Sliding on your butt

[vintagemilano]

Recent life experiences have prompted me to go looking for info about what to do the moments after you find yourself not sitting on your bike while going down the road...... If you have the awareness of what's going on then what do you do? Lay out flat to keep from tumbling, the opposite? Any info out there in internet land anyone knows about? Would it be different for soft ground like a ditch or median and for hard ground like asphalt?

[drut]

My experience,granted dated:last(but not least)1991) is that going limp and not tensing up/fighting it gives the best outcome.Before matters reach that stage you are better off sliding off on a lowside rather than fighting to a point when you are "launched" in a highside.Fortunately as I have become older and my bones more brittle I find my need for speed and to prove myself has decreased although I still like to travel quickly.

[Green Monster]

+1 to Drut for his reply.

Think babies, toddlers and drunks....what do they all have in common?  When they fall they are limp...best yet, they rarely get hurt.
Conversely, adults and the elderly often try to break their fall when falling...causing much tissue and even bone damage.

Now if you've got your gear on, acting limp while falling, sliding, etc. should get you better results than trying to stop and break your fall.

[hector planter]

  Many years ago i did some judo lessons, not for long but long enough to learn how fall, for that is what the teach you first basicaly by throwing you on the ground.  Now its all very well telling yourself what the best way to approach a fall is but unless you practiced your body will not have time to react and you'll be on your arse sliding down the road before you've had time to think about it.  Once you hit the road sliding on your bum is good as its quite soft but if your not wearing the correct gear you'll just loose skin.  Rolling prevents some gravel rash but is very hard on your elbows and knees unless they are protected.  The best bike to drop from a riders point of view is a BMW air head, as the cylinders protect the rider from the impact and they were so well made that all the damaged they suffered from was a smallhole in the rocker box cover, which could be inverted so the hole was at the top, didnt even loose the clutch lever.  K bikes however self destruct on impact with the road at even very slow speeds.
  So were the right gear is the best answer.

[Chaos]

I remember seeing the bike sliding down the road and thinking "this ain't good" No idea if I tensed up or went limp, don't even remember hitting the deer. Broke my arm but the scratches buffed right out  :eek:

[Elipten]

Forest rats, very dangerous

[The Mighty Gryphon]

I rode enduros and two day trials seriously for a few years and probably crashed at speed several dozen times without serious injury.  Granted, none were above 60mph, but good protective gear and relaxing to accept the crash are IMO the way to go. 

BTW, the confidence that good gear gives is probably the best go fast secret that I had in the woods.  I still feel the same way on the street.  Flip flops and shorts give me shivers when I see riders wearing them.

[Scott_]

.......  Flip flops and shorts give me shivers when I see riders wearing them.

And the girlfriends in short shorts & tank tops on the back of the sport bikes.

[M.Brane]

 My favorite is the back protector worn over the T-shirt.