Jez
Junior Member
Hi! Just got your first bike? Feeling nervous about taking it out? Well don't be! Because you're a Biker now!
I've been riding 7 months, roughly. Passed my DAS in June and bought a Yamaha FZ6 soon afterwards. It's a big bike. Big, fast and scary. Sure, there are 1000cc sportsbike owners who will sneer and say 'That's not fast!' But it is. And on a good day through the twisties they might just eat their words.
But I'm not here to brag - I'm here to talk about the nervousness that every single newbie feels when first getting on their new bike and heading out, and how, hopefully, to overcome it. No miracle cures, just what works for me.
Because I still get nervous. And there's a lot to be nervous about - motorcycles are potentially dangerous. Some of this is car driver propaganda that probably comes from envy at having being filtered past once too often while they sit impotently in traffic jams. But the stats are real - you are somewhere between 20 and 38 times more likely to be involved in an accident on a motorcycle than in a car, depending on who you believe. (Spare a thought for the cyclists - it's even worse for them, with 3000 killed a year on the roads.)
A little about me. I am not, in any conventional sense of the word, a wuss. I am a former Outward Bound instructor from Zimbabwe - if you don't know them, think of them as the Special Forces of the Duke of Edinburgh world. 40 mile marches over the mountains, a week without food, night rescues off cliff faces, assault course after assault course... ah yes, happy days. It's a job where you are confronted daily with potentially life-threatening situations: on the rock face, canoeing down rapids, finding a herd of elephants outside your tent, etc. It's a job that teaches people how to find their limits and then discover that they can go over them.
So with all this macho background, how come I still get nervous about riding my bike? Answer: thinking too much. You end up dislocated from the time and activity that you are in, your head bursting with 'what if' scenarios. 'What if' I come off on that next bend? 'What if' my tyres don't grip? 'What if' I can't handle this machine? And finally, sometimes, 'OMG WTF am I doing?'
Good news. The bike is your friend. It is more stable and confident than you are, so relax and let it help you. Trust your tyres. It's better to lean it over a little more than you may feel comfortable with than it is to potentially clip that kerb because you're scared to turn, or worse, let it carry you across the centre line into the path of that oncoming van. Lean it over, look where you want to go (I know that kerb is absolutely fascinating, but stop looking at it right now!) use the gas not the brakes, and she'll be right.
I drove a truck in the UK back in the days when a regular car licence allowed you to drive up to 7.5 tons. The first time I sat in the cab and started the engine, I though, 'Wow, this diesel is a bit vibey.' Then I realised it was me that was trembling like a leaf, not the truck. I spent my first days in a state of sheer terror. Bit by bit I came to relax, through habit, and in the end I was cutting through the traffic in this enormous glorified deep freeze on wheels, like a pro.
If you have the full British A licence after doing a DAS, Congratulations! You have just had some of the finest training available anywhere in the world. Now use it. Trust your training - they wouldn't have let you out the building if you couldn't do it. Stop worrying about this and that. Forget whether you are going fast enough - if that car behind you keeps tailgating, keep an eye out for a place to pull in and let him rush off to his next coronary. I cannot stress the importance of this enough: never let yourself get bullied by other road users into riding faster than you feel comfortable with. It's hard not to, but just let them go.
Then one day there will come a time when you are motoring along down some sunlight country lane, everything's ticketty boo, and suddenly you'll think - 'Hold on, this ain't right. I haven't been worrying about anything for ages.' And if that thought occurs, let it pass and just enjoy the ride. Because from now on, welcome to the club, son! You're a Biker! And you're only just starting to appreciate how much fun this can be, and how all that training was worth it.
I've been riding 7 months, roughly. Passed my DAS in June and bought a Yamaha FZ6 soon afterwards. It's a big bike. Big, fast and scary. Sure, there are 1000cc sportsbike owners who will sneer and say 'That's not fast!' But it is. And on a good day through the twisties they might just eat their words.
But I'm not here to brag - I'm here to talk about the nervousness that every single newbie feels when first getting on their new bike and heading out, and how, hopefully, to overcome it. No miracle cures, just what works for me.
Because I still get nervous. And there's a lot to be nervous about - motorcycles are potentially dangerous. Some of this is car driver propaganda that probably comes from envy at having being filtered past once too often while they sit impotently in traffic jams. But the stats are real - you are somewhere between 20 and 38 times more likely to be involved in an accident on a motorcycle than in a car, depending on who you believe. (Spare a thought for the cyclists - it's even worse for them, with 3000 killed a year on the roads.)
A little about me. I am not, in any conventional sense of the word, a wuss. I am a former Outward Bound instructor from Zimbabwe - if you don't know them, think of them as the Special Forces of the Duke of Edinburgh world. 40 mile marches over the mountains, a week without food, night rescues off cliff faces, assault course after assault course... ah yes, happy days. It's a job where you are confronted daily with potentially life-threatening situations: on the rock face, canoeing down rapids, finding a herd of elephants outside your tent, etc. It's a job that teaches people how to find their limits and then discover that they can go over them.
So with all this macho background, how come I still get nervous about riding my bike? Answer: thinking too much. You end up dislocated from the time and activity that you are in, your head bursting with 'what if' scenarios. 'What if' I come off on that next bend? 'What if' my tyres don't grip? 'What if' I can't handle this machine? And finally, sometimes, 'OMG WTF am I doing?'
Good news. The bike is your friend. It is more stable and confident than you are, so relax and let it help you. Trust your tyres. It's better to lean it over a little more than you may feel comfortable with than it is to potentially clip that kerb because you're scared to turn, or worse, let it carry you across the centre line into the path of that oncoming van. Lean it over, look where you want to go (I know that kerb is absolutely fascinating, but stop looking at it right now!) use the gas not the brakes, and she'll be right.
I drove a truck in the UK back in the days when a regular car licence allowed you to drive up to 7.5 tons. The first time I sat in the cab and started the engine, I though, 'Wow, this diesel is a bit vibey.' Then I realised it was me that was trembling like a leaf, not the truck. I spent my first days in a state of sheer terror. Bit by bit I came to relax, through habit, and in the end I was cutting through the traffic in this enormous glorified deep freeze on wheels, like a pro.
If you have the full British A licence after doing a DAS, Congratulations! You have just had some of the finest training available anywhere in the world. Now use it. Trust your training - they wouldn't have let you out the building if you couldn't do it. Stop worrying about this and that. Forget whether you are going fast enough - if that car behind you keeps tailgating, keep an eye out for a place to pull in and let him rush off to his next coronary. I cannot stress the importance of this enough: never let yourself get bullied by other road users into riding faster than you feel comfortable with. It's hard not to, but just let them go.
Then one day there will come a time when you are motoring along down some sunlight country lane, everything's ticketty boo, and suddenly you'll think - 'Hold on, this ain't right. I haven't been worrying about anything for ages.' And if that thought occurs, let it pass and just enjoy the ride. Because from now on, welcome to the club, son! You're a Biker! And you're only just starting to appreciate how much fun this can be, and how all that training was worth it.