Amazing what DAILY riding will do to improve skills...

Message

Lion_Lady · Mon May 28, 2007 12:13 pm

and confidence.

I changed jobs early this month and went from a <1 mile commute to a >30 mile commute (each way). Needless to say with gas at over $3/gallon, and the motorcycle getting 45 mpg (my Saturn VUE gets around 22 mpg), I'm riding the motorcycle to work. Did I mention that I leave for work at 3:30 am?

What is REALLY cool is that the first half of the trip is via windy two lane roads through parkland and fields. It is unusual to see even ONE car on that first leg. But I do see plenty of deer and other wildlife.

Love my PIAA 001s.

Anyhow, my former riding habit was most weekends for a couple hours maybe, after work for a while. Run some errands. But not daily or with any real regularity.

Well, let me tell you. The daily twisty riding has done amazing things for both confidence and skill level. There is this one right-left set of curves. One is a 90 degree elbow of a "curve" and the second is also 90 degrees but has a 'softer' bend for lack of a better term.

I've ridden that set since I began riding. Sometimes I would just ease through them, others I would really nail one and blow the other. Never consistent.
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The Elbow is the scene of my first personal experience with Target Fixation...

"Hmmm, that's sand over there. It's wet sand. Don't go in that SAND I'M OFF THE ROAD IN THE SAND! [expletive expletive] Stop bike. "Don't drop it. Okay."

<sigh> "Did anyone see me? No one did... Wazzat?"

"Grrr. Oh, look! Another rider. Hi!" [stupid stupid stupid N00b!]
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Well I've been having a fun time with those two curves lately. And all my riding has just improved by leaps and bounds. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that, riding for a couple hours every weekend is good. But riding for 30 or even 15 minutes every day will vastly improve your skills.

P

Johnj · #2 Unread post by **Johnj** » Mon May 28, 2007 1:04 pm

Lion_Lady wrote:<sigh> "Did anyone see me? No one did... Wazzat?"

ANDS! · #3 Unread post by **ANDS!** » Mon May 28, 2007 1:13 pm

Johnj wrote:
Lion_Lady wrote:<sigh> "Did anyone see me? No one did... Wazzat?"

Get back on FPS.com. . .

Johnj · #4 Unread post by **Johnj** » Mon May 28, 2007 3:52 pm

ANDS! wrote:
Johnj wrote:
Lion_Lady wrote:<sigh> "Did anyone see me? No one did... Wazzat?"

Get back on FPS.com. . .

You first. kthxby

wickedrider · Tue May 29, 2007 10:08 am

I totally agree. Daily riding is as good for the learning curve as a good spill

intotherain · Tue May 29, 2007 10:59 am

i use to ride a 70 mile windy from monterey to san jose every saturday.. its all fun and games until you have a close call then it takes the fun out of it for A WHILE.

Shorts · #7 Unread post by **Shorts** » Tue May 29, 2007 1:43 pm

I'd love to be going on the bike every day. Heck, I have the big to ride the bike to work. Unfortunately for me, probably not a good idea because of the 'riding alone' thing. That's getting really old

MrStitch · #8 Unread post by **MrStitch** » Wed May 30, 2007 1:04 am

You're tellin me....

I've had my bike for only a few weeks now and the 750 already feels like a light toy.

scan · #9 Unread post by **scan** » Wed May 30, 2007 2:13 am

Great post. I was thinking about starting one like this myself. I noticed that when I started riding my bike to work for three or four days a week, it started feeling like a natural extension of my body. Everything is reaction, and nothing you do is thinking about what you are doing. I had a few really odd panic situations, where after I had passed through the time to react ,I was scared, but during the problem, I just worked my way through without thinking. This is why when I didn't ride daily I made a point of practicing panic stopping in parking lots during most rides. The more you train your brain to work before you can think, the safer you will be.

gsJack · #10 Unread post by **gsJack** » Wed May 30, 2007 4:03 am

Gotta love those twisties, I'm totally addicted to them. Ride every mile you can every chance you get till riding a bike is as natural as breathing. It will greatly increase your chance of doing both longer.

I still find myself riding the twistiest back roads I can find as fast as I'm confortable doing it so I can get where I'm going as quickly as possible when I'm really never in a hurry to get anywhere anymore.