How long 'till highway riding?

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gitarjunky · Thu Mar 16, 2006 8:12 pm

I was just wondering how long you guys waited until you took your first ride on the express way? I've only had my bike for a few days, and feel really comfortable on it around town, but I've literally only gone about 40 miles on it. I'd like to take it to work tomorrow on the highway (about a 35 mile stretch up the 5 in so cal, from the o.c. to hollywood) and I feel comfortable with my skills, its just that I've never been in that traffic before/car pool lanes/ bumper to bumper.....would I be nuts? I mean, you have to do it sometime right?

Sev · #2 Unread post by **Sev** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 8:17 pm

LoL. I brought my bike home on Thursday in heavy rain, and rode it to work Friday morning when it was pretty much dry. Now granted it wasn't a real freeway, speed limit was only 80kmh compared to 100-110 that is a real highway, and it was only for a short while, but I did it anyways.

Was it smart? In retrospect probably not, but it was a perfect straight highway, in low traffic conditions, heh and nothing bad happened obviously so I have no real regrets about it.

VermilionX · Thu Mar 16, 2006 8:29 pm

i got around 800 street miles before i took the freeway.

but around 800 miles is when i got my license so i dunno if i had my license earlier if i would have attempted it earlier.

stats show that there's less motorcycle accidents on the freeway.

but of course, the bad news is if you do have an accident on the freeway, your chances of sustaining major injury or death is higher.

Dragonhawk · Thu Mar 16, 2006 9:44 pm

Don't ride on the highway until you feel confident and comfortable with your skills.

If that takes 40 miles or 4000 miles, just wait until you feel ready.

Note there is a 70% chance of rain in Los Angeles tomorrow. Personally, I don't think riding in the rain for your first highway ride would be very confidence-inspiring ...

Mintbread · #5 Unread post by **Mintbread** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 9:59 pm

Highway riding is as safe as it gets.

It is a good opportunity to ride the bike for an extended period without worrying as much about acceleration/gear changes/braking. It is also a good time to get a feel for the bike that you don't get on short or stop/start trips.

sapaul · #6 Unread post by **sapaul** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 11:51 pm

Mintbread wrote:Highway riding is as safe as it gets.

It is a good opportunity to ride the bike for an extended period without worrying as much about acceleration/gear changes/braking. It is also a good time to get a feel for the bike that you don't get on short or stop/start trips.

Ditto: well said.

DivideOverflow · Fri Mar 17, 2006 12:21 am

Mintbread wrote:Highway riding is as safe as it gets.

It is a good opportunity to ride the bike for an extended period without worrying as much about acceleration/gear changes/braking. It is also a good time to get a feel for the bike that you don't get on short or stop/start trips.

Maybe you missed it... he is in Southern California. I believe that is an exception on the whole extended period without worrying about acceleration/gear changes/braking.

It involves more stopping than going iirc. I'd probably wait and try out the freeway during a less busy time, and then judge how comfortable you are with it. I know if I had only been 40 miles, I wouldnt want to jump in front of SoCal drivers on their way to work in the morning (or on their way home!).

sapaul · #8 Unread post by **sapaul** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 2:13 am

Sorry, do not have a clue what it is like in SoCal, just generalising. We also have appauling peak hour traffic in JHB, but we lane split.

earwig · #9 Unread post by **earwig** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 2:59 am

I would wait a little while longer... I felt super comfy on my bike and confident... then the first time I went onto a multi-lane highway and a tractor trailer blew by me I freaked out and it scared the daylights out of me...

I'd say wait a little longer until you KNOW you are ready, then go on the expressway or whatever in the early morning on a weekend when there aren't that many cars/trucks on the road so you can get a feel of what the road feels like at high speeds and what it's like riding with cars and trucks right next to you at high speeds.

Also, just remember, on the high-speed expressways if something is in your path of travel you have a lot less time to react before you hit/run it over... so you want to make sure your skills are very good before attempting an expressway ride.

Sev · #10 Unread post by **Sev** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 4:56 am

Might be best to do with someone who has done freeways before. It's 100X easier to follow someone then it is to make your own path.