Little (dangly) things

[Easy Rider]

....are sometimes VERY important, if they are long enough to get caught in the chain/back sprocket.
Like long strings on tennis shoes or very frayed cuffs on jeans or anything loose on cargo being carried.....
OR extra long straps that are used to tie down bike luggage.

Thinking you have them securely tucked away is NOT good enough. The wind can pull things loose that you would NEVER imagine. The moral of the story is: If you have a lot of extra strap left on a tie-down, CUT IT OFF so that it is not long enough to reach the rear wheel hub if it comes loose. :cuss:

And the second moral to the story is: If you hear a loud CLUNK from the bottom of the bike while going down the highway, stop IMMEDIATELY and check it out. It could be something has gotten caught in the chain/sprocket and is just waiting to take a bite out of your leg or lock up and put you DOWN. :blush:

I got lucky this time. After the first clunk, I went on for about a mile with no more noise.......until I had slowed almost to a stop in a parking lot and then clunk, clunk, THUNK.....small skid. Crap.
Had not one but TWO luggage tie-downs tangled in the rear sprocket and chain. Thankfully it chewed them up and they broke but it could have happened very differently.

[Sarris]

:oops:

Glad you're OK!!

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Sarris

Glad you're OK!!

Thanks. I gotta stick around to harrass you occasionally!

One more bit of advice to add:

If travelling on a bike in the summer time, plan to start at (or very near) sunrise and stop about 1pm.
No matter what you do, riding when the temp "index" is at or above 100 is just NOT good.

Gear on, you boil.....even with mesh.
Gear off, you burn to a crisp from the wind and sun.
It's a no-win situation.

[finallyinthesaddle]

Thank God!! That would not have been something I wanted to hear on the news.

[mrlmd1]

As a safety precaution I always tuck my boot laces into the tops of my boots outside the socks to prevent anything from coming loose or trailing in the wind to get stuck in chains, wheels, etc. Some boots have lace covers or some kind of velcro closure to cover and hide the laces. If you don't have these, then tuck them in.

[purslant]

Glad your or ok !
That made me think about passengers, and the shoes they might be wearing.
I usually wear boots, or shoes with velcro straps myself. But I hadn't thought about anything getting in the chain or wheel spokes. Again glad your ok, and thanks for the eye opener.

[rusty rider]

Did you learn that on your trip? I will heed your advice, and add a little of my own.

Always check your tires, back in the days of twin shock absorbers on the rear of race bikes, I was riding my Puch 175 and hit a jump and when I came down, I immediately went down. When the dust cleared I found my rear tire side wall had failed and upon landing the tube was pushed out of the tire and locked the rear wheel. The tire wasn't weather checked at all.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by rusty rider

Did you learn that on your trip?

Yes. The biggest hazzard over the course of the whole trip turned out to be ME !!

[Water Warrior 2]

[quote=Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by "rusty rider":2dflxpvw

Did you learn that on your trip?

Yes. The biggest hazzard over the course of the whole trip turned out to be ME !! [/quote:2dflxpvw]

Bikes do not get tired, numb and dumb like the people riding them. Add in some bad weather and you have a recipie for disaster. I was not prepared properly for my first long distance ride and almost paid for it the hard way.

[Jenny]

My riding boots have a hard plastic strap that locks in over the laces so that your laces can't possibly get in the way. I love that :-)