Brakes! - Train your brain! - Teaching granny to suck eggs!

I'm fairly new to riding & have had a few close calls, some due to my own stupid fault, others due to cars pulling out on me.

I can't help but think that how you assess what happened afterwards & what conclusions you draw from it is going to affect your future riding & that depends on what sort of person you are.

An incidence where I have thought 'wow that was a bit close, won't do that again' may be interpreted by someone else as 'ah, I can make those gaps, i'll always do that'

There does seem to be a lot of people who think that falling off is inevitable, I can understand that you want to be prepared for the possibility by wearing the correct clothes etc. I am riding a lot better now than when I first started but have a lot to learn & I'm sure many people on here would think I take corners & generally ride too slow but I'm riding within my own confidence limits & hope that this will keep me the right side up.

Originally Posted by HoL

I'm fairly new to riding & have had a few close calls, some due to my own stupid fault, others due to cars pulling out on me.

I can't help but think that how you assess what happened afterwards & what conclusions you draw from it is going to affect your future riding & that depends on what sort of person you are.

An incidence where I have thought 'wow that was a bit close, won't do that again' may be interpreted by someone else as 'ah, I can make those gaps, i'll always do that'

There does seem to be a lot of people who think that falling off is inevitable, I can understand that you want to be prepared for the possibility by wearing the correct clothes etc. I am riding a lot better now than when I first started but have a lot to learn & I'm sure many people on here would think I take corners & generally ride too slow but I'm riding within my own confidence limits & hope that this will keep me the right side up.

Mate, Bolox to what anyone else thinks, it's your bike that you will be repairing should it go wrong, your body that will hurt so you ride as you want.
Many a rider has binned it trying to keep up with quicker more experienced riders far outside their comfort / skill zone.

Originally Posted by specialone

Mate, Bolox to what anyone else thinks, it's your bike that you will be repairing should it go wrong, your body that will hurt so you ride as you want.
Many a rider has binned it trying to keep up with quicker more experienced riders far outside their comfort / skill zone.

Exactly what I was saying, in the same way that I wear Hi-viz, mostly white helmet & have my headlight on all the time. As much as some may take the pi$$ for all I know it may have already saved my life.

I'm more than happy to be riding on my own rather than be pushed into making mistakes through group pressure

Sometimes the dangers come from behind and there's bugger all you can do to avoid it.
Riding back from Dover on Saturday, approaching an island just off the M25, Im just about to filter through a gap of cars, checked my mirror as I had somebody with me riding behind, when a fecking dik on an old yam cam from nowhere to squeeze through the ever decreasing gap at probably 50+ mph when everyone else including me was doing less than 20, how he missed me I don't know.
I was still shaking from pure anger 30 mins later, I was hoping he'd get hung up in traffic so I'd catch him up. If he would had me off my bike, no ifs, no buts, I would've hurt him badly for his reckless riding.

People in London ride/ drive like complete tw4ts, I seen more poor driving / riding in 15 mins of uk roads than I did in 10 days of French roads.

Originally Posted by HoL

Exactly what I was saying, in the same way that I wear Hi-viz, mostly white helmet & have my headlight on all the time. As much as some may take the pi$$ for all I know it may have already saved my life.

I'm more than happy to be riding on my own rather than be pushed into making mistakes through group pressure

Don't feel pressured riding with others, if they are good people they will make allowances and wait for you.
Most people I ride with know I won't ride stupidly fast and do 130 mph between corners, I ride at my pace and that's that, if they don't wanna wait then I won't ride with them.

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by thulfi

Making sure your stopping distance is in sight doesn't mean you can control your path or what is around the corner.

You're not in control of your path if some mug in a beemer decided to overtake on the blind corner that you're riding into it, regardless of wether you can see your stopping distance.

If you can stop in the distance you can see to be clear then you have the decision to make your path end right there, hell if necessary turn it round on the stand and ride back in the opposite direction. That's about as much control over your path as you can have!

You can't control the idiots coming the other way but "stop in distance you can see to be clear" gives you a better chance of making a dive for the verge or whatever to avoid them. But still, that's a risk you can't really control, just one to accept and do your best to give yourself a slim chance of avoiding.

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by dizzyblonde

Funnily enough, half of the advice givers aren't actually suitably qualified to hand it out.

BS.
Anyone who has a working brain and relevant facts at their command is worth listening to. If you think a bit of paper is what makes the difference then you must have a room temperature IQ or an insultingly low opinion of people's points of view. Or both.

Are you saying you know best for all the people who may or may not read this? That's just arrogant.

[Bibio]

if its going to happen then there is nothing you can do about it..

soooooo....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlBiLNN1NhQ

[dizzyblonde]

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

Dizz, you know I think you're a great rider whether or not your the quickest or most 'talented' (whatever that means) your accident record is testament to your riding ability. This post is not intended to upset you, but...

You don't agree with riding advice being given on forums.

We got the message dear, you've said it in 4 different posts, digested and understood by all on the thread I think, it's starting to sound a bit broken record.

No offense taken at all Ralph..............but for the record....it might be a bit broken, but no more broken than anyone elses

[dizzyblonde]

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

BS.
Anyone who has a working brain and relevant facts at their command is worth listening to. If you think a bit of paper is what makes the difference then you must have a room temperature IQ or an insultingly low opinion of people's points of view. Or both.

Are you saying you know best for all the people who may or may not read this? That's just arrogant.

Hmm, ok, no more arrogant or insulting than your POV Mechanical advice yes....riding...no. Are you a ROSPA qualifed rider, who trains others? No, are you an IAMs assessor that trains others, no....are you a Bike Copper...no, a Motorcycle instructor...no I'd prefer to take advice from those sort of people over yourself. No offense.

I don't give out advice. I give a recant of experiences....theres a difference.