27 June - 3 July Where Did You Ride and What Did You Practise?

[Terminated]

Please spend a few minutes and let us all know, 'Where Did You Ride and What Did You Practise?' during the week. Humour and photographs are welcomed, however please keep in mind the general spirit is to enlighten us all about your riding practice and technique.

By all means if you have any concerns about your riding, ask questions and I am sure a mentor or senior experienced rider will be only too happy to touch base with you in the forum or by PM personal message.

Next Tuesday evening Miss L and Macktheknife will each choose an entry from this thread. The selections will then be copied across to the Newbie Update Blogg.

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/blogs/viewblog.php?userid=1728

Heads Up and Enjoy

[riffer]

I haven't got much new to report for this week.

To be honest, I've been concentrating on trying to actually keep warm this week, so I thought I'd talk about riding in winter.

The last three days the temperature's been well below zero each day, and it's been an exercise in smooth throttle and brake control, and picking the dry patches of road. I don't think I'll ever get used to how cold it can actually get on a bike in winter. This week I'm wearing thermals under leathers with winter gloves, and a neck sock and I'm really suffering.

Winter really seems to bring its own little problems:

The cold

Low sun (sunstrike)

Dark mornings mean you constantly have headlights coming towards you.

Black ice

I've decided to post some stuff on black ice I've found around the net in the hope that it will help some people:

Black Ice


Black Ice, that thin layer of ice covering roads, perhaps only in shadowed area, can be one of the most insidious winter risks to deal with. You can be riding along on bare pavement one minute and sliding down the road the next instant.
Black Ice is called Black, because it takes on the color of the underlying pavement. It is very thin, and often gives the impression of having some surface irregularity, and therefore appears to supply some traction. These looks can be deceiving, because as soon as you apply brakes (or make significant turning movements) you start to slide.
Turns


Turns on Black Ice are best accomplished by keeping the bike as upright as possible. This may involve offsetting your upper body to the side (toward the direction you want to turn) while at the same time keeping the bike upright.
The principal reason to keep the bike upright is NOT to keep more of your tire tread in contact with the road, but more simply, that a leaning bike necessarily puts lateral forces on the tire at the contact patch. The contact patch (where the rubber meets the ice) is that preciously small area providing all the traction. Black Ice frequently does not supply enough traction to counteract this lateral force - the tire slips out from under you, and down you go.
Turns with the bike mostly vertical also imply slow turns. That, more than anything is the name of the game.
Braking


Braking on black ice will cause a slight melting of the surface layer of the ice, producing a very thin layer of water. Water on ice is a lot more slippery than just ice.

Braking must be done with great care, and principally with the back brake. The front brake of a bicycle supplies way more braking power than the back brake. The more it works, the more weight is transferred to the front wheel, and the more the braking force applied to the contact patch.
The problem in winter is that you will quickly break traction with the front wheel. Once you do, your chances of remaining upright are minimal. Reserve the limited traction of the front wheel solely for steering. Brake with the back wheel. Transfer weight rearward, (stick your butt out behind the seat), to keep as much weight over the braking tire.
As long as you can steer you have a good chance of remaining upright. This is why if you only have one studded tire it belongs on the front. It is also why you want to avoid braking with the front wheel on black ice. Even with a locked up rear brake, and the rear wheel skidding, as long as you stay off the front brake, you can steer all the way down icy hills too slippery to walk.

[Kinje]

If you get hotgrips fitted, make sure you remember to turn them off. Now I had thought the shop would have wired them to go off when you turn the bike off- apparently not. Went to go for a ride, turn key, no light, no flicking of the rev counter, no display, no fuel pump sound- ahh crap.

Battery on charger now, hopefully good to go again tomorrow and battery not rooted. And off to see shop to get wired proper!

Did get to take the 250 for a wee spin instead tho :D :love:

[Kinje]

Well, battery not in good shape- on charger overnight, came back in the morning to the fault light and display showing 1.3V. Looks like its pretty well rooted and unable to hold a charge.

On the plus side, went to bike shop just before and spoke to mechanic, he arranged for bike pickup right then (the truck even beat me to my house), put the bike on and hopefully can have it all sorted today (fingers Xd)

[kave]

This weekend Kam and I rode from east auckland out to the awhitu peninsula for the night, and rode back on sunday. The strong winds, torrential rain, and fog that I had to deal with made me have to focus on every aspect of my riding.

I had to keep a good eye on the road, as there were potholes that looked like puddles, pine needles and other bits of tree everywhere, and gravel from all the metal sideroads.

The fog was intimidating, I have ridden in fog before but this was more dense than I am used to-and the intimidation factor was probably increased by the fact that I am not used to unlaned country roads.

The wind wasnt a problem for most of the way as the road was tree lined. I was, however, caught off guard a few times when I came across a gap in the trees, or found myself up on a ridge, and had to deal with the full force of the wind. The combination of tight corners, slippery roads and wind trying to push me into oncoming traffic did give me one or two scares.

My main focus for the ride was trying to maintain power through the corners, keeping the bike as upright as possible and picking good lines, I also wanted to build confidence riding at open road speeds in wet conditions. I think the hour and a half ride (each way) gave me more valuable lessons than I have got from much longer rides on sunny days.

[Macktheknife]

With the weather leaning more and more to slippery and nasty it is perhaps relevant to remind everyone that it is important to note what you are putting your feet down on when stopped.
I recently saw a guy stop at lights and put both feet down on the road, what he appeared to not notice was the road was covered on one side of him with a film of oily stuff (common at lights)
When he went to take off, he raised his feet and proceeded normally up the road to the next lights. When he stopped he put only one foot down (the oily one) and it promptly slid out from under him! He saved it from lying down but only by very quick reactions.
The point is, be aware of the road surface ALL around you.

Also this week, a KBer who shall remain nameless, stopped a bike he was not familiar with on a slight slope, when he tried to put his foot down he found the ground was just too far away to keep the bike balanced, and (after a valiant struggle) ended up on the ground with the bike. Embarrassing yes, but also dangerous if on the road, cagers do not expect you to just fall off in front of them at the lights.
Take care.
Mack

[quallman1234]

Bikes not road legal.

Had a blast riding down the river bank messing up the dirt :P.
Learnt how to power slide around corners on the dirt :).

[Stickchick]

I had the pleasure of being mentored by Three great people from the HB on Sunday. Gixer 4 ever, Mstrs and Yungatart (who was pillion on the back of Gixxers bike) I had to borrow Yungatarts El250 as my bike is still being worked on but got told that we were doing road work today....DAM I was nervous, not only because of the thought of being where cars are but also the fact that I didn't really want to have to pay for Tarts bike. Gixxer lives out in the woops so first i got used to riding tarts bike by riding around his paddock as I have only ridden a Dr250 before that. Then came the road. Back and forth we went and the more we did it the more I got confident. turning around to go back proved to be more entertaining as I sunddenly remembered you are supposed to look where you want to go not where there is a hedge. No damage done and apart from kicking myself for such a stupid mistake, off we went again. Then they decided it was time to take me a little further afield, only having the courage to get up to 50k (fastest speed) we headed down towards waipataki beach on a country hilly road, that was an experience in a half. A goat came across my path and couldn't believe how natural it was to grab the breaks before even having to think about it.

It was an awesome day, even though I only rode a short distance I was knackered so looking forward to getting more time on the road. Next time we are heading towards the main road so I can ride amongst more traffic.

[Macktheknife]

I suddenly remembered you are supposed to look where you want to go not where there is a hedge. No damage done and apart from kicking myself for such a stupid mistake, off we went again.

Awesome SC, always remember, look where you want to go because you will go where you look.
Big ups to the HB crew, well done.

[Terminated]

Well after some shocking wet weather, today fined up pretty good and so got two rides in:

11am
Stokes Valley - Haywards - Paekakariki Hill - SH1 - Pauatahanui Inlet - Haywards - Stokes Valley.

3.30pm
Stokes Valley - SH2 - Rimutaka Hill -Stokes Valley.

Last week I had the VStrom in for its service and the front suspension was altered, wound in two lines, and I found this a little too much travel and had the setting put back.

Also my tyre pressure after service was 3psi higher than the recommended setting shown on the swingarm label. Mental note to take my tyre gauge to tyre shop and compare readings.

On both rides today, though the roads were drying there were still wet shaded areas. The most common things I noticed in numerous locations today were diesel streaks and obvious oil spots, and road tar seal damage and potholes [coming back down Rimutaka Hill to Upper Hutt - pothole.]

I got the 'Ride On' DVD from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, and one item I focused on today was setting up to corner and being alert for hazards. Classic hazard, in Stokes Valley kilometre from home, up over Holborn Drive taking a route I often practised on last year, rounding a bend and having a car parked on the road just beyond the bend. The road is not that wide and for any car passing a parked car they would cross partly over middle of road. My speed going up the hill and approaching the bend from the outside was good then sweeping left had me passing the apex and exiting on a good line from then it was a case of: to choose between brake setup or counter steer, and above all was the driver in the stationary car [no], and any oncoming traffic [no]. Decision: there was no traffic following me up the hill immediately before the bend, and so I proceeded to counter steer.

Heads Up and Enjoy

[Little Miss Trouble]

This weekend Kam and I rode from east auckland out to the awhitu peninsula for the night, and rode back on sunday. The strong winds, torrential rain, and fog that I had to deal with made me have to focus on every aspect of my riding.

I had to keep a good eye on the road, as there were potholes that looked like puddles, pine needles and other bits of tree everywhere, and gravel from all the metal sideroads.

The fog was intimidating, I have ridden in fog before but this was more dense than I am used to-and the intimidation factor was probably increased by the fact that I am not used to unlaned country roads.

The wind wasnt a problem for most of the way as the road was tree lined. I was, however, caught off guard a few times when I came across a gap in the trees, or found myself up on a ridge, and had to deal with the full force of the wind. The combination of tight corners, slippery roads and wind trying to push me into oncoming traffic did give me one or two scares.

My main focus for the ride was trying to maintain power through the corners, keeping the bike as upright as possible and picking good lines, I also wanted to build confidence riding at open road speeds in wet conditions. I think the hour and a half ride (each way) gave me more valuable lessons than I have got from much longer rides on sunny days.

My pick is Kave, for learning from the scary bits!

[Terminated]

Thanks to Macktheknife and Miss.L for your selections this week: Stickchick and kave congratulations, you will be our next selectors.

Also I want to include riffer’s post regarding riding in these winter conditions and Macktheknife's entry.



Awesome SC, always remember, look where you want to go because you will go where you look.
Big ups to the HB crew, well done.


I suddenly remembered you are supposed to look where you want to go not where there is a hedge. No damage done and apart from kicking myself for such a stupid mistake, off we went again.



My pick is Kave, for learning from the scary bits!


This weekend Kam and I rode from east auckland out to the awhitu peninsula for the night, and rode back on sunday. The strong winds, torrential rain, and fog that I had to deal with made me have to focus on every aspect of my riding.

I had to keep a good eye on the road, as there were potholes that looked like puddles, pine needles and other bits of tree everywhere, and gravel from all the metal sideroads.

The fog was intimidating, I have ridden in fog before but this was more dense than I am used to-and the intimidation factor was probably increased by the fact that I am not used to unlaned country roads.

The wind wasnt a problem for most of the way as the road was tree lined. I was, however, caught off guard a few times when I came across a gap in the trees, or found myself up on a ridge, and had to deal with the full force of the wind. The combination of tight corners, slippery roads and wind trying to push me into oncoming traffic did give me one or two scares.

My main focus for the ride was trying to maintain power through the corners, keeping the bike as upright as possible and picking good lines, I also wanted to build confidence riding at open road speeds in wet conditions. I think the hour and a half ride (each way) gave me more valuable lessons than I have got from much longer rides on sunny days.


Thanks rifer for your post:



I haven't got much new to report for this week.

To be honest, I've been concentrating on trying to actually keep warm this week, so I thought I'd talk about riding in winter.

The last three days the temperature's been well below zero each day, and it's been an exercise in smooth throttle and brake control, and picking the dry patches of road. I don't think I'll ever get used to how cold it can actually get on a bike in winter. This week I'm wearing thermals under leathers with winter gloves, and a neck sock and I'm really suffering.

Winter really seems to bring its own little problems:

The cold

Low sun (sunstrike)

Dark mornings mean you constantly have headlights coming towards you.

Black ice

I've decided to post some stuff on black ice I've found around the net in the hope that it will help some people:

Black Ice


Black Ice, that thin layer of ice covering roads, perhaps only in shadowed area, can be one of the most insidious winter risks to deal with. You can be riding along on bare pavement one minute and sliding down the road the next instant.
Black Ice is called Black, because it takes on the color of the underlying pavement. It is very thin, and often gives the impression of having some surface irregularity, and therefore appears to supply some traction. These looks can be deceiving, because as soon as you apply brakes (or make significant turning movements) you start to slide.
Turns


Turns on Black Ice are best accomplished by keeping the bike as upright as possible. This may involve offsetting your upper body to the side (toward the direction you want to turn) while at the same time keeping the bike upright.
The principal reason to keep the bike upright is NOT to keep more of your tire tread in contact with the road, but more simply, that a leaning bike necessarily puts lateral forces on the tire at the contact patch. The contact patch (where the rubber meets the ice) is that preciously small area providing all the traction. Black Ice frequently does not supply enough traction to counteract this lateral force - the tire slips out from under you, and down you go.
Turns with the bike mostly vertical also imply slow turns. That, more than anything is the name of the game.
Braking


Braking on black ice will cause a slight melting of the surface layer of the ice, producing a very thin layer of water. Water on ice is a lot more slippery than just ice.

Braking must be done with great care, and principally with the back brake. The front brake of a bicycle supplies way more braking power than the back brake. The more it works, the more weight is transferred to the front wheel, and the more the braking force applied to the contact patch.
The problem in winter is that you will quickly break traction with the front wheel. Once you do, your chances of remaining upright are minimal. Reserve the limited traction of the front wheel solely for steering. Brake with the back wheel. Transfer weight rearward, (stick your butt out behind the seat), to keep as much weight over the braking tire.
As long as you can steer you have a good chance of remaining upright. This is why if you only have one studded tire it belongs on the front. It is also why you want to avoid braking with the front wheel on black ice. Even with a locked up rear brake, and the rear wheel skidding, as long as you stay off the front brake, you can steer all the way down icy hills too slippery to walk.


Also Macktheknife's entry:


With the weather leaning more and more to slippery and nasty it is perhaps relevant to remind everyone that it is important to note what you are putting your feet down on when stopped.
I recently saw a guy stop at lights and put both feet down on the road, what he appeared to not notice was the road was covered on one side of him with a film of oily stuff (common at lights)
When he went to take off, he raised his feet and proceeded normally up the road to the next lights. When he stopped he put only one foot down (the oily one) and it promptly slid out from under him! He saved it from lying down but only by very quick reactions.
The point is, be aware of the road surface ALL around you.

Also this week, a KBer who shall remain nameless, stopped a bike he was not familiar with on a slight slope, when he tried to put his foot down he found the ground was just too far away to keep the bike balanced, and (after a valiant struggle) ended up on the ground with the bike. Embarrassing yes, but also dangerous if on the road, cagers do not expect you to just fall off in front of them at the lights.
Take care.
Mack


Finally, protect your survival space out there on the road this winter:

With attention given to:

On-coming traffic
Pedestrians and Parked Cars
Minor Intersection Following Distance
Blind Spot
Left-hand Curve
Right-hand Curve

The selections above have been copied to the Newbie Update blogg here:

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/blogs/viewblog.php?userid=1728


Heads Up and Enjoy