I had to make a run over to my son's house yesterday evening and it was really windy. I was crossing the Arkansas River on I-44 (in a construction zone) and due to traffic, wound up behind a semi. The wind was blowing like crazy from my right, but with the truck in front of me, and the cars all around me, it felt like I was being alternately battered on all sides. It was all I could do to keep the bike upright. Had I backed off, the risk of getting hit by traffic behind me was as great as the danger I was already in. And there was no place to go due to the tight constraints of being on a bridge that had construction going on. Had I gone down, I wouldn't be here today.

Be careful out there and consider all things before you're stuck in a bad situation.

 

Thanks for sharing, I always like to read these types of comments (When they turn out like yours, a learning experience, not a painful one) I always take a moment to think about my riding and If I would have got into a similar situation what would or could I have done, and how can I avoid them.

Always nice to learn from others experiences. Glad this one turned out good and again, thanks for string so that others may learn

 

That's a good point, we sometimes get ourselves into situations that we could have avoided but maybe didn't think that far ahead. Bridges are one of those things that don't leave a lot of room for error and may not give an alternative means to get around them.
Glad you escaped unscathed.

 

Thanks for the read. Glad everything turned out for the better!

 

Sounds like you handled it well. Kept your head on straight and no lollie gagging out there. Ride safe.

 

A few years back mine got off the bike before she could get hurt, regained control and picked her a couple of hundred feet down the road.

 

That little angel really gets around. Thank God!!

 

I had a similar experience last year in southern Mass., really windy but I crossed 2 bridges with no huge problem and then on the last bridge the wind was blowing directly across the bay and I really thought I was gonna die. It was 2 lanes and I was taking every inch of both of them, not helping were the cagers who gave me no space. At the end of the bridge there were a couple of bikes pulled over and one of the passengers was just blowing lunch and looked terrified, my hands hurt for a couple of days from holding the grips so tight.
I saw later that some of the gusts were in the 60 mph range. Never again will I ride in wind like that.

 

Yet another case where common sense and road-smarts and NOT a gremlin bell made the difference. Good job. Ride safe!

 

Glad your OK, I hate bridges. Wind and raised roadways/bridges are a recipe for disaster.

I had the crap scared out of me one time a couple of months after I got my bike.
I had to take it back to the dealer for a recall, battery cable and ECM remap and decided to see if I could get it there and back before dark.
Well I got there OK, but it took longer than I thought and I only made it half way back before the wind, rain and worse sleet started just as I was about to go over a bridge that's more than a hundred feet over a bay.
The sleet hurt my face so bad I had to cover my exposed face with my left hand.
It was just after 5PM and the rush hour traffic had started with all the cars and trucks going like hell to get home I didn't dare try to slow down.
Dumb *** that I am I should have remembered how dark it gets in late January after 5 and the rain and sleet conditions just made the roads slicker and harder for anyone to see me.
I got trapped between the cars with a lifted 4X4 pickup behind me. Lucky for me the truck driver saw what was happening and probably didn't want a bike getting knocked down in front of him at 60mph
So when he saw the lady on my right start to turn into my lane, and me, he honked his horn and moved up closer to me in order to block her.
The pickup driver stayed right behind me until I got to my exit and as I turned off he honked his horn, waved, and drove on.

I have never seen that truck since that night.
Too bad, if I ever find that old Dodge, the drivers going to get all the drinks he can handle and I will personally deliver him to his house.
I owe him, big time.