Weekends = Riding

We spent quite a bit of our weekend riding. It helped me to get my mind off of the MRI coming up on Monday.

One of my friends said that riding a motorcycle looked easy. Well, it’s not really. I mean, you become at ease with all the mechanics after awhile, but to me, it seems like there is always a challenge, always something to think about.

Riding in a group, like we do on the weekends, is a lot different than riding alone, like I do when I ride to work. When you’re riding in a group, you have to be cautious of the other motorcycles with you and keep your speed up with the group so as to avoid allowing a car to jump in amongst you.

When I ride alone, I only have to worry about me, and what the car drivers are doing.

Car drivers sometimes could be more careful about judging how close is too close and whether or not they have enough space to pull out in front of a motorcycle.

My safety class taught me how to stop abruptly. So far, I have not had to use that technique, but I still remember how to do it. It also taught me how to look ahead 12 carlengths to see what’s going on, so I can plan ahead. We’re taught to downshift through every gear on our way to a stop. This takes some time, but it’s nothing you think too much about once you get out on the road a few times. It just comes automatically.

I’m getting an ear for first gear, the handy gear to be in when you finally come to a stop. I love the louder “clunk” you hear when you find first gear. It’s a sign of the beginning of a trip or a sign of a successful stop. Sometimes it’s the sound when you have to follow a large farm implement down a road for a stretch.