My First Actual Twisties Ride Today :)

[chunkygoat]

My buddy took me out today on some
I took a few turns way too fast, and instead of trying to brake in the turn i did what everyone told me and just leaned the bike over a lot and held confidence. This was early in the trip so later turns i definitely slowed it down. It was very hard to tell how fast i felt comfortable going but i guess that just takes practice. I really felt like i could zoom around corners but blind corners and uncertainty of road condition prevented me from exploring turns too fast.

Hey good to hear your ride was enjoyable and you made it out unscathed. In reference to your comment on taking turns - it reminded me of a quick story from 2 or so years ago.

You really nailed it on the head with the uncertainty of road conditions, and this is a very important lesson that hopefully will stick with you for the rest of your riding career. So my story goes:

About a year after I got my bike, I'm going to work one day in the early hours of the morning - around 4am. I'm the only vehicle in sight, on roads I know like the back of my hand. I know in my head where the gravel patches are from traveling the road every day to work, I know the bumps, potholes, camber, you name it.

Well being in my squid phase, I was doing 1**mph around a sweeping left with tree's. I can see through the turn, but never realized how much room I'd need to stop should there be an obstruction. Well low and behold a heaping mound of deadguts deer carcass was laying right smack in the middle of the road ride over the CREST of the hill. There was so little time to react, I didn't even get to roll off the throttle - let alone brace for impact.

I swear I must have split that deer carcass straight in half. My front end skipped off the deer and gave me speedwobble until I rode it out, and made it safely to work only to need to change my pants thankfully.

So my point is, even though you may know the road, and have ridden it 10 minutes ago and KNEW the conditions, there are still unexpected places for unexpected things to appear in your line of site. And you may think you're the only one on the road, and the road is clear, but it legitimately happens to EVERYBODY at some point.

So keep your mind right and your speed light, and save the racing for the track. I'm very lucky to have learned from a real life experience, and actually made it out unharmed.

This is very important, and I carry this lesson every day with me.

rant done

 

[chunkygoat]

By the way I've never told anybody that story because I was so utterly ashamed of my squid behavior.

 

[Dave.TX]

"...heaping mound of deadguts deer carcass" - now that's funny right there. Not funny when you're riding too fast to do anything about it. In Texas we have plenty of deer, even saw some in my subdivision the other night coming home from work. Most of us have seen that video clip on YouTube about the motorcyclist smacking that deer running across the road.

Like I've mentioned before there's all sorts of critters and such that can wander into your path. Imagine taking that corner only to find an oncoming car with someone either fiddling with their GPS or talking on the phone and didn't notice they crossed the centerline into your lane. You just never know. Unless you KNOW the road is closed you best ride at a pace where you can take action to avoid whatever it is that's in your lane. I was driving on Interstate 8 in El Cajon, CA, and saw a eucalyptus branch fall off a tree into the far right lane. It was a big one too! At least no one collided with it and I was able to drive around it. That obstacle created itself, literally fell outta the tree.

Ride safe, ride within your means.

 

[chomorro]

The track sounds like a lot of fun. I want to go one day :rockon: