Why So Many Accidents
It appears that 8 out of 10 people crash whilst on tour…
This is a problem, why so many crashes?, it seems that nearly everybody does it, the first day and the last day are the most popular for throwing yourself at the ground, some think it’s funny, others think it’s par for the course, personally I don’t like falling of.
I have been giving this much thought whilst out riding, the surfaces change a lot here in Laos, dry dusty rock strewn roads give way to gravel, dry mud and the most dangerous is the hard packed mud with a sprinkle of rain, it’s like ice, the thick dust hides the rocks beneath which can catch you out, some roads are made of fist size rocks which can be tricky, even the shaded areas can cause problems when its slightly damp.
I think the main problem though is the riders, keen to get away on the trails and enjoy themselves, caution is thrown to the wind and generally the accidents start to happen, some 30 minutes into the journey, some journeys end there with broken bones etc. The bikes genrally dont crash themselves.
The position of the throttle is the biggest factor in my opinion, going to fast on surfaces you don’t yet understand, people who start more cautiously tend to stay upright and complete the tour without incident.
The downside of crashing is you may hurt yourself and if that means a trip to the local Hospital here, you may wish you hadn’t crashed at all when you sample the health care in Laos, secondly you may have damaged the bike which you will have to pay for, few enjoy this exercise, more reason not to fall off.
Safe riding.
