Staying alive on the road.

[FROSTY:Me]

Folks I'm a total advocate for the principle of "owning" your bit of the road.
By that I recomend riding in or about the right hand wheel track on a open bit of single lane road.
But there is a second part to this
SCAN for danger-- Look forwards,Look at ya speedo look in mirror look to the right then to the left.In the city this is DEFINITELY gonna keep you alive (and keeping licence)
It might be a suprise but out in the country itll do the same.
Its really easy to become tunnel visioned and simply not see a tractor coming out of a driveway or that mack truck full of logs following on your back bumper.
Another thing is PLEASE forget all the IM IN THE RIGHT attitude.
Theres a very old saying. Little Johnny was the most right fella in the cemetry.
Yes you have every right to be on the road but giving way to a bigger vehicle isn't a sin its survival. Same as pulling over in a safe place to let a faster vehicle past.

Hey come on KB and moan as much as ya want about that inconciderate barsteward who pulled out or tailgated or whatever. but FIRST get outa danger.

My father gave me a bit of advice I have never forgotten.
Ride your bike as if EVERYONE and EVERYTHING IS OUT TO KILL you.

[Laxi]

thats why peripheral (get me hitch) vision is part of your bhs test, its a skill that any biker has to master if they want to survive long. (everything and everyone is out to get us

[FROSTY:Me]

I apologise if I sound sanctimonious (sp) to experienced bikers here.
This is aimed more at the newer riders

[crazyhorse]

Folks I'm a total advocate for the principle of "owning" your bit of the road.
By that I recomend riding in or about the right hand wheel track on a open bit of single lane road.
But there is a second part to this
SCAN -- Look forwards,Look at ya speedo look in mirror look to the right then to the left.In the city this is DEFINITELY gonna keep you alive (and keeping licence)
It might be a suprise but out in the country itll do the same.
Its really easy to become tunnel visioned and simply not see a tractor coming out of a driveway or that mack truck full of logs following on your back bumper.
Another thing is PLEASE forget all the IM IN THE RIGHT attitude.
Theres a very old saying. Little Johnny was the most right fella in the cemetry.
Yes you have every right to be on the road but giving way to a bigger vehicle isn't a sin its survival. Same as pulling over in a safe place to let a faster vehicle past.

Hey come on KB and moan as much as ya want about that inconciderate barsteward who pulled out or tailgated or whatever. but FIRST get outa danger.

My father gave me a bit of advice I have never forgotten.
Ride your bike as if EVERYONE and EVERYTHING IS OUT TO KILL you.

I was always taught that when you ride, you ride to expect the unexpected. If you live in the Country, you appreciate what cones on the road really mean, and how cockies just pull out of driveways because 9 times out of 10, nothing is on the road. City riders are the worst, come around a corner, meet a mob of cattle and say "what cones?"

[Ecclesnz]

I apologise if I sound sanctimonious (sp) to experienced bikers here.
This is aimed more at the newer riders

Experienced riders should be able to recognise the wisdom of your advise I would say.

[Danae]

I'll take this to heart whenever I get on my scoot and as soon as I get on my bike

[98tls]

I apologise if I sound sanctimonious (sp) to experienced bikers here.
This is aimed more at the newer riders

Be as sanctimonis(spelling) as you like Frosty its all good,i am pretty experienced ie 38 bikes in 46 years,my old mans advice was "if your not having the odd bin your not going fast enough" or "when your 40 odd you can call yourself talented,the way your going you never will"etc,dont get me wrong the guy was/is a very good rider still,just looking back on some of his advice Young fellas reading this.........listen to Frosty.

[Cheshire Cat]

My father gave me a bit of advice I have never forgotten.
Ride your bike as if EVERYONE and EVERYTHING IS OUT TO KILL you.

Or as if you are invisible (as my mother says)

[Ragingrob]

Or as if you are invisible (as my mother says)

Come to Auckland, you ain't invisible, people spot you and go in for the kill

[Cheshire Cat]

Come to Auckland, you ain't invisible, people spot you and go in for the kill

Oh they well gonna get beaten!!

[Mully]

Onya Frosty.

Good advice for an experience level.

As some smart person once wrote; "The price of biking is eternal vigilence"

[monkeymcbean]

Cheers Frosty on your post.



"The Bikers Bible" by Graham Allardice

excert: pg 65

Avoiding Crashes.

If your involved in a crash the chances are that in almost all cases it will be your fault.

The reason why I say this is that probably you'll have been guilty of:

Ignorance
Lack of skill
Lack of observation
Lack of anticipation
Failure to maintan your safety zone
Failure to identify an escape route
Failure to maintain your bike properly

If you accept that observation, you're more likely to take whatever measures are required to avoid crashes.

For me this was the best bit of wake up call reading in that it was up to me to take responsiblity for myself and not get so angry at other road users.

[YellowDog]

The day we start to think we know it all and that there is no need for anyone to state the 'bleeding obvious' - This will be the day we start to become a danger to ourselves.

Keepem coming Frosty. I see bad riders every day and its not always in my mirrror whilst combing what's left of my hair.

[sinfull]

38 bikes in 46 years, the odd bin

The odd bin ?

[bikemike]

You don't own the road by riding in the right wheel track, you become enslaved.
(I assumed Frosty meant single carriageway? A single lane, two way? right wheel track, maybe not!)

By that I recomend riding in or about the right hand wheel track on a open bit of single lane road.

What does own the road mean anyway? I don't think that playing follow my leader is going to make anyone think you own the road, even if you want them to. Someone driving behind might dismiss you and begin to focus on the vehicle in front of you, they might be frustrated that you are obscuring their view of the oncoming traffic, and so on. What you do want is to show confidence, awareness and control. You do this by using the appropriate speed, signals, body and bike position - for the situation. You may right the right wheel track, or right up to the crown, or over at the shoulder. You want other road users to be aware of you, to respect you and to avoid hitting you. You want them to know that you know they are there, and to show that you know what they are going to do (or not do) before they do it.

And,

Ride your bike as if EVERYONE and EVERYTHING IS OUT TO KILL you.

I prefer this :
Ride your bike as if YOU ARE INVISIBLE
Neither are true but the second is closer to the truth, and, it helps with the following...

take responsibility for myself and not get so angry at other road users.

If you ride as if you are invisible the adrenaline and focus is up, just like it might be if you think everyone is out to get you. It's important though to take away the personal aspect and prevent yourself from going into battle, taking revenge, showing who's boss.

Therefore I can agree with the rest, of course :-)

SCAN -- Look forwards,Look at ya speedo look in mirror look to the right then to the left.In the city this is DEFINITELY gonna keep you alive (and keeping licence)
It might be a suprise but out in the country itll do the same.
Its really easy to become tunnel visioned and simply not see a tractor coming out of a driveway or that mack truck full of logs following on your back bumper.
Another thing is PLEASE forget all the IM IN THE RIGHT attitude.
Theres a very old saying. Little Johnny was the most right fella in the cemetry.
Yes you have every right to be on the road but giving way to a bigger vehicle isn't a sin its survival. Same as pulling over in a safe place to let a faster vehicle past.

Hey come on KB and moan as much as ya want about that inconciderate barsteward who pulled out or tailgated or whatever. but FIRST get outa danger.