Ride safe out there guys

Z

zameer23

Member
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It seems almost every other day I look at the news, another rider is reported dead.

Just wanted to remind you guys to just be cautious out there. Have fun but be safe: check your surroundings, watch your speed, do not try to run the yellow light if you see it coming, and watch for cars coming out of hidden intersections. I know most of us think of ourselves as good riders, but sometimes when you get too comfortable you forget these little things. If anyone else has some tips, please share.

Ride safe.
 
Thanks for looking out!


This past weekend i had a NEAR DEATH experience where i went camping for two days and barely got any sleep.... On my way back from Bruce Penninsula I almost fell asleep on my bike... I remember closing my eyes and swirving about 4 times...... THANK GOD my friend was just as tired and we decidedt o pull over and take a nap on the side of the street.... on some nice grass..... the 30 minute power nap SAVED ME....

Please do not ride tired..... it was the scariest thing now that I think of it..... but at the time i just wanted to go home and kept riding half asleep.
 
Ru_skee said:
This past weekend i had a NEAR DEATH experience where i went camping for two days and barely got any sleep.... On my way back from Bruce Penninsula I almost fell asleep on my bike... I remember closing my eyes and swirving about 4 times...... THANK GOD my friend was just as tired and we decidedt o pull over and take a nap on the side of the street.... on some nice grass..... the 30 minute power nap SAVED ME....

Please do not ride tired..... it was the scariest thing now that I think of it..... but at the time i just wanted to go home and kept riding half asleep.
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I fell asleep on my bike once. Was riding fast/aggressive to stay awake. I nodded off and started to veer towards the shoulder of the road when I hit a big black garbage bag full of garbage right on the edge of the road (just inches before the dirt/gravel shoulder started). POOF. Was awake after that!! That bag of trash saved me, if not for that I woulda been toast as soon as I touched the shoulder. At those speeds in shorts and t-shirt I woulda been a road crayon!! Never ever rode tired after that. If I was feeling tired at all I'd pull into a timmies and have a nap on the table.

I had the video up but the police asked me to delete it :(
 
Tired, angry, stressed, running late. All of these have a very real effect on your level of concentration and riding abilities. Going for a ride when you've just had a big argument with your SO may seem like a good idea but you're much better off going for a long walk. Save the riding for when you're in the right physical and emotional state.
 
Heading out for a day of riding momentarily. Taking things for granted this thread is the wake up call I didn't know I needed. Thanks. Freshly tuned up I think I'll be good with just jeans, not those clumsy protective riding pants I detest so much. Thanks again.
 
inreb said:
Heading out for a day of riding momentarily. Taking things for granted this thread is the wake up call I didn't know I needed. Thanks. Freshly tuned up I think I'll be good with just jeans, not those clumsy protective riding pants I detest so much. Thanks again.
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Jeans or riding pants, doesn't matter when you get hit by a ****ing SUV. Don't be such a **** head, these riders dying might be one of our friends.

This should be a wake up call.
 
zameer23 said:
It seems almost every other day I look at the news, another rider is reported dead.

Just wanted to remind you guys to just be cautious out there. Have fun but be safe: check your surroundings, watch your speed, do not try to run the yellow light if you see it coming, and watch for cars coming out of hidden intersections. I know most of us think of ourselves as good riders, but sometimes when you get too comfortable you forget these little things. If anyone else has some tips, please share.

Ride safe.
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Good comments but IMO I believe allowing yourself to be directed by peer pressure is the worse enemy, you go out for a ride and your buddy decided to go faster than what you were prepared to ride that day, but you don't want to look like a pussy so you follow and get outside your comfort zone.

I lead a ride in PA that end up with one of the guys following almost dead, mangled against a guardrail, most of us in that ride were racers but he wasn't, probably a good rider but that day peer pressure got to him and he tried to keep up, we all have our limits and when you push that limit **** is bound to happen sooner or later, all he had to do is back off and we would have waited at the end of the road. Moral of the story is, no one will think you are a wimp if you allow yourself to fall back, we all understand and we'll wait for you at the end.

Recognizing when you are over your head, tired or just off will save your life.
 
ZX600 said:
... all he had to do is back off and we would have waited at the end of the road. Moral of the story is, no one will think you are a wimp if you allow yourself to fall back, we all understand and we'll wait for you at the end....
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Therein lies the problem -- unfortunately, as many times as you might tell someone ahead of time that you'll wait at the end of a route/before turns etc, for a newer rider in particular (or someone newer to group riding) it's just a natural feeling that "oh crap, I'm holding up the group" etc; once that panic/paranoia sets in, it's hard to snap out of it.

I usually either sweep or stay in the back half of group rides; I've been part of some rides on routes I don't know, where a leader(s) I wasn't familiar with said this, but actually did NOT wait at turnoffs, or the group didn't breadcrumb etc, and watched as the few stragglers left behind got completely separated and lost as a result. Not necessarily riding aggressively even; just bigger groups where someone got stuck at a red light etc, and either those up ahead didn't notice, didn't care, or weren't comfortable stopping on an active road.

Sometimes it's just a lack of communication between unfamiliar riders, but even totally innocent mistakes like that can put lesser-experienced riders into a panic, who might then try to ride beyond their capability and ultimately crash or worse. If I see signs of something like this, I'll try to take over where I can and either get them back to the main group if possible, or pull them off the road somewhere until they calm down and get back in touch with the main group. Been a few times where it was decided it would be best to just leave the group ride and do their own thing -- sometimes you have to tell the newer riders this for their own good.

As you said, recognizing your own limits etc can make all the difference. But of course it's also good to make sure as a group leader (and as any general rider) to get to know those you're riding with, understand their limits as well, and try to ride with them in mind. Communication and mutual respect between riders is very beneficial.
 
This is why I ride alone 95% of the time. I ride my own pace, stop when I'm bored or tired, take pictures when I want and I don't have to worry about keeping up with anyone or waiting for anyone.
 
油井緋色;2209206 said:
Wtf?! Elaborate please lol
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If someone complains about one of your videos showing you speeding, police now requite a "personal visit" to tell you to behave on the street and remove the videos so they quit getting complaints! lol :(

Unfortunately prior to me deleting the videos I had a hard drive crash and completely forgot it was my drive with all the original sources for my videos. I woulda backed em up with keepvid.com first if I had've realized. Lost a lot of vids, forever :(
 
Never really fell asleep while riding but I have insomnia and lack of sleep made me so difficult to focus on the road. My reaction became much slower and didn't have the 6th sense I need to avoid "oh ****" moment. I don't really like riding in a big group especially with people I don't really know what their skill level at.

I like to be the last person when riding in a group, give me more freedom to go fast and slow whenever I want. It is very unfortunate that this year I have a friend who lost his brother a couple of months ago. I also lost a friend in a group ride just several days ago. Both of them were new riders on a sportbike. As much as I would love to give advise to new riders, most of them weren't listening. New riders (male) prefer to listen to their ego and going fast in front of other riders are everything to them.

I would love to be able to ride like Marquez but even Marques had several crashes. Fortunately he crashed only on the track, not on a road.
Be safe guys :)
 
Agreed, that is why it is so important that the person leading knows what they are doing to try and minimize the risk of someone crashing.

A few years back the leader of a group ride (now a good friend) made a point to stop just before southwood and had a conversation with each one of the people he didn't personally know to warn us about southwood. These days a lot of the good group leaders are no longer posting rides so we are left with the "wanna be cool" guys and situations like you described happen.

But ultimately people need to chill and control their own ride and throttle.

TekNinja81 said:
Therein lies the problem -- unfortunately, as many times as you might tell someone ahead of time that you'll wait at the end of a route/before turns etc, for a newer rider in particular (or someone newer to group riding) it's just a natural feeling that "oh crap, I'm holding up the group" etc; once that panic/paranoia sets in, it's hard to snap out of it.

I usually either sweep or stay in the back half of group rides; I've been part of some rides on routes I don't know, where a leader(s) I wasn't familiar with said this, but actually did NOT wait at turnoffs, or the group didn't breadcrumb etc, and watched as the few stragglers left behind got completely separated and lost as a result. Not necessarily riding aggressively even; just bigger groups where someone got stuck at a red light etc, and either those up ahead didn't notice, didn't care, or weren't comfortable stopping on an active road.

Sometimes it's just a lack of communication between unfamiliar riders, but even totally innocent mistakes like that can put lesser-experienced riders into a panic, who might then try to ride beyond their capability and ultimately crash or worse. If I see signs of something like this, I'll try to take over where I can and either get them back to the main group if possible, or pull them off the road somewhere until they calm down and get back in touch with the main group. Been a few times where it was decided it would be best to just leave the group ride and do their own thing -- sometimes you have to tell the newer riders this for their own good.

As you said, recognizing your own limits etc can make all the difference. But of course it's also good to make sure as a group leader (and as any general rider) to get to know those you're riding with, understand their limits as well, and try to ride with them in mind. Communication and mutual respect between riders is very beneficial.
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Matthew.Tremayne said:
Don't be such a **** head
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Not at all. Still buzzing from my re-energized heightened sense of awareness I spent the better part of the wee hours registering on every M/C site that that I'm not permanently banned from just to remind the good folk that motorcycling needs to be taken seriously. After the holidays I will carpet bomb all the extreme sport sites and work my way down to the more benign sports like stick, ball and stick and ball.
 
hehe - don't forget the tricycle crowd at the playground...hand out pamphlets

••••

One note - sometimes dehydration will sneak up - make you woozy and light - headed. Even on cool days you lose water riding - especially in gear.
Off raod riders know and take camel backs.

  1. Proper hydration is essential while riding your motorcycle because dehydration can cause fatigue, dizziness and confusion, which could easily cause you to crash. Other symptoms of dehydration could includemental fogginess, slower reaction time, bad decision making, shallow breathing, and low blood pressure.
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Killer combo is tired and dehydrated...and dehydration is cumulative. I got nailed by it and was riding in a dangerous state as I now recognise on a long loop through Quebec on a sunny but cool day.
Learned my lesson without grief that time but the splitting headache was no fun......it's often the first sign.
 
CanadianBiker said:
Save the riding for when you're in the right physical and emotional state.
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i have a buddy who just lost a friend recently. i asked him to ride and he was smart enough to decline. i respect that, 100%. sometimes it's not your physical state but where your head is at. and other riders need to understand that.

TekNinja81 said:
Therein lies the problem -- unfortunately, as many times as you might tell someone ahead of time that you'll wait at the end of a route/before turns etc, for a newer rider in particular (or someone newer to group riding) it's just a natural feeling that "oh crap, I'm holding up the group" etc; once that panic/paranoia sets in, it's hard to snap out of it.
...
As you said, recognizing your own limits etc can make all the difference. But of course it's also good to make sure as a group leader (and as any general rider) to get to know those you're riding with, understand their limits as well, and try to ride with them in mind. Communication and mutual respect between riders is very beneficial.
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agreed. i'm a very new rider and so i choose not to ride with people i am not comfortable with and with no more than 4 riders. all the guys i ride with are people i've known my whole life and so we all have an understanding.
 
While I wholeheartedly agree that in group rides, each individual rider should be aware of their own limits and ride well within them, I also think there's an onus on the group leader to set a pace that ALL the riders can safely manage. That also includes keeping an eye on everyone and being able to tell someone that this particular ride isn't for them.
I ride with an organized group and when someone new joins, a couple of our ride leaders arrange to take them out for a "private" ride. It's an opportunity for both parties to learn a little about each other's riding styles, pass along our group signals and rules, and also just socialize (it usually involves lunch!) and achieve a certain comfort level. That way, on the new rider's first real group ride with us, s/he'll have at least a couple of familiar faces to approach with any questions or concerns.
Yes, it's a bit of work and yes, it probably seems a bit over the top, especially for a bunch of slow, heavy cruisers (and slow, heavy riders, in some cases). But in 15 years we've never had a major incident on a ride. Which ain't bad.
 
Every season it's the same thing. There are lots of reasons bikers die. I tell people its important to know yourself when you ride. Some people take unnecessary risk & I want to tone it down from now on.

I agree with trying to keep up with faster riders. I'm guilty of that
 
ZX600 said:
we all have our limits and when you push that limit **** is bound to happen sooner or later, all he had to do is back off and we would have waited at the end of the road. Moral of the story is, no one will think you are a wimp if you allow yourself to fall back, we all understand and we'll wait for you at the end.

Recognizing when you are over your head, tired or just off will save your life.
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Your advice is dead on. I fully agree about keeping your head above water.

Rule 1. Ride your own pace. Who cares who thinks what. There is no problem with that. Some people panic and think they're holding you up. Some have an ego and think "if he can do that so can I" I always tell people ride your own pace and if there's a turn or it's been a while someone will stop and wait.


Example: someone leads a ride to a road they've personally ridden over 1000 times. No one else has ever been on that road. Would you try to keep up? Likely no. If your answer was yes hang up the lid or don't group ride.

Sure there's been a lot of accidents and deaths this year and while some involving the actions of others are tragic, some of them are or would have been avoidable should people calm down, ride at a decent pace and be aware of their surroundings.
 
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