I've ridden nearly all of Los Angeles' canyons. And they're great.
The roads are winding, the views are spectacular, and the pavement...OK, so they're not all sunshine and daisies, but you get the idea. Motorcyclists from around the world head to SoCal to enjoy moderate temperatures and mountain roads. But there's one chief concern when you head to the Crest or any of California's other spectacular roads: car drivers.
See, these roads are used as racetracks by some of the locals who also enjoy the spirited nature of these canyons. But there are those that fail to understand that they're not on a racetrack and are very much lacking the skill of a proper racecar driver.
And, unfortunately, it's often the motorcyclists on these roads that suffer.
Thankfully, the rider in the video I'm about to show you wasn't injured, though he very well nearly was killed as you're about to see. A reminder before you scroll down, you're not a racecar driver, canyons aren't a closed course, and for heck's sake, don't pass on blind corners!
Car nearly hits biker while taking a blind turn, and we see the other pov.
byu/Easy_Piece_592 inmotorcycles
From someone who spent a decade in LA, that looks like Angeles Crest up past the main portion of Los Angeles. It's a prized road to ride and driver, though often you get stuck behind gawkers, trucks, trailers, and more heading up into the mountains. It can, at times, lead to getting pretty hot under the collar, especially after sitting in LA's traffic for hours just to get there.
However, passing on the road is sketchy at best. And gravely serious at worst.
The road is narrow with almost no run-off in either direction. And what run-off is available is often lined with gravel that'd cause most motorcyclists to lay the bike down. For car drivers, you'd be lucky to just spin it and tap the cliff's walls or Jersey barrier. What you absolutely shouldn't do, however, is try to freakin' pass a big-ass truck on a blind corner.
And that goes for if you're in rural Tennessee or the mountains of California. You can't see what's around the corner, so you've got a pretty good chance at having a head-on collision, which is what almost occurs here.
Two cars, a Chevrolet Camaro and what appears to be a Genesis, decide they've had enough of waiting behind a line of dump trucks and decide to pass. The dividing lines are solid, they've got a lot of people in front of them, and they're trying to do so in a corner. All of which is absolutely idiotic. And, as luck would have it, a motorcyclist is on their way down and in the opposing lane.
As you'd expect, though they survived the encounter, the motorcyclist had some choice words for the car drivers. And they're right to have them. What those drivers did was beyond stupid and nearly killed someone.
Please, please, please stop doing things like this.
