2Wheeltips

Last summer I got to know and ride with a new motorcycle buddy named Craig. We got in several great evening rides together out through the Vermont countryside. His old Kawasaki 500 and my Honda 400 were pretty well matched in performance and we became instant friends. It had rained all afternoon and the system finally cleared out about 7 pm. As Craig and I motored out onto the Quechee Main Street the late afternoon sun broke through the clouds and brought a beautiful glow to the valley and the mist that hung over the hilltops. It was a gorgeous time for a ride! We rode down past the country club and along the Ottoquechee River and finally came to the steep hill that led down to the Taftsville Covered Bridge. I had let Craig take the lead all the way since this was a new ride for me. Just before the hill he did a little weave ahead of me to give me the heads up to slow down. Thank you Craig! After negotiating the steep hill we rode through the covered bridge, turned around and backtracked over the same road we had just been on. We may have been the last motorcyclists to ride the Taftsville Bridge for a very long time. A few weeks later the rushing waters from Hurricane Irene damaged the supports and they shut it down indefinitely to everyone but structural engineers.  We finished our ride and hung out for a while with his wife and kids for some fresh baked brownies and milk.

A week later we got in another ride. Again Craig was blazing a new “trail” I had not been on as we rode up onto Red Barn Road high up above Quechee Village. All the way I was wishing that he would slow down. As an artist and a photographer I get very tuned in to the landscape around me. As we zipped along the country road past the Red Barn that the road was supposedly named for, I thought, “Ok, this is our ride for the moment but I will be back!

About a week later I was on my own. I ran my Honda cm400t through the gears going up the Quechee West Hartford Road and slowed down just enough to make the turn up toward Red Barn. This time I was prepared.  I slowed down and enjoyed leaning into the bends through my classic Vermont countryside.  With the camera in the saddle bag I just had one challenge ahead. I had to pull off onto a rugged gravel farm road and park my bike on a hill! As a new rider, both the gravel and the hill seemed a bit perilous. But I managed to pull in, and do a tight turn around so I could lean my bike into the hill on a conveniently positioned flat rock in the road. With that done I was in my glory. This is what it was all about for me. I was getting to combine both my love for art and photography and my passion for motorcycling. And best of all it was just me and my “Little Girl” solo at our own pace. Biking with a riding buddy may be great but sometimes biking solo is the best of all possible worlds!

Randall Gardner  American Realist  (My art website)

Classic Rider  (My motorcycling blog)

With eager yearning for spring and another great riding season…Anchor

 

 

 Twas the night before Christmas And all through the garages
Not a motorcycle was rumbling, Except for Santa Clause's.
The leather was hung in the closet with care
In hopes that nice weather soon would be there.
Our bikes were all nestled snug in their covers
With visions of blacktop and burning up rubber.
With momma in her bandana and I in my skull cap
We had just settled down for a long winters nap.
When out on the lawn, arose such a rumble
I sprang from the bed as I started to grumble.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a pack of motorcycles, with riders and gear,
With one old driver so lively and quick
I knew in a moment it must be biker St. Nick.
He was dressed all in Leather, from his head to his foot
And his clothes were all tarnished with bugs and road soot,
A bundle of chrome he had flung on his back.
Down the chimney he came, carrying a big red sack.
He spoke not a word but went straight to his work
As he filled all the riding boots, then turned with a jerk,
And laying a finger aside of his nose
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.
He sprang to his motorcycle, to his team gave a sign
As they all cracked their throttles and got into a line,
Now Honda, Now Harley, Now Triumph and Indian
On Kawi, On Suzuki, On Yamaha and Victory.
But I heard him exclaim as he roared out of sight
Keep the rubber side down and have a good ride.

Each day as I look in the past,
I hear the sound of a loud blast;
Did someone step on the gas,
How long is this show going to last;
There he goes riding his bike,
Oh no, did he run that traffic light;
Now I know the sound I heard,
The bike crashed into a thunderbird;
Wait are you talking about thunderbird wine,
And having the crash was just a matter of time;
Doing this year of holiday cheer,
Take it easy as you drink your beer;
Those who live where it is freezing cold,
This rule does not apply to your soul;
You need something to keep you warm,
Since your riding season have gone;
All that you are saying doesn't tell us where you been,
Unless you were locked up for drinking gin.

I got reaquanited with motorcycling in my mid 50's after my duties as a father had concluded and I felt as though the risk of riding was more justifiable. I have thouroughly enjoyed riding and want to continue riding as long as I possibly can. I still work for a living so my free time to ride is still rather limited and I look forward to when I can retire and take rides I simply don't have time for now with the limitations imposed by alotted vacation time.

That being said it is incumbent on me to stay healthy to enable me to do ride as long as I can, hopefully well into my 70's if not longer. Part of being healthy later in life is making good choices about your health when you are younger. Fortunately for me and my wife we gave up smoking in our early 20's, excercised regularly, ate healthy, limited use of alcohol and had regular physicals to insure blood pressure and cholesterol were within acceptable ranges. We contine to be in excellent health which we pray will continue for many, many more years.

I would like to make a correlation between safety and health that I think should be totally obvious but for whatever reason, many people don't get it. Here goes!

We spend a lot of time on this web site talking about ways to ride safely and avoid accidents and injuries. It goes without saying that, most, if not all of us would desperately like to avoid hospital time with potential injuries that could change the quality of our life or end it permanently. Yet I find that many people do not take the same precautions and care as it relates to their health. Ask your self why? What is the diffrence between dying on the highway due to unsafe behaviors or dying in a hospital bed from lung cancer, stroke or type II diabetes? Answer: No difference, your dead either way it just takes a little longer to do yourself in by choosing an unhealthy lifestyle.

To me, I would much rather die instantly in a fatal crash than a slow painful death over weeks and months due to failing health that was self inflicted.

The other issue at work here is that the results of poor health choices are not instantaneous. You know if you put your hand in the wrong place on a table saw the implications are both serious and immediate. Not so for choices about your health. You can make bad choices for years with no immediate repercussions, however, overtime those choices will have an impact. Will they kill you? maybe not. Just like riding too fast or while under the influence may not kill you the first time. Do it repeatedly and your chances for something bad happening increase dramatically.

As the New Year approaches and we look at things in our lives we would like to change and or do better I thought ir was the appropriate time to share these thoughts.

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to all of you!! 

 

The Insurance Institiute for Highway Safety issued a press release dated 11/10/2011 on the benefits of motorcycles equipped with ABS brakes.

In a "nut shell", their statistics show that motorcycles that have ABS brakes have 37% fewer fatal crashes than motorcycles without them. They, also, state that motorcycles with ABS brakes file 22% fewer collision claims than motorcycles without.

You can read the entire article by going to the below link.

These are rather impressive numbers and bear consideration. As with most everything that's motorcyclce related you have those that are willing to consider and evaluate safety gear and enhancements that will improve the riders safety. Then there is the other camp that looks at riding as an expression of their "freedom" and wants to minimize the use of anything that would compromise that expression. To each their own, I guess.
 
www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr111011.html

Reggie 

Guest post by Gina Williams

Photo courtesy of motorcycle-leather-gear.com

Taking up riding a motorcycle isn’t a difficult decision.  They’re awesome and they’re even more awesome to ride.  However, before you really begin riding, you need to know the risks riding a motorcycle entails and the safety precautions you must take.
According to the National Highway of Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 11 percent of all accidents in the United States involve a motorcycle.  Below is data from the U.S. Census Bureau:



This data is disturbing considering that, according to NHTSA, there are over 39 passenger vehicles for every motorcycle on the road; thus, motorcyclists’ fatality rate is disproportional to the number of motorcyclists on the road. 
After understanding the dangers, you must understand how to remain safe on the road.  Here are safety tips you should take seriously if you take up motorcycling:

Take a motorcycle safety course.

These are a combination of classroom hours and supervised application of those teachings on motorcycles.  Each course differs in material and instruction, but usually students are taught:

• The basics of operating a motorcycle, e.g. how to take road curves, how to properly mount the bike, etc.
• Safety basics, e.g. which equipment to wear, precautions one must take, etc.
• What you are lawfully responsible for as a driver, e.g. the laws of the road.

Take your time learning.

After your motorcycle safety course, don’t just jump on the interstate immediately.  Ensure that you are fully comfortable driving your vehicle at all stages; begin first with neighborhoods, next with rural roads, then small highways, and so on.  Work your way up just as you did when you were learning how to drive a car.

Wear the appropriate motorcycle gear.

You must wear the proper motorcycle equipment when riding; it will protect you from the weather (rain literally feels like needles) and from getting hurt in the event that you do get into an accident.  The good thing is that motorcycle gear looks pretty cool.  You’ll need a riding jacket and pants, riding gloves, and boots that cover your full feet and ankles.

Follow driving laws.

Excessive speeds, lane splitting, and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol are all well-known causes of motorcycle accidents.  Following driving laws is imperative; even if you have full control of your vehicle, doing any of these things could lead other drivers to react in a way that endangers your life and theirs.

Be aware of everything around you.

Pay attention when you’re driving.  Constantly check all around you for reckless drivers, drivers who may not see you (a common cause of motorcycle accidents), and hazards in the road.  Do not let yourself be distracted by your cell phone, music player, etc.  When you’re driving, your only concern should be driving.

Gina Williams is a guest post and article writer bringing to us safety tips for beginner motorcyclists.

Gina spends the majority of her professional life writing about  motorcycle accidents.

Being a First Responder I am required to take a certain amount of credit hours of training to keep my certification. This week I attended a course on trauma injuries that was particularly "colorful" in the variety of different ways people can find to shoot, stab and otherwise impail themselves. Many times these injuries are self inflicted but then again, many are not.

What I found especially enlightening was a couple of examples of motorcylce incidents where riders had fallen and impailed themselves on roadside hazards. One example was where a rider went over the handle bars of their bike and fell on a 4' high wrought iron fence that had spikes (like arrows) pointed upwards. Before seeing these pictures I would have thought, "gee what an attractive and historic looking fence"! After seeing these pictures showing a man with a 3 foot wide section of fence with the spikes going all the way through his torso I have a different opinion. There is nothing "cute" about the hazards this types of fences create, particularly if they are close to the road.  I would avoid riding anywhere near one as the damage they inflict if you would tragically happen to land on one is beyond description.

The other example was a rider who struck a STOP sign and somehow knocke the sign off and had the 4" diameter steel pole that held the sign all the way through his abdomen. I don't know if he lived or not but it was a sobering sight to be sure.

As we ride we see signs, fences, mail boxes and other roadside fixtures and take them for granted. My message is that these fixtures can be deadly. Obviously, we can do nothing to eliminate these hazards as they are a permanent part of the landscape. What we can do is realize them for the severe risk they pose to motorcyclist and be diligent in keeping our bikes on the road, rubber side down. 

In Berndt Spiegel's book "The upper half of motorcycle" he talks about a study where subjects are asked to walk a 4" painted black stripe on the floor. Of course the subjects think nothing of walking across a 4" painted black stripe and do so with no issue. Well the 4" stripe is really a beam so it was raised to 18" and the confidence deteroriated some  on how causally the beam could be crossed. Raise the beam to 10 stories off the ground and likely none of the particiapants would have even ventured out on it. Why? The percieved risk was raised to a bar no one was willing to accept.

Lets now talk about all the gear all the time.  Some riders  wear it others don't, why? Well, my guess is some riders percieve very little, if any risk, that they will be involved in an accident where those that do wear protective gear understandt the level of risk and dress appropriately. 

How do we get those that have little, if any, risk aversion when riding to understand they are at risk and the need to wear some protective gear? That is the $64,000 dollar question and how we move the "needle" forward will determine how accident statistics change for the better.

For most of us another season has come to an end. Only diehards like my friend on his BMW will ride on into those forbidding frigid mornings with his heated seat, heated hand grips and suited up to the max. In a way I admire his tenacity but for the rest of us the bike has been put up for the winter and its time to sit back and dream of the season to come. I feel fortunate that this has been my very first season and before looking ahead I can’t help but do a quick look back on the season just past.

In David Hough’s book Proficient Motorcycling he mentions that in England they make you have a big letter L on the back of your bike if you are just a ‘learner.’ He even goes so far as to suggest that until you have logged 3 years or 20,000 miles of street time you are still a novice. After looking at my odometer on the first season I didn’t even make a dent in those first 20,000! Don’t get me wrong, I have no illusions of being some great experienced motorcyclist after just one season. Never-the-less I can’t help but look back on this first riding season with a great deal of satisfaction and sense of accomplishment. There are three areas that I grew in this season that are fundamental to each of us as riders. Maybe this is all just assumed by the more experienced riders out there but for me these are the BIG changes that took place in my first season. Here are the big three; Safety Awareness, Riding Skills and Confidence.

Safety

At motorcycle school they told us that if you are a cautious, safe car driver you will probably be a cautious, safe motorcycle rider and the result will be a lowered risk factor as you begin riding. Ironically I have found the inverse to be true. After a summer of riding I find that I am actually a safer, more careful car driver because of my experience on a motorcycle! Even driving my big old rugged Grand Cherokee I use the same search, evaluate, execute (SEE) cautious driving now that I did on my Honda all summer. And it’s not that I didn’t have some scary moments on my motorcycle! I was riding up the outside lane on a steep hill with a sharp, blind bend to the left. To my right was a guard rail and a steep drop off to Dewey’s Mill Pond about 25 feet below. Just as I entered the bend a large truck with a horse trailer was coming the opposite direction on the inside. Leaning into that bend I suddenly felt very vulnerable as we passed. It rattled me as I rode carefully and kept my lean but tracked further over in my lane. Though such experiences can be frightening I have found that they have helped my ‘learning curve,’ no pun intended!  An entire season’s worth of caution, head-checks, and the occasional successfully negotiated close encounter has made me a better, safer rider.

Riding Skills

There is no substitute for experience! When I think about how difficult I thought it was to run the gauntlet of offset cones or do a figure 8 in a box I am truly amazed at how simple those would be now.  The everyday experience of pulling into the post office parking lot and making the turns to get into a parking slot seem routine to me now but I am making tighter turns every day than any of the things we had to do at motorcycle school and they seem effortless. On that very First Ride I did with my buddy Dana I remember slowing down going into the mountain road curves and being more than a little nervous at leaning into them like Dana was. Now they seem routine and something to look forward to. Counter steering and leaning have become almost a spontaneous response to the bends in the road. There is no substitute for everyday experience to develop the skills of riding.

Confidence

At the beginning of the summer I rode on the open public roads on a motorcycle for the very first time in my life. I was completely on edge and nervous as a cat, particularly about any interaction with other traffic. Every time I rode out I lacked confidence and felt the discomfort of feeling like I had a target on me. The good news is that like all beginners I eventually grew in confidence and felt more comfortable and at one with both my bike and the road. But the whole confidence thing is ironic. On the one hand that lack of confidence made me far more vulnerable because my actions in a crisis situation might have been panic driven and dangerous. But the confidence that comes with experience helps to keep a cool head and a quicker, more accurate response under pressure. Obviously we all need to be careful not to become overconfident to the point where we get sloppy and reckless but feeling confident and comfortable as a motorcycle rider goes a long way toward making sure that you will be around to enjoy another season in the saddle. After just one season these are my observations as I look back at what I have learned but every year I want to be able to look back and feel that I have gained in Safety, Riding Skills and Confidence. Eventually I hope to get rid of that big imaginary L on the back of my motorcycle. Hang in there my fellow riders…another season is coming!   Anchor

I try to log-in regularly into our 2Wheeltips website to see what new activity is taking place and am impressed by the number of new members that join. This website offers great information and training videos for new riders  and provides excellent support to those who have recently gotten their motorcycle license and face the learning curve of going from an MSF course to riding in real life traffic situations on America's highways and byways.

What I find disappointing is how few members actually contribute and or actively participate on the website. My expectation when becoming a member was that their would be far more interaction between members on important and sometime controversial topics that involve riding a motorcycle. Obviously, some of us are more "into" the sport than others which is understandable. We all have our passions in life and though motorcycling can be simply a casual diversion for some, their are those of us, including myself, that have made it a very important part of our life and spend a considerable amount of our discretionary time doing stuff that is motorcycle related. 

The point that I'm getting to is that no matter where motorcycling falls in our priorites we all have experiences, learnings, ideas that can bring insight to the members of our website. I would encourage all of our website members to contribute where you can. I think it's safe to say that if you have spent anytime at all utilizing the information available on 2Wheeltips, you have gained something from it. I think it makes sense that this can be viewed as a two way street where their is some obligation to give back something for what you have benefited from.

This is my personal opinion as I am a member of this website just like everybody else and have no stake in it's success or failure.  I have found the information and support very beneficial to me and felt the need to contribute something back for the value I got, free of charge by the way, by being a member of this website.

 If you have never participated with a blog or commented with your ideas I would encourage you to do so. The more diversity of ideas and experiences we share as riders can only serve to make us better and safer riders.