Riding alone

[Sensei]

Been alot of bitching about learners speeding , crashing , people leaving all over the same thing time & time again . While out on my Fav bit of road getting some more practice in . thought how great it was racing against myself . Eg no one else to worry about getting in the way on ya line . This a great way to learn more about you skill & how to improve it with out been pressured . When I first started riding I just did my own thing raced around the back roads learning from the odd crash or 2 on my own . I feel this is the best thing for some of these NewBees just to get out on their own for awhile first before getting dragged along on some of the group rides . Everything takes time thats a FACT so lets just let these NewBees have their TIME as most of us Older riders have done

[Suney]

Yeah I agree with you. I always end up riding by myself cause my faster friends are way in front but it's not a race so meh!

[inlinefour]

gotta agree there. Nothing like learning the hard way all by yerself...

[sAsLEX]

Good point , but and i think this is an important but kinda like Jloś, maybe pairs would be better, I know k14 and I went on a couple of rides when i first got my bike round the back of inglewood to get me used to it, god I was a noob looking back on it.

But a bike is heavy to lift if you are on your own, and its hard to ring your own ambo if you are a bit worse for wear, morbid I know but while learning it may pay to have a mate , who maybe is a little more experienced than yourself to tootlle round with ya so you dont go kamakazzying(sp?)

[bugjuice]

just don't crash with no one around you..

[Suney]

just don't crash with no one around you..
It's not something we can decide :nono:

[surfchick]

gotta agree wit ya there. the lone rider on the the lose is a good option. surfchick was ALL BY HERSE EE LF today on sh16. lovely it was. plenty of ambient other bikers on the run in both directions. lovely. but not da coppers :msn-wink: no flat tires this time... so might be time to have a 3rd go at 22. just me and IT. i'll be fitting me unimog tire the night before..BA HA so no more doing the 22 on the back of a tow truck for me :devil2:

[avgas]

Actually did this recently and found my gear ratios to be too low. in the end i found i did not have to drop a gear to pass as the bike quite happily went from 90 to about 200 in a few seconds (in 6th).............will have to rectifiy this.

Its like that age old saying, "If a tree crashes in a forest, with no one around, is it heard".......some food for thought.

I have a philosophy, dont endager anyone, including yourself - but if you can have a safe, fun time - you are your own limit

[GSVR]

I almost always ride alone. I always carry a cellphone incase I break down.

One note I have made is to check before I ride SH22 that a KB organised ride isn't coming the other way :killingme

[stevedee]

I ride mostly on my own by choice, have done a few group rides that were fine. On the odd occasion I ride with a mate who is 55 and rides a Ducati, we set out knowing where we will finish and he and I both have a rule that if you want to go for it, you are on your own. We ride well together and enjoy the moment. We never race each other. He or I may see a stretch of road that appeals and either one of us will open out a bit more than normal we both do this knowning it's our choice and there is no race.

The coffees are great and the bulshit is fine. Pose'ing is optional, though he he does have a Ducati.

Enjoy the moment and your friends, the rest is optional.
Ride with people you trust.

spd:-)

[John]

As said above - Its also good to practice lifting your bike if you are worried about your strength, do it at home - lay it down gently and practise ways to pick it up that are easiest for you.

Luckly I'am able to pick up all the bikes I've had with ease, although in one of my accidents my bike got stuck under some fencing, that was abit tricky and envolved me dragging the ZZR by the rear grab rail to get it out (that would have looked abit rugged!!)

I always preferr to ride by myself, I find that if I dont I worry about if everyones ok - this affects my riding big time! I just like to concentrate on the road and my bike and just enjoy it, sometimes I pick up the pace big time - and I dont want to worry about if the people behind me are keeping up etc..

Its always good to ride alot by yourself, sure its always good to be with a group of mates and people you've just met - but in those situations your not about enjoying the ride there is always something to prove on them, no matter what any of you say its true.

either way take care.

[Zed]

...thought how great it was racing against myself...How do you do that Sensei, by watching your shadow or summat?? :D

More to the point, 'lone-riding' is great and I do it most of the time, but group riding rules IMHO! :Punk:

[Sheep Dags]

One note I have made is to check before I ride SH22 that a KB organised ride isn't coming the other way :killingme


hahahaha!! good one!

[dhunt]

I almost always ride alone. I always carry a cellphone incase I break down.
One problem I've found, all the good roads don't have cellphone reception so you are stuffed anyway. :doh:

Biggest advantage of group rides is generally at least one person hopefully know's where you are going :Oops: and you may end up going on roads you wouldn't of come across otherwise. :niceone:

But generally I ride by myself, means I can ride at my own pace etc without having to worry about keeping up/making sure someone else can keep with me. :ride: :ride: :ride:

[ManDownUnder]

More to the point, 'lone-riding' is great and I do it most of the time, but group riding rules IMHO! :Punk:

I'd agreed, but qualify it to "riding with friends" rules... you know each other and develop that ability to deal with stuff better...

... whatever "stuff" turns out to be...

[Wolf]

I've spent a lot of time riding alone - and not just day-trips. Often travel at night. No cell phone, nothing but me, the bike (with its tool kit under the seat) and the open road. Stop anywhere I felt like taking a rest, not necessarily "near civilisation".

Strong memories of stopping on the side of the road in the wee hours of the morning, just outside a tiny little settlement - nary a light was burning, they were all settled down for the night - and having a cigarette because I had finally decided my arse and my hands had had enough punishment for a while. It was deathly quiet and the proximity of the settlement with it's quiet houses made it seem all the more deserted, not less - as if the houses were abandonned like some old ghost town.

I've always had faith that I would get where I'm going, that I would be able to handle anything that came along. OK, occasionally I'd be setting off and get a few nervous "what if I break down" thoughts but I would push them aside and pretty soon the joy of riding would dispel any momentary fears for good.

It's great being out there by yourself - it's that grounding I mentioned in another thread - you and your bike, connected to the world. No complications (except for the occasional one like "I've got no money for gas, how am I going to make it home?"), no worries (see previous), no problem.

OK, in my early days I wound up having to ride a bent and broken bike to the nearest "safe harbour" twice - once with a broken wrist - and I once wound up "hitch-hiking" with my bike to the nearest service station (I was picked up by a bloke with a trailer because he saw me pushing my bike out in the middle of nowhere), but somehow I've managed to make it.

As to crashing - I tried that a few times in the early days for various stupid reasons, now I work on trying not to crash. I do a pretty good job these days - despite the attempts of cagers who seem to be intent on having an accident.

Like Ixion, I ride like a nana's nana - not necessarily slow, but not outside my limits. If that means slowing down a lot because of visibility issues or unfamiliar roads, so be it, if that means taking a familiar 75km/h corner with good visibility and dry road at 100km/h... I do that, too. I keep alert for hazards and avoid them, I inherently mistrust everyone else on the road and am pleasantly surprised when proved wrong.

[Ixion]

I ride alone. With a good map. And a few ghosts for company.