Friendly reminder

[MrAtom]

If your head's not in the game or if it doesn't feel right, take the cage to work. I ignored this today and didn't stick to a line while on one of those curly highway entrance ramps and had a brief moment of panic. I rode out of it just fine, but that's not the point. That shouldn't have happened and I should have taken the car instead.

On the way home, a dude looked like he was gonna jump in front of my bike, so I focused entirely on him. When I looked back at the car in front of me, it was a lot closer than I thought it'd be, and stopped. I stopped within a reasonable distance of the car (~6 feet) but I should not have had to brake that hard and shouldn't have only focused on one thing.

My stupid monkey brain gets tired sometimes, and so does yours. Be safe, practice emergency maneuvers regularly, and don't stay rusty this summer

[Zaph42]

All good advice. Same thing at the track for track days or racing. If your mind's not in it, you're tired or sick, the loss of some $$$ worth of track time is 100x better than the cost of a hospital stay.

[CaliGrrl]

Seems reasonable. My friend has to pick her scooter up from the shop, and she had made the comment that she was tired enough yesterday that she wouldn't feel safe riding it home. I agreed that was prudent.

[CaliGrrl]

And I'm glad you made it through those marginal situations safely.

[MrAtom]

Originally Posted by CaliGrrl

Seems reasonable. My friend has to pick her scooter up from the shop, and she had made the comment that she was tired enough yesterday that she wouldn't feel safe riding it home. I agreed that was prudent.

It seems safety is becoming more prevalent among scooter riders. It's becoming much more common to see the scoots in my area wear full gear

And thank you! I'm glad I'm okay, too.

[CaliGrrl]

My friend has a kevlar jacket and good motorcycle boots, so I'd agree that my experience is similar to yours. Scooters are on two wheels, on the roads, so it would make sense to wear good gear, same as for us.

[VaFish]

Good advice.

I rode to work yesterday even though I was really feeling like I wanted to stay in bed, forgot my badge and had to go back home to pick it up. Was running about 45 minutes late, traffic was all jacked up. Tried to take an unfamiliar alternate route. Mind was not focused on the ride. Came into a corner a little too fast. Didn't look through the turn and focused on the far side of the road. Swung way out into the oncoming lane. Thankfully no cars were coming around the bend or I would have had a head on collision.

It's a beautiful day out, but still have too many other things on my mind. I took the truck to work today.

[MrAtom]

Originally Posted by VaFish

Good advice.

I rode to work yesterday even though I was really feeling like I wanted to stay in bed, forgot my badge and had to go back home to pick it up. Was running about 45 minutes late, traffic was all jacked up. Tried to take an unfamiliar alternate route. Mind was not focused on the ride. Came into a corner a little too fast. Didn't look through the turn and focused on the far side of the road. Swung way out into the oncoming lane. Thankfully no cars were coming around the bend or I would have had a head on collision.

It's a beautiful day out, but still have too many other things on my mind. I took the truck to work today.

That's never good. I knew a local rider who died doing that exact thing on his R3, at an intersection.

[Rifleman]

Originally Posted by CaliGrrl

My friend has a kevlar jacket and good motorcycle boots, so I'd agree that my experience is similar to yours. Scooters are on two wheels, on the roads, so it would make sense to wear good gear, same as for us.

Scooters, all the danger, none of the respect.

Asphalt hurts when you fall off a Vespa or a Busa...

[tfkrocks]

For the most part, I'll ride no matter what. Unless I'm incapacitated or both bikes aren't functional, I don't plan on ever driving for my current commute. I already ride 45 minutes away and driving would easily double that time so I'd have to decide to drive the night before. If I decide to drive after waking up, I'd already be late and probably miss my first class entirely. Commute is just as bad going home. Oh and I'd have to actually pay to park further away if I drove, if I can even find parking.

I always ride everywhere though, rain or shine, so maybe I'm also more used to it.

[Misti]

Great reminder. We have intuition and gut instinct for a reason....it doesn't do us any good if we ignore it. Glad things turned out ok and thanks for the reminder. If it doesn't feel right or you're not in the game then take a break.

Ride safe everyone!!

[A.J.]

I'm the same way especially early evenings. I get up at 4:30am for work everyday I am at my sharpest from that time until about 3-4pm. Unless I haven't worked that day I don't ride past that time if I've worked. I get pretty dumb when I'm tired and it takes much less brain cells to operate my expedition than my ninja. Ride safe!

[Momaru]

Big 'ol +1 on this reminder.

Empirically knew it since day 1 driving, but got reminded the hard way 7-8 years back.

Rode to meet some friends for dinner, things ended poorly and I thought about getting a cab home. Wound up riding back since it was just a couple miles. I was decidedly too emotional to think straight at the time (no booze/etc involved).
About 5 blocks from home, slid out due to cold tires and not enough brakes before tip-in while making a simple turn onto a side street.
Got to test my under-jeans knee armor, gloves & frame sliders. Leftovers in the doggie bag, on the pillion went everywhere. Thankfully both myself and bike stopped sliding after only about 8', shy of oncoming traffic but close enough to scare all involved.
No harm done but delrin, pride and the pad thai.

Still have the armor, with denim melted/ground into them as a reminder.
Since, I have a "are you fit to ride" tick on my mental checklist whenever I gear up.

[CaliGrrl]

Originally Posted by Momaru

Since, I have a "are you fit to ride" tick on my mental checklist whenever I gear up.

Yeah, I do, too. I've passed on taking the bike to work on days when I know I will be tired on one side or the other.

[A.J.]

Originally Posted by CaliGrrl

Yeah, I do, too. I've passed on taking the bike to work on days when I know I will be tired on one side or the other.

Yep exactly the same for me I love riding to work but my job is very physically and mentally demanding, hence the 70lb weight loss in a little over a year
Anyway, I'm usually fine before and right after work but if I ever work more than 8hrs then I take the boring truck. But I'm sure those decisions could save my life or someone else's at some point. And I'm a newb by all means so definitely not cool for me.

[CaliGrrl]

Yep. Got to be alert and aware on a bike. My friend didn't listen to that "little voice" and crashed. She didn't see a car, and it startled her, so she braked hard and turned sharp. Even at a slow speed.... overran the traction.