Three Words To Improve Your Riding Skills

I was out for a ride on a rare, warm winter day recently, and making a left-hand turn onto a side road, I found myself suddenly stopping behind a small transport van. There was a gas station entrance to the right, and opposite on the left was the entrance/exit for a restaurant. In the moment, I considered a quick skirt to the right around the van, so I could continue on my way. But further examination halted my impulse. I glimpsed a black pickup truck out ahead, coming the opposite way, and a small silver sedan stopped at the restaurant exit. The transport van was waiting to make a left into the restaurant parking lot, while the black truck suddenly took its left into the gas station lot. Had I not paused before making an impulsive move, I would’ve been broadsided by the pickup truck. A little awareness and prudence quite possibly saved my life.

I thought about that potential scenario later in the day, and three words of great importance to motorcyclists occurred to me-

Awake, Alert, Aware

Pondering these, I decided to expound and share some reminders we all could use in this winter season before riding resumes this year.

AWAKE

Riding a motorcycle demands undivided attention, being totally focused in the moment. If you’re tired, distracted, disgruntled about something, or otherwise impaired, your chances of an incident out on the road (or in the dirt) rise dramatically. Being fully awake isn’t just waking up after sleep or a nap; it means to be fully in the moment, fully engaged. It’s one thing to sit behind the wheel and not be fully focused on what you’re doing; it’s quite another to throw a leg over and throttle out distracted or otherwise unfocused. One can get you in fender bender, while the other can land you in the hospital or morgue.

ALERT

It’s so easy to be distracted in an automobile- radio, GPS, CarPlay, digital screens on the dash, people talking and texting while they should be driving. I’m guilty of it too, as I’m sure you are. Sometimes I feel like I’m more attentive behind the handlebars than I am behind the wheel. About 25 years ago I was hit by an inattentive driver, and I’ve had a few minor “offs” in the years since. The older I get and the longer I ride, the more I understand the need to stay alert. We have to ride like we are invisible, because to so many out on the roads today, we are. If “cagers” won’t “look twice, save a life” we definitely need to.

AWARE

Several years ago I wrote a piece entitled “Air Combat & Street Riding“. I drew a comparison between the skills fighter pilots must employ in the sky with the kinds of skills we need to navigate down here on terra firma. We have to ride with our “head on a swivel” and our “eyes outside the cockpit” so to speak, being aware of the constantly changing environs all around us. We also must make second-nature the old mantra we were taught in MSF riding courses-

SEE: Scan, Evaluate, Execute

As I stated in that writeup as well as one called “Taking the Long View”, searching ahead 10-12 seconds out before us, as well as constantly registering movement in our peripheries, can become muscle and brain memory with practice. I’m planning on utilizing “Awake, Alert, Aware” across these winter months, as well as my other skills, to stay sharp for the new riding season.

Ride safe, ride well, Ride Life,

Rob

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