Ride your own pace

CruisnGrrl

CruisnGrrl

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Probably should post this in the n00b section, maybe in a few days a mod can move it there. I posted a variation of this on xtina's what bike do i replace my crashed bike thread but that's in the trash and most of the people that have access to it.

Noobs are told to ride @ their own pace but how do they know what is their own safe pace? I don't know what I don't know, how can I expect some one who knows less to know that too. Or if a noob is going too fast do they know how to scrub off speed when they are in a corner and finally realize they are going too fast? Many reactions would have them going straight off the corner and into a wall, ditch, car, off a cliff. If they knew that stuff they wouldn't be noobs and they could ride at their own pace.

I've ridden with a few noobs that are overly cautious and those I can trust to park it in the corner of a nice long sweeper because the speed that the corner can be taken is outside the comfort zone of that rider. How ever you have riders that don't know their limits (and if they don't know their limits how am I) and will try to keep up with the pace of more advanced riders. Maybe they took the m1 exit course and now think they are a pro, yet never have been faster than 35km/h on a motorcycle or bicycle (the mechanics of piloting a bicycle are the same as a motorcycle). these are the ones that would benefit from an advanced riding course or a track day course.

These are the riders usually making the news, I don't have to single out any names, they show up in our fallen riders section too often. on a group ride it's going to be monkey see, monkey do, and following some one who has poor techniques is just going to jeopardize the person following.
 
you are correct. a noob doesnt know their own limits.

they (as we all did) need to take their time and learn.
nobody knows what their limit is, but we find out by progressively getting more and more comfortable.
the idea here is SLOW. SLOW. SLOW.

a lot of the time people look to experienced riders to help them.
the problem with that is that experienced riders arent always the best teachers or the best help.
those that do, cant always teach.

if you lead a noob and put them in uncomfortable situations it is partially that experienced riders fault.

there is a reason why not everyone rides.
i say it time and time and time and time again.
you have to look yourself in the mirror and really know that if you are uncomfortable you have to stop.
you are not a pussy. you are not a girly man. you have to go SLOW and at your own comfortable pace.
that is the best advice any noob can take.
be serious with yourself. bikes are serious business.

nobody wants to go down.
ride safe ya'll. :)
 
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I think this advice applies to experienced riders as well. When you're chasing a faster rider, you've got to leave your ego behind. The red mist is a dangerous thing...
 
anth1414 said:
you are correct. a noob doesnt know their own limits.

they (as we all did) need to take their time and learn.
nobody knows what their limit is, but we find out by progressively getting more and more comfortable.
the idea here is SLOW. SLOW. SLOW.

a lot of the time people look to experienced riders to help them.
the problem with that is that experienced riders arent always the best teachers or the best help.
those that do, cant always teach.

if you lead a noob and put them in uncomfortable situations it is partially that experienced riders fault.

there is a reason why not everyone rides.
i say it time and time and time and time again.
you have to look yourself in the mirror and really know that if you are uncomfortable you have to stop.
you are not a pussy. you are a girly man. you have to go SLOW and at your own comfortable pace.
that is the best advice any noob can take.
be serious with yourself. bikes are serious business.

nobody wants to go down.
ride safe ya'll. :)
Click to expand...



People go out on group rides with folks they don't know. When you are new and wanna ride with a group you jump at the chance, but if you look at the warnings on here and the group rides that always end with crashes week after week and still wanna play russian roulette chit happens.

Seems ppl take more precautions going out on a first date that investigating the ppl that are potentionally putting there lives at risk.

If you gonna do it, know the route, watch the speed limits and do them if its your first time through that stretch of road so you can survive till your 5th time when you can double the speed limit through that stretch.

Your ego might be bruised if someone flys pass you in a corner but better that your body and having everyone wait for the ambulance and tow truck to come and get you.
 
Great post! Personally, the main reason why I ride on my own is because I'm a noob. (It's also the reason why I don't ever go near a Timmie's/L&L/KC where other riders might be chilling out). I just try to get on my bike as much as I can, read up on riding as much as I can and practice at my own pace.
 
anth1414 said:
there is a reason why not everyone rides.
i say it time and time and time and time again.
you have to look yourself in the mirror and really know that if you are uncomfortable you have to stop.
you are not a pussy. you are a girly man. you have to go SLOW and at your own comfortable pace.
that is the best advice any noob can take.
be serious with yourself. bikes are serious business.
Click to expand...
Missing a word there? lol
 
anth1414 said:
if you lead a noob and put them in uncomfortable situations it is partially that experienced riders fault.
Click to expand...

Totally agree with this.

If I'm riding with anyone new, my eye is constantly on the mirror assessing their skill level. It will determine the pace we ride at, the slow-down warnings I give for sharper turns, even the early signals I give for turns and braking distance.

The responsibility involved in leading a group ride is more than just "I'll wait for you at the next stop or turn", especially when newbies are involved.
 
Personally, I think new riders should avoid group rides like the plague.
Ride with one (or maybe two) other people whose judgement you trust off the bike as well as on.
I've always taken "ride your own pace" to mean ride within your comfort zone, which will gradually expand with experience. Nervous people make mistakes.
Remember the very first time you got on a bike and went through the motions of just starting it? Petcock and key and kill switch and start button (or kick start for us more, um, mature riders) and kickstand? Now you do it without thinking and the same will happen with riding skills, provided you allow yourself to progress.
 
anth1414 said:
if you lead a noob and put them in uncomfortable situations it is partially that experienced riders fault.
Click to expand...

The hard part for the experienced rider is knowing when the noob gets uncomfortable. The noob doesn't know themselves until they get there, and what an experienced rider wouldn't think twice about can have a noob grabbing for the brakes or doing intestinal cartwheels.

The hard part for a noob in learning to go faster is that desire can easily outweigh technique, especially if there's no theoretical background, such as reading Keith Code or similar. Personally I would like to see every road rider do an advanced on-track course to get more comfortable with both bike and technique in a controlled environment (but I would also like to see everyone who gets a car licence take a ride on the back of a bike as part of the education, but that's equally likely to happen).

Alan
 
Good idea to lead from behind for a bit instead of rear view mirroring it all the time.
makes me concentrate on riding smoothly and taking safe line - don't like groups
one on one
 
Great points brought up so far. If this can remain civil and on topic it should be stickied.
 
jbbadboy said:
Great post! Personally, the main reason why I ride on my own is because I'm a noob. (It's also the reason why I don't ever go near a Timmie's/L&L/KC where other riders might be chilling out). I just try to get on my bike as much as I can, read up on riding as much as I can and practice at my own pace.
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You're a wise rider.

CanadianBiker said:
Personally, I think new riders should avoid group rides like the plague.
Ride with one (or maybe two) other people whose judgement you trust off the bike as well as on.
I've always taken "ride your own pace" to mean ride within your comfort zone, which will gradually expand with experience. Nervous people make mistakes.
Remember the very first time you got on a bike and went through the motions of just starting it? Petcock and key and kill switch and start button (or kick start for us more, um, mature riders) and kickstand? Now you do it without thinking and the same will happen with riding skills, provided you allow yourself to progress.
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Good advice.

New riders should not be riding in groups at all. Ride with one other person. When you're comfortable with your skills then if, for some unfathomable reason, you want to ride in a group with all the related irritation and hazard go ahead.

If you bought a motorcycle as a means of socializing, meet up with other riders somewhere where you can socialize. Don't clog the roadways with herds of self-absorbed cattle.
 
rutakin said:
People go out on group rides with folks they don't know. When you are new and wanna ride with a group you jump at the chance, but if you look at the warnings on here and the group rides that always end with crashes week after week and still wanna play russian roulette chit happens.
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+1 Group rides are a nightmare. The elastic band effect..people trying to catch up..who are already the slowest in the group..it's a recipe for disaster. Just get the points along the way where people will stop and ride your own pace..see ya when I get there. It's just not worth it..
 
this actually got me thinking.
I almost had a solo spill the other night because i was about to take a corner a little faster than i saw. Luckily I was able to grab the brakes to slow down before entering the corner(still a good system shock, but if i just went straight would've gone onto another back road so not a huge deal but i learned from that one)
but I was thinking. If you're in a corner and realize midway through you're going to hot for your comfort zone. how do you slow the bike down? I've heard to just lean it over more but that may make you a bike more uncomfortable?
 
Dsquintz said:
this actually got me thinking.
I almost had a solo spill the other night because i was about to take a corner a little faster than i saw. Luckily I was able to grab the brakes to slow down before entering the corner(still a good system shock, but if i just went straight would've gone onto another back road so not a huge deal but i learned from that one)
but I was thinking. If you're in a corner and realize midway through you're going to hot for your comfort zone. how do you slow the bike down? I've heard to just lean it over more but that may make you a bike more uncomfortable?
Click to expand...

That and I tap the back, never grab front.
 
Dsquintz said:
this actually got me thinking.
but I was thinking. If you're in a corner and realize midway through you're going to hot for your comfort zone. how do you slow the bike down? I've heard to just lean it over more but that may make you a bike more uncomfortable?
Click to expand...

The idea of leaning more gives you the chance of making the turn and getting out of it in one piece.
If you lean too hard and don't make it, you'll probably lowside and drag on the road. That'll slow you down. (I'm serious)

Leaning more and taking your chances of making it out or risking a lowside is certainly better than crashing into a ditch at speed.
 
Dsquintz said:
this actually got me thinking.
I almost had a solo spill the other night because i was about to take a corner a little faster than i saw. Luckily I was able to grab the brakes to slow down before entering the corner(still a good system shock, but if i just went straight would've gone onto another back road so not a huge deal but i learned from that one)
but I was thinking. If you're in a corner and realize midway through you're going to hot for your comfort zone. how do you slow the bike down? I've heard to just lean it over more but that may make you a bike more uncomfortable?
Click to expand...

Don't try to slow down. If you're actually too going too fast, then you're boned anyway. However, it's likely that AREN'T going impossibly fast and can make it.

If you find yourself in this situation:
1. Look through the turn (i.e. where you want to end up, not at the guardrail or cliff edge)
2. Lean - I don't mean drag a knee, or worrying about how much your bike is leaning. I just mean shift your body weight to the inside of the turn. It doesn't take much. Don't jump off the bike either though, try to smoothly move over in the seat.

That's it, sort of. There's more to cornering than that, but if you got yourself in that situation in the first place then not much else is gonna help.
 
Leaning your body will do nothing to save you. It's what you do with the handlebars/clip-ons that will.

Look through the inside of the turn and push-steer (counter-steer, whatever you want to call it) to make the bike lean and corner more. You could be bolt up-right, planted in the seat and still maneuver the bike through all sorts of crazy, tight turns.
 
Dsquintz said:
this actually got me thinking.
I almost had a solo spill the other night because i was about to take a corner a little faster than i saw. Luckily I was able to grab the brakes to slow down before entering the corner(still a good system shock, but if i just went straight would've gone onto another back road so not a huge deal but i learned from that one)
but I was thinking. If you're in a corner and realize midway through you're going to hot for your comfort zone. how do you slow the bike down? I've heard to just lean it over more but that may make you a bike more uncomfortable?
Click to expand...

If you aren't an experienced rider and haven't any experience with things like trail braking, then you're likely best off just staying off the brakes at that point.

Just eeeeeease off the throttle, look up and through the corner, and lean. Chopping the throttle will have much the same effect as hitting the rear brake, at high rpm. You'll likely overwhelm the traction of the front contact patch, resulting in either a lowside or highside, or the bike will just stand up and you'll run straight off the corner. Easing off the throttle will drop you further into the lean and help you turn, unlike either nailing the brakes or chopping the throttle.
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