Skunkhome
05-10-2012, 02:23 AM
I took a little ride this afternoon about 100 miles total down the Mississippi river then east along Bayou Manchac Â*through Â*a swamp that once flooded every year before the bayou was cut off by the levees decades ago. Â*Today the upper end Â*which was once a navigable bayou is for the most part little more than a ditch. Â*Manchac Road is extremely windy following the original waterway and the road is appropriately posted with a 20 mph speed limit. . Â*The Â*scenic and historic route is dotted with hunting and fishing camps and homes that have been there for decades, many are on stilts but some of the newer homes are quite grand and are built on slabs only a couple of feet above the surrounding terrain. Â*This area is basically kept dry from the Mississippi River Â*by a levee south of Baton Rouge . Â*The levee blocking the natural mouth of the Bayou Manchac Â*is a weak point along the levee system due to nature of the materials they used to fill the channel nearly 100 years ago. Â*That levee held back a 48 ft flood stage last spring and was a subject of concern for the Manchac basin and all points east and south of Baton Rouge. Â*About 3/4 of the way through the swamp I came across the Alligator Bayou control structure which happened to have a benchmark atop the valve structure.Â*
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff369/skunkhome/IMG_3772-1.jpg
You can imagine what this area would be like if the levee failed.
My GZ parked on the control structure at Alligator Bayou:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff369/skunkhome/IMG_3774-1.jpg
It was partly cloudy and it was warm and there were scattered showers in the area that were so light that the road dried almost instantly. I eased along enjoying the ride and was just 40-50 yards from the end of the scenic route where it intersects with a well traveled highway it suddenly happened. The road makes a sharp turn to the left and as soon as I entered the curve I realized thet I had no directional control. Though I was only going about 20-25 mph leaning left the bike continued straight ahead toward the ditch. I straightened up the bike and decided to allow it to go off the road rather than lay her down on the pavement. To my suprise as soon as the bike hit the wet grass it appeared to speed up.
I suppose the engine braking stopped as soon as the rear wheel hit the side of he road. Funny the asphalt pavement with very prominent exposed agrigate looked perfectly dry but the ruts along the shoulder were full of water. The bike proceeded off the shoulder and into the ditch full of tall wet grass and the bike appeared to be slowing in the soft soil. Unfortunately for me it was not slowing fast enough and was now trying to climb the other side heading toward the trees and a utility pole that lined the right of way. In short order the bike was up on the far bank of the ditch but fortunately for me it was now slowing rapidly due to going up hill. Since the utility pole was looming just yards in front of me I decided it was best to try applying the brakes. Well, I was half right because the bike went down immediately upon my touching the brakes. I fumbled around not knowing what to do next but I finally found the cutoff switch. I lay there with my right leg under the bike and looked at the bike and myself and decided I was ok. Then I tried to pull my leg out. Gee, that bike was a lot heavier than I thought it was. I suddenly was glad I was not laying under a Harley on a hard surface. I pushed and pulled on the bike but it was no go. Finally I got my wits about me and grabbed my pants leg and managed to pull my leg out. I got up and picked my bike up and finished the inspection I had started while laying on the ground and decided that the only thing injured was my confidence. I tried cranking the bike without success because I had forgotten that I had hit the cutoff switch. I finally got her cranked up and eased her back up on the road. Even though the pavement looked dry it was so slick I thought I was going to slip down just getting back up on the pavement. Apparently one of those scattered showers had jumped just enough water to make that exposed agrigate slick as greased ice. I eased out and rode deliberately back to my house some 14-15 mile away. I was pretty shook up and was ready to get off as soon as I got in the yard. I am still thinking about it as it could have been much worse if the ditch had been deeper or full of obstacles.
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff369/skunkhome/IMG_3772-1.jpg
You can imagine what this area would be like if the levee failed.
My GZ parked on the control structure at Alligator Bayou:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff369/skunkhome/IMG_3774-1.jpg
It was partly cloudy and it was warm and there were scattered showers in the area that were so light that the road dried almost instantly. I eased along enjoying the ride and was just 40-50 yards from the end of the scenic route where it intersects with a well traveled highway it suddenly happened. The road makes a sharp turn to the left and as soon as I entered the curve I realized thet I had no directional control. Though I was only going about 20-25 mph leaning left the bike continued straight ahead toward the ditch. I straightened up the bike and decided to allow it to go off the road rather than lay her down on the pavement. To my suprise as soon as the bike hit the wet grass it appeared to speed up.
I suppose the engine braking stopped as soon as the rear wheel hit the side of he road. Funny the asphalt pavement with very prominent exposed agrigate looked perfectly dry but the ruts along the shoulder were full of water. The bike proceeded off the shoulder and into the ditch full of tall wet grass and the bike appeared to be slowing in the soft soil. Unfortunately for me it was not slowing fast enough and was now trying to climb the other side heading toward the trees and a utility pole that lined the right of way. In short order the bike was up on the far bank of the ditch but fortunately for me it was now slowing rapidly due to going up hill. Since the utility pole was looming just yards in front of me I decided it was best to try applying the brakes. Well, I was half right because the bike went down immediately upon my touching the brakes. I fumbled around not knowing what to do next but I finally found the cutoff switch. I lay there with my right leg under the bike and looked at the bike and myself and decided I was ok. Then I tried to pull my leg out. Gee, that bike was a lot heavier than I thought it was. I suddenly was glad I was not laying under a Harley on a hard surface. I pushed and pulled on the bike but it was no go. Finally I got my wits about me and grabbed my pants leg and managed to pull my leg out. I got up and picked my bike up and finished the inspection I had started while laying on the ground and decided that the only thing injured was my confidence. I tried cranking the bike without success because I had forgotten that I had hit the cutoff switch. I finally got her cranked up and eased her back up on the road. Even though the pavement looked dry it was so slick I thought I was going to slip down just getting back up on the pavement. Apparently one of those scattered showers had jumped just enough water to make that exposed agrigate slick as greased ice. I eased out and rode deliberately back to my house some 14-15 mile away. I was pretty shook up and was ready to get off as soon as I got in the yard. I am still thinking about it as it could have been much worse if the ditch had been deeper or full of obstacles.