Sunday 7th January - Where did you ride and what did you practise?

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This weekend Lissa and klingon are your selectors [welcome back klingon] and they will be looking at good new rider training practice.

This weekend review will cover rides Saturday and Sunday reported here in this thread and selection will be made by Tuesday Evening.

Those selected will have their training comments copied to BuckBuck's Update - Newbie Training thread and they will in turn be the selectors for nerxt Sunday's Where Did You Ride and What Did You Practise?.

I encourage all newbie riders to seek out a riding Mentor to review your riding skills and technique periodically throughout your graduated licence time. Go for mentor riding reviews and discuss the matters that have been identified.

When you go for your Sunday/weekend ride think about those things you want to focus on and review before you set off on your ride

I invite any new riders to put forward their comments relating to specific training sessions they may have had recently, and not necessarily just this weekend's ride.

The key benefit that I am encouraging is: for new riders/all riders - to 'key in' their training comments to this thread and by doing so, this is a reinforcing personal training discipline.

For those posting to this thread, a degree of humour is welcomed as are pictures of your weekend ride, however please note that the emphasis newbie training awareness.

You take the time to train on the motorcycle, you take the time to make an entry to this web site, and hence you have indirectly reviewed your own personal training discipline. Well Done.

All the very best for 2007
Heads Up and Enjoy
Buck

[Hitcher]

Wairarapa -- Fush/Gladstone/Wainuioru circuit.

Practiced the noble arts of coffee drinking and high-speed braking i.e. seeing if I could come to a complete stop from 140kmh within two white marker pegs. Yes, yes I can (eventually). My best effort was just a whisker over one-and-a-half. I reckon I can do better...

[_Gina_]

Set out from home (Waiuku) this afternoon, headed to old Gt Sth Rd, onto Bombay > Ridge Rd > State Highway 22 through to Rangiriri turnoff > down to Rangiriri (refreshment break) onto State Highway 1 up to Mercer > back road over to State Highway 2 > Lyons Rd > Hunua Rd > Clevedon (another refreshment break) then back home via Drury.

Today for me was about decreasing my speed into each corner and looking for the exit point.

At first it was a little annoying (it felt waaaay too slow coming into the corners) but as I perservered through half of the ride I started to get into the rhythm and I ended up a heap smoother from the straights to corners and I didn't brake at all for a corner on the second half of my ride.

I will note that I deliberately chose a mixture of roads I know, roads I don't know and roads I don't know well.

G

[Steam]

I practised keeping the same line around corners, because there were lots of riders who were passing me, because I'm a slowpoke.
It felt unnatural staying on one side around the corner. It's the first time I have tried to not use all the lane.
Big bikes whizzing past, ZOOM, ZOOM! Those experienced guys sure lean over a lot.

That was on the Rimutakas.

And I went over the Rimutakas for the first time ever!
I saw the scratches on the side of the road are still there from 4 months ago when I had my crash.

I stopped at the top and looked at all the nice shiny huge expensive bikes, and reflected that they could buy about 20 of my old bike for the price of one of theirs.

All the tourists with their cameras came and took pictures of my bike, and ignored all the fancy 1000+cc ones!
Then I went to Lake Wairarapa, or Lake Ferry, that was a nice deserted road.
And then back into town, around all the Bays, and home.
Oh, and I now drip oil, there's a leaky seal near my clutch/stator cover, a tiny stream of oil, about a teaspoon an hour. Annoying!

[skelstar]

Rode to Auckland and back via the Rapa this week (1600kms ie the long way). Rode along alot of roads I wasn't familiar with and at reasonable pace. Most of my time was spent assessing the road surface...risk assessment I guess. Kept my head up and looking through the corner to the exit. The rest of the time was looking for cops :whistle:...

Halfway to Aucks I noticed my rear tyre was pretty shagged so I spent the rest of the trip being VERY smooth with the throttle and trying to make most of my exit speed while the bike was tipped over.

[oldguy]

Yesterday and today check it out.
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?p=886946#post886946

[Terminated]

Saturday: relatives were taking their car on the ferry so had to be at terminal by 6.30am. Had breakfast in Newtown then out around the bays and waited for the ferry to sail down the harbour the followed around to coast and airport tunnel Rongotai. Concentrated on smooth lines and knees against tank and slight pressure to lean and counter steer.

Sunday: quick morning ride up Whitemans Valley, followed Stevedee and watched his lines.

Afternoon ride out to Wainui Coast and back to Eastbourne was a real treat. Concentrated on group riding strategies: staggered formation and single filing when approaching curves and bends.

Heads Up and Enjoy

[Mooch]

Rode Wellington / Castlepoint and return. (Paid respects to UncleB)

Practiced restaint (Wife’s running in new bike) and relaxed one armed counter steering (both hands on the bars, one arm relaxed, one steering). One armed counter steering sets up the bike on a nice lean through the corners and leaves it very settled for smooth cornering.

[gijoe1313]

First time back on the little ol'Hornet on Saturday. Been laid up with a sore right foot, but needed to get the seat sorted by McJim and Chickadee (they finally nailed me down instead of me riding off over the hills and far away as usual! :innocent:)

Took an age to don gear, but checked over condition of it all as I did - Jacket looking a little worn and smelling of that lovely mix of bugs, oil, petrol and road grunge ... trousers could do with a little TLC due to the right leg lining starting to come out from the bottom. Helmet A1. Gloves showing wear but still servicable and brilliant (Quasi). Boots...whole different issue - wear and tear has certainly got the better of it. Both zips broken/jammed, stitching has come undone on the velcro fastenings. Right heel of boot starting to talk and held on with duct tape. Missing one bolt from toe slider. Worn patch in left upper gear change pad and can see lining beneath!

Time for new boots once I refurbish the boots!

Pootled over to Mcjim/Chickadee and had to resist the urge to keep pootling up north to Whangarei (for...an ice-cream? :innocent:) Pain in right foot constant, but seemed to disappear like magic when I carved up some twisties! :woohoo:

Adjusted clutch cable play with McJim's assistance (okay, he did all the work since I couldn't actually bend over properly..ooer! :o) Seat recovered and what a loverrly job they did, toss them some fins to cover a tank of gas and I pootled off again...and somehow did 187km on a dicky foot that day! :woohoo:

What did I learn? Missed riding a bike for a week (a record for me!) and that a sore right foot means you can't use the rear brake as effectively. Always check out your gear periodically and maintain it. Wear sunscreen. Oh wait...different thread that! :shutup:

Found out that McJim is the same whether drunk or sober (no difference), Molly the cat is kewl, Andrea has a mean as bike, Chickadee's white leather jacket actually isn't that scuffed, their two son's love sausages and I still keep typing incessantly long posts! :doh:

:done:

[Fryin Finn]

Rode up the Rimutukas and practised my conversational skills with other riders.:zzzz:

[Nasty]

Same ride as Buckbuck

out to Wainui Coast and back to Eastbourne for dinner and chat. Trying again the group riding - staggered formation and single filing when approaching curves and bends.

Loads of practice on the bends ... I am getting more confident with the twists .. but still not liking them much yet. :scooter:

[Lissa]

I practised keeping the same line around corners, because there were lots of riders who were passing me, because I'm a slowpoke.
It felt unnatural staying on one side around the corner. It's the first time I have tried to not use all the lane.
Big bikes whizzing past, ZOOM, ZOOM! Those experienced guys sure lean over a lot.

That was on the Rimutakas.

And I went over the Rimutakas for the first time ever!
I saw the scratches on the side of the road are still there from 4 months ago when I had my crash.

I stopped at the top and looked at all the nice shiny huge expensive bikes, and reflected that they could buy about 20 of my old bike for the price of one of theirs.

All the tourists with their cameras came and took pictures of my bike, and ignored all the fancy 1000+cc ones!
Then I went to Lake Wairarapa, or Lake Ferry, that was a nice deserted road.
And then back into town, around all the Bays, and home.
Oh, and I now drip oil, there's a leaky seal near my clutch/stator cover, a tiny stream of oil, about a teaspoon an hour. Annoying!This week I pick Steam's post as the winner.. for a varity of reasons.

I love the fact you have a ginny as well.. takes a special type of person to handle one. ;) Also the fact you really do seem to love it. Cornering I can relate too... and going over the Takas.. awesome even after you crashed! I havent done that as yet myself. Well done! :sunny:

My sunday ride... just the usual to Gladstone Pub. Still practicing my cornering, which I am being to really enjoy now i am getting use to how my bike handles.

[Maha]

From Kerikeri to Warkworth........practiced highish speeds (for me) on SH1, and dodging camera's etc........whats with the fuckers parking behind low hanging branches and at the start of passing lanes?...i wanna take a picture of them i do....:yes:

[Alice]

Rode down to Castlepoint Sat avo, practiced trying to stay upright as the wind was sooo dam strong, the cars slowed to 70km in places. Made for interesting riding with huge gusts causing me to have to take a dive to the right quite often just to stay upright. It was a rather wavey line down the road. My friend had a packrack and gear and his jacket is too big, he has lent it of a friend, hes just come back from overseas, it acted like a sail and made it interesting for him. Hes hanging out for his leathers to arrive. The road in places down SH50 where completly melted, so lots of assessing the best line to take through the slippery stuff.Some good windy sections riding out to Castlepoint from Masterton so good practise for cornering.

Apart from that, camping, eating and drinking both alchoholic and non alchoholic beverages, walking to the top of the cliffs at the southern end of Castlepoint, lying in the grass looking over the edge down onto the sea and watching the gulls and shags enjoying gliding on the updrafts from the cliffs.

On the way back I practised speeding and trying to get as far ahead of my friend as I could after overtaking cars befor he would catch me again (the 250 ain"t got a chance over the 900) and scanning the road for cop cars.

[SPman]

Rode down to Bulls Creek to see friend who works at the air museum - (so got to crawl through Lancaster, C47, etc) with MsT.
On the way back - it is pointed out that my rear tyre is f**ked - like 50% carcass showing (whoops! - how did that happen....:eek:) - so l learnt how to ride 80k back home in a state of paranoia about deflating tyres etc etc....
(Macadam 90X - 8900 kms)

[bell]

Out of Nelson toward Murchison via some back roads (Korere to Kawatiri Junction via St Arnaud I think it was?) then joined the traffic on SH6 again into Murchison for fuel and caffeine. Bloody windy. Battled gusty head winds and cross winds most of the way. First thing to practise: staying attached to the bike!

Practised: stoppies, er, emergency braking we'll call it, on some of the quieter straights away from SH6. Respect to you Hitcher pulling that FJR up from 100+ in that not-so-great distance as per your post above. My emergency braking is improving but I can't wait to get braided lines to improve feel at the lever for one thing....
Also practised: emregency braking in corners. Well, I'm working up gradually toward the 'emergency' aspect of it. Let's say that I am improving my ability to lose 1/2 of my corner speed as quickly as possible. It's well worth thinking about. There was an earlier thread re the importance of being able to slow down sufficiently in corners in order to avoid things we'd rather not come into contact with. it struck a chord with me.

It was a great day to be on the bike after a run of bad weather days coinciding with days off work. Lovely part of SI up here. Planning to ride to Westport this Sat if weather's fine. The Buller Gorge beckons....

[klingon]

Set out from home (Waiuku) this afternoon, headed to old Gt Sth Rd, onto Bombay > Ridge Rd > State Highway 22 through to Rangiriri turnoff > down to Rangiriri (refreshment break) onto State Highway 1 up to Mercer > back road over to State Highway 2 > Lyons Rd > Hunua Rd > Clevedon (another refreshment break) then back home via Drury.

Today for me was about decreasing my speed into each corner and looking for the exit point.

At first it was a little annoying (it felt waaaay too slow coming into the corners) but as I perservered through half of the ride I started to get into the rhythm and I ended up a heap smoother from the straights to corners and I didn't brake at all for a corner on the second half of my ride.

I will note that I deliberately chose a mixture of roads I know, roads I don't know and roads I don't know well.

G

I pick Girlygirl's post as a good example of cornering practise - slow in and planning your exit. It takes a lot of restraint to learn to go slower, but it's worth it in the end.

Keep up the good work, GG.

[Terminated]

To all who have posted to this thread this week thank you very much for your contribution.

Here are this weeks selections copied over to the Newbie Training Update:

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=30010&page=15

Heads Up and Enjoy