Downhill straight (about 100mts) turns into a right hand sweeper. Double yellows all the way. Passing lane 300 mts up the road, clear view through the sweeper (but double yellows remember?) but that didnt stop a biker passing the 5 cars in front. Got passed, no worries, but good call or bad call??
Have to admit to riding like this, driving like this and generally living like this !
Boss used to always say, (when i'd complain during my apprentice yrs) give the worst job to the laziest man and he'll always find the easiest way to do things !
Though use of the whole road does save you rubber, gas and possibly km's on the clock, (he did state time and place) unfortunately NZ's roads are coming to a point where there is more chance than not, a car is just arround that courner, thus causing too many avaisive manuvours in one short ride, which has ya shaking ya head thinking, i got to stop frightening ppl like that !
As one day it will bite ya on the arse
Perfect example down here is the hutt side of the peakok hill coming up (or down) beautifull set of windies you can see through if you start on the right line !
Don't condone it as a technique to learn in todays traffic volumnes but if i see a stretch of clear sweeping bends i'll still do it in my car to make the tires last that one more corner lol
A girlfriend once asked " Why is it you seem to prefer to race, than spend time with me ?"
The answer was simple ! "I'll prolly get bored with racing too, once i've nailed it !"
Bowls can wait !
Some people overa analyse their riding a bit eh?
I just do what works for me......
The solid centreline question is a hazy one (not legally, I know)
Over here they have passing lanes with double solids at the centre....but....coming the other way in the single lane, there is often 400m plus visibility. And no cars coming the other way as you trail Mr Womble in his 4WD. I pass - it's a no brainer.
I will cross double solids on short straights or twisties, as long as I know I've got minimum 100m vis throughout the manouvre.(and there's no red & blues around). Any doubt at all.....I don't bother.....there's always the next clear stretch.......
“- He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it.”
Sounds like a half assed reason to justify taking the 'fastest line' in a road riding situation.
Riding on the wrong side of the road at 'increased speeds' is just asking to get taken out by an oncoming vehicle.
If these theories are applied to a single lane situation then they are pretty much spot on.
However, i disagree with the 'leaning off is a n00bs thing'... sure n00bs do it because they think it looks cool, but in a situation where you come into a corner 'too hot' then hanging off the bike actually allows you to take that corner at a higher speed with less lean angle - i.e it could be what saves your ass from running wide.
The truth is that if you are riding with a 10-20% performance buffer (i assume that is what he means) then you shouldnt be running into a situation where you need to use the whole road to negotiate a corner, especially if riding to the vanishing point.
And furthermore, a person who doesnt use most/all of their bikes lean angle more than some of the time (ie not familiar with their bikes limits) will become a person that will not be able to use this to their advantage come time to do so. Thats what empty carparks and racetracks are good for.
KiwiBitcher
where opinion holds more weight than fact.
It's better to not pass and know that you could have than to pass and find out that you can't. Wait for the straight.
Call it straight lining if you wish to, but what you are actually talking about is the fastest line through a corner given the tarmac available. It has no valid place on the road, especially NZ's finest. Call it an advanced riders technique too, good for use on the track no doubt.
Yes "you" may well be able to see ahead enough distance in your experience to take the race line through a corner, good for you. Yes "you" may be able to use your superior skills to countersteer around the car that suddenly appears in your path.
Demonstrating your ability to do this on the road, only encourages inexperienced riders to do the same, result, carnage.
Using this technique is nothing more than an excuse to travel faster. If you really want to carve up the roads, dont! Do it on the track. I called it the racing line, because that is what it is.
As others have said, hate to see another biker fatality as a result of "straight-lining"
I can see why the police use it in high speed chases etc as long as you can see far enough ahead its not a problem. Personally I like corners and want the road to have more not less.
I've been doing this for a long long time too - part of my smooth/more for less effort/pace style riding.Very much part of my gravel road riding too,just smooths the whole thing out and allows you to keep the speed up.As Blackbird says,west Coro coast - out of a left hander,and straight line to the next one.
Of course you don't use this technique without safety being paramount - being a gravel road rider I'm very aware of what could be coming around the corner and lack of escape routes.
In and out of jobs, running free
Waging war with society
i call this technique 'self-preservation' personally - 9 times out of 10 mr/mrs/ms womble is talking on their mobile, applying their lippy or gazing aimlessly into space whilst munching their hamburger ....... they don't know where THEY are - they sure as hell don't know where YOU are and could therefore do you a serious mahem if they decided to slap on full anchors without warning ........ safest place is past them methinks ......
insofar as the double white is concerned, as the man says, we've got double-lined stretches here where you can see clear to china on a good day [ok - i'm exagerating, but not much ] ...
.. somewhere on west australian roads we've got one of a pollie's idiot relations loose with a paintbrush, a truckload of white paint and NO IDEA WHATSOEVER about roads & traffic
honestly, traffic management and restrictions in wa are enough to make anyone a believer in mayhem.
... ...
Grass wedges its way between the closest blocks of marble and it brings them down. This power of feeble life which can creep in anywhere is greater than that of the mighty behind their cannons....... - Honore de Balzac
Or be taken out by someone exiting drive, race etc looking the other way for traffic as none should be coming from the wrong direction should it?
Or apparently it should.
Sure with a little care risk is minimal, but why bother, for what gain?
So as you can be a true MEGARIDER?
Why not just get a power ranger outfit then you could be totally cool.
For some time now, cops have been sitting at the top of Weld Pass (SH1 south of Blenheim) from time to time, photographing and ticketing people they see crossing the centre line on the way up.
Personally, I think cutting corners in the way you describe (you can call it straightlining if you like, I call it cutting) can be safe if done only when there is adequate visibility and no driveways, pedestrians, stock, etc. But I don't have any problems with discontinuing this practice if it might get me a ticket.
I reckon police riding and recreational/commuter riding involve completely different objectives. The average police rider has also completed far more advanced training than the average road rider.
And what's this 10-20% leeway business? How the hell do you judge that? Can you look at an oncoming car and judge it's speed within 10%? Can you judge your stopping distance from any given speed within 10%? Can you look at any given corner and calculate the maximum speed you can take it at? Can you even judge your own speed within 10% without looking at the instruments?
Sorry, can't say I agree with that one.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Bookmarks