You know, when riding a snowmobile the rule is that your speed should be dictated by the visibility at hand and the distance at which you can stop in. When you can't see what is around the corner you had better be able to stop if in case something unexpected should suddenly appear.
So just last week, I am railing around one of my favorite sets of S-curves. Halfway through I suddenly see a young mother pushing a side-by-side stroller with a couple of youngsters in it, coming right at me in the driving portion of my lane. Typically one would simply slow down and go wide into the on coming lane. BUT....
There is a car coming at me in that lane, and they are NOT slowing down for the young mother in my lane, coming my way.
I sit up quickly, chop the throttle and get into the binders. The young mother, seeing me in a full lean coming around the corner, didn't know the car was coming from the other direction. At first she seemed confused that I was reacting so abruptly, then she whipped around and saw the other car.
Needless to say, when the car passed us both I gently went wide and waved to her, and she was VERY appreciative for my quick action. She smiled and waved back, but let's just say she had one of those "oh crap" moments. It was a narrow 2-lane county road, low traffic, so she probably walks it in the opposite driving lane all of the time. There really isn't much of a shoulder, just gravel, but then again she wouldn't expect a Spyder to be coming around it at 55-60 Mph at the same time a car would be coming from the other direction at the EXACT same time. It happens. If I would have been on a two-wheel bike it would have been a tighter moment as I would have NOT been able to maintain that level of control and get it shut down like you can a Spyder, for sure!
Point is, one should always "expect the unexpected" and be traveling at a speed at which you can react to changing conditions, whatever they might be!
