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Dedicated to the memory of our Mentor, Uncle B.

Originally Posted by Nasty
This week I pick Chanceyy ... there are several things from her lessons that it is good for us to remember as we are learning .. or even for the more experienced of those among us!!

Originally Posted by chanceyy
...what did I learn, this bike seriously makes me smile when i ride her, no matter what others are doing I am consciously riding to my own ability. Learning her lil tricks & just feeling her through the corners & under braking.

Originally Posted by Nasty
We need to know our own bike ... this is a very important fact .. each bike is different in its little hinks and kinks ... we have to learn to operate within these limits.

Originally Posted by chanceyy
.......& off I poodled .. since my speedo broke on the first ride had to go by the revs & was comfortable riding til I met up with the others .. a few queries in regards to the noises from the engine & decision was made to carry on to manfield (at least i had company if things turned to custard)

…for the first 10 ks or so just rode at my own pace not worried when the others were quite a distance in front of me .. they waited & once we regrouped travelled pretty much together...


Originally Posted by Nasty
Group rides are great .. but they are also not races ... people get ahead and others lag .. coming together again and having catch ups is one of the fun things about riding like this ... ALWAYS take things at your own pace ... really Channceyy is right .. its nothing to worry about if they get ahead .. they always wait and regroup!

Originally Posted by chanceyy
......on the ride home I had a massive headache after being in the sun all day & having the noise of the bikes ...

what did I learn ..
that riding bikes & horses are similar,
do not ride when your not feeling the best
concentrate
if your getting outta control work on the focus into the direction & with distance it does work

Originally Posted by Nasty
Great lessons learned ... and quite appropriate to remind us about where the focus should be. I think you can add two things to your lessons learned for the week: ALWAYS carry painkillers ... and ear plugs you will find great!

HUGE congrats on the learners!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Steam
I choose Quallman's post, he sounds like he is a clone of Buckbuck! Good effort, and welcome to the world of motorcycling! I want a 2 stroke one day. A big one.

Oh, I did no practising, and rode nowhere except to work every day.
I may in fact ride even less next week, as I am getting FAT and must use my bicycle

Originally Posted by quallman1234
I hit 1000KM total riding on my new bike this week.

I rode to school everyday initially focusing on not stalling at all and being aware of what is around me, minus the stalling because i was in a rush and just dropping the clutch i managed to do this.

On Wednesday night i went up the rimtuka's with the Wednesday night crew , it was a great expierence and was rather confident and didn't have any problems except getting a bit cold when riding home on the motorway afterwards.

On Friday night i went down the stock bank car park and practiced emergency stopping at 50,60,70kmh and aimed to stop a bit faster every time and to avoid locking any wheels.

Saturday morning me and guy (buckbuckNo1) caught up in silver stream and went to an old car park, to go though some basic slow speed maneuver's followed by a small ride over the hills and back.
I really appreciated guy's help/advice and learn't many new things , the things we practiced were;
*Counter steering - Never knew a thing about it until Saturday morning.
*Head positions - I knew about were my head should be but guy reinforced this idea back into my mind.
*Emergency braking followed by a quick take off
*Riding though a small area
I felt like i achieved quiet alot on Saturday and started putting these new found things into practice on the way home mainly focusing on counter steering and good head positions however in a sense it lessen my confidence what isn't necessarily a bad thing, because i used to always say that you could neither stop learning however i never fully believed this until Saturday!, Thanks again for your time guy! and i hope to go riding with ya in the near future , Cheers mate.

Sunday and Monday night - I practiced all the things buckbuck had taught/reminded me off in the car park and will do so whenever i can probably once every couple days after school.

I have decided to have a main focus for each week
So my main focus for this week is counter steering!

Kyle .


Originally Posted by chanceyy
this week I have picked Lissa

also a first timer out on the track & I know that we both experienced the nervous anticipation preceeding the event ... We both got a lot of support from the old hands who answered our questions & boosted our confidence prior to the day as well as on the day.

one thing that i have problems with was underestimating my ability, lissa also experienced this & from the day her confidence has soared. She still recognises that she has lines to learn, but also the ride on a bigger faster bike has given her an insight to what is ahead from the GN... just remember bigger bikes bite well girl

speed is as speed does, always remember to ride to your ability,


Originally Posted by Lissa
Hmm lets see.

Went on the track (Manfield Open Day) yesterday. The very first time I have been been to or been involved in something like that. As I didnt really know what to expect (esp not the amount of people there) I complained in the thread that I was nervous and not confident to do it. I got alot of support, pms... thank you everyone.

So I started the day at 6.30am. Meet up with the Rapa Boys and headed off to the track. Beautiful riding just as the sun is coming up.... so peaceful and quiet.

Followed right behind kinje. As we rode along a stupid idiot in a ute passing a truck, on our side of the road... it made kinje slow right down and we all made our way to the left. Grrrr my heart was pounding, gave me a hell of a fright, I'm sure it did for him as well.

Track day was great.
My first session on the track. I kept scraping my boot on the corners. Ok, so thats great, cause I love leaning my bike and cornering.. didnt bother me too much, just became extremely annoying. Another annoying fact was my bike is so gutless I wanted to cry. I know I have the skills and confidence to do so well.... my bike is holding me up. So again I am unhappy with my bike... but thats for entirely different thread.)

So last session I got to ride someone elses bike. A honda no less. OMG...I had no idea how much I loved riding until I got on that bike. So I took the corners really slow, because I didnt want to pay up for any damage I might cause. But the straights... whoo hooo a bike that can accellerate so quickly and effortlessly..... can it get any better?

So what did I learn:
1. That I have to learn my lines alot better.
2. I love big fast bikes.
3. I love cornering, I have great confidence. And love the feeling of powering around the corner.
4. I love big fast bikes.
5. I have to push my limits. Was such a baby at the start of the day, didnt want to go on the track, but in the end... it was freaken awesome. Even though I was the only one on a Ginny.
6. I love big fast bikes.
7. I was surprised at just how far I have come in just a few months of riding. I guess I really learnt that I am better than I give myself credit for. Just got to believe in myself even it no one else does.
8. I love big fast bikes!!
9. Place your ball of your foot on the pegs, helps to stop the boot scraping around corners ... thanks to fatjim!

"What Do You Think Are The Qualities of a Safe Rider?"
1. A safe rider isnt too impatient to pass a car just for the sake of passing. If the car in front or you is going at a reasonable speed, there is no hurry to pass it and make a wrong judgement call.

" Do You Think You Are A Safe Rider? Why or Why Not.
Yes and no. I sometimes am too impatient to pass a car. My bike cant get up speed well, so I have to time it very carefully. I would like to think I am a safe rider. I ride alot with others and make sure that I am following them correctly, I check my mirrors constantly and I try to read the road and any potential hasards.

Originally Posted by quallman1234
I pick grub this week simply because he has realised that you are always learning and cant afford to get cocky with this as a hobby/ life .

Everyones write ups this week were excellent , thanks for the good reading guys, ill make a more formal write up next week.

Kyle


Originally Posted by Grub
I went to the Manfield Track Day too (my second). This time, I knew more, had practiced more and was much more aware of what I was doing and had a lot of things to try.

One my first Track Day I was scraping my boots and generally scaring myself. In the intervening weeks I set out to understand corners and bike dynamics. I am lucky that I commute over Paekakariki Hill Rd daily against the traffic so I have time and space to work on these things.

I've started riding on the balls of my feet and getting out of the seat - very much like a jockey. Through the twisties my bum is not on the seat at all. This puts my weight way low and stablises the bike. It also allows me to apply pressure to the pegs to adjust my position in the corner. The result of all this is that the bike is standing up more and using a better part of the tyre than its shoulder. Consequently, the bike feels like a 150 beneath me. Instead of hauling it into the corner, my body is already there off the bike on the inside of the approaching bend, all I do is pull the bike down to meet me heading for the apex. More controlled, more adjustment, more stability.

The *theory* being that there is better clearances, better grip and more control at the same speed as before. The *reality* is that I realised two weeks ago just how much faster I was taking those (157) corners! That wasn't the object of the excersise at all. I don't want to go faster, I just want to be in total control of the bike. The silly thing is that I feel much safer than I ever did before.

I took this to the track - what a difference. I kept dinging my footpegs, I was stepping the back out, I got into a weaver around the sweeper. Yes I was pushing it but somehow just felt better about being on the bike. I graduated from the Slow to the Medium group. All that came from practice and thinking stuff through - and being lucky enough to have a daily ride I can develop those skills on.

What did I learn?
Nothing from any of that! I learned the most valuable lesson I've had since getting back on a bike in October and I learned it on the way home. I learned that you always have to be alert and you always have to be ready and that tiredness is your greatest enemy.

I took the long way home, had a magic ride all through the back of the Manawatu/Horewhenua between SH 1 and SH57 (Shannon Rd). I was in the groove, not going fast, buggered from the rideup-trackday-ridehome combo but nicely mellowing. On a sweeping left hander, an easy 80kmh one, I was doing about 70 when I saw right in the middle of the corner gravel! It was right on my line and there was no way I could go under it or around it. I stood the bike up, took a heap of back brake, went through it sideways with the rear sliding left then straight ahead then right as I braked-released-braked. As soon as the front wheel was clear of the crap I grabbed a handful of that too. It felt like the bike wanted to high-side me but it all stayed good and I stopped in the waist-high long grass a centimeter from an electric fence just beside the farm road that had spilled all the shit onto the corner in the first place.

So ok, I was alert enough to get out of it but I just couldn't help feeling I had been let down by lazy hazard-observation and incident prevention. I should have been thinking about the possibility of gravel being there - well that's how I felt as I sat there in the grass composing myself anyway. I still think I was right.

For god's sake don't tell Nasty, she'll just worry.

What are the qualities of a safe rider?
One who has their head outside of the bike at all times, one who is anticipating rather than reacting - examples above

Do you think you're a safe rider?
No of course not. If I was I wouldn't have been in the situation above. Nobody is safe on a motorcycle. You just have to mitigate the opportunites for it to all go wrong

Have you noticed any 'slippage' in your riding?
Yes! I was tired, exhausted actually and I was in a groove with no cars around and I was relaxed. Up until that point, I felt that my skills and attention levels had got better every week.

The lesson? ... you are *never* as good as you think you are.

Brett



Rosie and Chanceyy well what can I say, you two are packing in some very interesting weekend riding.

In both your posts there is something for everybody to dwell on. Also I must say it does make us think about the whole motorbike riding environment we have here in NZ.

By Rosie:
On Saturday I decided to go for a fairly solid ride (for me anyway). I went to Ohope for lunch, via a fairly scenic route. It was the first time I've been on a fairly long out and about ride by myself. Clint keeps muttering about going around East Cape one weekend, and I'd like to practise a few longer rides before then.

The plan for the day was to concentrate on checking my mirrors frequently and being aware of what is going on around me, and frequent, smooth gear changes.

I went out along SH 33 to Paengaroa, and along the coast (SH 2) to Whakatane. Fuelled up in Whakatane and continued on to Ohope for lunch at the Surfside café. Nice Panini and banana smoothie. It was a nice sunny day, but not too hot, I could sit outside in my cordura trousers without incinerating. From Ohope I continued on around Ohiwa harbour and met up with SH 30 and started to head for home, via Kawerau.

Riding over the Rotomas was fantastic. I caught up to a line of cars behind someone towing a boat, so I pulled over, let them get ahead of me, and then zoomed after them again. I worked on keeping the bike in the powerband, and being consciously aware of what I'm doing around corners - braking, turning in, looking where I want to go, accelerating away from the apex etc.
Cruising around the lakes I was having far too much fun to go straight home, so I popped in to lake Okataina for a little look. The Okataina rd is 7km of narrow, windy, 2 laned seal through native bush. The road surface is less than ideal and some roadworks have left a bit of gravel over the road, but it was still a fun little ride. There are no speed recommendation signs, so it's good practise judging my speed coming into unfamiliar corners, and expecting people towing boats wider than their lane to come around the corner at any time.

From Okataina I scooted home. Around 270km all up. My delicate posterior was a little sore, even though I remembered to shift my weight around on straight sections of road. Going to a BBQ and spending several hours sitting on a friend's deck on Saturday night probably didn't help either.

On Sunday morning I decided that the Rotomas needed to be ridden again. Clint is moving to Kawerau soon, so I went to Kawerau under the guise of doing a little coffee reconnaissance. I saw heaps of bikes on the way there and back, and was feeling sociable, so I got some practise waving at people. I got to Kawerau and the café and the bakery were both closed. So, uncaffeinated, and with my oil light coming on intermittently (must remember to check my oil tank after a long-ish ride) I headed home again. Didn't get stuck behind any traffic on the Rotomas this time, but the oil light was making me feel a little nervous, so the pace was a bit cruisier than Saturday. There was still a reasonable amount of oil in the tank when I got home, but I topped it up straight away. And I'll remember to check it more often in future.

It was a good weekend's riding, I haven't been out much recently, and haven't been on many longer trips by myself, so it was really beneficial. And gave me the little boost in confidence I needed to go and book my restricted test. Next Wednesday at 8.30am.

By Chanceyy:
cerpts from the other thread & my observations

What more can a person ask for .. perfect weather, ( & I mean perfect!!!!!! ) bikes all running well (thank you Rob Horowhenua Motor cycles, for getting mine up & running in time) & fantastic friends who are great company.

My day started off with a quick trip to Wellington, so had to be up at 5.30am .. but driving down & seeing how the day was panning out, I was getting more & more excited. On the way home I started texting the other crew ..but gutted they had all washed their bikes & poor lil betsy was gonna be the only one dirty … ( 86gsxr kindly pointed out to me that she will not be that dirty .. how could she since she not been on the road much .. hmmmmmm good point).

Since everyone else was gassed up decided to flick into town & gas mine up before we started, so leaving my house wide open .. off I toodle, came home & u4ea & dogs had arrived … two mins later 86gsxr rocked up as well .. after making sure that all the alcohol was cooling down nicely in the fridge & a couple of smokes later .. (I am toooooo pure to smoke of course .. & Betsy makes up for it LOL). A ride plan was beginning to form.

Now this was going to be my first experienced with some twisties at road speed, every other time I have ridden its always been straight roads with the odd corner in it .. & the lil country road opposite my place can not be taken at speed, & riding on the road is soooooooooooo different than riding at Manfield as now we have traffic coming in opposite directions .. & I sure dunna wanna get hit .. so I was a wee bit nervous.

Now I know the boys wanted to play so they could travel off into the distance & u4ea hung back with me ..Thanks honey… Coming into Shannon & the boys were in front of a foodstuff truck, the sharp right hand bend on the main street was coming up fast .. but here I thought I could scoot past before getting to that bend only prob was 86gsxr thought us girls were miles behind … & since he never checks his mirror did not realise that I had speed on .. had to break hard to take the corner .. & was trying to squeeze in beside him LOL …

Once we got outta Shannon & the first set of twisties just past Opiki turn off loomed .. the boys already a wee bit ahead .. hmmm well I backed off on the speed & down shifted .. & kinda got through it ok … from Shannon to out of Ashurst I tried to get bike into top gear but could not get enough revs to put her into top without making the clutch basket really noisy ..

All through this section of road I keep thinking focus, look through the corner & just got comfy with leaning a wee bit .. still backed off the corners though …

Thanks dogs & 86gsxr for waiting for us … mind you they said it was only a few mins before we rocked up .. (whewwwwwwwwwwwww seriously did not want to wreck anyones riding fun)

Out the back of Ashurst & I was a wee bit naughty .. Dogs was out the back .. & I was taking a wee corner .. I changed my riding line .. Opps & realised I caught a glimpse of yellow near me .. some evasive action by dogs & some good breaks on the Trumpy stopped us having a wee kiss of bikes, & riders .. sorry mate

From this point on I was starting to get more confident & it helped with the less traffic as well, turned off towards Cheltenham & this is where I was in my element nice straight roads & finally had enough speed to hit that elusive top gear .. we pretty much stayed together as a group towards Fielding, then back roads outwards Bulls .. after having a lot of pace on & just backed off when a friendly cop came into view .. but by this time we were doing respectable speeds.

A well deserved break at Bulls Café & some fab Lattes (so the others mentioned & after partaking in several bowls) & wedges, we discussed the ride so far … since I still have no speedo (just as well methinks) u4ea advised some of the speeds that I was doing .. & that was at least twice as fast as I am legally allowed to do .. about 140-150 woo hoooo it sure was a rush …

After the café we rocked out to Tangimoana & to the beach .. well after the adrenaline had worn off at the café ( & the early start to the day) I was feeling very tired, so backed off the pace quite a bit .. the others rode off into the sunset but that did not worry me cause I knew they would be ahead somewhere …. The only thing that concerned me was the asshole in a truck that sat about 2 feet off my back wheel .. but I did not pick up my pace & he was not interested in passing me so guess it was the equalviant of a mexican standoff.

Then we back tracked .. out to state highway one .. along the straights they hooked across to Himitangi Block Road .. back to Shannon .. (time to take care of horses) .. back to my place, just on dusk .. apparent speed since I was leading .. bout 130ks .. what a difference from the start of the day ..

the whole day was a huge learning curve, first kinda group ride & to be more aware of where everyone is .. esp those trying to pass me, how to deal with twisties both ones you can see through & those you can't. Then there is the total fun factor but keeping in mind total concentration ...

the sunday ride as per below

Discussed the thought of a wee ride to clear away any lingering parts of a hangover that may be around .. I was esp keen to do the wee twisties outta Shannon again ..just to see if my lines had improved from the previous day.

U4ea begged off (was not the hangover or lack of sleep, right girl!!!! ) so was left to me, dogs & 86 … since the boys were also quite happy to have a wee trek rather than a full on blat the course was decided only 69 ks so would only be a quick jaunt ..

With dogs taking the lead, me piggie in the middle & 86 bringing up the rear & checking out how my lines were looking off we set.. this time no issues bout hitting that elusive top gear .. but downshifted once to get through the twisties .. & talk about smiling …. Sighsss AWESOME… I hit the lead after the first set of twisties .. with both boys bringing up the rear .. (at least Betsy refrained from choking them with her smoke)

Had a quick fast blat through the back road between Tokomaru & Opiki the nice sweeper over the bridge wooo hoooo link across to longburn road .. down to himitangi block road again .. a wee twisty at the end caught me out .. shook my head .. grrrrr stopped at the corner & asked the boys can we attack that one again .. .. much better a second time ..

Stopped at u4ea’s get on the bike girl the lattes are calling again .. & ended the afternoon at the café in Shannon watching the world go by, and the opportunity to absorb the information & discuss in details parts of the ride, the more experienced riders thoughts of how you ride .. thats important cause you can not see yourself ..


It was the kinda weekend memories are made of