Quiet places to ride and build confidence | GTAMotorcycle.com

Quiet places to ride and build confidence

Different Spokes TV

Different Spokes TV

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My wife just got her M2 and basically flat out stated that she did not feel ready for the road. We live in the Beaches and are surrounded by traffic hell and endless streetcar tracks. I don't want her to start riding around here where she will be overwhelmed by the chaos and may take a hit to her confidence. When I got my first bike back in 1999 I did it completely the wrong way. I got my M2 on a 250cc Suzuki in the fall of '98 and bought a bike that winter. The bike I bought was an Intruder 1400 which was wholly inappropriate for a beginner, which is why I had a mishap and dropped it on my first ride (minor drop, no damage, but still...). My point is, don't do what I did. For your early rides you should be going out of the city and riding quiet rural roads. I took my wife out to Goodwood on her bike and she rode north out of the Goodwood Café and enjoyed a stress free first solo road ride. If you have a place close to the GTA where there is little traffic please share below. Also, if you don't have a way to get out there without riding through the city, I suggest riding out early in the morning on a weekend before the traffic gets too bad.

 
I live around Harbourfront so when I first started out I would ride down to Port Lands and practice in an empty parking lot and surrounding roads. Unwin Ave. gets sandy/muddy from the GFL site, but otherwise I find that the traffic is much lower there than anywhere else in close proximity to the heart of downtown. Exceptions being when the big rubber ducky docked there and any weekend with major events.
 
bastak said:
I live around Harbourfront so when I first started out I would ride down to Port Lands and practice in an empty parking lot and surrounding roads. Unwin Ave. gets sandy/muddy from the GFL site, but otherwise I find that the traffic is much lower there than anywhere else in close proximity to the heart of downtown. Exceptions being when the big rubber ducky docked there and any weekend with major events.
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Yes, that area is really well suited for learning. After business hours Commisioners Street is fairly quiet and the loop around Commisioners, Munition, Villiers and Don Roadway is good for practicing turns.
 
My best recommendation is just to go riding on normal streets early on the weekends. Traffic is minimal, you get used to traffic lights and patterns (just with less cars) and get a general feel for the road. There's a few places just north of Centennial Park off Eglinton Ave which is a ghost town after 5pm and on weekends. I did a few early rides there, but I found the best practice is to just get out there at times when the traffic is minimal to slowly build that confidence.
 
If you're in the Beach, then Swanwick and Lyall Aves, weren't bad when I was a kid; one way streets between them.

People used to drag race on Commissioner's, but maybe that's no longer a thing.
 
How close are you to the RC Harris Water Treatment plant? Just get up early when no traffic is around and putter around there.
 
Tight figure 8's, lowspeed control (rear brake!), u-turns and emergency maneuvers first in a big lot.
Then mornings during low traffic and less drunkards
Hour+ rides in rural areas too.
 
Different Spokes TV said:
Just went out with my wife on our first ride on two separate motorcycles. It seems that the slow, methodical approach has worked well for her as the ride turned out to be pleasant and largely uneventful:

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Apologies for bring back this month old thread, but that's a great route and I may just go through there myself when I get my motorcycle next week. Also amazing to see that stretch of Dundas empty since I only experience it during rush hour on my daily commute.
 
railgrinder said:
Apologies for bring back this month old thread, but that's a great route and I may just go through there myself when I get my motorcycle next week. Also amazing to see that stretch of Dundas empty since I only experience it during rush hour on my daily commute.
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Good luck. Since then my wife and I have ridden to Lake Simcoe and also to Belfountain. Next we'll ride our bikes to the cottage.
 
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