Went down on the street for the first time....in China

**iamcanjim** · 11-06-2009, 02:41 PM

Well, my little Rebel has many electrical gremlins, so I decided to head to the Shanghai moto market to see if my guy could find and exorcise them. Also the rear tire was not rolling straight.

Turns out my swingarm bushings were shot. And my guy wasn't there, so the other fellow had to try to exorcise the electrics. He was not successful.

Did tighten the swingarm pivot (should hold it for a week until I get the bushings replaced)(btw, now that it's fixed, I am noticing the odd handling was gone).

Anyways, coming down Gubei Lu, just north of Suzhou creek, I am going about 60. I shoulder check (thought a car was creeping up behind me) and then look ahead.

A guy in a brand new Honda Accord is sideways across my lane. He just pulled out and stopped. Typical China.

Even thought he is a shithead piece of human excrement who should never be within 500 m of a car and probably should be sent back to Hubei province or whatever and buried alive in his family manure pile, I suppose the rest was my fault.

I made a newb mistake, one I used to make years ago, but had not done since 2003. Instead of feathering the brakes and steering around (something I thought I had perfected) I locked the brakes and target fixated.

Dammit dammit dammit.

So now I am sliding along beside my bike. Double dammit. Luckily I don't hit anything.

I get up. My ATTGAT consisted of a half helmet, goggles, tweed blazer, cords and dress shoes.

Suprisiingly, all I have are ripped pants and some rash on my left leg.

I picked up the bike. The driver of the car gets out and gives me the Chinese goggle eyed stare. I call him something rather uncomplimentary in Chinese and start my bike. Keep in mind I didn't hit him. As I start to ride away, the construction workers across the road start yelling and pointing. Turns out the two bottles of coke at had on my rack are rolling away. And there is a broken turn signal there. Screw that. I am not hurt, there is no damage (except to my pride, my pants and my turn signal)(I managed not to hit the car in my slide). I am not waiting for the cops. Away I go.

So, what did I learn?

Pay attention. Riding in China is 100% serious.
Don't look back. In China, what is behind you is not you problem, what is in front of you is.
Practice emergency braking. Even if you think you nailed it. Your new bike might now have the grip and handling you are used to.
Now that the weather is colder you tires don't grip as well. Increase your braking distance.
No matter how stupid it is, Chinese drivers will do it. Even if they see you coming. Be prepared for anything. I saw the car, but I didn't think he would pull out, as there was lots of space and then he pulled out right in front of me.
Look where you want to go. Don't target fixate.
Even if the driver caused the accident, he will look at you with that fish stare that Chinese use on foreigners, even as you pick up the bike and call him a (insert insult here). Punching him in the face would likely be counter productive, although very tempting.

**CrazyCarl** · 11-06-2009, 05:48 PM

Sorry to hear about your spill but it will happen to the best of us. Just count yourself as lucky that your injuries weren't any worse and be sure to THOROUGHLY clean off and road rash.

I've always said, the best way to minimize accidents in China is 110% awareness, 110% of the time. I know it's not always easy but it pays off in the long run.

Your list of things to remember is also salient but I do disagree with one thing which concerns traffic behind you. Generally the traffic in front of you is the most important but in as much as you can have 360 degree awareness, I say go for it. It's ALL important and a dude with an onion stuck behind his brake pedal is still dangerous.

Anyway, forget the bruised pride. Shake it off, sharpen the old senses and reflexes and get back on the road!

CC

**alkamp** · 11-07-2009, 05:11 PM

glad you came out of it with minor road rash

my last pavement crash ended up with a broken elbow.
I was stationed in Germany and was cut off in a blind corner by a Czechoslovakian trying to pass me, he took off....but the police later found him

**felix** · 11-09-2009, 11:51 AM

really sorry to hear you went down, but glad you're alright. i have yet to crash in traffic in this country (i've already eaten tarmac a couple of times but all by myself and with no cars around), but i had a very close one recently that still gives me an adrenaline rush when i think about it.
some arseh**e blue truck (you know the ones) suddenly pulled across two lanes without looking, i was doing about 100 and it was too late for me to brake or swerve so i just caned it and went for the gap (bus on the other side). i missed him by a few inches. after that i had to stop on the side and smoke a whole pack just to calm down.

**ChinaV** · 11-12-2009, 10:06 AM

Sucks to go down, but at least you have the right attitude about it and are willing to share your experience with others. How many times do we hear "the guy pulled out and I had to lay her down", instead of "I locked the brakes and target fixated", which is usually the story. The feeling that you had and the minor damage to the bike will sit in the back of your mind for a while, but that's not a bad thing as you're that much more prepared for the next time some ass in an Acord is sitting there.

Sorry about the road rash, hope you and the bike heal quickly and I'm glad it wasn't more serious.

Cheers
ChinaV

**dp-ktm** · 11-15-2009, 09:16 AM

Gr88 .... glad to hear eveythins welll ... nuthing serious :)....going down is tough and standing bakk is tougher ... congrats

**iamcanjim** · 11-16-2009, 12:40 AM

Went down again on Wednesday. Has not been my week. This time an electric bicyclist surprised me by going down the street in the left lane, against traffic without lights. I nearly avoided him but he swerved at the last minute and clipped me. I grabbed too much brake again and down I went.

I will have to get out and practice emergency braking as well as check my front tire and see why it's so slippery.

**CrazyCarl** · 11-19-2009, 09:05 PM

Ummm...how fast are you going when these events happen?

CC

**iamcanjim** · 11-21-2009, 07:58 AM

First time I was going a bit fast for urban China. About 40-50 km/h. The second time around 20-30 km/h. The first accident was my fault. You should always expect the car to pull out in front of you, even if he appears to be waiting. It's not their fault they can't drive.

The second was hard to avoid. Just put it at that. Would have got him at walking speed.

**Taimur** · 11-22-2009, 01:58 AM

Don't feel bad. When I first started riding in China I had a few spills like that. One of them was an impossible situation and very nearly cost me much more than scrapes and broken bike parts.

One thing to keep in mind is the poorer quality of asphalt out here then back home. Even the best of roads out here do not have the same grip factor. Finally, when temps drop the grip factor reduces more than the equivalent of back home.