Another quick tip for newbies or less experienced riders to help you survive out there.
Familiarise yourself thoroughly with your bike so you know where every control is and adjust everything so that it naturally falls to hand.
Once you know where everything is you should never have to take your eyes off the road when you need to do something with the controls etc.
1. Never take your eyes off the road when riding and only glance at your instruments when you are riding straight. A split seconds inattention is all it takes to find out if your bike is any good off road.
2. Watch the road surfaces at all times for tar, white lines, gravel, cow leftovers, bumps, lumps etc. Scan as far ahead as you can and back towards your bike picking the ideal line. Sometimes you cannot pick the correct line as often the rippling corrugations or melted tar lines are right on the best line.
3. Without taking your attention off the road before you, use peripheral vision to scan ahead as far as you are able seeing where the road goes, if anything is on it several bends ahead, if you can see where the road goes.
At times you may notice a tractor turning out of a gate, or a car coming towards you or someone acting strangely way ahead. Always be scanning.
4. Expect the worse and act like every other road user, farmer, pedestrian, wildlife, rural delivery driver and trucker is out to get you. No need to be paranoid but always be asking what if that truck took that corner to wide....have I got room to move? What if around that blind corner is a broken down car in the middle of my lane... can I stop in time? If I'm leaned right over into a corner and discover cowshit on my apex line, can I counter steer quickly enough and still have room to drop back into the corner.
I don't want to complicate this but keep alert at all times and watch exactly where you are going and as far ahead as you can. be prepared to take evasive action at all times.
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