Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Riding is all about assuming risk. Where do you draw the line?

My MSF instructor talked about this alot. There were roads he refused to ride on, like the high traffic thru town 4 lanes etc, bad weather conditions(provided you are given the choice.) He had rode for years and years.

Being very green, my risk assumption is pretty low right now. I don't want to risk something ugly by being in a situation I can avoid until I am ready to handle it, and being scared off the bike for good. Example I live in a pretty highly congested area, I will not even attempt to ride in peak hours or bad traffic times. It does limit me in a big way, but......

There's an on-ramp/off-ramp combination here I stay away from-it's tricky in a car. The exit wasn't built correctly, so it slopes out of the turn instead of into the turn. Plus it get into a really tight turn at the end. Cars wreck on it all the time. I haven't taken the bike through it, since I don't need to take that exit often.

Oh, and going over this monster:
http://www.b-t.com/images/400/cooper3.jpg

You can see the old bridge behind it. It's high and has a lot of gusts and the side walls are 4' high. Once you're on, you can't get off till you get to the other side. It's a psychological thing-I may try it today.

Traffic doesn't bother me so much, mostly because I assume I'm invisible whether I'm on the bike or in an SUV. It's just more exhausting mentally.

I don't have to deal with snow or ice-just the occasional hail (which I've been caught in) and hurricane conditions. We don't even have leaves fall, really. So I don't have a whole lot to draw the line on.

It's not one line, it's a bunch of lines. Riding I won't do-
- steel grate bridge + high winds or rain
- below freezing + moisture, or any time there could be black ice
- any time snow or ice are around, no matter what the temp
- rain + night
- night + November (deer rut)
- rain + commuter rush hour on our local Interstate (if it's raining, I time my travel to avoid rush hour, or use secondary roads instead)
- rain + leaves on the road
- night + fatigued, especially if my eyes are tired
- street bike + sugar sand road (don't ask.... )

I don't draw a line. I go where it takes me.

I only draw lines when its not fun to ride a bike at that moment. Obviously if its foggy, hailing and tornado-ing outside, then I'm probably not going to have fun if I were to ride.

i won't ride today in NJ because even though it's clear out, there are still so many leaves on the ground from when it was raining it's deceptively safe

This will be my first year commuting to and from PA during deer rutting season. Three different folks at work told me about recent near misses and actual run-in's with local deer. I had my own near miss a month or so ago in my car (not on my bike).

So, I'll not be commuting to work anytime soon. Bummer, since I bought a pair of motorcycle winter-riding pants. At least I can still ride on the weekends and I'll try to stick to open wide areas or just putt-putting around town during the day. Ride Safely

I draw the line when:

If I am on the freeway and the rain is so hard I can't see, I will get off the freeway and travel side streets. It may take longer, but I can at least see where I am going. The slower speed makes it possible,

If I know a road isn't in great shape, I won't ride it at night. I will take the longer way home because it is better lit, and better road surface.

Also.....if my shoulder is acting up and it is in serious pain, I won't take the bike out. Likewise if I haven't had much sleep.

I draw the line on a winding highway and let a line of cars go by.....Once they go by, the pressure is off and I can enjoy the ride again. I say I draw the line because I don't feel the need to "keep going" at all costs....

I couldn't draw a line with a ruler and a laser guided level.

But I will pull off the road if rain/hail is so intense that I can't see. And I will pull over when the cold penetrates my riding gear and electric vest and the fog blanks out my faceshield. And when some frickin' yahoo in a pickup/SUV/whatever is so close to my arse I can't see his or her license plate. And when my sixth sense tells me to take the truck to work instead.

I base my limits on surface conditions.

Rain slows me, snow, ice and mud; I turn around (unless I'm riding my KLX.)

Yesterday for example, on my CBR, I was slowed by rain and wet pine needles. It wasn't as slick or sloppy as snow or mud, but it was getting there.