Hey all!
Been spending the last month or so commuting to work and doing the odd ride through the city, and I finally feel more or less comfortable with the mechanical aspect of driving a bike (shifting etc is no longer something I have to think about in all the stop and go traffic downtown).
I know most accidents happen in the first 6 months of riding according to some stuff I’ve read online which makes sense in my mind.
I’m just curious what steps I should be taking in my every day riding to avoid doing something dumb. I know it’s a pretty open ended question, but let me explain.
Most riders seem to say that the moment you get comfortable, is the moment you will dump the bike. At the same time, I expect a certain level of apprehension to dissipate once one learns the mechanical functions of their bike into muscle memory.
I keep trying to think about proper (smooth) throttle control and maintaining a good understanding of my surrounding traffic etc while driving downtown (though honestly the 125 is very forgiving to just being pinned off the line, which is fun but is obviously a habit I should not get into for the sake of more powerful future bikes). The only time things felt a little intense was on lakeshore (was taking a trip to the yacht clubs, I believe not far from where there was a large motorcycle accident recently). The streetcar tracks and dividers made for very close quarters and relatively high speed downtown movement, which really put my awareness skills to the test. It went without a hitch, didn’t make my turn and had to do some extra loops around the street.
Right now as I drive my primary focus is on
A) cars turning left, I will often accelerate through an intersection a little more to get out of there fast, even if the driver made eye contact with me
B) blind corners with parked cars on the shoulder. I always aim to be cautious as there is little maneuvering room.
C) cars behind me. People downtown creep up pretty close and I’m getting used to it, but I do my best to have an escape route.
D) lane changing cars. On DuPont (2 lanes) people always flick between the two lanes to get around right or left turning stopped cars. I’ve been getting better at reacting to this more quickly - moving with the flow and checking behind me quickly before making a move across a lane.
I find on these two lane roads with parked cars in a lane that I change my blocking position from outside to inside semi frequently, because I get a better field of view ahead from the left or right side at different times. Not sure if this is a really bad practice and I should just stay in one place. I also tend to move around larger potholes, which there are plenty of on my route to work.
Just some background. Hoping someone could chime in a bit on possible steps to take or if any of these behaviours need to be altered for long term skill development.
Been spending the last month or so commuting to work and doing the odd ride through the city, and I finally feel more or less comfortable with the mechanical aspect of driving a bike (shifting etc is no longer something I have to think about in all the stop and go traffic downtown).
I know most accidents happen in the first 6 months of riding according to some stuff I’ve read online which makes sense in my mind.
I’m just curious what steps I should be taking in my every day riding to avoid doing something dumb. I know it’s a pretty open ended question, but let me explain.
Most riders seem to say that the moment you get comfortable, is the moment you will dump the bike. At the same time, I expect a certain level of apprehension to dissipate once one learns the mechanical functions of their bike into muscle memory.
I keep trying to think about proper (smooth) throttle control and maintaining a good understanding of my surrounding traffic etc while driving downtown (though honestly the 125 is very forgiving to just being pinned off the line, which is fun but is obviously a habit I should not get into for the sake of more powerful future bikes). The only time things felt a little intense was on lakeshore (was taking a trip to the yacht clubs, I believe not far from where there was a large motorcycle accident recently). The streetcar tracks and dividers made for very close quarters and relatively high speed downtown movement, which really put my awareness skills to the test. It went without a hitch, didn’t make my turn and had to do some extra loops around the street.
Right now as I drive my primary focus is on
A) cars turning left, I will often accelerate through an intersection a little more to get out of there fast, even if the driver made eye contact with me
B) blind corners with parked cars on the shoulder. I always aim to be cautious as there is little maneuvering room.
C) cars behind me. People downtown creep up pretty close and I’m getting used to it, but I do my best to have an escape route.
D) lane changing cars. On DuPont (2 lanes) people always flick between the two lanes to get around right or left turning stopped cars. I’ve been getting better at reacting to this more quickly - moving with the flow and checking behind me quickly before making a move across a lane.
I find on these two lane roads with parked cars in a lane that I change my blocking position from outside to inside semi frequently, because I get a better field of view ahead from the left or right side at different times. Not sure if this is a really bad practice and I should just stay in one place. I also tend to move around larger potholes, which there are plenty of on my route to work.
Just some background. Hoping someone could chime in a bit on possible steps to take or if any of these behaviours need to be altered for long term skill development.