Seeing as how I had some mechanical problems on Saturday and Sunday morning was too damn cold to ride, i waited until about 2:00 to get out and get my weekend fix. I normally don't like to go in the afternoon and alway have a funny feeling when leaving for a ride so late in the day. I didnt have much time so i decided to do my favorite little local route out to the Keystone area where there exists a little loop of some very nice roads. Since it was later in the afternoon and i was riding alone, my pace was nice and easy. I decided to work on improving my ability to "flick" the bike into turns with more precision and quit my (and many other riders') tendancy for lazy steering on the street. This was all decided before leaving my subdivision roads and i'm very glad for it because it as it turned out i would see a couple of incidents during my little ride.

Upon departing, i hit a very popular local favorite (N---b----r) on the way out since its with in 2 miles of my house. Less than 1/2 mile after i get on the road, someone on a newer (05 by looking at the light) GSXR 600 comes up on me @ speed in the first little straight...gets behind me for the switchback by the Sheriffs house, falls a little back after the 2nd turn, then passes me on the next little striaght going into a tight right...so as he passes, naturally, i match pace...as i start to set-up for the turn (at speed), the GSXR apparently freaks, brakes VERY hard and goes off roading...no target fixation for me, i complete the corner and instantly sit straight up and look in the mirror to make sure he didnt go down, which he didnt, so i just kept on keepin on.... so to the mystery GSXR rider ...

So i get out to the Keystone area and after 2 loops, im feeling good...traffic is light, no po-po and my little practice session is going very well...then i round the 2nd turn after the golf course on Patterson to see a clump of cars pulled to the side of the road 2 turns ahead...instantly I get the feeling its a rider down....only to have my suspicions confirmed once pulling up to the scene....

i see someone lying prone on the side of the road, very near a fence and between two street signs (which marked the > turn direction)...rider is not moving with people around them and covered with a blanket...my stomach sinks...i pull over and shut off the bike. 3 guys are standing by 3 bikes on the side of the road...i ask if help is on the way, they say yes...i ask "is he ok?"...they say "we think so"....what happened, did he lowside (which was how the bike appeared to me)?....no he highsided....(waaa? i think to myself)....so then is realize on the of the guys was the rider who went down and the person down was the passenger....a girl...

in the mean time, the guys are surveying the damage to the 05 YZF-R1 and commenting on the severity....i ask "are you the guy who went down?" noticing now the torn ICON jacket and rips on the right side of this jeans....yeah, my front end washed out and I slid off the road, almost smashed my head on one of the sign posts....

needless to say i was surprised to see that the guy was surveying the damage to his bike (which was minimal) while is GF was lying prone on the ground waiting for a gutwagon to arrive....

i think she was ok, but im not sure....if anyone has any info, post up...there was also an older GSXR 750 (yellow and black) and a blue/silver Busa riding with the guy who went down. "This road will bite ya" were my departing words.

All in all, the weather was great and i got my fix after all. So be careful on that road, i know or have seen a total of 10 riders go down on that road...it is a place of bad ju-ju....im not saying dont ride it, just be wary....

-Slo Poke

 

i refuse to invite anybody out there anymore since the last 3 times ive been out there somebody has gone down.

you tell them to be careful and stay within there limits, but that road tends to punish people who dont respect it enough.

 

+1 been down on it myself :X

 

i cant do public roads, just to scary... crashing on patterson sucks you could easily lose your life on that road.

 

I once led a guy we just met ,at Elite Performance on Gunn hwy, through that road and he went down on the last set of corners before the straight to the stop sign @ Tarpon Springs rd.

Felt so bad cause he was waiting for an oil change and we convinced him we'd be back and it would be better to ride a bit than wait...

 

Damn. I hope everyone is ok.

 

I play on these roads some.

Patteron will bite you and have showed a few here that it will.
I actually rode Patterson Friday.
I gunned it a lilttle to hard on the straights by the golf course and had the front come up on me unexpected,I dont know it was a dip or a bump.

So today before reading this thread.I was out there playing.

Me and a friend was also riding other road sin the area.
We had an asshole cop pull out of a gas station going towards the direction we were going to turn,but as he pulled out.We pulled in,which made him do a u turn then come in behind us threaten us he was going to give us tickets.

I feel they are watching the area,we saw a few cops.
So be careful out there.

The corner after/before the golf corse will bite.

That area is not a place to play in the night,or 2 up.,

 

hell ya eric i remember that night when u went down... ive had to come pick up peoples bikes so many times off that road. probally about 8 or 9 times in the past year. guess im a good friend with a truck huh? but hey eric its ok bc you were ok. and the bike looks better than new now. ive ridden the road about 15-20 times and i dont like it. with the mystery sand and gravel showing up on that road.

 

id bet over 200 riders have been down on that road in total. I did stop and look over this scene including the bike and talked with the rider. This particular turn has a driveway that intersects (although there was no traffic in the driveway at the time) and has a slightly reducing radius...i rider the road in the opposite direction so that turn is a left hander for me...but it was clear to me what happened...

he went in hot, but was starting to turn the bike...realised he was too hot and rolled off the gas/applied fromt brake to scrub speed...trail braking may have worked if he had the right finesse, but being 2-up im sure the weight transfer on the front end overrode the grip of the tire....CRASH....

 

Just last week I was out there with Ricksta and Eric... Not being used to the road I keep it within my limits... Well I'm riding behind Rick, and Eric behind me..

Well I was coming out of a corner and the front tire gets loose, I mean scary loose. Manage to save my ass.... we came up to the stop sign needless to say I checked my front tire....almost as if there was oil on it... I mean I heated my tires for a good bit of time... oh well that road will bite you. Still a fun road but very narrow and lots of cars... makes for alot of accidents just becareful.