Today was my first time on the road with my GS!

[Kokopellian]

I FINALLY rode for real today!  Man it was great!  WOW!  My friend was with me the entire time and I do have my permit so it's all legit.  I've really paid attention to the lessons plus I've read a lot on motorcycling and I've recieved a ton of info. from these boards.  It was super!  It REALLY is different riding with traffic and at speed as opposed to the parking lot and on neighborhood roads.  In the neighborhood I never exceeded 25-30mph.  Today my friend gradually got me up to speeds of 60-70mph.  I was confident, but not too confident.  I surely realized that we are definitely on our own as bikers out there!  My travels included following:  I survived a lady tailgating me by less than 4ft!  She was such a Buddha Loves You!  I was going about 45 in a 35 on a one lane road and she didn't care!  I was soo pissed!  It was scarry because she was in an SUV and there would have been no way she woulda stopped if I had to brake for some reason.  I accelerated way past the speed limit and pulled off the road when I had the chance to let her by.  We rode for about 1 1/2 hours and after negotiating through traffic, dodging a pothole and a 2x4 in the road, missing an oil slick, and surviving SUV Hell Buddha Loves You I can say that the day was a success   Get this though.  I hadn't dropped the bike at all since I've been riding until today when I was coming into the garage to park it.  LOL!  There was a leaf on the ground (yup, a frickin' leaf!) and I set my foot on it and I slipped!  Down go and the bike.  Hahahahaha!  No damage to me or the bike, since it was a very slow laydown.  I am thankful though that it happend in the garage as opposed the alternative.  Thanks for reading.  Thoughts, tips or comments will be greatly appreciated.

[vtlion]

Sounds like a great day of riding     I got out today too in State College and enjoyed the 50 degree weather for about an hour, and guess what.. SAME experience... (minus the lay-down part).  I was viscously tailgaited by someone and it was a four-lane road... wtf?  Not much you can do but stay to one side of the lane to afford an escape route if you do need to stop suddenly.

If you're riding in Manassas, you'll have it worst than most.  DC drivers are the most inconsiderate, self-absorbed drivers I have ever had to deal with.  They aren't just apathetic, they will freakin move-to-block when they see you changing lanes or passing.  :x  

Take care of that bike and keep it rubber-side down.  Always watch out for the other guy.  I'll be in DC off and on in the springtime.  We should ride.

[96gs]

yea sounds like great fun. when ypuget tailgated hits the brakes and slow way down. when you get down to where you think that they would realy get pissed off then hit the throttle as hard as you can and leave em. works everytime!

[yamahonkawazuki]

The court jester wrote:

yea sounds like great fun. when ypuget tailgated hits the brakes and slow way down. when you get down to where you think that they would realy get pissed off then hit the throttle as hard as you can and leave em. works everytime!

been there done that, works reaally wellbut watch out, sometimes they can be packin', or sooner or later, these people will catch up to you. at that point you can always tell them how you think their driving is/was

[pantablo]

sounds like you're well on your way to being unable to remove that SEG off your face!

Keep alert at all times on the road. As you get more experience it becomes MORE important, as you get more confidence your chances of making a mistake grow. Statistically, the most dangerous time in a new riders experience is not the first 6 months (when you're hyper vigilante) but in the 2-3rd years...

Be careful and ride like you're invisible.

[Jared]

Pantablo , I don't remember being a crime fighter in the first six months I rode..... (Vigilante?? heheheh) is that a new requirement for  getting a motorcycle license?? Hehehehehehe'


I'M BATMAN!

Heheh... Sorry just having a silly moment...(just having fun with a typo..)

Be careful out there Koko....assume everyone in a car etc is trying to kill you....eye contact does not mean they see you ( often they appear to think it means you see them and will get out of their way when they decide to do something stupid..)
You weigh about 1/7th the average car/Suv does... right or wrong you'll lose in any physical confrontation....


Enjoy and be careful out there.

[vtlion]

Jared makes a good point about eye contact.  I've nearly been run over many times by drivers that I swear were looking right at me.  I've even seen people tracking my with their eyes as I approach and just pull out  on me :x

I think the average cager has trouble guaging distance and speed of such a small vehicle.  When you're not concentrating, a bike can seem farther away than it really is due to its size.  Especially here in the US, where most cars and trucks on the road are ENORMOUS.

I have learned to always assume that someone is going to run a red/stop at every intersection; every driver is going to pull out on me at the last second; every driver is going to tailgate and have trouble stopping without plowing into me and every driver is going to "not see" me (the biggest bullsh*t excuse and the one that EVERY driver uses when their incompetance causes an accident involving a motorcycle).  I'll only be right one time in a hundred, but that'll be the time that being right counts  

[Diderich]

No kidding...this weekend i was pulling up to a stop light, and i look in the rear view and there is now way the jackass in the pickup behind me is stopping, so i stop right on the line between the left turn lane and the lane i'm in, and he runs the light in my lane, in the spot i vacated not 2 seconds before.  I realize that the bike stops a lot faster at a yellow, but this was not an aggressive stop, in daylight, dry conditions...This guy chose to run me out of my lane..or "didn't see me" one of the two.

[Turkina]

Doesn't riding a motorcycle make you more aware of the stupid things drivers do?    Especially since those stupid things now have the real danger of causing bodily harm  :x

Kokopellian, even when you feel comfortable riding, it is much better to keep riding with others.  2 or more bikes is a lot more visible than just one!  And don't let the crazy driving of others get you freaked or riled up.  That's a good way to make a mistake, since it either distracts you or makes you ride at a pace you're not comfortable with.  Hmm, maybe I should write that down and post that on my gas tank!  :mrgreen:

[Blueknyt]

The eye contact is missreppresented, its much like the cobra's stair, its to messmorise the cyclist into thinking the cager understands where you are going, when really its just a distraction to keep you from evasive action while they aim for you.  Your headlight is actualy a car with one light very far away. thats how they see you,  Your siloette doesnt even match any reconized patterns to most cagers, Hence you dont exist, if you dont exist, your not there.

[mayz2010]

i have found just move to the middle of the road as much as possable and don't let box u in, if ur in the middle of the road and they move out in front of u can serve to the other side of the road and not get swiped, and congrats on ur first time on the GS.