Own your bit of road

[dpex]

Interestingly, one of the few sensible things I have ever heard Frosty utter for a long time was to a kid on a scooter who had turned up on Frosty's yard to pay his penultimate payment for the 250, something.

As the kid gloved up Frosty said, 'Just remember, when you're riding, even on that thing (50cc junk) you gotta own your bit of the road.'

Today I was bumbling around West Auckland and noticed a dude on a very shiny 250, complete with L-plate. He was out practicing, as it turned out...I know this because I finally stopped alongside and had a yak.

Our paths had crossed twice during an hour. I could see that his speed and his hugging the left marked this young man out to become cager-fodder.

And so I gave him Frosty's Billy Grahame. 'Mate. You gotta own your bit of road. I've seen you pootling along at 40Ks, hugging the left. All you're doing is setting yourself up to become cager-fodder. You have to 'own' your bit of road, and you have to travel at the prevailing speed or you will piss off a whole bunch of careless folk who just wanna get past.

But your L-plate marks you out as a target for the arseholes who take great joy in giving L-platers a hard time.

And so, stop riding at 40Ks. ride at the limit and get your bike out there, in the general position of the right-hand wheel-track of the average car, and take ownership of you bit of road.'

I think he took it on board. Geez. I hope so.

But Frosty's advice was right. To all newbies to biking. 'Take ownership of your bit of road or become fodder. But you absolutely MUST travel at least at the prevailing limit.

[hayd3n]

and dont clutchless upshift to much or you'll need a new tranny

[Virago]

...But you absolutely MUST travel at least at the prevailing limit.

I always thought that the prevailing speed limit was the maximum, not the minimum. Interesting advice for learners...

[6ft5]

good on you dpex, everyone needs some mentoring at the right time. Hope he takes it on board.

[varminter]

I always thought that the prevailing speed limit was the maximum, not the minimum. Interesting advice for learners...
Dagnabit, can't work out how to put these bits in a box, anyway, now there are two of us that know it. Everyone else acts as if it is a minimum.

[YellowDog]

I always thought that the prevailing speed limit was the maximum, not the minimum. Interesting advice for learners...
Dagnabit, can't work out how to put these bits in a box, anyway, now there are two of us that know it. Everyone else acts as if it is a minimum.

For a newbee on a lightweight bike, the speed limit has to be the minumum and the maximum can't be much more.

BTW: Highlight text and Ctrl B = BOLD Ctrl I = Italic

[pc220]

I always thought that the prevailing speed limit was the maximum, not the minimum. Interesting advice for learners...
Dagnabit, can't work out how to put these bits in a box, anyway, now there are two of us that know it. Everyone else acts as if it is a minimum.

I think what he means is that you need to ride with the flow of traffic. Not 10km/h slower because that just pisses people off .

[Laxi]

I think what he means is that you need to ride with the flow of traffic. Not 10km/h slower because that just pisses people off .

exactly right, best advise I've heard to newbies on here, basically hog the road, dont give em a chance to squeeze past you or force you into a spot you dont want to be in, and if you dont want to break the 70k limit?? (never know there might be somone out there) stay off the motorway, its all stuff a learner either learns fast, or gets himself into a whole lot of trouble

[p.dath]

Riding 20% below the speed limit is not safe. Even during the learner licence test you will be expected to keep your speed within 5km of the limit, without crossing the limit.

[monkeymcbean]

Good on you 'dpex' for giving the lad some advise, it can be daunting out there with a L Plate advertising such, whether it was a state of mind at that time of riding but i felt some motorists were rather bully like in there attitude, especially the tailgaters.
But I found the best and least confrontational option was to signal and just let them past.

I have concluded having a bigger bike now, is much better, but i always treasure the kms spent on the not very powerful Suzuki tu 250, learning to ride defensively, learning to decide where is the best position to ride on the road at the time considering what is around you took me a wee while to figure, and im still learning.

[Mom]

At risk of giving dpex a swell head I agree with the "own your bit of road" statement. Absolutely and completely own your bit road. You paid to be there and it is yours. Dont allow anyone to take it from you. Be bold and confident. The speed thing however is open to debate. Yes travel at the speed limit, but dont allow yourself to be pushed into riding faster than you feel confident doing.

Do not travel at the "prevailing speed" some people ride/drive far faster than is sensible for a learner to ride at in some circumstances. As far as the travelling less than the speed limit goes, stuff them is my moto. As long as you are not dangerously slow, own your road and go for it, it wont be long till you build up the confidence to be doing the limit anyway. Amazingly enough, 20 under limit on the open road is easy to overtake for those that feel the need.

A few years ago now, I took tail end behind an L plate rider out on one of their first big adventures into riding for fun on the road. We were on the road between Waipu and Mangawhai. For those that are not familiar, it is a fantastic coastal/inland road with heaps of corners to practise on. Some are the lovely "WEEEEEEEE" envoking ones and some are the "oh shit this is tight" 25km ones. They range uphill and down hill, some are even friggen horrible and there is always some broken seal and lumpy bits to avoid. It is a good bit of quiet road to learn on. This rider was happy to pootle along at highway speed but was learning the gearing needed to get round these corners. We had already done the north wise trip and were heading home, going along quite well.

I am always on the alert for stuff happening behind me and saw the tell tale headlights of bikes behind me. I was gobsmacked by the aggresiveness of these bikers as they came up behind me. Not sure what they expected me to do, but pull over and stop was not on my agenda, and GN250's are not known for their ability to haul arse out of corners anyway. We were happily going along, so I owned my bit of road against them. They were all over my tailpipe in quite a swarm and had to slow down and pootle for a tiny bit of time before they could get past. Wankers! I imagine that would not have been a good experience for a learner, but that is what you have to do.

Own your bit of road, hog it and guard it, concentrate on riding, do not be intimidated by wankers that seem to want to run you over. Mind bikers are the minority in these type of situations, Subaru drivers are the worst ever

[Cr1MiNaL]

I always thought that the prevailing speed limit was the maximum, not the minimum. Interesting advice for learners...

If you live in Auckland and drive at 40 in a 50 your asking for trouble.

[Cr1MiNaL]

Own your bit of road, hog it and guard it, concentrate on riding, do not be intimidated by wankers that seem to want to run you over.

And when the times right wheelie past the fucker to show him who really owns what...

[sinfull]

Dagnabit, can't work out how to put these bits in a box, anyway, now there are two of us that know it. Everyone else acts as if it is a minimum.

Use the Quote button if you want it in a box !

[16silver]

Interestingly, one of the few sensible things I have ever heard Frosty utter for a long time was to a kid on a scooter who had turned up on Frosty's yard to pay his penultimate payment for the 250, something.

As the kid gloved up Frosty said, 'Just remember, when you're riding, even on that thing (50cc junk) you gotta own your bit of the road.'

Today I was bumbling around West Auckland and noticed a dude on a very shiny 250, complete with L-plate. He was out practicing, as it turned out...I know this because I finally stopped alongside and had a yak.

Our paths had crossed twice during an hour. I could see that his speed and his hugging the left marked this young man out to become cager-fodder.

And so I gave him Frosty's Billy Grahame. 'Mate. You gotta own your bit of road. I've seen you pootling along at 40Ks, hugging the left. All you're doing is setting yourself up to become cager-fodder. You have to 'own' your bit of road, and you have to travel at the prevailing speed or you will piss off a whole bunch of careless folk who just wanna get past.

But your L-plate marks you out as a target for the arseholes who take great joy in giving L-platers a hard time.

And so, stop riding at 40Ks. ride at the limit and get your bike out there, in the general position of the right-hand wheel-track of the average car, and take ownership of you bit of road.'

I think he took it on board. Geez. I hope so.

But Frosty's advice was right. To all newbies to biking. 'Take ownership of your bit of road or become fodder. But you absolutely MUST travel at least at the prevailing limit.

allways brings a smile to my face to know that me and my scooter are being talked about and yes thats some damned good advice, since i started "owning my bit of the road" i found people spot me easier and are a bit more respectfull that the way i used to ride (droning on in line with the rest of the traffic) and that im more aware of whats going on around me avoided 2 crashes that way so far