(note: i just wrote this for my "blog" only to find that they blocked my blog at work.. lol... so i figured id post it here since its somewhat bike related....)
Its a Mental thing...
*click.* I shift into third..
no, I don’t know how fast I’m going.. its a good clip for a neighborhood, but not
too fast for a bike.
something’s to the right ahead... headlights.
I cover my brake and clutch.. then sure enough, like 100 times before, the car
pulls out in front of me.
*bzzzzzt* a sound only the sportbike rider really knows.. big crossdrilled brake
rotors being clamped down by huge calipers. god I love that sound.
I stop easily in time, and stare down the driver. they have that horrified "I'm
about to be hit by a bike" look... I cant blame them, they just didn’t see me...
but I’m still going to give them the death stare. maybe they'll look twice next
time. I wave my hand a little to remind them, they're still halfway pulled out
into the road, and stopped in front of me. they pull away, and as I ride onward, I
have a second to reflect on what just occurred.
this is not a new thing to me. excluding a couple year gap, I've been daily riding
since I was 18. in that time I’ve been ALMOST hit countless times. I owe my life
to one thing. one thing that has kept me alive on motorcycles for years.... and
its all mental.
before I bought my first bike.. I took an MSF course. everyone goes "yea yea, I
should take one of those"... I read online about people talking.. "countersteer"
and "braking"... "wear your gear"...
no. those are all great things you must know, but that is not what I needed to take
out of it.
it was the classroom that helped me.
motorcycling is a mental sport. safety is a state of mind.
on the surface, I am not a safe rider. I go triple digit speeds(or close to) thru
corners. I accelerate fast. I brake hard. I toss the bike around like she’s my
bitch. I scare people. my neighbor sees me turn onto my street at 45+, pop a
wheelie, and stoppie into my driveway, and wonders how I’m not dead.
I’m not dead because I learned to watch the sidestreets as I approach them. I cover
my brake and clutch. I approach all intersections cautiously, regardless of
greenlight status. I watch my mirrors. I have escape routes constantly planned..
I notice when drivers are going to drift over lanes even before they do.
I am not special. I did not come up with this myself. I have no amazing powers...
I’m not saying I’m great... I just apply (most of) what is taught at every MSF
course.
its not just paying attention.. its a state of mind. I am not dead because I took
that course. it is the best money I have ever spent in my life.
ok, lets get off the MSF thing... that’s the how, this is now.
I think back to when I was 18... I used to think "WOW!! this is great! this is
what I’ve been looking for my whole life! EVERYONE SHOULD DO THIS"
now I’m a little older and I realize.. everyone shouldn’t do this.
99% of the population, doesn’t belong on bikes.. most people know this, and most
people don’t have bikes. and there are guys that shouldn’t be on bikes, that do
have them. (you know who you are)
its all 100% a mental thing.. I have friends I know, friends and family that I
care about... and I know they don’t have the mental capacity it takes to ride a
bike safely. I know they wont think about that car approaching that intersection.
I know they will freeze up when the pressure rises, push comes to shove, and you
have to react NOW. I know.... they don’t belong on a motorcycle.
now... how do you tell them that?
inevitably, if I try, the question turns on me.. what am I doing on a motorcycle?
why am I here?
the answer to this was answered almost immediately as I thought this.. even with
the close call only 45seconds ago.. I enter the first light curve onto the main
road... and its all too clear.
it was a slow rolling left curve. a light pressure on the bars and she leans in.
smoothly, flowing down and curving. a light roll of the throttle. smooth. exact.
precise.. we're dancing... but at the same time, we're flying. corner is almost
over now. ease the slightest pressure on the bars and she rolls back up.. I roll
the throttle on a tad more, and she stands up. sometimes I swear my bike is tied
directly to my brain. not because we ride well together.. not because she does
what I want without thinking.. but because somehow, she knew the mental question
I just had.. and answered it.
that was why I’m out here.
to everyone else behind me, that’s just a left turn onto rivers ave. even to some
other bikers, that was just a turn out on the road...
doesn’t matter.
to me, that was perfection. a dance. art. as good as sex, and as addicting as
crack... and its all 100% mental.
Its a Mental thing...
*click.* I shift into third..
no, I don’t know how fast I’m going.. its a good clip for a neighborhood, but not
too fast for a bike.
something’s to the right ahead... headlights.
I cover my brake and clutch.. then sure enough, like 100 times before, the car
pulls out in front of me.
*bzzzzzt* a sound only the sportbike rider really knows.. big crossdrilled brake
rotors being clamped down by huge calipers. god I love that sound.
I stop easily in time, and stare down the driver. they have that horrified "I'm
about to be hit by a bike" look... I cant blame them, they just didn’t see me...
but I’m still going to give them the death stare. maybe they'll look twice next
time. I wave my hand a little to remind them, they're still halfway pulled out
into the road, and stopped in front of me. they pull away, and as I ride onward, I
have a second to reflect on what just occurred.
this is not a new thing to me. excluding a couple year gap, I've been daily riding
since I was 18. in that time I’ve been ALMOST hit countless times. I owe my life
to one thing. one thing that has kept me alive on motorcycles for years.... and
its all mental.
before I bought my first bike.. I took an MSF course. everyone goes "yea yea, I
should take one of those"... I read online about people talking.. "countersteer"
and "braking"... "wear your gear"...
no. those are all great things you must know, but that is not what I needed to take
out of it.
it was the classroom that helped me.
motorcycling is a mental sport. safety is a state of mind.
on the surface, I am not a safe rider. I go triple digit speeds(or close to) thru
corners. I accelerate fast. I brake hard. I toss the bike around like she’s my
bitch. I scare people. my neighbor sees me turn onto my street at 45+, pop a
wheelie, and stoppie into my driveway, and wonders how I’m not dead.
I’m not dead because I learned to watch the sidestreets as I approach them. I cover
my brake and clutch. I approach all intersections cautiously, regardless of
greenlight status. I watch my mirrors. I have escape routes constantly planned..
I notice when drivers are going to drift over lanes even before they do.
I am not special. I did not come up with this myself. I have no amazing powers...
I’m not saying I’m great... I just apply (most of) what is taught at every MSF
course.
its not just paying attention.. its a state of mind. I am not dead because I took
that course. it is the best money I have ever spent in my life.
ok, lets get off the MSF thing... that’s the how, this is now.
I think back to when I was 18... I used to think "WOW!! this is great! this is
what I’ve been looking for my whole life! EVERYONE SHOULD DO THIS"
now I’m a little older and I realize.. everyone shouldn’t do this.
99% of the population, doesn’t belong on bikes.. most people know this, and most
people don’t have bikes. and there are guys that shouldn’t be on bikes, that do
have them. (you know who you are)
its all 100% a mental thing.. I have friends I know, friends and family that I
care about... and I know they don’t have the mental capacity it takes to ride a
bike safely. I know they wont think about that car approaching that intersection.
I know they will freeze up when the pressure rises, push comes to shove, and you
have to react NOW. I know.... they don’t belong on a motorcycle.
now... how do you tell them that?
inevitably, if I try, the question turns on me.. what am I doing on a motorcycle?
why am I here?
the answer to this was answered almost immediately as I thought this.. even with
the close call only 45seconds ago.. I enter the first light curve onto the main
road... and its all too clear.
it was a slow rolling left curve. a light pressure on the bars and she leans in.
smoothly, flowing down and curving. a light roll of the throttle. smooth. exact.
precise.. we're dancing... but at the same time, we're flying. corner is almost
over now. ease the slightest pressure on the bars and she rolls back up.. I roll
the throttle on a tad more, and she stands up. sometimes I swear my bike is tied
directly to my brain. not because we ride well together.. not because she does
what I want without thinking.. but because somehow, she knew the mental question
I just had.. and answered it.
that was why I’m out here.
to everyone else behind me, that’s just a left turn onto rivers ave. even to some
other bikers, that was just a turn out on the road...
doesn’t matter.
to me, that was perfection. a dance. art. as good as sex, and as addicting as
crack... and its all 100% mental.
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