ORIGINAL: Snobal

Sorry but I can't help you with how to avoid being run over.

However, since Jumpman turned this thread into "story time".........

One spring eveningfive of uswere coming out of the mountains - right after they re-opened the road. The road was mostly dry,but hadwet spots where the snow banks beside the road were melting.With evening coming on - the wet spots were freezing.

I was third in the packcoming down the mountain - Berry and Kal were up front riding side by side.

So Berry hit some ice justas he and Kal wereenteringa hard left turn. Berrystartedto go down -then recovered as his tires regained traction on thedry pavement past the ice patch. Traction is normallya good thing, but Berry'sbike was no longing going the same direction as the road.

As Berry regained traction, he shot off the road across the other lane and off a smallembankment. No guard rail, no ditch, just a 10 foot drop off toward a creek bed.....

I was following Berry and when I saw him slip, then shoot off the road, I began stopping my bike (we werehauling it coming down the road - getting cold you know). I figured wehad just lost a good friend.

But before I could get stopped,I see that Berry had gunned it as he went over the cliff. I have no idea what was going through Berry'smind at this time butsnow, sagebrush, and trash wereflying as he plowed alongthe creek bank. We had been in a hard left turn and the road was now in front of Berry. He stayed on the throttle andpopped up the embankmentabout 100 feet down the road from where he went off.

Kal alsoslowed when Berry shot off the road, then continued down the mountain watching asBerry plowed through the sagebrush, then re-appeared on the road,next to Kal, in about the same position he was riding when hehit the ice patch.

The two of themjust rode on down the mountain like they did $hit like that every day.

Years later, we are still laughing about it.

I'd guess that the moral of this story is - When in doubt, gun it!