Is it worth it?". Rare occasions I did answer "yes" and did sdubid anyway but 95% of the time just asking the question worked. I need to get back to that. 😋

 

BTW, on two wheels I make no bones about using the berms during highway backups. I wouldn't do this on four wheels, but absolutely do this on two. Why? Four wheels can block emergency vehicles. Two wheels can't. You can push it out of the way (if broke down) or easily fit back into most spots in the backup.