Sandy roads! I had quite a few tumbles (at low speed) when the front tyre dug in and the bike fishtailed. So did Rob. Mostly they were a damn nuisance for us, but injury-free.
The worst was the first, on a 6km section of the Red Centre Way between Redbank Gorge turn-off and the Hermansberg junction. My tyres were inflated too much, I caught some deep sand, and I flicked sideways, landing back first, with the back of my helmet whip-lashing onto a section of rock-hard surface. I had a real head-ache for some time after and the vibration of any corrugations hurt for the next 2-3 days.
That photo was a nasty fall because I was traveling faster on a fair surface and slight downhill, but the photo looks worse than it really was. I got stuck in a strange rut that went along the Finke Rd for many kilometres and the front tyre slid out on the edge. I went down fast with the right foot still clipped in, but amazingly got up with no damage to me or the bike. I just had a very small graze.... on my left forearm of all places. Both rear RH-side panniers bounced off, the steering was twisted right around, the front Ortlieb was on by one horribly twisted hook and the Xtrawheel stayed on but rotated under the bike. A bit of a puzzle to untangle!
Amazing how the Ortliebs' secure hooks manage to unclip when there is a real fall that might overstress the hooks. Lower tyre pressure (down to below 20 psi with the 2.15" tyres) was the answer, but both of the falls I described occurred before we realised that the tyres needed to be lower than we had them. I reckon the 2" tyre on the Xtrawheel was running at 12-15 psi - it was only carrying about 20 kgs after all.
Cheers
Pete
