Spring(?) riding thoughts

[Rick Shapiro]

This is great stuff from David and Tom.

I am a huge fan of Ryan from Fortnine. Many of his videos are
cinematic works of art. I particularly like this one around life-saving
habits. He covers the benefit of left to right scanning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiOGAYOXN8U
Regards,

Rick

On Fri, Feb 26, 2021 at 9:44 AM Roger Trendowski via NJSBMWR <
njsbmwr at casano.com> wrote:

> NJSBMWR
>
> Here are some riding thoughts for "winter/spring time riding."  from Dave
> Cushing and Tom Cutter.
>
> Thanks to the Skylands club for forwarding the info.
>
> Roger T
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Cushing via groups.io <dacush=ptd.net at groups.io>
> To: skylandsbmwriders at groups.io
> Sent: Fri, Feb 26, 2021 9:35 am
> Subject: [skylandsbmwriders] Spring(?) riding thoughts
>
> With all the snow/ice you recently got, I thought this would be a good
> reminder for anyone contemplating a ride in the warmer weather.  David
>
>   If you ride in an area of the USA that uses, sodium, (SALT) mixed with
> gravel, sand on paved streets and roads to de-ice during winter, and early
> spring. The gravel will lay around in some areas on the streets, roads.
> Acting like a lubricant under our Motorcycle tires, when accelerating,
> braking, or taking corners, and curves. There are maintenance crews who
> brush the stuff off the pavements, others don't. Taking some heavy good
> rains to wash it off.
>
> If possible, try to 'read' the road. Local city streets, highways over
> winter, ice or snow covered, thawing in the daytime. Water running into
> repaired pot holes, then with subzero temps, have re-opened last year's
> existing pot holes.
>
> Let me add: DON'T follow cars closely. Giant potholes appear suddenly and
> crush wheels. Ride in the part of the lane where you can see the road
> surface clearly for a LONG ways ahead. Keep your eyes up and scan for
> potholes, gravel, black ice, meltwater runoff, etc.
>
> Check and adjust your tire pressures DAILY before you ride. park the bike
> outdoors for a half hour then check the tires, because the cold will drop
> pressure enough to result in accelerated, uneven tire wear and low traction.
>
> Tom Cutter
> Yardley, PA
> www.RubberChickenRacingGarage.com
> <http://www.rubberchickenracinggarage.com/>
>
> Like many of us (I suspect) I whiled away quite a few hours this past year
> watching moto-related videos on YouTube.  Among the best I encountered were
> the riding skills series done by Bret Tkacs, both on the Mototrek channel
> and under his own brand.  Largely dual-sport oriented but with plenty of
> solid advice relevant to street riding as well.
>
> He talks a lot about 'vision', in terms of keeping your eyes focused on
> the furthest point down the road that can provide useful information.  You
> can (and should) scan the road surface immediately ahead of you and check
> your periphery, but you should always return to the limits of your vision
> as a point of reference.  That's going to give you the earliest indication
> of a change in the riding surface or a potential hazard, and the most time
> to react.  If you spot that pothole 50 yards out it's a lot easier to
> adjust your line and/or slow down than if you are fixated on the pavement
> 20 feet in front of you.  It sounds obvious, but it is amazing how easy it
> is to slide into a sort of myopic focus on what is immediately in front of
> us.
>
> I started to practice this deliberately last Fall when riding forest roads
> on the GS, forcing myself to keep my eyes as far down road as possible
> rather than trying to spot every bump and rut as it approached the front
> tire.  It sounds easier than it is, but pretty quickly I found that my
> riding became smoother (and faster), changes in road surface were easier to
> manage, and I was making fewer last-minute adjustments.  Kind of like
> getting comfortable with standing on the pegs, it was a learned behavior
> that has changed my riding style completely.
>
> This is all to say that TC is absolutely right.  This time of year more
> than any other, give yourself that cushion that allows the longest line of
> sight you can muster and pick the line that maximizes it.  Proactive beats
> reactive every time.
>
> Stay safe out there,
>
>
>
> --
> David Cushing
> _._,_._,_
> ------------------------------
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.dudley.nu/pipermail/njsbmwr/attachments/20210226/bcdcb57e/attachment.htm>