Best compliment ever....
Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 2:20 am
The backstory...
When I first started riding, right after I passed the first MSF course, a good friend of mine rode into town to encourage me, get me out into traffic, get through a lot of jitters, etc. He's been riding for about 20 years. Well, one day we were playing around in a parking lot and I started talking about counter-steering. He had never heard the term, so I explained it to him, demonstrated what happens when you press, etc.
I took him up to the MSF course and showed him the 135 degree turn and ran him through the drill from the MSF. The only way he remembered it was me saying "push the OPPOSITE side"-he just couldn't remember "push left, turn left". I also told him that our instructor had said in certain situations, you are just going to have to really, really want to make that turn if you come into the turn just a little too hot. He said the key was to not panic and not underestimate the bike, but don't make that a habit.
On to last night...
Last night, my friend came into town. When I pulled up from work, he came up to me and gave me a huge bear hug. He said, "You saved my life". Apparently, he was riding in the mountains in NC and came up on a turn. He thought it was a 90 degree turn, but in reality, it was a switchback. He went into it too fast for what it was, and started to panic. He said, "...and I heard your voice in my head saying, 'Push the OPPOSITE side'. I did it, and the bike immediately dropped into the turn and I made it through. Scared and shaken, but I made it. You saved my life."
He decided after that incident to go take the MSF course. He didn't want to tell me until he saw me so he could thank me. That was the best compliment I've ever gotten.
When I first started riding, right after I passed the first MSF course, a good friend of mine rode into town to encourage me, get me out into traffic, get through a lot of jitters, etc. He's been riding for about 20 years. Well, one day we were playing around in a parking lot and I started talking about counter-steering. He had never heard the term, so I explained it to him, demonstrated what happens when you press, etc.
I took him up to the MSF course and showed him the 135 degree turn and ran him through the drill from the MSF. The only way he remembered it was me saying "push the OPPOSITE side"-he just couldn't remember "push left, turn left". I also told him that our instructor had said in certain situations, you are just going to have to really, really want to make that turn if you come into the turn just a little too hot. He said the key was to not panic and not underestimate the bike, but don't make that a habit.
On to last night...
Last night, my friend came into town. When I pulled up from work, he came up to me and gave me a huge bear hug. He said, "You saved my life". Apparently, he was riding in the mountains in NC and came up on a turn. He thought it was a 90 degree turn, but in reality, it was a switchback. He went into it too fast for what it was, and started to panic. He said, "...and I heard your voice in my head saying, 'Push the OPPOSITE side'. I did it, and the bike immediately dropped into the turn and I made it through. Scared and shaken, but I made it. You saved my life."
He decided after that incident to go take the MSF course. He didn't want to tell me until he saw me so he could thank me. That was the best compliment I've ever gotten.
I'll comment further in your thread.
