For most of us another season has come to an end. Only diehards like my friend on his BMW will ride on into those forbidding frigid mornings with his heated seat, heated hand grips and suited up to the max. In a way I admire his tenacity but for the rest of us the bike has been put up for the winter and its time to sit back and dream of the season to come. I feel fortunate that this has been my very first season and before looking ahead I can’t help but do a quick look back on the season just past.
In David Hough’s book Proficient Motorcycling he mentions that in England they make you have a big letter L on the back of your bike if you are just a ‘learner.’ He even goes so far as to suggest that until you have logged 3 years or 20,000 miles of street time you are still a novice. After looking at my odometer on the first season I didn’t even make a dent in those first 20,000! Don’t get me wrong, I have no illusions of being some great experienced motorcyclist after just one season. Never-the-less I can’t help but look back on this first riding season with a great deal of satisfaction and sense of accomplishment. There are three areas that I grew in this season that are fundamental to each of us as riders. Maybe this is all just assumed by the more experienced riders out there but for me these are the BIG changes that took place in my first season. Here are the big three; Safety Awareness, Riding Skills and Confidence.
Safety
At motorcycle school they told us that if you are a cautious, safe car driver you will probably be a cautious, safe motorcycle rider and the result will be a lowered risk factor as you begin riding. Ironically I have found the inverse to be true. After a summer of riding I find that I am actually a safer, more careful car driver because of my experience on a motorcycle! Even driving my big old rugged Grand Cherokee I use the same search, evaluate, execute (SEE) cautious driving now that I did on my Honda all summer. And it’s not that I didn’t have some scary moments on my motorcycle! I was riding up the outside lane on a steep hill with a sharp, blind bend to the left. To my right was a guard rail and a steep drop off to Dewey’s Mill Pond about 25 feet below. Just as I entered the bend a large truck with a horse trailer was coming the opposite direction on the inside. Leaning into that bend I suddenly felt very vulnerable as we passed. It rattled me as I rode carefully and kept my lean but tracked further over in my lane. Though such experiences can be frightening I have found that they have helped my ‘learning curve,’ no pun intended! An entire season’s worth of caution, head-checks, and the occasional successfully negotiated close encounter has made me a better, safer rider.
Riding Skills
There is no substitute for experience! When I think about how difficult I thought it was to run the gauntlet of offset cones or do a figure 8 in a box I am truly amazed at how simple those would be now. The everyday experience of pulling into the post office parking lot and making the turns to get into a parking slot seem routine to me now but I am making tighter turns every day than any of the things we had to do at motorcycle school and they seem effortless. On that very First Ride I did with my buddy Dana I remember slowing down going into the mountain road curves and being more than a little nervous at leaning into them like Dana was. Now they seem routine and something to look forward to. Counter steering and leaning have become almost a spontaneous response to the bends in the road. There is no substitute for everyday experience to develop the skills of riding.
Confidence
At the beginning of the summer I rode on the open public roads on a motorcycle for the very first time in my life. I was completely on edge and nervous as a cat, particularly about any interaction with other traffic. Every time I rode out I lacked confidence and felt the discomfort of feeling like I had a target on me. The good news is that like all beginners I eventually grew in confidence and felt more comfortable and at one with both my bike and the road. But the whole confidence thing is ironic. On the one hand that lack of confidence made me far more vulnerable because my actions in a crisis situation might have been panic driven and dangerous. But the confidence that comes with experience helps to keep a cool head and a quicker, more accurate response under pressure. Obviously we all need to be careful not to become overconfident to the point where we get sloppy and reckless but feeling confident and comfortable as a motorcycle rider goes a long way toward making sure that you will be around to enjoy another season in the saddle. After just one season these are my observations as I look back at what I have learned but every year I want to be able to look back and feel that I have gained in Safety, Riding Skills and Confidence. Eventually I hope to get rid of that big imaginary L on the back of my motorcycle. Hang in there my fellow riders…another season is coming! Anchor
