To ride or not to ride!

As the years roll past and I spend a lot of time on the road I have seen spills, crashes, flops, flips, concussions, road rash and death. Every time something like this happens we pull it internal and weigh the good from the bad and decide whether it's worth it to stay on two wheels or wrap it up for "extreme scrapbooking".

I have enjoyed a terrific life on two wheels. I have been scared once or twice by other people's actions and some of my own. But I feel that with every close call, wreck or tip over I am able to learn something from it and move forward in my quest to beat the odds and live a long life on two wheels.

But what makes the difference? Chance? Luck? Skill? Experience? I say yes to all the above. Some things to me are just common sense and part of my internal make up. Other things about riding have come harder, but I continue to learn as I move forward.

So what is all this rambling about? I want people to take a look at why they ride and how they ride..... we all have a common bond with the love of the road/trail on two wheels! That's why we wave to each other... it's sharing that camaraderie and the unspoken dedication it takes to stay alive on the road. It doesn't matter if you are new on a bike or as old skool as it gets....... it's that one guy (neighbor, friend, mechanic, random guy on the side of road) that spends a bit of time with you and shares that nugget of information that helps you through your next situation..... I want to be that guy in this blog.... if one thing I share here helps someone through their next situation or prevents that situation my work is done.....

There are so many different things to cover here... I will try and break it into groups and and lay down the ramblings as they come to mind. Some of these we all know, some are common sense (to most) and some are just tips and tricks picked up along the way!

Attitude

I know you have those days when you get on the bike and it seems that everyone is out to get you. Take a good look at yourself and the way you are driving. Sometimes that is the hardest thing to do. Are you speeding, tailgating, aggressive, etc? Pull back a bit, relax and create yourself better luck!

Situational Awareness

When I was a kid and use to watch my dad drive. He was so sly in how he kept his eyes on the road and his mirrors. It wasn't long till I was doing the same thing as a teen driver. I wanted to know what was behind me, in front and beside me at all times. This technique helps me with situational awareness. Situational awareness allows you to react to a POTENTIAL situation before the people even know they are going to do it! With a motorcycle it can be more difficult due to some peripheral constrants with sunglasses, helmets and poor mirrors... but it is still one of the most important skills to develop. Is the guy weaving in the lane next to you? Could he want to get over to turn left at the next light? Can you see him on the cell phone? Is the lane merging? Trying to understand what is motivating this guy for the next mile in front of him? Can you do that for all the vehicles with in 50-100 ft of you? It is not enough for you to control your own little world, you better be looking at other people's options too!

In the Motor Vehicle Division's training book it talkes about leaving yourself and out at all times. I can tell you when that door shuts and you have no out you are absolutely leaving yourself with minimal options to react to a SITUATION.

Defensive Driving

Situational awareness allows you to drive defensively and try to keep you out of harms way. Become a people watcher. Try to keep from putting yourself in people's blind spot. Don't speed in traffic. People cannot react to you not being there one second and the next second you are blaring past them. Understand it's not their fault at that point.

Mechanical Soundness

I cannot stress enough to keep your ride as mechanically sound as possible. Brakes, acceleration and handling are needed to keep you from harms way! My family always ragged on me for getting such an aggressive bike but I turned it around and say: "Wouldn't you want the best brakes, acceleration and handling to get out of trouble?"

Experience

The body is amazing in the way we can adapted to our world. Not many things physical/mechanical come natural. The body and mind have to learn how to interact. The more you do it the more it becomes natural and easier to react too. Practice, practice and practice. That is the only way you will ultimately learn how to effectively control your bike. You can read about it and go to classes to learn the fundamentals, but they will all tell you that you need to apply that real time on the bike to get it right!

Experiences

No I am not duplicating titles here... I have a very important point to make here. Say for instance you are driving along "at the speed limit" and someone runs a stop sign making a right turn in front of you.... he did it so close that you could not possibly stop in time and speed up to beat him into the intersection... now you went from 45 mph to 60 mph... you are emotionally trying to deal with what just happened, you are now speeding and another car does a left in front of you for another close call...... I call this emotionally stacking! It is dangerous! You need to regain your situation awareness and concentration immediately after an incident and live in the NOW! Don't set yourself up by not being ready for another potential situation. This goes back to ATTITUDE! Get that right attitude back, relax and make your luck again.

There are so many little things you can do to improve your enjoyment of riding without becoming a victim. I hope some or all of this helps someone in the near future! Thanks for listening!

Greg
aka Motoman
www.emotoman.com