2Wheeltips

It is a choice that I have made,
to be sure that others are paid;
I see the gear and I hear the rap,
It makes my head hurt and I want to take a nap;
How much is it going to cost me today,
to ride with the big boys and play it safe;
Helmet on my head,
Chaps around my leg;
Glasses covering my eyes,
Armor covering my thighs;
Jacket wrapped around upper body,
and gloves covering my hand,
 And I am riding around looking
like the wrapped up mummy man.
My colors are black and drawing in the heat,
But the gear is so safe, it is a must to keep;
Boots on my feet feeling real tight,
squeezing my toes with all its might;
Down the road, I must go
Dressed like a mummy ready for a show;
I see my friends checking me out,
Scratching their heads with a sign of doubt;
They are wondering what's wrong with me,
That I am riding around looking like a biker's mummy.

Here I am again, writing about something that I'm sure I've covered many, many times. There has to be a video, audio or pictures on this topic somewhere on 2wheeltips.com, but just not under this heading. So here goes......

Now that you have finished your motorcycle class and have a bike, it's now time to hit the road. Before you do, you need to understand how important it is to put on the right clothing.

Now, some of you are probably thinking, "I'm not going to dress up like a crossing guard. Part of riding a bike is looking good and there is no freaking way I can look good dressed up like Capt. Safety." I agree......some stuff that passes as motorcycle gear looks like it belongs at a construction site and not on a biker. But that doesn't mean you should ignore the need to protect yourself from the dangers you will encounter when on the road.  

Take a step back and think of the many everyday activities that are considered dangerous and how those who participate in them handle the danger:

• Construction site? Hard hats, safety lines, steel toe boots
• Baseball? Batters helmet to protect you from a 100mph fast ball to the head
• Football? Helmets & pads to prevent concussions and broken bones after a tackle
• Soccer? Shinguards to protect your legs from cleats
• NASCAR? Helmets & harness to keep you from snapping your neck in a crash
• Airline luggage handler? Earplugs to keep you from going deaf
• Road worker? Gloves to protect your hands from cuts and abrasions

            .......
            .......

• Motorcycling??? Hmmmmmmm.......
  

Motorcycling is just as hazardous as any of the above. If you fall off your bike at 55mph without the proper gear, guarenteed you will get hurt worse (perhaps death) than anything you could get from the above activities.  But guess what? Many people will go out riding dressed like this:

Instead of this:

Do you think the hot exhaust pipe can melt her flip-flops? Or how about a piece of metal hitting her at 55mph? Do you think it will split her arm open? What if they crash? Will that tight t-shirt and shorts protect her skin from road rash? We all know the answer to each of those questions.

I'm not deceiving myself here. I know that some people will never wear anything but jeans, t-shirts and novelty helmets. That image goes with a certain biker lifestyle and it will never change. However, you do need to understand, just like a football helmet or a safety line, how the right gear can prevent serious injury.

In the upcoming articles, I'll discuss why you need to wear:

• A helmet (a real one)
• Jacket & Pants
• Gloves
• Belt
• Boots

Stay tuned.......

I am writing this because I want to stress the importance of always wearing your gear. Had I not been wearing it, my injuries would be far worse. Here is what happened. I was very lucky.

I was on a ride about a week and 1/2 ago on Rt. 84 in Highland County VA with a few other people on the way back to Marlinton WV. We had done so many twisties that day and I was a little tired so my husband agreed to lead us back.  Two people were behind him, then me and then the sweep. We came upon a sharp curve. I know I downshifted before the curve and slowed down but my friend said he thought I may have come in a little too fast. I may have just misjudged. I just can't remember and they said I may never remember. I remember thinking that I had to lean a bit more to make the turn and I did that while twisting the throttle.  What happened with other riders is that they lean so far that the rear wheel lifts off the ground and there is no way to recover.  I remember thinking that I was going to fall, my butt hit the ground hard on the left side of the bike and the next thing I knew, I was in a gully with the bike leaning on it's right side and my right leg was trapped. A friend lifted the bike off me.

I knew I was in pain but adrenaline must have kicked in since I could walk. My right hand was hurting, my butt was hurting and my legs. When the adrenaline wore off, all of a sudden I was in tremendous pain and couldn't straighten up. I started to feel nauseous and dizzy. They laid me over my husbands bike and thankfully the ambulance came as I started to pass out. They said I was in shock and my blood pressure was extremely low and stayed that way for a long time. There was no cell service so two riders had initially went to find help. Once the state trooper and the sheriff arrived, they radioed for an ambulance. The hospital was 4 mountains away and they took me to Waynesboro.

I have a possible hairline fracture on my hand (x-ray didn't show it but my doctor at home is sending me to an orthopedist since it still is quite painful), a hematoma on my left gluteus maximus, and terrible bruising on my legs and elsewhere. The hospital had never seen a bruise that bad on someone's butt so I was the talk of the hospital. After showing the 4th person, I was no longer embarrassed. Luckily, my head didn't hit the ground.  Somehow I held it up and I also held on to the bike so I wasn't thrown off until the last moment.  That helped as well.  My jacket saved my arms from road rash and possible other injuries to my back.  My gloves saved my hads and I only had a few scraps were the gloves shredded on my finger.  My over the ankle boots saved me as well. 

I am thankful to have such wonderful friends both on the ride with me and at home. My friend drove down from NJ on Monday (he left at 5 AM), picked me up at the hotel at 12 noon, took me to get my bike an hour and a half away and then drove me home. I got home at 10:30 PM that night. It was a long an painful ride. My husband spent most of the day before renting a car and then going to Marlington to pick up our stuff and taking care of me since I was pretty much helpless.  He had to ride home and he was shaken up by the whole thing.

I also have to mention how great the State Trooper and the Sheriff were. They couldn't have been nicer and more helpful.   So many times you hear horrible things about the police but these two couldn't have been nicer.  There is a law in VA that they must issue you a reckless driving ticket for all single motorcycle accidents.  You then have to appear in person and normally they will down grade it.  The trooper said I seemed like a nice person and he didn't have the heart to give me a ticket and he would just hear it from his sargent.  I was shocked that he didn't give me the ticket.  So always remember to be nice to the men in blue. 

Also always  make sure to wear your gear no matter how warm it is.   It may just save you.

We recently came across a company called Gears Canada that makes really nice stuff for sport bike riders. Many in the industry do not think people "tour" or go on overnight trips on sport bikes. Nothing could be further from the truth.....and this company makes great stuff just for those who do.

Three products they sell come to mind. For those taking multi-day trips they have a roomy piece of luggage called the Navigator Tail Bag. For overnight trips they have what's called the Navigator Tour bag. They have other nice stuff for sport bikers such as heated vests and heated chaps! We will be doing product review videos on their products soon and will keep you posted.

    What was the first thing you thought of when you heard the words “counter steering”?  I remember what ran through my mind; is that even possible?  What a counter intuitive thing to try and figure out.  You want me to go barreling down the highway and turn the bike by “counter steering?”  So I did a little research into this mysterious technique and honestly, I got more confused with every article, explanation, and video.  To my amazement I found that the ability to perform counter steering properly was pretty much written off as something that comes naturally.  The general consensus was if you can ride a bicycle down a hill, then you already know how to do it. 

I’m sorry, but that’s not going to fly, especially experiencing some close calls of my own and after speaking with a few newer riders, listening to their definition of counter steering and watching some of my friends lean their 800 pound cruisers through the turns.  Even at the Motorcycle Safety Foundation classes, they preach that you should look, lean and roll on the throttle as you take the turns, but what does that mean? 

As I gained my experiences riding, I found myself pushing the envelope a little more as time progressed by upping my speed in the turns and tried just leaning the bike more.  I simply did this because that’s what all of my instructors had been telling me.  But to just lean the bike didn’t improve my cornering ability; it just made the bike lean more in a wide arc that usually resulted in me having to slow down through the turn or worse, crossing the center line.  For me, this was completely unacceptable.  I needed to find out what I was doing wrong, I didn’t like making the same mistakes over and over, I wanted to improve my riding skills, and become a safer rider at the same time. 

The answer came to me like a bolt of lightning during a practice session in a parking lot while trying to do some slow speed turns.   I began forcing my bike to lean more by pushing hard on the grip down on the side I was trying to turn the bike.  In other words, it was like I was trying to push the bike to the ground to get it to lean over.  It takes a lot of time to master [this technique] and is part of the progression in Ride Like A Pro, but this was the answer I was looking for. It was the “lean” and the counter steer all in one.  As I turned my bike in sharp turns, I was actually performing the equivalent of a counter steer and my bike was making sharp turns so tight I was surprising myself.  The simplicity of making the bike do the work, without having to use the weight of my body to get the bike to roll and turn to the left and right was a huge find. 

The proof came when I took the bike out and began riding through some nice curved roads.  I slowed the bike to a comfortable entry speed and looked through the turn.  I rolled on the throttle and pushed the bike under me without leaning my whole body with the bike by pressing down on the grip in the direction of the turn.  I realized that I was extremely comfortable throughout the entire turn and looked for more situations to try out my new found technique.  The beauty of my new find was that the curves and turns were less threatening to me.  I was also surprised to discover that I seemed to have a lot more lean in reserve than before learning this, and the turns that would scare me before, were easy to navigate.

If you can, imagine yourself straddling a bicycle standing upright with your feet flat on the ground.  Now picture yourself lightly pulling up on the left grip while pressing down on the right grip causing the bike to lean. The only difference between that and counter steering is that your press is down and forward in the direction of the turn.  The harder you press, the tighter you will turn.  One thing to keep in mind is that while performing these techniques, keep your muscles nice and loose, as it enables you to perform them so much more smoothly because remember, “Smooth = Cool”.   A death grip on the handlebars will do nothing but impair your ability to react quickly and fatigue you a lot faster than normal.  You want to keep your eyes level with the horizon (tilt your head to do this), which is one reason why simply leaning your body doesn’t work so well because it’s nearly impossible to keep your eyes level with the roadway while leaned all the way over.  I found that trying to keep my spine perpendicular with the road surface or my shoulders parallel allows me to work the bike beneath me, again, allowing the bike to do the work. 

Once you have found what works for you with counter steering, you’ll find that you are less fatigued when riding the windy roads, and even lane changes become easier.  You can snap your bike to different lines and avoid obstacles that much more efficiently.  Learning to counter steer correctly makes riding much more enjoyable.  It will also improve your ability to ride safely.  I hope this answers the question of what counter steering really is. So get out there and work on your counter steering.

I finished watching the video sent to my by a friend (see "Safety, Safety, Safety (part 1)" and I must say the conclusion was very interesting. The man in the video had a few very powerful comments that I want to point out here:

Your attitude towards safety is what matters
It doesn't matter the occupation or activity. The same people riding around ill-dressed are probably the same people who do not wear seat belts, do not use safety glasses around power tools and probably are the ones who use a gas grill indoors.

Others are affected too...
What happens to those who are close to you if you get seriously injured in an accident?  Children, spouse, parents. Who will take care of them?

Recovering from an accident is painful...
It will take months to heal and some injuries are permanent, such as seizures, scars, missing and disfigured fingers and limbs. Also, who will pay for all of your medical bills and your regular bills if you are unable to return to work.

The video helped me see motorcycle gear in a different light. Let's be honest, on a hot day it gets uncomfortable inside a helmet. And a pair of shorts and sandals would feel feel much better than hot boots and jeans. What would feel more uncomfortable would be getting skin grafts or learning to operate a wheelchair with my chin. Looking at it that way, I think I'd rather be hot or not ride at all than to risk going through what the guy in the video when through.

Take a look around any motorcycle dealer, store or event and you will see tons of clothing for men but very few items for women. Even worse, the stuff you do see looks like warmed over men's clothing with pink or purple designs and a few plastic beads. No woman with any fashion sense would be caught dead in some of the stuff that is labeled "women's motorcycle clothing."

There are a few brands out there for women but the makers assume the women are passengers and not riders! In many cases the clothing is not sturdy and begins to fall apart after a few wearings. Women who ride their own bikes had to make a choice: wear men's clothing or wear the passenger quality stuff that will fall apart before the riding season ends.

Fortunately, some manufacturers are paying attention to the growing number of female riders and started making fashionable riding gear for women. One company that comes to mind is Scooter Girls. They make very fashionable motorcycle gear with all of the safety features, such as reflective panels and impact pads, that you would find in a men's jacket. Their stuff looks so good it could double as a regular coat! If you are into leather and don't want an ugly men's styled jacket, there is DeHall Designs. This company makes tons of women's jackets, some of which can be customized. Last I checked they were using fine Italian leather to make their gear.

So the next time you need some motorcycle gear, check out what these two companies have to offer before you buy men's styled clothing. You many be pleasantly surprised at what's out there for women.

Now that summer is here, we thought we would offer a few words of advice to those who check in out our site. None of this is really "new", be we all need refreshers to keep us sharp on our toes.

If it is too hot for gear, it's too hot to ride
We know the mercury is rising and it can get stuffy inside your helmet and jacket. But resist the urge to join the t-shirt and short crowd. Ride with protective gear at all times.

Stay hydrated
Nothing good can happen if you ride thirsty, dizzy, hot and weak. On a hot day, plan to stop more often than usual to take a break to cool down and to take a drink.

Blinding Sun
Now that dusk is longer, be mindful of riding when the sun is directly behind you. This will make approaching traffic harder to see you and can make intersections even more dangerous.

Feel free to add more tips to this blog so others can learn.

If we were to step into a time machine and transport ourselves to 2110, what would we see? How would the motorcycling landscape change in these 100 years? Well, let’s do some speculation, shall we.

Just as people have transitioned from hunters/gatherers into agricultural societies, then into industrial and eventually reached this technological age; 100 years from now, people would have realized that there is nowhere to go in terms of technology and that the next logical development level is internal. Allow me to elaborate.

I’m not saying that everything there is to be invented is already invented; far from it.
But to paraphrase what His Holiness the Dalai Lama pointed out in his book How to See Yourself As You Really Are .

Reaching technological heights and modern living standards did not make us any happier.

In fact, there is scientific research that points to the fact that people were happier 100 or even 1000 yrs ago than now, despite modern standards of living and other conveniences.

So now that I’m hanging out in 2110, and looking over the last 100 years of human development, I see that people have realized that internal development is supreme and the last frontier left to conquer.

I am purposefully avoiding words like “spiritual development” because of its negative or inferior connotations in some people’s minds. How do you view such phrases?

History books made 100 years from now will tell a story of unprecedented human collaboration, greater social awareness than ever before, and fearless exploration of the innerverse.

Street riding is faster and safer than ever since the roads are no longer congested (cars are now hovercrafts flying about 100-400 ft in the air, it’s pretty cool).
Of their own volition, bikers spend countless hours practicing their craft, and people are not in a hurry anymore since there are no corporations to dictate the pace of life.

The most famous biker is Condon Parks Hough. He is, to street riding, what Evel Knievel was to bone-braking. I have to point out however, that Condon Parks Hough does have an unfair advantage since he was grown in a lab from genetic materials left by the motorcycle greats, Lee Parks, Ken Condon and David Hough.

How do you see motorcycle riding hundred years from now?

Here is our latest poll. We are going to post it in the magazine to see how it works here.