Weekend Warriors

[Katman]

Not quite as eloquent as katman, but more to the point.

There's only three words I'd have added to it.

[Deano]

This may be irrelevant, but there are many weekend warriors that would kick arse on the track. Track racing is also about the inclination and cost.

[PrincessBandit]

There's only three words I'd have added to it.

Except I don't have one......

[Headbanger]

It's been a long few years since I did a track ride - Do they now have cars randomly shoot across the racetrack to hone these skills?

If they do I want a crack at it....

[ital916]

Except I don't have one......

It could just be really tiny, you could be suffering from really tiny penis syndrome.

[The Stranger:Me]

Ere! I wear shorts and a T and sand-shoes in summer! Still got all my skin after forty years of riding.

It was about then that I realised I couldn't ride for shit .

40yrs and you only just realised it. That explains a lot.

[jono035]

1st. Any person driving 75K a year is, perforce, a very skilled driver.

Wtf?? How did kms travelled automatically = skill gained... You don't just magically gain skill by repetitively repeating the same motions over and over, you do it by driving consciously, always evaluating and analysing your decisions and actions. Maybe he has done that, maybe he hasn't, neither of us know...

I've always figured that 'good driving' means different things to different people. To my mother, for instance, I would be a good driver if I took corners as they are signposted, stuck within speed limits and was generally courteous.

To my high school mates I was a good driver if I could get it off the clock along the lake straights, make it around the corner at the bottom of the big hill without lifting off and do some good rarkies on the school fields...

You are moaning about how people aren't good drivers from a safety perspective, then saying they'd be safer if they learned better bike handling skills as based on racetrack experience. Being safe on the roads (in my opinion) is more about having the skills to spot and evaluate potentially dangerous situations coupled with the right attitude and the self control to avoid stroking your ego by twisting your right hand. To be sure there is a certain amount of bike control skill thrown in there, but even a complete newbie can be safe by knowing their abilities and limits and riding to those.

The rider's skill level is only a problem when the rider exceeds it and I'm sure there are plenty of 'weekend warriors' who happily ride around within their skill levels being perfectly safe. The ones (weekend warriors or otherwise) that are out there with something to prove are going to end up being troweled off the road no matter how much 'riding skill' they think they have.

[yungatart]

It's a vexing issue.....


I guess the question is...after all this. How do we convince the average weekend warrior, dressed in flash, with the wind in his face, that without some remedial training, he's likely to end up as a statistic?

Why focus on trackdays for your 'cause'?
Where are the stats that prove doing a trackday makes you a better/safer rider.
I have never done a trackday, nor will I. I don't see how going round and round the same bit of tarmac with the only other traffic going in the same direction can improve my skills on the road. What does it do for hazard awareness, how does it help me avoid the tractor that has just pulled out of the driveway or the sheep/cows/turkeys/pukekos or children wandering on the side of the road.
Far better IMO, to throw some money at RRRS courses where you are taught actual skills that you will need to use on the road.

[sinfull]

Nup. Not an RRRS course, but an AMCC ART day. And then, during the last round, if any of your warriors can beat me around the track....on weekend warrior bikes, then yeah, I'd be prepared to pull in my head.

Can i've a crack ??
I pulled my once in a blue moon speed triple, weekend warrior bike out on sunday and did route 52 through pongaroa, after doing a group ride up to Dannevirke (you know, like lap 1, T1 Manfeild, all the way up there) yeah yeah, My bad, they bad, we all bad, but didn't feel like doing that shit home again, so a few of us split and took a 2 hour detour home !

So first time on the bike in mmmm 10 weeks makes me a novice again does it not ??

This may be irrelevant, but there are many weekend warriors that would kick arse on the track. Track racing is also about the inclination and cost.

Totally not irrelevant, as that is the whole point and i think Dpex should conceed this ! That though i agree track riding can and will teach some a few new tricks re apexing, braking etc, that may and could well save their life one day, It's not everyones cup of char !

A RRRS course could well do the same job as a track day perhaps more !!! Perhaps ! I wouldn't know, never done one !

[hospitalfood]

dpex, you obviously rate yourself.
pride before the fall mate............

[dpex]

Wtf?? How did kms travelled automatically = skill gained... You don't just magically gain skill by repetitively repeating the same motions over and over, you do it by driving consciously, always evaluating and analysing your decisions and actions. Maybe he has done that, maybe he hasn't, neither of us know...

I've always figured that 'good driving' means different things to different people. To my mother, for instance, I would be a good driver if I took corners as they are signposted, stuck within speed limits and was generally courteous.

To my high school mates I was a good driver if I could get it off the clock along the lake straights, make it around the corner at the bottom of the big hill without lifting off and do some good rarkies on the school fields...

You are moaning about how people aren't good drivers from a safety perspective, then saying they'd be safer if they learned better bike handling skills as based on racetrack experience. Being safe on the roads (in my opinion) is more about having the skills to spot and evaluate potentially dangerous situations coupled with the right attitude and the self control to avoid stroking your ego by twisting your right hand. To be sure there is a certain amount of bike control skill thrown in there, but even a complete newbie can be safe by knowing their abilities and limits and riding to those.

The rider's skill level is only a problem when the rider exceeds it and I'm sure there are plenty of 'weekend warriors' who happily ride around within their skill levels being perfectly safe. The ones (weekend warriors or otherwise) that are out there with something to prove are going to end up being troweled off the road no matter how much 'riding skill' they think they have.

And I used to think that Katman's various posts were the most asinine till I read yours.

Buddy, you just got voted as ass of the year.

[dpex]

dpex, you obviously rate yourself.
pride before the fall mate............

Gawd. Here we go again. Let me spell it out.

You vernacular use of 'rate' presumes you think I think I'm a hot rider. Not in the least.

I'm a competent rider, but I believe I have better-than-average awareness skills on account of I do now, and have done for years, a shit-load of daily Ks, every day.

But, moreover, I've taken the time and the resulting pain to discover the limitations of my bike and my skills, such as they are, on the track....Not on the roads.

[dpex]

Can i've a crack ??
I pulled my once in a blue moon speed triple, weekend warrior bike out on sunday and did route 52 through pongaroa, after doing a group ride up to Dannevirke (you know, like lap 1, T1 Manfeild, all the way up there) yeah yeah, My bad, they bad, we all bad, but didn't feel like doing that shit home again, so a few of us split and took a 2 hour detour home !

So first time on the bike in mmmm 10 weeks makes me a novice again does it not ??

Totally not irrelevant, as that is the whole point and i think Dpex should conceed this ! That though i agree track riding can and will teach some a few new tricks re apexing, braking etc, that may and could well save their life one day, It's not everyones cup of char !

A RRRS course could well do the same job as a track day perhaps more !!! Perhaps ! I wouldn't know, never done one !

Well hello, Hairy Sir. Xmas camping at Tongariro National Park, with a few fine trout thrown in for good measure?

And bring that old coal-burner of yours. We can so some beat-ups on the forest roads.:--)) And don't forget to bring her with the eyes. :--))

[Katman]

And I used to think that Katman's various posts were the most asinine till I read yours.

Your posts make mine look like works of sheer genius.

[dpex]

Why focus on trackdays for your 'cause'?
Where are the stats that prove doing a trackday makes you a better/safer rider.
I have never done a trackday, nor will I. I don't see how going round and round the same bit of tarmac with the only other traffic going in the same direction can improve my skills on the road. What does it do for hazard awareness, how does it help me avoid the tractor that has just pulled out of the driveway or the sheep/cows/turkeys/pukekos or children wandering on the side of the road.
Far better IMO, to throw some money at RRRS courses where you are taught actual skills that you will need to use on the road.

Why don't you just do an AMCC day and then come back and tell us how little knowledge you gained?