Making the call of when NOT to ride...experiences, lessons learned.

[hybridkid]

I started to post this thread a few weeks ago on the same day I started feeling ill and experienced a life influencing moment. That same day I decided to ride my motorcycle without complete mental/physical capacity to respond appropriately. I thought perhaps I was underestimating my abilities and things would clear up as soon as I got some sunlight and air. After gearing/warming up, I started rolling and quickly realized everything was more challenging.

I made it about 1 block before I reached the scene of a motorcycle accident in my neighborhood. A fellow biker from my neighborhood around the same age was hit by an 85 year old man who claimed "he didn't see him". I found out he passed away the same day...only 32 years old and newly married. This was really difficult to hear. In addition to the tragedy and the fact that no alcohol or speeding was involved (30mph road), it is also difficult to imagine that the time between the accident and when I left were minutes apart. It could have very well been myself in this same predicament or perhaps things may have been prevented...

The image of the yellow tape and the black Honda CBR 1000rr in the scene were vivid and I took it as a precaution. See, I grew up seeing yellow tape in my old neighborhood..but nothing affected me like this. Still, the ego in me still decided to turn around and ride a bit more. It wasn't until wisdom kicked in about one more block before I realized I was not "mentally" or "physically" able to ride that I then turned and went home.

Realizing the tragedy of what occurred, it dawned on me on how some of the stuff we never think about can affect riding and how much tougher it is to make the call of when NOT to ride.

Much like running and shooting a gun accurately is bull, I believe drinking alcohol and riding is equally not realistic. I think we all know this and it makes sense. However, I never thought a tough head cold could affect my abilities until that specific experience. What would a heated argument do? Riding requires so much attention and mental clarity, it seems like there are a lot more factors that can't be overlooked when you throw your leg over. This made me appreciate my car a bit more.

Any else have any specific experiences that made riding that much more difficult?

[rusninja]

I dont have a motorcycle yet but i hear alot of things but when i think about all the bad stuff thats non motorcycle related i think atleast ill be doing something i enjoy. I mean you step out for a relaxing walk you can get hit by a car, you can run into a crazy mugger, you house can light fire while sleeping and be traped, natural disasters, health problems once you think about it we are not indistructable if you make a car a only transport.

So if you truely enjoy riding dont let that stuff get you down when running from one thing you usually get blind sided by another.

[bluepoof]

I've definitely made the decision not to ride because I wasn't in the right physical or mental state for it.

I remember riding home from work one day after a sniffle became a nasty sinus infection over the course of the day and thinking to myself that I absolutely shouldn't be on the road.

Sometimes on long distance trips I have a hard time keeping my eyes open from fatigue and I usually find a spot to pull over and nap on a picnic table or even just under a tree. On many trips, I've called it a day and found a hotel early because of a head cold, being tired, being more sore than usual, etc.

I had to take the bike keys away from my husband once years ago, while we dating, after we'd been fighting and he was so angry that he was clearly not in control of his actions/emotions. He drives more aggressively when he's upset and there was no way I wanted him on a motorcycle at that point.

["A"]

My first motorcycle crash back in 2003 was a good learning experience.

It was mid October, I had looked forward towards a spirited group ride with local BMW riders along with a close friend of mine.

I had a late night 'break-up' phone conversation with an ex-gf until about 3AM.
Needless to say, I didn't get good sleep.

The ride started around 9AM, through some familiar yet unfamiliar routes.
Some sections include heavy woods littered with leaves and tree branches from the night before,which was particularly windy.

Single lane road, one off-camber, blind left turn with a large tree branch across the middle of the lane.
Instead of looking where I want to go, I stared at the tree branch in the middle of the road, also called 'target fixation'.

I hit the tree branch with my front tire/wheel while the bike was leaned over pretty steep angle.
Front wheel washes out, I let go of the bike and land on the pavement with my hip. Bike slid off the pavement, makes a summersault in the air and lands in the dich with soft ground.

I walked away from the wreck with only minor skin rash under my riding gear, but it was enough to make me realize not to ride again if I didn't have good sleep the night before, with lots of my mind and take it easy riding after a windstrom hit overnight.

My bike had a broken handlebar, scrapped up valve cover, bent subframe and a cracked nose fairing.. all fixed within a few weeks but it took much longer for me to get comfortable riding it at a decent pace.

[hybridkid]

I use to joke with my girl about hopping on my bike and being gone for hours if she pissed me off....I'm realizing there is a less of a chance that I'll be doing that if I am really upset...I didn't even think about lack of sleep factoring in the equation...Good one.

[250rr]

Love this thread guys. I am very new to this motorcycle thing. However I do participate in another relatively high risk activity...aviation. There are a lot of similarities, I'm beginning to realize. As pilots we're taught to pre flight the airplane and pre flight ourselves. If either is found wanting we don't go. Period.

I do believe I will be using some of that training for motorcycling. It only makes sense. At least to me.

[Mountain Dew]

Well, last Tuesday, I urged myself not to ride that morning because it had rained the night before, and the roads would still be wet. I decided to ride anyway, because the roads would be dried up by the time I needed to go home. Less than 1/2 a mile from my exit, someone SUV weaving through traffic (moderate morning traffic), cut me off, then slammed on his brakes because he saw a couple cops on the side of the road (they were responding to a fender bender that happened prior).

I had proper following distance for the conditions and was fully aware of my surroundings (I knew there was a car to the left of me, someone following a bit too closely behind me). I had to slam on my brakes as well, as I couldn't veer left or right, and because of the wet roads and my (knowingly) horrible wet performance Cheng Shin tires, my rear lost traction, and I went flying between the SUV and the person next to him with the rear wheel sliding, trying to hold it upright until I came to a complete stop (I managed to do so for about 5 seconds), but eventually lowsided, and ended up in the shoulder a mere 50 feet past the cops and stopped car. All I could think of at that moment was the accident a few weeks ago where someone sideswiped a biker, sending him into the shoulder, killing an older gentleman, and seriously wounding his wife, while they were pulled over changing a tire.

I was very thankful that my incident ended in only minor bike damage and NO lost lives, but I was also very angry that it happened in the first place.

I guess that incident now affects my decisions to ride or not. Just yesterday I postponed my ride until the morning showers cleared up.

Oh, and I don't ride with a headache. Seems pretty obvious, but I decided to ignore it one ride. I ended up sleeping on a friend's couch until it passed.

[Domagoj]

Originally Posted by hybridkid

This made me appreciate my car a bit more.

I understand everything except this part. Why, exactly? Do you believe you require less clear head when in a car?
The incident you described happened exactly because someone mentally or physically unfit at the moment went out to drive a car somewhere.

I have a neighbour who is over 80 and I am terrified every time I see him entering the car. He can barely move, takes about 20 seconds for him to turn his head sideways. He is an accident waiting to happen. But what can I do? Someone decided that he is still fit enough to drive, and that's it.

To stay on the topic, I don't ride or drive when I feel preoccupied with something else. It is too dangerous. Not worth it. I take a walk or a bus if it's far away, or ask my wife to take me where I need to be.

[Mountain Dew]

^ I think he means you're more likely to survive a crash, due to someone else's lack of concentration/drunk driving/etc, in a car.

[n4mwd]

I'm sorry to hear another rider was killed by a blind cager, but sometimes its just his time to go.

I remember a guy was walking home on January 1st early in the morning when a bullet, fired in the air by idiots miles away, hit him in the chest. He survived the accident, but then gets cancer and dies anyway a few months later.

The point here is to always ride safe, but don't let irrational fears run your life.

[gfloyd2002]

I won't ride when my mind is not right. There are times when I'm just not feeling it. Either because I'm distracted, which is bad because I need to be focused, or not physically feeling well so I'm not mentally focused, or sometimes just for no reason at all. Sometimes it just isn't there. You don't feel right on the bike for whatever reason. So I'll turn around and go home. Happens regularly.

I also won't ride on weekend nights or in heavy rains if I have any choice at all. Studies on motorcycle accidents show an unusually high percentage of accidents happen at night compared to total miles driven then, and most of those accidents happen on weekend nights. People just aren't focused and careful on weekend nights, and are too often drinking. And on heavy rain, I have similar issues with visibility, with a fear of loss of traction thrown in.

[gfloyd2002]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

I'm sorry to hear another rider was killed by a blind cager, but sometimes its just his time to go.

I remember a guy was walking home on January 1st early in the morning when a bullet, fired in the air by idiots miles away, hit him in the chest. He survived the accident, but then gets cancer and dies anyway a few months later.

The point here is to always ride safe, but don't let irrational fears run your life.

It isn't irrational to be worried about someone turning left into you. It is the most common type of multi-vehicle motorcycle accident, and it is far more common (with harsher consequences) than similar types of car to car accidents. It is far from being hit by a random bullet being fired from miles away. It is also a bad example because there are things the rider can do to counteract this type of accident. Even if it isn't the rider's fault. The rider can ride as if they can't be seen, being very alert to cars pulling out. (I think this is the point of the thread - we have to be mentally there to do this well). The rider can also wear brightly colored gear to be more visible, or weave slightly coming towards an intersection to increase visibility.

Getting hit by a car turning into us isn't a random event that can't be avoided. It is, most of the time, within our control. We can avoid them with the right preparation. It is silly just to say "meh, I'm going to die sometime anyway, why worry?" It wasn't his time to go, it was his time to assume someone was going to pull out, be all over his brakes just in case, and be going the right speed so he could slow in time if it happened. It was his time to wear a brightly colored helmet, his time to swerve to catch the driver's attention. It was his time to be mentally focused on the possibility that someone could pull out.

[n4mwd]

Well, I can tell you there are two things that you can have that will guarantee you will never have a motorcycle accident - smart riding skills and dumb luck. But leave the house without both of those and you're on your own. We can improve our riding skills, but dumb luck is something you either have or you don't.

But motorcycle wrecks are somewhat similar to the random bullet example. In both cases, someone was at the wrong place at the wrong time. As the OP said, if he was out a few minutes earlier, it might have been him instead.

Ride safe and ride smart.

[avneet]

It's funny. I bought my bike specifically for commuting to school to save on gas. I find myself riding it more on the weekends then on the weekdays. My issue is that I happened to have the hardest class schedule in my 3 years at university and find myself slightly stressing about school (Italian itself has 1 or 2 tests per week). Due to that, I rarely like to ride on those days since I know I'm not 100% clear minded.

My roommate always laughs and says it doesn't make sense. I tell him maybe he should buy a motorcycle and experience close calls out on the streets and then he will see what I mean. I want to make sure I can handle and know what to do in close calls without my emotions clouded from elsewhere.

[n4mwd]

This is actually another good argument in favor of 250's over bigger sportbikes. One bad thought and you could end up doing 160mph on a 600.

Sometimes I like to ride my 250 just to clear my head. All the cagers trying to kill me tend to take my mind off things.

But I wouldn't want to ride if I was sick or reflex compromised somehow.

[akima]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

Sometimes I like to ride my 250 just to clear my head. All the cagers trying to kill me tend to take my mind off things.

I'm the same. If I'm feeling stressed or have a clouded mind, going for a ride quickly clears my head. I think it's because I hyper focus on my riding. I think that the single-mindedness that riding invokes is a really beautiful thing. Modern living can pull our thoughts into hundreds of different directions during a day leaving us disjointed and dazed. It's nice have just one thing that pulls my mind back together again.

Incidentally I find that yoga has a similar effect on my mind: the pleasure I get out of yoga isn't quite the same as that I get from riding though.

[Firehorse]

Interesting discussion.
Car or motorcycle, no matter, we shouldn't drive/ride when we're not 100%.

Yep, we're all going to die someday but why hurry that up? It's all in the numbers. A piano could fall from the sky onto me on my ninja or me on my walking route but if I'm in an aware frame of mind, I'd see all the people pointing up at the sky and get out of the way. We need 100% concentration, not 98%.
Every person that's had a close call will tell you.

Had a "get off the bike" moment last night.
Awesome night, light rain so riding for those conditions of course - no massive leans on manholes or corners etc but then it started to turn to freezing rain while I was speedbump hopping. Tick, tick off my helmet.

Tail between legs, I headed home very carefully!
Maybe I'd be fine riding slow and upright but why take the chance? Not worth breaking the wings of my little bluebird.

[Firehorse]

This would not be a good time to ride...

[akima]

^ Awww, poor baby! Those ice formations beneath the headlights: that's tears!

Was that your bike? How long do you leave her out like that?

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by Firehorse

This would not be a good time to ride...

Oh, how horrible! I'm going to turn you in to PETM.

PETM= People for the Ethical Treatment of Motorcycles.

For crying out loud, get a fur coat for it or let it in the house.

[Jinx250]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

Well, I can tell you there are two things that you can have that will guarantee you will never have a motorcycle accident - smart riding skills and dumb luck.

Disagree. There is nothing that will guarantee you won't have a crash. There are actually no guarantees in life, except that someone is guaranteed to disagree with my opinion on this matter.

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by Jinx250

Disagree. There is nothing that will guarantee you won't have a crash. There are actually no guarantees in life, except that someone is guaranteed to disagree with my opinion on this matter.

Well, if you DO crash, then you weren't exactly having a lucky day now were you?

[Firehorse]

Originally Posted by akima

^ Awww, poor baby! Those ice formations beneath the headlights: that's tears!

Was that your bike? How long do you leave her out like that?

Mine's a 'he' and he's a tough little dude! Not to worry, that was only for a morning, the temps went back to 11c later that day. I gave him proper lovin and cleaned him up good.

Originally Posted by n4mwd

Oh, how horrible! I'm going to turn you in to PETM.

PETM= People for the Ethical Treatment of Motorcycles.

For crying out loud, get a fur coat for it or let it in the house.

lol! See above.
The weather guy messed up a bit there, it wasn't supposed to snow, it was supposed to rain. Now I've got the cover to at least get him out of the white stuff if we get an unexpected snowfall again.
His grand garage suite when I finally stop riding will have heat and even a chandelier! Classy beast but he deserves it.

[akima]

Originally Posted by Firehorse

Mine's a 'he' and he's a tough little dude! Not to worry, that was only for a morning, the temps went back to 11c later that day. I gave him proper lovin and cleaned him up good.

His grand garage suite when I finally stop riding will have heat and even a chandelier! Classy beast but he deserves it.

Oh... so it's a Ninja then. Maybe a young "he": to explain the smaller muscles engine. ??

Anyway, glad you sorted him out

I'm looking forward to seeing your little motorcycle hideout. You should make a thread to post your progress. Even if it's just your plans and ideas at first.

[n4mwd]

Actually, I have heard of quite a few guys around here that keep their bikes indoors (meaning, in the living room) when they don't have garages. They have a lot of handicap accessible building codes here so a motorcycle can just go right in. It doesn't usually get super cold here, but it can ran a lot which is bad too. Also, the constant sun is really hard on them too. It ruins the plastics and seat covers.

My pregen is definitely a boy too. One look at his photo and you can see his thing hanging down next to the kick stand. Girl bikes don't have those.

Its 60F out there this morning and definitely a day to think twice about riding. I've ordered a sweater so we'll see if that helps.

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by gfloyd2002

I won't ride when my mind is not right. There are times when I'm just not feeling it. Either because I'm distracted, which is bad because I need to be focused, or not physically feeling well so I'm not mentally focused, or sometimes just for no reason at all. Sometimes it just isn't there. You don't feel right on the bike for whatever reason. So I'll turn around and go home. Happens regularly.

I also won't ride on weekend nights or in heavy rains if I have any choice at all. Studies on motorcycle accidents show an unusually high percentage of accidents happen at night compared to total miles driven then, and most of those accidents happen on weekend nights. People just aren't focused and careful on weekend nights, and are too often drinking. And on heavy rain, I have similar issues with visibility, with a fear of loss of traction thrown in.

This parallels my thoughts on riding perfectly. I won't drive a car on those days if I don't have to either just because on those days when I feel like something's off, I usually get headaches and that's just no fun

[greg737]

Originally Posted by 250rr

Love this thread guys. I am very new to this motorcycle thing. However I do participate in another relatively high risk activity...aviation. There are a lot of similarities, I'm beginning to realize. As pilots we're taught to pre flight the airplane and pre flight ourselves. If either is found wanting we don't go. Period.

I do believe I will be using some of that training for motorcycling. It only makes sense. At least to me.

I agree with you that aviation training probably helps make you a safer operator of motorcycles.

However, I don't see aviation as anywhere near as dangerous as driving America's roads.

The aviation world that I fly in each week is a 99% professional environment while the roads of America are, essentially, an enormous amature night "open mic" session in the worst comedy club on the face of the earth.

[Toly]

Well said.

Aviation is very different - your safety net measures thousands of feet of empty air. In bike riding, your safety buffer stretches from a few inches to a few feet around you, and a tiny mistake can be fatal. If you're not in shape to continiously and correcly anticipate every idiot's move on the road - don't ride.

[250rr]

Originally Posted by greg737

I agree with you that aviation training probably helps make you a safer operator of motorcycles.

However, I don't see aviation as anywhere near as dangerous as driving America's roads.

The aviation world that I fly in each week is a 99% professional environment while the roads of America are, essentially, an enormous amature night "open mic" session in the worst comedy club on the face of the earth.

I like the analogy. Actually, I agree with your post. I probably should have added that I fly a Pitts in IAC sanctioned aerobatic competitions. I just didn't want to turn too heavily down the aviation road in my post as this is a motorcycle forum. Besides, in the Pitts it's not the aerobatics I sweat so much as the landing!!

Now that I type this, however, maybe riding motorcycles is less safe than aerobatics. I've lost a close friend and an acquaintance in aerobatic accidents so it may just seem more immediate and, therefore, less safe, if that makes any sense.

When I fly the Pitts my attitude is that it is my responsibility to figure out how the airplane is going to kill me. If I can't find anything, I'm good to go.

Anywho, my point (perhaps poorly made) was that a motorcycle can kill us quickly if we're inattentive, not unlike the aviation world. I commend the OP for knowing when he was not in the right state of mind to ride and make a decision not all of us would have had the wisdom to make given the same circumstances. Good job!

And that's how this wet-behind-the-ears noob sees it!

[Boom King]

Sad story and definitely a reality check. I way I view it, motorcycling is a sport. I'm just an amateur. Along with the physical aspect, if your mental game is not up to par, you risk losing. In this sport, when you lose, that lost could mean your life. This isn't your Sunday softball league.

[250rr]

Originally Posted by Boom King

Sad story and definitely a reality check. I way I view it, motorcycling is a sport. I'm just an amateur. Along with the physical aspect, if your mental game is not up to par, you risk losing. In this sport, when you lose, that lost could mean your life. This isn't your Sunday softball league.

+1

[TBC]

Originally Posted by akima

Incidentally I find that yoga has a similar effect on my mind: the pleasure I get out of yoga isn't quite the same as that I get from riding though.

I don't tend to think of yoga as a high speed adrenaline pumping activity either .

Originally Posted by n4mwd

Well, if you DO crash, then you weren't exactly having a lucky day now were you?

QFT .

[Toly]

Originally Posted by 250rr

Now that I type this, however, maybe riding motorcycles is less safe than aerobatics.

If you fly your routine at 50' above tarmac, in formation with 10 other planes whose pilots have very vague idea on how to fly, then aerobatics would be pretty close to bike riding in terms of danger.

[250rr]

Originally Posted by Toly

If you fly your routine at 50' above tarmac, in formation with 10 other planes whose pilots have very vague idea on how to fly, then aerobatics would be pretty close to bike riding in terms of danger.

Yeah, I can see that for sure. I try to practice risk management in my flying. Planning on doing the same for riding. Not paying attention in either will kill you. Fast. Although, given the choice between 10 poor pilots 50' above the ground in formation, or poor 10 poor riders in formation, I think I'd reluctantly take the latter. Just barely.

[n4mwd]

I wonder what the actual statistics of plane crashes to motorcycle crashes per 100,000 trips or something like that. Its actually fairly rare to hear about a plane crash, but there aren't that many flights compared to motorcycle trips.

I think that the licensing requirements of pilots has a lot to do with it. Pilots have to keep their license current and pass a medical every few years. Blind and senile pilots usually get grounded before they get a chance to crash into someone. If they did that with ground vehicles, the roads would be a much safer place.

[250rr]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

I wonder what the actual statistics of plane crashes to motorcycle crashes per 100,000 trips or something like that. Its actually fairly rare to hear about a plane crash, but there aren't that many flights compared to motorcycle trips.

I think that the licensing requirements of pilots has a lot to do with it. Pilots have to keep their license current and pass a medical every few years. Blind and senile pilots usually get grounded before they get a chance to crash into someone. If they did that with ground vehicles, the roads would be a much safer place.

I'd like to know that as well. A guy named Richard Collins (he used to write for Flying magazine) years ago tried to do a study on that. He figured that (very roughly) flying in a single engine airplane was more or less the same risk as riding a motorcycle. But he admitted readily that his study was anything but scientific.

Back to Ninjas: I just got back from my first trip somewhere. 6 blocks to the local coffee shop. Yay!

[Firehorse]

Originally Posted by 250rr

Back to Ninjas: I just got back from my first trip somewhere. 6 blocks to the local coffee shop. Yay!

Yea!!! Well, how was it, what did you notice, were you grinning like a madman?????
Pretty soon you'll take 24 lefts and 32 rights in 1 hour to get to the same coffee shop!

C'mon give us the details!

CONGRATS ON THE MAIDEN FLIGHT!

[250rr]

Originally Posted by Firehorse

Yea!!! Well, how was it, what did you notice, were you grinning like a madman?????
Pretty soon you'll take 24 lefts and 32 rights in 1 hour to get to the same coffee shop!

C'mon give us the details!

CONGRATS ON THE MAIDEN FLIGHT!

Thank you, T! I was just happy not to hit parked cars, pedestrians, and random pets.

In another post I mentioned that the quality of my riding is inversely proportional to the distance from me to the nearest car. In other words, cars make me nervous. Ha!

I will endeavor to ride at non-peak hours for awhile. I signed up for the intermediate MSF course as it's been like three years since I took the beginner course. I need re-current training, T!!

[akima]

Originally Posted by 250rr

Thank you, T! I was just happy not to hit parked cars, pedestrians, and random pets.

* forcibly adds 'woodland creatures' to his list *

[250rr]

Originally Posted by akima

* forcibly adds 'woodland creatures' to his list *

Well, my woodland friend, that goes without saying. And for the record, I didn't feel forced. More cajoled. Severely cajoled.