Keys, what you're doing is the right thing to do. I will outline what happened, but I must say that I'm not sure how much it will help. Thing is, the group actually talked about a similar accident with someone else and about how they overused rear brake and slid and crashed. I nodded, agreed that it shouldn't be done, and then did same thing before I crashed. So nothing, nothing substitutes practice in parking lot and on track b/c knowledge is only good if practiced enough to the point of instinct. That's my opinion.
The road was going straight then curved into a right turn of about 45 degrees and of average difficulty which was then followed immediately (we're talking about maybe 50 feet of straight line here) by a very sharp 90-degree curve to the left. Problem is, due to trees I simply didn't see that 90-degree turn in the opposite direction, so I entered first turn at somewhere between 60 and 70+ mph (this is a 35-mph road btw). Sure, we all (or many of us) do it all the time, that's the whole point of twisties, but in this case it was extra stupid of me b/c I didn't see what's ahead and it was my first time on the road.
I passed first turn just fine and was on the left side of the lane as I was exiting it. But before I even straightened out my bike I saw the next turn and I remember instantly realizing I'm screwed and it was scary but the very next moment everything got super-clear. Immediately question popped in my head, "Try to save bike or only worry about myself?" and answer was, "Low chance to save the bike and high chance of doing more damage to myself when doing it; only priority is minimizing damage to my own body". Some may say "BS, you didn't think that" but really I did. Except when you get scared, it's almost like you don't think like usual, you think in terms of answers somehow. It's blistering fast. Then my thoughts went as follows:
If I lean and try to make a 90-degree turn at this speed, I'll most definitely slide. (I didn't THINK I was going to skid, I suddenly had the feeling of KNOWING I will.) If I slide, I'll hit the trees that are closer to the road further up the turn and I'll die at this speed. (That I KNEW also) If I let engine to brake, it won't do it fast enough. So I must brake and then try to lean into the turn and make it.
These thoughts flew through my head in literally a split second. I never thought I could think that fast. Imminent danger does make you think FAST. I started braking, both brakes, and as soon as I did that, my head got completely clear again and only one thought kept circulating: "Is rear tire skidding yet? Is rear tire skidding yet?" As I kept approaching the end of road and gravel I squeezed brakes harder b/c I wanted to get everything I could out of them. Then rear tire skid. AS SOON as it did, I released rear brake and as soon as that happened I realized that front brake can't do it alone and that I'm doomed for a crash. This is b/c the split-second skid of rear tire turned the bike a bit to the point where if I applied throttle, I thought there was no way it would catch traction. This may have been a mistake, I can't know, but I KNEW my only choice is to reapply brake and to get all I could out of it even if it skids. It's the same subtle feeling of knowing something like you have when you catch a ball - you just know where it is without "thinking" about it. I believe that brain does a crapload of calculations behind the scenes to know exactly how much to move the muscles to catch a ball, and that's how I felt here - that calculations were done and my best option to survive with least damage was to break.
As I got close to the edge of asphalt, another set of thoughts flashed by:
This bike is heavy. If I keep holding on to it and it hits the trees, it will spring back into my body and f*** me up. I must release it as soon as I hit gravel and braking is useless. I can lean in a bit and try to make at least some of the turn until I lose traction, but there are trees without a gap between them just 20 feet up the road and if I do this and lose traction, I'll hit those trees head-on and die. I should just keep going straight and turn it on the side as I reach gravel b/c that will slow ME down more than it will the bike which means I'll create the much-needed distance between myself and the bike.
Again, a moment-long thought. I also noticed the two trees and empty spot between them as I was braking and I swear that I didn't consciously choose the moment when to put down the bike - my body did. But I KNEW it was the best moment of time to lay bike on its side in order for me to survive. And it was - I flew right between the first 2 trees that were immediately next to the road, hit grass and rocks on my way down, and only then my left leg hit some other tree. It was a substantial hit, but nothing like what would have been had I hit one of the first 2 trees. Another funny thing is that as soon as I missed the 2 trees and saw heading towards 3rd tree below, I was sure I'm going to break a leg. I guess my brain didn't take into account the knee pads; hit right into the middle of one so that probably saved my bone.
Had I went 2 feet to the left, I'd hit a tree head-on and probably die or at least have severe problems. Same thing to my right. I really got lucky. But it was my subconsciousness, really, I just trusted the body as it basically just took over. Police officer said everyone else so far died at that corner and I can see why - if they tried to salvage the bike, they had attempted to lean into the turn, and hence hit the first trees instead of missing them like I did.
Yes, I released throttle as I started breaking b/c judgement was that I need ALL the braking power I can get. I haven't read that book yet but I need to - everyone recommends it. I'll order it right now.
Lessons I learned for myself? Use front brake even harder. My bike already nose-dived some, but looking back I feel like I could have applied more front brake. I didn't know limits of my bike b/c I never practiced breaking with it yet (it's 2 weeks old for me), so I broke as hard as I thought its possible, but I was wrong - front didn't lock up or slid, so that means it could handle more brake go.
Another lesson - do not do extreme twisties with stock tires. They are not bad, but they are not good enough. I felt a bit uncomfortable from the very start of the trip. Thing is, stock tires might be fine for twisties. But if something unpredictable happens like it did with me, that's when you wish you had better tires. As I was falling down the cliff, three thoughts cross my mind, "I'll break my leg", "My parents told me this would happen", and "I should have replaced stock tires"
Whew, that was long. :)