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Dedicated to the memory of our Mentor, Uncle B.

There were some interesting posts this week by riders and I crossed posted some to the General forum particularly when riders were asking for some general assistance, and also in the case of a new rider who requested mentor / senior rider assistance. [Rider assistance was acknowledged immediately. Thanks Crashe very much.]

Daza must say it was good to read your post this week too and that you got out on a ride with Bnonn. Keep working on those lines and have a talk to your riding friends up there about counter steering. I really enjoyed learning counter steering, pushing on the ‘inside’ grip of the corner and feeling the bike takes its lean angle and a steady throttle. Delve back into the newbie update blogg and I recall an item about ‘two step vision cornering’ that I did. Approaching the bend everything is set up that is speed is correct and throttle is on constant, entry lines are being set, then first and second vision points identified: first point arrived at and here you look through the corner, the second point is pretty well instinctive you have already selected and now comes the ‘inside’ grip push, your bike leans and throttle is on constant, apex approaching then gradual on throttle through exit.

Cynos and Carbacca congratulations on your selections this week. Next week you will be our selectors. I have got some good feed back in the past from previous Selectors that they found the whole process not only writing up your own ‘where did your ride/practice entry’, but also then being a selector provided very good insight to awareness of their own current riding techniques. So I hope you will enjoy the task at hand next week.

On that note I would like to reiterate that the whole purpose of ‘Where Did You Ride and What Did You Practise?’ is a rider community generated activity whereby reading the entries by riders young and old from wannabe to newbie and old salt veteran, that each week there is something that has each rider even if momentarily reflecting on in their riding technique.

Originally Posted by Daza

Its that time again to pick two entries. So this time round i pick
Cynos and Carbacca.

Cynos

Originally Posted by Cynos

I did my usual workday commute from North Loburn to Christchurch and back. It's about 53km one way. To be honest, it was more of a ride than I would've liked to take on so early, but my getting a motorcycle involved fulfilling my wife's wish of moving to the country, ah compromise. I still get to buy a rifle as well.

I can work out how long I've owned the bike roughly by how many K's I've put on the clock - it's now 7000 higher than when I bought it, so I've owned it for 14 weeks.

I have a few queries for experienced riders, but I'll describe what I'm doing first.

A typical day's ride for me involves:

From home to main road - about 3km of gravel road riding on a road bike... ...I really hadn't thought this through very well, but I'm stuck with it. The condition of the road varies from awesome, when the clay has been exposed but not rutted and potholed, to terrifying, when the road has been graded and remetalled.

I managed to drop my bike on this section last week, first time. Hit the front brake on reflex when encountering an unexpected vehicle, managed to time it right for when my front wheel was in some nice deep gravel, bike just folded underneath me. No damage to me (go go gear), but a bent handlebar and a shattered indicator.

Main Road to Rangiora
I have two routes I can use, one's higher in altitude, less traffic but with a rougher surfacing and no reflective markers, the second is lower down with more traffic and better marking.

Rangiora
The most boring section of my trip. I have great difficulty restraining myself here. It seems that 50km is too fast for a lot of people in the morning.

Rangiora to Christchurch
Once I've made my way down Lineside Road, I get to travel down the motorway. Most people travel at 110km/h - 120km/h, so I tend to do the same as I don't feel safe travelling slower than other traffic, especially as I have limited rear vision.

Belfast to Sydenham

I normally travel down Main North Road as I can lanesplit through most of the congestion with relative ease. I've located an alternative route through St Albans which avoids the Sherbourne St section of Cranford, so stoked on that. I've attempted Marshlands Road a few times but feel really uneasy with the concept of overtaking into the face of oncoming traffic - that said, it seems far more riders travel down Marshlands than Main North, and most of them seem okay with the overtaking.

In the evenings I reverse this route.

Things I learnt
Well, when I dropped my bike I learnt that I really need to control that panic reflex to hit the brakes - the moment I'd seen the oncoming ute, I squeezed the front brake without thinking, which was precisely the wrong thing to do.

I learnt I'm glad I don't have fairings.

I also learnt that my bike has a habit of having slightly different parts - different enough to cause trouble, my indicator bulb being a case in point.

Queries

Cable lubrication
I snapped my clutch cable last week, due to lack of lubrication. I got that repaired and lubed by Trevor Pierce Motorcycles, but I've still got two accelerator cables and a clutch cable. How would I go about lubricating them myself? Is it possible, or do you need specialist gear?

General maintenance: The K's I'm clocking and the dust are having a notable effect on the bike. I've had a few bolts vibrate free (had to hold my rear mudguard up with a shoelace one day), and if I don't wash the dust off the bottom of my crankcase every few weeks, I lose the partial air cooling effect I get. What other things should I be checking on? I lube the chain about once a week.

Winter riding
I'm riding in all weather. My gear is sufficiently waterproof so far, but I have had one wet crotch once from torrential rain all the way home. The cold air on my face was horrible in the early mornings, but I invested in a ninjaclava and have never looked back. Is a rain suit necessary?

I haven't yet encountered any ice on the road, but I'm terrified of it. I know the general conditions likely to form ice, and will take my car on those days, but if I make a bad call and hit ice, is that it, game over, or is it possible to not come off on it?

Gravel road section
This really scares me at times, and I was wondering about perhaps getting a slightly knobblier tyre for the front wheel - but in saying that, the other 50km is road, and so I'd imagine I'd have less grip on tarmac and more wear. Can anyone provide advice on possible solutions?

Motorcycle parts
My first port of call is Budget Motorcycle Spares, but I need an alternate source for when Budget don't have what I need. A decent wrecker for second hand parts would also be good - the last three times I've been to that Japanese Motorcycle Wrecker dude down Tuam Street, he's been open but not responding to the bell...

So yeah, advice and suggestions more than welcomed.

Sounds like you kind of were thrown in the deep end of the learning pool, with a long route that has all kinds roads including gravel. No doubt this will help you be a better rider overall. Also having to commute everyday, you will be getting more confident each day, not to mention getting to know your commute route really well.

Panic reflex is something we all newbie riders are always aware of, especially approaching corners or busy intersections. I think it also helps to be aware of how tense your body can get, and to loosen up accordingly.

Carbacca:

Originally Posted by carbacca

did my proper long stretch of riding, it would have been 3.5 weeks since i got the bike too

i went out/attempted to have a ride around the block last weekend, but was not too successful as i was far too tense and didnt have anyone to point out the minor but oh-so-important fiddyly little bits (will elaborate later)

organised for a biker friend to ride the bike somewhere quiet where i can jump on and do loops and circles til the cows came home. he taught me those little fiddly but important bits such as "if you let the clutch out slowly enough the bike wont stall and will thump along quite happily" <<--- i didnt know that since i have never driven/anything with a clutch before. and that i am placing my foot in the wrong place (middle of the foot on the right peg, hence i was unconsciously putting on the rear brake as well, hence stalling). clutch control and foot position out of the way i was quickly doing figure out eights in the carpark at the penrose business park (the one slightly opposite of AA penrose; twas a nice place to practice for any learner rider). then we went home for lunch

in the afternoon decided to go for a spin again, while its still fresh in my mind. this time with the skills under my belt decided to at first do some rounds of the block my house is on (left turns only :P haha) one turned into two turned into three and soon i ended up doing endless loops of the block (my dad followed in his cage just to make sure i dont end up as a puddle of goo on the road. he teaches cagers how to drive), i think the old ladies out walking their dogs must have gotten sick of seeing my go past for the n-th time. there was also a copper stopped to make a phone call, i passed him about 3 times before he left. was getting some funny looks from him until he saw my L plate and realised what i was doing. i lost count of how many rounds i did but eventually had enough. looked at the fuel gauge and was nearly empty, so went to find a BP where i can get some 98 octane (hey i am on a 250, i need all the help i can get). all fueled up i decided to go a little bit further afield. found a new block where i only have to do left turns and went at it again. i even got a nice friendly nod from an obviously more experienced biker on a suzuki something (wasnt looking for long enough to ID) with a pillion passenger. they were both wearing tinted lenses so i couldnt see anything. did the new block ride i think 4-5 times and then it started to get dark, so i went home.

hope that wasnt too long winded

Welcome to the learning to ride club!

Have you done a Basic Handling Course yet? I would of thought they would of
filled you in on those "fiddyly little bits".

It may seem unfamiliar at first but you will quickly with practice find it all comes together, and then fine tune your new skills. Sometimes you have your off days too or you get too tense and feel like you aren't progressing.
Keep it up and take your time at your own pace.

Heads Up and Enjoy