Fear

[MDHCO]

Deer, drivers on cell phones, gravel or oil spills, speed traps, old men wearing hats in light colored minivans, what sets off the alarms?

[Sport-Touring]

[scubadoguk]

I take the veiw they are all poor drivers and some a lot more than others also I am always reminded that I may have the RIGHT of way but they have the TONNAGE

[Bodhi]

The only thing to fear is fear itself.

Really - I didn't make that up!

[atypical1]

Gravel still makes me nervous. I am cool with poor drivers (I expect everyone to be a poor driver), cops, etc. But gravel always makes me more cautious than I need to be.

[bubba zanetti]

Spills. I hit one two years ago .. ouch.

[Thor]

Gravel still makes me nervous. I am cool with poor drivers (I expect everyone to be a poor driver), cops, etc. But gravel always makes me more cautious than I need to be.

I think it is O.K. to be cautious around gravel.  I still like to slide through it every so often.

I don't get full on fear, but I did scare the crap out of myself this year.  I just got a new camera and was looking at a house with a business sign on it out in the middle of nowhere as I rode by thinking it might make an interesting picture.  When I looked up there was no road and just trees.  Either their wasn't a sign or I missed it.  I jumped like someone jumped out of the closet as your about to go to bed!

Fortunately, I could tell that the road turned to the right and I heeled it over and made the turn.

I don't look at things to take pictures of anymore.  I stop and turn around if I think it might be interesting.

[Bodhi]

Seriously - I've been a few situations where clear split-second thinking and fast reaction saved my ass. I'm not saying I'm technically a great rider, but I am saying that keeping a cool head can get you out of some bad situations where a panic reaction may not. Twice in the past three years I was involved in a hairy situation involving wheel lockup or a car moving into my path without warning, and survived without going down. Lucky? Maybe.

But I noticed even in these critical situtations, my heart rate didn't fly off the scale, I didn't panic and squeeze the brakes. I distinctly remember thinking through my options and course of action: ease off the brakes a little, straighten out, clutch in, brake, glance to the left, ease off brake, swerve into safe area in the paved median, brake to a stop. I was a bit surprised my heart wasn't going nuts. I just sat there for a few seconds thinking "holy $&#%" - like in those VW commercials. I don't know where this coolness comes from - practice, skill, or more likely just an innate thing. It honestly seemed like a better rider had taken over for me.

I'm not trying to boast, I am trying to say that keeping cool when you need to be able to think and react quickly is essential. Fear - when it paralyzes you IMO is a big killer.

Poor drivers is my choice from your list of external things to be "afraid" of. You just cannot predict this hazard in advance, you can only assume the worst from every driver and scan around and always have a plan B ready.

[Leanintree]

I'm up for 'poor drivers', but with one caveat... I expect a lot of drivers to be piss poor at operating their vehicle, but what freaks me out is Uber-agressive drivers that put many people at risk. 65 in a 30. switching lanes like its Nascar. Smoking the tires at stoplights. Erratic lane position. Bombing down packed streets, tailgating anyone who can't or won't get over.

Don't get me wrong, I may go faster than traffic, but I don't try to force people out of my way. The obvious powerr tripping meth-smoker freaks me out. I'll take any option to get away from them, be it slowing, turning, twisting on it or selecting alternate routing. I can envision way to many bad scenarios growing out of being anywhere near these fruit-loops.

I can foresee problems and solutions with dumb people. Dumb *angry* people are a different story.

Leanintree

[Mr Sunshine]

Not one thing.  It depends what I see when I am out there.


You can't pigeon hole this sort of thing.

[Guy]

All if these, if it is unexpected. When, the animal/cop/driver blindsides you, completely from out of left field. It can make the heart race.

[Black Ice]

Deer or other critters--Not a real big problem.  Sure it's unnerving rolling through the roads around here during elk season, but there's usually a chance to avoid them.  And if they take me down, at least I'll have meat in the freezer.  Gotta look on the bright side ya know.  

Cell phones/Poor drivers--Same thing, really.  I expect every cager out there to be a total fucktard at all times, and therefore, it's not really a scary concept.

Leo with a laser--He can laser me all he wants...I got photon torpedoes under the fairing.  So wassup now, bee-yotch?

Gravel or oil spills--That's scary.  I've had too many instances where I just ate pavement with no warning at all.  Gravel is one thing, but black ice, diesel and oil can sneak right up on your ass.  It's the one thing you can't anticipate until you're already skidding down the road.  Not cool.  

[mtrider16]

Well I put down deer and critters.  While I agree with lots of the other answers, with my current ride the critters seem to be the most likely danger.

David

[lrhzed]

since i live on several miles of dirt/gravel it doesn't bother me unless its wet/slimy  but if you ever had a deer jump over your front fender or ran over 2 turkeys and a dog in 2 days (somebody was trying to tell me something) you just can;t avoid critters even at 15 mph. but all of it could be a problem if your not paying attention!

[reppans]

Deer.... by far.

Already hit 3 on a motorcycle, 2 more in cars.  Can't even count the close calls.  Everything else..... I find reasonably predictable.

[stewm_21]

The gravel and oil do give me pucker but slow inputs and patience get me through.  Deer- I'll +1 on the meat benefit but I just hope they act like deer and run away or freeze and I can go around the back side.  The one that gets me is the 16-20 y/o that want to play NASCAR and ride my ass or flip lanes like they own the road/know what they are doing and everyone will get out of their way- hate those guys.

[Andrew]

"Fear is the mind killer"  


Gravel and oil spills do make me a bit unsettled.

[blackwing]

Poor drivers.
After being rear ended and squished between two cars,I'm getting more and more paranoid about riding in cities or heavy traffic.

[rodm850g]

Guys,
I voted other because there wasn't one for log trucks...over here in Eastern,N.C. we have these vehicles that  Ican't for the life of me know how they get an inspection decal.....crap always falling off....debris, logs! thas all

[Bodhi]

What about the skillions of dump trucks this new housing bubble has put on the road. They have all this junk and small rocks flying out of the back and a threatening sign: KEEP BACK 300 FEET - NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR BROKEN WINDSHIELDS.

[morayman]

What scares me most is this time of year here in Florida is Snowbirds.We get all the really old Snowbirds comming down here for the winter and they are either looking around at everything,still driving like they're in the "Back Forty",or just can't drive worth a shit.If you live in Fl. I'm sure you know what I mean.It's the best time of the year to ride,but you have to be extra careful!

[CBRXXBLACKBIRD]

Gravel or oil spills

[TomGolden]

My biggest fear has nothing to do with road conditions or other traffic - although I do have a certain level of fear about such things...

My biggest fear is getting off balance when I try to lean "too far" over and end up low siding. I *know* I can do it (hell, I've been to MotoGP and AMA races!!) - I just can't supress the natural response from my brain when I start leaning the bike over. Some day with enough experience - or if/when I finally get to track school, I know I will eventually overcome this fear.

[Busy Little Whiner]

Fear smells... and nothing smells worst that an LOE hiding in the bushes shooting Ka radar... you come
across them and mummer "Oh Shit" too late!!!



 

[UFO]

Using cellphone = poor drivers, so I lump them in the same.

I fear a fooktard behind the wheel of a car.  

[ST-DocLizard1]

All of the above will make me take notice, but black ice will have you kissing the asphalt in the blink of eye.

Doc

[Black Ice]

All of the above will make me take notice, but black ice will have you kissing the asphalt in the blink of eye.

Doc

Yep...especially once you get off the back after a ride...    

[hawkeyejohn14]

I gotta go with deer, can't usually see them, very unpredictable, seem to come out of no where. All the others I can identify and take preventive action.

[Ghost Dog]

I have honestly never had a deer run anywhere near in front of me. But bad drivers - almost every day - almost every ride, at least one does something to scare me - like drifting across a lane without signaling (why do the big american suv's seem to always do this? ) Or start inching forward from a side street so you don't know if they see you or not. Stuff like that.

[Bodhi]

When some numbnut in an SUV (or whatever) just decides to swerve into your lane because it will save him/her 5 seconds on the way to work or picking up the rugrat.

[BlueRidgeKat]

Gravel and oil spills do make me a bit unsettled.

Same here, I can understand why this one is currently leading in the poll.

[Ant]

oil is definitely my first and foremost fear - followed by gravel. As someone said, I ride as if every driver is a terrorist hiding an RPG and am extremely careful about other road users. The one that really got my heart pumping was the other day when I was coming off a roundabout and accelerating relatively hard I hit a diesel slick and the back end slid right out leaving me perpendicular to the standard travel of the road! I have no idea how I got the instinct to save me from crashing the bike but I thank every deity I can think of that I didn't!! Instead I was left with both feet on the ground, either side of the bike wondering why I was facing the wrong way. I had to get off and look at the road to see the diesel.

Its the unseen that freaks me out.

[HipGnosis]

I am always reminded that I may have the RIGHT of way but they have the TONNAGE

I've always phrased that as: my right-of-way can never override their weight.

[jhonda41]

Bad drivers.... I just expect it

Deer...  usually over before it happens and you either have a way out or you dont know what hit ya.

Oil/gravel....  specifically the unavoidable variety that can put you down in almost any turn. This of course why I ride with something in reserve on the street.


-jh

[Sameraz]

Sort of all of the above, but probably least for the cops, there just aren't too many out where I like to ride fast.  Add fallen trees and boulders around corners though.  

Deer...feh, all over the place, but I guess I am lucky, or I understand what they tend to do, since I find them to be pretty predictable.  Then again, if I see sign of them at all, I slow waaaay the hell down.

Gravel, usually I see traces before its a problem.

[kevin_stevens]

I checked "oil/gravel", because that's the greatest risk to me, but a far greater *threat* (many more try to kill me, but many more are avoidable) are the freaking cell phone drivers.

I was coming home this afternoon, and in front of me was a BRAND NEW 845i, still dealer plates on it, weaving all over the road.  Left his lane three times in two miles (to both sides), in heavy 60mph freeway traffic.  Sure enough, cell phone stuck in his ear (probably three more conversations on builtin car phones at the same time).  I mean, if you got a new $$$$ BMW, wouldn't you at least want to make it home from the dealership before wrecking it?!?

KeS

[RideAboutNow]

I've had more "browned shorts" incidents from gravel than any others on the list. When roads around here get icy they sand the roads with "road colored" crushed gravel. Long after the freeze is gone, this gravel will linger in some corners of lightly traveled roads, in the center of the lane between tire tracks. Nasty stuff, I've had at least 3 near tragic encounters with the stuff. Although I don't really worry about it in the summer and fall, it's always in the back of my mind, which sometimes takes a bit of the edge off my fun.

Second on my list is "mom" in the giant SUV (often on a cellphone to boot)...scary. "Do you see me?!?!...F***!!!"

[Cpl Punishment]

Second on my list is "mom" in the giant SUV (often on a cellphone to boot)...scary. "Do you see me?!?!...F***!!!"

You call em SUVs, I call em Chelsea Tractors. Burn them all. Without pity.

[Motorin]

 I also checked gravel or oil spills (been there done that). Last summer heading home from work on a divided hwy,I just cleared a rise/hill in road and all over the road in both lanes was the larger decorative rock that you see usually around homes  . Fortunitely there was a car way out in front of me and I just followed their tire path  . And a couple of miles up the road came upon the culprit, a semi style dump truck with the tail gate swinging in the wind  

[toodles]

They are all crappy drivers as far as I'm concerned but cell phones I take real close attention to.

[mcoyote]

Where is "out of ammo"?

[Black Ice]

Where is "out of ammo"?

 

[bandit-o]

I checked gravel - that was what caused me to have my first low-sider on an on-ramp

Thank God for a nice soft grassy field to slide on...

[Mini4x]

I chose "Other" but I wanted an "All of the above" option.

[Rabidsnipe]

Fear on a bike was introduced to me early.

I pull the bike out of the truck to ride around a church parking lot (maybe 10 cars in the whole lot).  I've never ridden a motorcycle, dirt bike, scooter, etc.  I'm riding around minding my own business when a car backs right out in front of me.  Instincts take over, I swerve, and go on my merry way.  I still don't think they saw me.

[Stormer]

Gravel.
Almost killed me once.

[blackbeltrider]

1. Interstate riding in heavy traffic at night, in the rain. Everyone just seems to want to have a close-up look at the wet biker.

2. Getting rear ended - one time a moron in an SUV passed by me on the right about a foot away and ended up stopped with his front end about 2 feet past the car in front of me after traffic stopped suddenly due to an accident on the freeway. It was fortunate the car in front had moved as far left as he could, and I had moved from the right to the left side of the lane we were in - it gave Mr. cell-phone-using-moron-SUV pilot some run-off room.

It brought a flashback of the time my older brother got rear ended by a car - it punched the bike right out from under him, pinned him against the grill, and when the car left the road into the ditch, he dropped down in front and it just rolled over him full length.  

[basco]

I had more run-ins with gravel / sand / oil than any other. Bad drivers I just expect it. Deer, I only come close a few times in the many years of riding but I did see Cricket1's run-in with a deer last year at the national.

[ZED]

1.  Bridges with metal grating for a deck

2. Gravel - even though I'll ride my KLR distances over the stuff, including my commute to work, I doubt I'll ever be comfortable on loose gravel.

[Black Ice]

I had more run-ins with gravel / sand / oil than any other. Bad drivers I just expect it. Deer, I only come close a few times in the many years of riding but I did see Cricket1's run-in with a deer last year at the national.

I'm pretty glad I didn't see it.  I hope someone saved the venison.  

[ruffcut]

 I chose critters though any of the answers work. The one that scares me was`nt there. While cresting a blind hill I harbor this fear that a farmer will be backing a load of hay out onto the roadway. Maybe after I get a little more experiance I wont worry so much.

[zoid]

Aliens. I'm constantly looking over my shoulder wondering if there is a spaceship hovering nearby. What is it with them and their damn anal probes anyway?

[basco]

I'm pretty glad I didn't see it.  I hope someone saved the venison.  

Nah, we had other concerns. Besides, the deer was toast.

[Leanintree]

Saw this today, and the colors were interesting. Then I realized it was the enemy... (leading with 33.5%)



Leanintree