r/motorcycles • u/LowDirection4104 • 7h ago

Speed and control.

I don't know who needs to hear this, but I write this as a rider who understands that sometimes you just need to open up your street bike and let her stretch her legs a little. And what better time than a Monday evening, when the highways are mostly empty?

But just a PSA: when you're blasting by cars at triple-digit speeds, just be aware that those cars don't see you coming. Even if they're doing everything right checking their mirrors, checking their blind spots, being good citizens if you're passing them at 150 mph, you are effectively invisible until it's too late.

I was driving home last night, probably doing 65, in the middle lane, with a car just behind me in the left lane. Suddenly, like a bullet, a bike came through right between us. I don't know if he actually lane-split or if it was more of a tight pass, but whatever it was, I heard the sound, which did startle me. Then I saw his taillight, and he was gone.

If I had been switching lanes for some reason, or even just drifted in my lane I would have never seen him coming. He didn't pause behind me long enough to assess whether I was about to make a lane change. He just went straight for it like it was a video game.

There is no judgment in this post. I get it. It's a choice you make. In that split second, the risk is part of the adrenaline just as much as the speed. I'm not going to get on a high horse and lecture someone about speeding or riding aggressively. I'd be a hypocrite if I did.

But as his taillight disappeared into the night, I wondered: was he aware of the risk he was taking in that one moment? Or did he feel in control of a situation that he actually maybe wasn't in control of?

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u/KingButters27 '02 CBR 600 F4i 6h ago

I mean I've never seen a deer on the freeway either to be fair

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u/ExpressReveal2480 4h ago

Lucky you, I couldn't possibly count the # I've had run in front of me while driving/riding. I have also had 2 close encounters of the Moose kind and one scare with a black bear.

One of the moose encounters I had I was motorcycling in the White Mountain National Forest in NH. It was a bull moose, I swear I could have rode my Honda VFR under it's belly if it stood still it was HUGE.

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u/KingButters27 '02 CBR 600 F4i 3h ago

damn really? idk maybe the freeways near me are just better protected or something but at least on my stretch of i5 I've never seen a deer. Have seen many deer attempt suicide by motorcycle on surface streets though.

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u/ExpressReveal2480 3h ago

Maybe in city areas the large concrete walls that are like 15-20 feet high will keep them off. Otherwise forget about it, a white tail deer can jump a 10 foot high fence no problem, not many places will put up fences higher than that for long enough distances.

I live in the Northeast, in the rural areas most highways have no fencing at all.

I had an absolute "pooh came out" moment on I-89 in VT this year with a White tail deer running out in front of me while I was going ~80mph in the car and then it just stopped dead in front of me and looked right at me.