Skid knot

The monsoon is here, and it has announced its 'pre-arrival' with a crash, if I may put it that way. You can never be too careful in these initial rainy times if you're on a two wheeler, and in the midst of the rainy times too for that matter. Though once you get used to it raining all around you, skids and wet concrete are much easier to negotiate.

I got off at the Mikon office on Dhole Patil road to pick up my faithful wheels this evening. Pretty pleasant evening it was too, lovely breeze blowing across the lands and I prepared for an enjoyable ride back through some mild traffic. And then it began to pour. Knowing that the first rainfall can be pretty dangerous for motorists, bikers in particular, I kept the speed pretty less, avoided any daring overtaking rushes, in fact avoided any overtaking I could help and all looked good for a wet but safe arrival back home. But that was until I got off the University fly-over and on to the Aundh main road.

The road here is concrete, and things get wildly slippery when it starts to rain. Anyway, a speed of 35 - 40 km per hour didn't matter at all, when this tempo traveler around ten meters ahead of me slowed down rapidly. I braked cautiously, but not cautiously enough I guess because the back wheel promptly locked up and slid away to the left at a shocking angle. Needless to say, I went down like a pin into the mixture of earth and concrete. Can't say I was a hundred percent aware of myself in that fraction of a second it took me to fall, but thankfully I had enough sense to let the bike go crashing across while I slid on to the road. I was extremely lucky (thank God) there weren't any vehicles close behind me, and that there were a bunch of helpful on lookers who darted across in a trice and helped me and the bike to the shoulder out of the highway. I'm also immensely thankful I had my helmet with me! (I came to know later that around 8 or 9 bikers had fallen on that very spot over the last five minutes)

Besides kicking myself for not being careful enough, I can take a few things away from the incident.

Avoid using a two wheeler when it has just started to rain after a dry spell. If you must, then
(a) wear a helmet, even if you need to bike to the next block
(b) stay in as low a gear as you can help. Use engine braking as much as possible, because your regular brakes are very likely to skid on the fresh mess of mud and concrete/tar
(c) Avoid concrete roads as much as possible (especially if you're driving in India). These roads are more durable than tarred roads alright, but they offer a pretty poor road grip especially when wet.
(d) Drive slowly. Let it take ages to go from point A to B even if they're a couple of miles apart. Like someone somewhere said, it's better to be late, than be 'the late'.

Despite taking all precautions, shit happens.
(a)If you find yourself skidding helplessly and falling, let the bike go. Your bike can be fixed in time no matter how banged up it gets, but not necessarily you. Let the bike slide/crash/go and do your best to fall in a rolling movement to minimize impact.
(b) If you don't feel up to it after the fall, do not drive again right then. Get yourself taken care of first, you can always pick up your bike later.
(c) If you decide you're fine and to continue driving, ensure first that everything on the bike is working perfectly. Test your brakes, front and rear, take a few test turns, make sure your handle bar alignment is fine.
(d) This is a handy precaution. Keep 'ICE' contacts in your mobile phone. In case you lose consciousness after an accident (or for some other reason), a passerby would use your mobile phone to contact someone you know. ICE stands for In Case of Emergency. Have more than one ICE contact, and ensure it's a family member or a friend you can trust.

If you witness an accident where you are a passer by, try and stop the traffic coming on. Common sense would suggest that oncoming vehicles would stop immediately when a mishap occurs in front of them, but common sense doesn't prevail for some. If the victim is not badly hurt, ensure that he or she has been moved to safety to the shoulder. Otherwise, try to get professional help to move the victim.
If the victim is unconscious, an ambulance or hospital and police immediately. Then use the victim's mobile phone to search for ICE contacts. If he does not have ICE contacts, look for numbers stored under 'Home', 'Dad', 'Papa','Pops', 'Mom', 'Ma' and so on. If you can't find any such contact, call the last dialled number and inform them of what has occurred. It might just save a life.

Everything said and done, prevention is better than cure. Be safe, drive responsibly. If you live in a place where helmets haven't been made compulsory, do not take the liberty of not wearing one. It may look or feel 'cool' to feel the wind in your hair and all that, but it's not worth it.

If you live in a place where helmets are compulsory, buy a good, standard one (this applies to the former too). Do not buy a cheap helmet to 'adhere' to the rule, and wear something which will offer as much protection as a flower pot will. Spend a little more on the helmet, it's to protect your head!

Then there is the other counter theory against the use of helmets that people who call themselves 'free spirits' often quote, that it causes whiplash. Well, consider a crick in the neck, and consider a crack in your skull. Then choose.