Need advice on learning to ride a bike

[storysunfolding]

Alright, let's see how well I can explain this and hopefully I'll get what I want.

I see learning to ride a bike as a many stage process. I agree that the MSF is a good place to start, but what I want to know is how you should learn to ride a bike from the beginning up to years later. Let me start with how I learned.

Step one: Parking lot

I didn't take the MSF because it was booked for the year in my area but that seems like a good prestep 1 to my method. I used the MSF practice exercises from my friends book shown at the bottom of this article from the MSF website- http://www.msf-usa.org/downloads/Riding_Tips.pdf

I took a $1 set of tenis balls and cut them in half so I had 6 cones that I could rideover without hurting them or the bike, but be able to feel (they also had a caontainer). I ran through those excercises first with a friend who rides to point out my mistakes. He watched until I could do the excercises well and then I started recording myself on camera. Once I mastered those excercises I madethem harder by setting cones closer together, off setting the cones in the weave from a straight line etc. I mastered that made them harder, mastered that, made them harder, and it's a continual process.

I got exceptionally proficient at handling my bike and doing manuevers at speeds under 25 mph. I also set up an alarm clock that would go off every so often and when I heard that I performed an emergency stop. It didn't matter what excercise I was in. I spent over 100 miles in the parking lot, a couple hours a day and a weekend in total.

I kept adding excercises that I read online or in books. For instance I found a site that said on thing you should be able to do is have your handlebars all the way to the lock in each directions and do a 90 degree turn without having to put your foot down. I modified that into a u-turn in the end then tried to do it faster.

I also made sure I was practicing my controls, especially in maneuvers. Hitting my turn signals while avoiding "obstacles" and getting to the point that my controls were second nature. If I ever looked down to find something, I failed.

Step two: On the road

I had a friend of mine ride with me and we used cheap 2 way family radios with headsets that fit under our helmets to communicate ($30 with chargers at walmart)

I started on roads with little traffic. Got used to turn signals, braking, starts/stops and practiced evasive maneuvers away from traffic, working my way up to roads with traffic. Once I was comfortable here I tried some night rides and a bad weather ride, then tried heavy traffic (rush hour).

The whole time my friend was watching me, ready to help me out of binds, keeping me from doing anything stupid, and warning me of dangers I may or may not have noticed (that last part progressed into me telling him every possible danger I saw as we were riding- helped me develop awareness)

He also created situations for me. When he saw no traffic in any direction, he would call out stop and get me to do an emergency stop on the road. He would yell pothole ahead to see me do an emergency swerve. He threw taped over paper cups with rocks on the road. The rocks got it to settle quickly but there wasn't enough in there to hurt me or the bike if I hit it. I was supposed to avoid those cups by at least a foot and he watched in his mirror. At time he would ride behind me holding his hand up with say... 3 fingers for 5 seconds then put them down and ask me how many fingers he was holding up to help me get used to watching my mirrors.

Steps 2 took me about two weeks of schedule matching and hundred of miles traveled in varying conditions before we were both happy.

At the end of these steps I was able to do a uturn in the width of two parking spaces with no jerks or dropped feet; I was able to handle my bike fairly well and my buddy was unable to beat me with any of his surprise situations or tricks and he got pretty inventive near the end.

Step Three

I've been practicing in a parking lot for an hour or more a week doing the old exercises and coming up with new ones or finding new ones. Then I hit the road with a few friends and try new challenges and roads to hone my skills.

I plan to take the experienced rider course when they open up in the spring.





Now- what else should I be doing? What else would you recommend? What should I have done differently? I want to be a better biker and all suggestions are welcome.

*edit* My friend who rides was a previous HD riders edge instructor, not just the wheelie flying, stoppie crazy bad stereotype sportsbike neighbor

[Crydee]

People taught by their friends are the most likely to get in accidents but nah you seem to be doing well, the best way to learn is to just put more expierence under your belt.

[storysunfolding]

People taught by their friends are the most likely to get in accidents but nah you seem to be doing well, the best way to learn is to just put more expierence under your belt.

Even when your friend was a HD Riders Edge instructor, which also means that he's a MSF instructor, meaning that I got 50+ hours of personally tailored instruction for free? (the cost of running bike, gasoline, and opportunity cost of time nonwithstanding)

Anyway- what I'm hoping for from this thread is to find ways to improve on what I'm doing and hone skills that I may one day need. Maybe there was something you did that helped you, or another class that teaches at a more advanced level than the MSF that you know about. Maybe you have the end all of parking lot exercises for low speed control. etc

[ZooTech]

With the exception of the few people here that took the MSF course, most of us just hopped on and went riding. Sounds like you're already doing what is necessary for you.

[Crydee]

Even when your friend was a HD Riders Edge instructor, which also means that he's a MSF instructor, meaning that I got 50+ hours of personally tailored instruction for free? (the cost of running bike, gasoline, and opportunity cost of time nonwithstanding)

It was a joke because of that statistic that is thrown around here so much, hence the smilie.

[ronboskz650sr]

I would just start learning to do wheelies. That's what I did after all that parking lot practice.

[Dirtytoes]

I would just start learning to do wheelies. That's what I did after all that parking lot practice.

i'm just starting to ride....how do you do wheelies...someone told me just to twist the throttle all the way and kinda lean back.....havnt tried it....is that the right way to do it...does it even work?

[storysunfolding]

I would just start learning to do wheelies. That's what I did after all that parking lot practice.

i'm just starting to ride....how do you do wheelies...someone told me just to twist the throttle all the way and kinda lean back.....havnt tried it....is that the right way to do it...does it even work?

It's more like, pulling the clutch, throttling up, and then dumping the clutch. At least on my bike, maybe if your bike is light enough? I remember being able to just gun it on my dirt bike and get it up.

Make sure to you're on a good road and have life insurance.

[cb360]

With the exception of the few people here that took the MSF course, most of us just hopped on and went riding. Sounds like you're already doing what is necessary for you.

I thought most of the folks here had taken an msf at sime time or another? I could be wrong about that - I thought there was a poll but I can't remember.

[ZooTech]

That could be. I know most of the active members have taken it, but there are a lot of folks who post infrequently or simply lurk. A poll would be interesting.