9 - 15 May: Where Did You ride and What Did You Practise?

[Terminated]

Next Tuesday evening Minnie and gijoe1313 will each chose an entry from this thread. The selections will then be copied across to the Newbie Update Blog at the end of May.

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/bl...hp?userid=1728

Please spend a few minutes and let us all know, 'Where Did You Ride and What Did You Practise?'. Humour and photographs are welcomed, however please keep in mind the general spirit is to enlighten us all about your riding practice and technique.

By all means if you have any concerns about your riding ask questions and I am sure a mentor or senior experienced rider will be only too happy to touch base with you in the forum or by PM personal message.


Heads Up and Enjoy

[gijoe1313]

Welcome to the thread and looking forward to reading some good posts about the fine art of motorcycling! Currently, I've got some stitches in the leg, but still riding my little ol'Hornet around. This minor injury got me to reflect on the placement of my leg more than normal.

I usually place my foot where it is free of debris, paint lines, oil or other hazards when I am stopping. Usually I glance ahead when I know I'm about to come to a stop for this.

With the injury, I found out how much I took for granted to do a simple gear change. I found I was getting into neutral more from take off due to the expediency of not using as much "force" with the foot to do the action!

Interesting.

Feeling the weight on the leg meant I went back to two feet down, rather than the usual left foot ready to tap my gears and my right foot down.

Just an observation is all!

Stitches come out next monday due to my Wolverine X-man Healing Factor Then, I shall make up the missing 500km I didn't get to ride because of my nannaing the gammy limb!

[WarlockNZ]

There are a lot of skills required to ride a bike, one of my favourite quotes from my father (who's been riding since before i was born) is "Any fool can go fast in a straight line son, but it the corners that separate the men from the boys" and he's right, cornering is one of the vital skills that we as bikers must possess.

Another one is Hazard Avoidance, to quote my farther again "Son, everything and everyone out there on the road is trying to kill you". and once again .. he's right, i hate it when my fathers right, but when it comes to riding .. he knows what he's talking about.

Hazard avoidance is a skill that has to be learned and if you don't learn it or think that it's not important, have a search through the forum and see just how many threads there are out there about people coming off because some bastard in a cage pulled out in front of them.

So what's a hazard and how can i avoid it i hear you ask ... well .. that's the easy part, everything is a hazard, its the avoiding part that is difficult.

You need to recognise a hazard in order to avoid it, one of my favourites my not seem like it, but it is.

Consider this, splitting through traffic, it's slow as it always is, there a car sized gap about 4 cars in front of you, is that a hazard?? .. you bet your ass it is, one flash of the indicator and a car could drop in on you like a shark on a seal and your screwed.

It's a simple as paying attention to what's going on around you and being focused on what your doing. something as small as a cat running across the road could be enough to cause you to come off and coming off is not why we ride.

I practice hazard avoidance everyday and everyday i find something new. Focus, Attention and Recognition, these are the skills you need to stay alive.
And anything that can kill you, hurt you or scratch your bike is a hazard.

[Terminated]

I practice hazard avoidance everyday and everyday i find something new. Focus, Attention and Recognition, these are the skills you need to stay alive.
And anything that can kill you, hurt you or scratch your bike is a hazard.

Thanks for that WarlockNZ, just to add on to your comments, taken from the Defensive Driving Course book:

"Research/investigation has identified that:
'It is generally recognised that a key failing of (most)novice drivers is that they tend to fix their sight on the road or vehicle just ahead of their bonnet'

Key hazard awareness skills
1. searching for hazards.
2. creating and maintaining a safety zone around your vehicle.
3. safe gap selection"

Okay it is written from the vehicle driver perspective but is applicable across the board.

Each time I go out and on topic Where Did You Ride and What Did You Practise? I picked up two key things from the course: the 12 second horizon, and the visual scanning up and back. I pick out the 12 second horizon and scan to and from there.

Next time when out walking and see a vehicle or bike passing, at 50kph, look down the road and pick a spot and count 1000 and 1, 1000 and 2,,,,1000 and 12 and see how far the vehicle/bike travelled.

Thanks again warlockNZ for your post.

Heads Up and Enjoy

[Minnie]

hi every one, I too look forward to being a selector for the week and reading your stories.

I had a lovely ride yesterday sposedly just a short ride but ended up in Raglan and 260kms later.... i love those rides, anyhow, i think i finally "got it" with the leaning bit with the bike, as i usually try and lean the bike over a bit but am not that confidant with it and and dont feel one with the bike, i am not sure what happened yesterday but we went down state highway 22 i think it is, so lots of lovely twisties, and things seemd to click and was able to maintain speed thru corners and flick from a leftie to a rightie and so forth, wow it was so fun had a grin from ear to ear......... good twisties coming back from raglan too.............its taken me 6mths to get this......... so i guess my point is just get out there and ride guys it may take awhile, like for me but it'll come.

oh by the way , heaps of road works down that way too if anyone is riding that way,

have a great week everyone and ride safe now.

[Winter]

I decided to go visit a friend in Havelock North, the next morning.

Up at 7am, Pack my bag with the basics : winter gloves, cat crap, clear visor, jeans, tee, etc etc.

Leave the house at 9.30am. I had no need to rush, the trip about 450k or 6 hours they tell me. Nothing uneventful on the ride Hamiltron bound. I had left the map book at home - no worries, i remember glancing at it the night before.

It was all pretty good. I was quite pleased that since my 2week bike-free work trip, I seemed to get back on my bike with a whole lot more confidence.

The fun starts on SH5 - The Road between Taupo and Napier. The road starts with a series of stupidly long straights, gentle bend, then stupidly long straight. After sticking to 109kph for sometime, and been overtaking by numbers of cages with radars, I realized that it would appear the toll collectors were not around.

After that, comes a sold 120km stretch of some of the nicest lines I've ridden.

I was focusing on my corners, specifically the fact I tend to ride at the marked speed or just under. I was leaning the opposite way my bike was, trying to keep my back upright.

With that in mind, I got faster, and faster.

I had read somewhere that you should keep your spine in the same angle as your bike, but shift your pelvis into the corner.
I did a few corners like that, and boi croikey.

I left arrived in Havelock North around 3.30, with the sorest ass I've had in sometime , but a massive sense of achievement and an even bigger grin. I was also proud I could remember where I was going, having only briefly looked at the map the night before.


The return trip was colder, winder, and it was hosing down. Wet Weather riding was never one of my strong points, so I thought 'Wicked!, I'll ride through this storm for 6 hours!'. The thinking was that at the end of the journey, I'd be the wet weather king!
Wasn't far off it too! Lots of stops on the way to warm up and stretch ( the coffee at the place in Rangitaiki is shit!).

It had dried out by Hamiltron, and I was cornering at or slightly above the marked speeds, in the wet!

I'm home now, Bloody satisfied with my riding on this trip!

Sorry its so long!

[McJim]

Well I practiced riding after 10pm.

And riding a bike greater than 250cc.

Changing gear on a fine piece of Italian engineering.

Emergency stops on an Italian piece of engineering.

Basically learning to ride all over again - it's amazing how different a new bike can feel - different power, different gearing and engine braking that feels like Jonny Wilkinson kicking you in the tablets.

Feeling like a complete noobie all over again now that I've got the full licence and a 'real' bike.

Bags o' humility....

[WarlockNZ]

Well I practiced riding after 10pm.

And riding a bike greater than 250cc.

Changing gear on a fine piece of Italian engineering.

Emergency stops on an Italian piece of engineering.

Basically learning to ride all over again - it's amazing how different a new bike can feel - different power, different gearing and engine braking that feels like Jonny Wilkinson kicking you in the tablets.

Feeling like a complete noobie all over again now that I've got the full licence and a 'real' bike.

Bags o' humility....

A Ducati Supersport .. you Scottish bastard!!!! .. LOL ... good on ya mate ... thats an awesome ride.

[McJim]

A Ducati Supersport .. you Scottish bastard!!!! .. LOL ... good on ya mate ... thats an awesome ride.

Didn't you see the 'McJim's new ride' thread? Or 'McJim Loose on the roads'?

Yeah - it's essentially just a cheap red Italian Hyosung copy. Of course I wanted a GT650R but just couldn't afford it.

[Lissa]

Wednesday: I went for a little ride out to the Gladstone Pub with Kinje. First time riding in the dark on the bandit. The lights are alot better than the GN.. but found out I didnt have speedio light, so had no idea what speed I was doing... honest! Also my tail light wasnt working so took it nice and slow into Carterton where I was treated to dinner courtesy of Elle ... thanks

What did I practice? Riding at night. I dont like it, esp on the dark roads with out street lights... but no problem, just take it nice and slow.

Sunday Morning: Rode out to Martinborough at 9am with Elle for a coffee. We took it nice and slow as some of the roads can be quite slippery in frost. Was a beautiful morning, really enjoyed this ride. Stopped at martinborough at the flying fish... and stumbled across Buckbuck and friends.

What did I learn? That buckbuck likes Porriage for Breakfast.... Not really the hardy biker food that I would expect from a VStrom rider.. but then again I had chips for breakfast.

What did I practice? Keeping up with Elle on her little 150. I am starting to really feel comfortable on my bike now. I can also tell by the reving when to change gears without having to look at the rev counter... which is good. Even though I have a few problems with the bike, I absolutely Adore it

For every ride I go on, whether it is over the hill, or just down the road, I am constantly practicing my hasard checks. I havent really had any scary moments at all since riding. Except of course.. hitting the fence on the takas... only because I felt I should pull over for a car.

[Trudes]

Went for a ride out to Lake Ferry with the Ceebies and some friends of theirs and my honey.
They were doing some videoing of Nige on his new bike, so I concentrated on riding smoothly, smoothly, smoothly, cornering without tipping the bike in, using my body instead and bent arms, keeping the power on, turning my head to look where I want to go and having fun most of all.
Had a fantastic ride, smooth is so much fun!! But I know I seriously need some new tyres, mine are poked, had them squirming around most of the day, which was a bit of a worry!! Bring on the new rubber!!

[ajturbo]

Went for a ride out to Lake Ferry with the Ceebies and some friends of theirs and my honey.
They were doing some videoing of Nige on his new bike, so I concentrated on riding smoothly, smoothly, smoothly, cornering without tipping the bike in, using my body instead and bent arms, keeping the power on, turning my head to look where I want to go and having fun most of all.
Had a fantastic ride, smooth is so much fun!! But I know I seriously need some new tyres, mine are poked, had them squirming around most of the day, which was a bit of a worry!! Bring on the new rubber!!

so it was you guys i saw today?...

[Trudes]

so it was you guys i saw today?...

Possibly, where'd you see us? Were you one of the Buells hooning around when we were at the summit?

[KoroJ]

I took the younger of my sons (26) for an early morning ride over the Rimutakas to Masterton to surprize my mother for mothers' day.

Left Ngaio at 0740 in a balmy 8-9 degees. Turned left at the bottom of the Ngaio gorge, onto the Hutt Rd and into the sun....that was interesting. Had to ride with screen and visor up, with an appropriate squint and still had to guess where the road was going...luckily I already knew, but occassionally had to position a paw over the eyes to ensure we were in the right lane, on the right road and it was all clear ahead.

By the time we got to Lower Hutt the temp was down to 6-7 degrees and by Silverstream it was 4 degrees, the sun hadn't risen much and I thought, "This is going to be an interesting ride over the 'takas, especially if the temp drops any further"!

Well, we got just past Kaitoke and the temp bottomed at 2 degrees but the road over the hill was 90% dry, I wasn't affected by the sunstrike and once over the summit the temp went over 9 degrees.

We had a good ride there, excited my mum, had an even better ride back between 1100 & 1200, there was little traffic both ways except for the Motorcrossers heading over early and heaps of bikes at the summit on the return...and a bloody great sheep truck with trailer that required passing near the bottom.

What did I practice and learn.....squinting can be good along with photosensitive lenses. ST electric screens are good and their mirrors are well positioned to minimise frostbite. It's winter....put your liners in.

[Kinje]

Sat- Rode to Napier for RRRS course on Sunday.

Sun- RRRS course. What a day. We started with a classroom lesson then on to a nearby carpark for some practical lessons.

Slow speed stuff has not been a strong point of mine- I can barely do a U-turn. However, after a couple of drills and some tips from the instructors, I now feel a lot more comfortable with that.

Countersteering at 40km/hr through the tennis balls down the road Just like riding through Carterton round all the manholes and potholes (sorry elle)

Some more classes after lunch then avo practical- an excercise on late apex cornering, must stay wide longer until I can see through to turn in (more practice needed on that one)

And finally emergency braking- was quite aprehensive about this one, but discovered I can stop quite quickly.

A big thanks to the instructors (Micro, Stranger, R6 Kid) and the organisers (Yungatart, MSTRS). Was a valuable course and highly recommend it!

Then Sunday night rode home- tried to practice the late apex cornering. Was pretty tired so took frequent stops, had a drink bottle on me so that was good, then a feed in Danniverk saw me home.