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When I first started riding, I got pretty frustrated - my husband (who was very considerate of my riding level) placidly followed behind me for miles and miles (Rocky Mountains out the back door here) while I found my wings. Then, just as I thought I was doing great, I'd tell him to move out ahead of me - and BANG he'd be gone out of sight like a shot!! But...that was over 3 years ago and now I can pretty much chase him down It's a wonderful feeling - and yep it takes practice just as everything does. I had a few butt clenching incidents when I froze up and didn't move with the bike and just about overshot the corner - but I kept at it, never hurt myself and rode within my limits - and it does come - eventually! Relaxing, remembering to lean with the bike and setting the corner up before going into it are all things that just come naturally now. I still take care to watch for loose gravel and I don't take risks on blind corners - and it's all still exhilarating to me!

I'm much better at twisties now.....but I still get anxious when I have to lean too much.
I have this vision that my tires will slip sideways.....
I'm working on it though.....

Sigh-twisties-I would like to ride twisties one day. We just don't have anything like that here. Everything is flat, fairly straight, and wide.

We have several high bridges though. But it's just not the same thing.

Wow... zombie thread!

In response to the original question: I live for the twisties. I absolutely love them, and wish that every curvy road was a closed, motorcycle-only environment with a cleaning crew to clear sand/gravel/oil/etc. out of my way. Then I could open it up with confidence... but, alas... must save that for the track.

When I first started riding, I was like blues 2 years ago - slow. I'd pull over for the other bikes. Target-fixated on everything - which is what kept me so slow. I'd get a bit of confidence, pick up speed and then... look directly at the edge of the oh-my-god-I'm-going-to-go-off-the road. Panic. Brakes.

Then I learned to turn my head, and keep my eyes moving forward through the corners. That 'ah haa!' was critical because it fixed my target fixation issue. Subsequent 'ah ha's (body position, choosing lines, etc.) have refined my cornering, but the head turn... wow.

My current challenge is entry speed. I find myself feeling too hot in a corner, and will chop off the throttle which is the wrong response. Cognitively, I know the bike can do more, and I just need to hold the throttle steady, murmur a prayer to Pirelli and lean more, but... that's tough.

But, ultimately, getting my entry speed right will fix all of that, so... like I said... that's my current challenge.

I just came home a little while ago.....spent some time up the coast AND showed Doc a new road......11km of twisties....

I was wishing the car in front of us would turn off.....

I have been riding for 6 weeks now. I just did Cherohala Skyway this past weekend. I am still working on being more comfotable in turns. I guess what I learned in the course keeps going through my mind. Some good things ,others scarey,"most accidents happen in curves" I finally leaned over enough to get through a curve at 50 mph. It felt good. I am just treking alonG:)

Purple Princess wrote:I have been riding for 6 weeks now. I just did Cherohala Skyway this past weekend. I am still working on being more comfotable in turns. I guess what I learned in the course keeps going through my mind. Some good things ,others scarey,"most accidents happen in curves" I finally leaned over enough to get through a curve at 50 mph. It felt good. I am just treking alonG:)

It takes a while....but eventually they get so much better. I don't even have to pull over to let the lineup of vehicles pass me anymore....(excpet when it's raining....then I am still slow on the curves)

If you always ride within your limit, you will do fine.

I live near Highway 1 - California - AKA - Dramamine Drive. At first my shoulders would get really tight, when going around those hairpins but a couple of rides following my boyfriend while he was on his bike at the time and I really got it. *He was my motorcycle safety instructor Only once did I have trouble with one of the turns. It was funny, because at the end of that ride, he turned to me and said "wow, you really kept up with me the whole time, I was looking back and waiting for you to wave me off, so I would slow down" WHAT!!?!! wave you off - to slow you down?!! I needed both hands on the handlebars at all times just to keep up...OMG

I live in Alberta so twisties are few and far between.....
We do have a few roads that twist around the lakes out here.
Does it count if the speed limit is decreased on all the curves???
I still get butterflies when I start going into them, but I think I'm getting more comfortable. I've noticed that after the first two turns, I start to relax the deathgrip a little and unclench my jaw!
I would really love to go to the mountains next summer and try some real twisties!

ladyreb wrote:Here's a Tennessee twistie from the infamous Deals Gap...



Talk about fun!

OMG! So that's a twisty; I'm definitely not ready for that.

So from what I've read here so far the skills needed are: counter steering, picking your line, and setting up for the curve. I'm thinking if I practice and become more proficient and comfortable with U-turns and figure-8's that this might help me to tackle a true twisty? I'm not sure I'll be able to find a twistie in Delaware.