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“In Case of Emergency” is a Wing Worlddepartment we hope to include as often as possible in the magazine. It is our hope that the opinions andadvice shared in it will provide useful guidance to riders on ways to prevent and/or treat emergency situations that may arise on our roadways.In Case of Emergency:Traffic was light as I rode northout of Idyllwild, California, on acool, clear November day. It hadstormed in the mountains the daybefore, and for the last half-hour or so Icould see that the higher peaks hadreceived a light dusting of snow. Butother than the occasional pine cone anda few leaves, the roads had been cleanand dry as I climbed into the higher elevations.Just minutes earlier, as I leftIdyllwild, I started seeing small patchesof snow along the roadside. The roaditself, however, appeared dry.But even though the road appeareddry, an uneasy feeling slowed me to perhapsten or fifteen miles per hour as Ientered a moderate left-handed horseshoecurve. Suddenly, perhaps halfwaythrough the curve, the bike jerked violentlyand then stabilized. Black Ice! Careful not to rollon or off the throttle, I warned myself. But withno further warning, the bike and I were quicklyfalling to my left. I tucked in tight as the bikehit the ground and slid down the road; it cameto rest seconds later, straddling the doubleyellowdivider. As I pulled myself up, a quickscan showed that neither the bike nor Iappeared to be leaking fluids. Adrenalin flowing,I was able to get the bike upright on theside-stand in one attempt.And there I stood, slightly dazed, in themiddle of a blind and icy corner. I wasn’t sureif I’d been hurt, and I wondered what I shoulddo next.Weeks earlier, I had enrolled in an AccidentScene Management Advanced BystanderAssistance course in Indio, California. Followingthe class, I planned to ride to Irvine, viaIdyllwild, to visit my daughter and grandkids.Yet there I was, not much more than an hourinto my ride and standing in the middle of theroad, with no cell phone coverage.Thankfully, I heard a vehicle approachingfrom the north. It turned out to be a SanJacinto State Park Ranger. He turned his truckaround, turned on his emergency lights, andmade sure I wasn’t seriously injured. Then hehelped move the bike to the side of the road.Over the course of the next hour or so, weobserved several vehicles get squirrelly comingaround that corner; one car almost went sideways.By John Davis • GWRRA #270167 • Peoria,Even though my left hand was hurting andmy helmet was scraped (indicating I had takena blow to the head), I didn’t feel I needed to bechecked out by EMS. After a bit of discussionwith the ranger, however, I was convinced Ishould have EMS look me over.When they didn’tfind anything obviously wrong with me, andwith nothing hurting but my left hand, Ideclined transportation for a more in-depthexam.And, upon closer inspection of the bike,it appeared safe to ride; the engine started andsounded good. So I thanked everyone andcompleted the trip to Irvine.At the following monthly AZ-R Chaptermeeting in Phoenix, I was asked to give a brieftalk about the hazards of hitting black ice on amotorcycle. It was a bit embarrassing—mywife and I had just been presented ourGWRRA Master’s patches—but I spoke of myfirst-ever street bike crash. Now I’d like toshare some of those analyses and conclusionswith you.Analysis – The RiderI believe I was physically and mentally preparedfor the ride. I also believe that I wascapable of executing the ride safely. I’ve riddena lot of miles, over a lot of years, on many differentbikes and in a variety of weather androad conditions. I often take one or more safetycourses a year and read many motorcyclesafety articles.Conclusion: Other than the fact that I wasArizonaA Black Ice Crash Self-AnalysisRed starburst indicates where my bike came to rest; beginningof red line is where I believe my bike first started falling.the one riding the bike at the time of thecrash, I don’t believe my trip preparationor riding capabilities were a contributingfactor.Analysis – The BikePrior to leaving Phoenix, I had my ’06GL1800 ABS professionally serviced andsafety checked. I was running DunlopElite 3’s with less than 4K miles, inflatedto 42 PSI cold, front and rear. I often ridetwo-up, but I made no adjustments priorto this ride.Following the crash, I was a little concernedabout tire pressure, but the tireshop had told me 42 PSI is a reasonablepressure for long life and minimal cupping.Dunlop’s Website recommends 38PSI in front and 41 PSI in the rear tire.After some Web research, I get the impressionthis is a somewhat controversial subject;everyone has their opinion.Conclusion: I’m comfortable with the preparationand condition of the bike. I don’t considerit to be a contributing factor.Analysis – My Riding GearMy riding gear for this trip was a Nolanmodular helmet, GWRRA 3-in-1 jacket over aT-shirt, Lee Parks Design deerskin ridinggloves, Levis®, and Cruiserworks® ridingboots. In addition, I was wearing a pair of WileyX® sunglasses with polarized, Crizal® coatedprescription lenses.I believe my selection was pretty good.Thehelmet did its job, as did my gloves and jacket.Amazingly, I didn’t have so much as a red spoton my skin! I’m not quite sure how thatworked out, but I’m grateful it did. Neither myboots nor my jeans showed any indication ofcontacting the road.My biggest concern about my riding gearthat day is with the sunglasses. I sent inquiriesasking for information or research on both thepolarized lenses and the coating, as I’m interestedin learning about their effect on the abilityto see, or not see, black ice. I haven’t yetreceived a response, but I did find an onlinearticle indicating that, in some circumstances,polarized lenses may not provide the contrastthe eye needs to distinguish ice patches. But Ihaven’t been able to find anything that defini-March 2009 43