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2009-08: When is it Right to Ride in the Emergency Lane? Or … How I Ended Up Head Down on a Hood and Handcuffed (Bikers' Rights)

A FEW SATURDAYS AGO … I was riding home to the flat sands of South Florida after a twisting tour through the steep
mountain ridges and narrow winding valleys surrounding Charleston, West Virginia. The weather was comfortably cool
heading south dow…

A FEW SATURDAYS AGO … I was riding home to the flat sands of South Florida after a twisting tour through the steep
mountain ridges and narrow winding valleys surrounding Charleston, West Virginia. The weather was comfortably cool
heading south down the WV Turnpike and on through Virginia’s Blue Ridge Highlands to Fancy Gap and North Carolina.
But from Mayberry (“Mt. Airy”) on, the temperature and humidity rose rapidly as the elevation descended. And by the
time I stopped for gas just south of Charlotte in Rock Hill, South Carolina, my handlebar thermometer was
registering over 100 degrees.
Continuing south on IH-77 through Columbia, I reached its terminus near Dixiana and turned east on IH-26.
The oppressively sweltering heat was making me regret drinking Coke instead of water at my last stop a hundred
miles back, and I was really looking forward to quenching my thirst at the next fill-up. Not long after that,
though, I topped a rise and saw that my next stop would be delayed: There must have been a bad accident ahead,
because before me was a sea of stationary taillights stretching in two lanes to the horizon. Damn! I stopped for
a few moments like everyone else … but only for a few. I recognized my dry mouth and draining strength as signs
of dehydration. And yes, I admit I had neglected to pack any emergency water that morning, but I decided not to
punish myself for that omission by sitting in the sun and baking on the hot pavement until I passed out.
The emergency/breakdown lane was open, so…