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Old September 29th, 2018, 04:45 PM   #1
Koala
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Ohio Returning Rider Course

While not the outcome I had been hoping for, I did enjoy it for the most part. Ken, the coordinator for the site and one of the coaches, was everything I could have asked for. I think I would have been golden if there had been 2 of him the other guy was cool and gave decent feedback but he wasn't near as effective in my case.

My issue this afternoon is that I just couldn't relax enough. I rode Takara the 15 miles to the class. It wasn't bad, but not like my other recent outings either. I was pretty nervous about the class so I made sure to give myself plenty of time to get there. With Saturday traffic being slightly heavy compared to what I was used to and class nerves it took me around 20 minutes to relax instead of the usual 5 or so. When I got there I made sure to pop her mirrors up so I wouldn't be paying attention to them. That helped immensely while on the range.

The class was broken down into these sections:

Locate Controls, Engine Start & Stop, FZ / Rocking
Shifting, Stopping, Turns from a Stop, and Cone Weave
Stopping Quickly
Break
Swerving
Stopping Quickly in a Curve (Straighten then Brake)
Break
U-turns, Sharp Turns, and Weaving
Basic Cornering — SLRP

You had to be able to do the first group of drills to be able to go further in the class. Only issue I had was on the turns from a stop. The tightness of the turns on the course was an issue for me. Super skinny area compared to what I have practiced. I did make improvements over time though. Again, it came down to how tense I was. Even as I relaxed bit by bit, I was still tense enough that I was fighting the bike in the low speed turns. I knew it, I could feel it in my arms/hands. I just couldn't do anything about it.

I did really good on the swerving and stopping quickly in a curve. One reminder of my time at Mid O was when I dropped her. Stopping quickly in a curve to the left. I straightened the bike,stopped, put my left foot down....and it was the wrong decision. I wasn't thinking about how the fact that the parking lot does go down in a slight slope that way would effect me. I tried like hell for about 30 seconds to hold her and then came the slow motion tumble. Now the left frame slider matches the right I got back on and kept on going. I figured, well, I might have dropped her, but at least I didn't run the coaches over. Ken said he's had that happen twice in one class.

The third set of drills is what got me. They of course put the most difficult part before the easy part U turns/sharp turns. It was a right hand turn from a stop into a left u turn then stop. Right hand turn from stop there into another sharp right turn into the cone weave. I was screwed from the start due to how tense I still was, plus that being my trouble spot. Going wide on the tight right turn from a stop set me up wrong for the u turn and just kept the set up wrong from there up to the cone weave. I was able to get that.... I attempted it twice, each time not getting it near tight enough. that's when the other coach gave advice of try using right foot down. I explained I've done it before with the left foot down, and that I was trying in the class just having a hard time with it because not relaxed enough to stop fighting the bike. That's when he popped out with "You can't do it. You don't have this skill. You can't make this turn without hitting those other bikes (talking about the other guys in the opposite line, which I didn't get close to on the first 2 tries btw). This is the wrong bike for you and you're afraid of it." I told him I am not afraid of my bike at all, no issue riding elsewhere after coaching from Chris, just that this is my trouble zone that I need work on. but after hearing that from him I just kept looking around at everyone else and when he said to go again and just try to make it tighter, I kept looking and went to the left saying "f- this" to myself as I parked by the trailer and sat down to cool off. Trying to goad me into being ticked off enough to say "I'll show this guy and go do it" isn't the way I work in that kind of situation. I had been managing my anxiety level pretty well for those few hours but that put me over the edge. I didn't freak out or break down or anything. On the next break I talked to Ken and thanked him, shook his hand. He gave me a hug, which actually made me feel a lot better, I needed it. I really appreciated him letting me try the class. He told me to be proud of what I did do, keep practicing and just go out and ride. He said he's had guys that had to take the class 3 or 4 times. I don't know if I'll go that route. Today proved to me that with my group anxiety this is probably not the best way for me to get my endorsement. Everything was done that could be done to lessen it for me, but I was still too tense. I don't fight the bike when I'm on the street riding. I don't get hand cramps from holding the bars too tight, elbows and arms hurting from tension. I'm just going to have to keep hitting that Rubber City Harley range every time I go out and then take the BMV test next year.

I'm not down about today. I'm happy with what I did do and that I didn't do serious, dangerous things like others Ken had mentioned. Just those damn right hand turns from a stop. Of course, the kicker on that whole thing? As I was leaving I came to the main road out of the school parking lot. Looked both ways for traffic after stopping....and executed a perfect right hand turn from a stop that would have been in the lines on the course
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Old September 29th, 2018, 05:45 PM   #2
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Practice on a bicycle. You can drop that as many times as you want. Do figure 8's in a standard parking spot.
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Old September 29th, 2018, 05:53 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by choneofakind View Post
Practice on a bicycle. You can drop that as many times as you want. Do figure 8's in a standard parking spot.
I'm thinking more along the lines of start doing leg day....this time and the first time (I've dropped her twice, not proud of that) it was the weight tipping in on the one leg that got me. I was so close to stopping that drop today but I just couldn't hold it. Another thing I was thinking of trying is to see if I can get a hold of the one person I know in my area with a scooter and see if he'll let me practice that stuff with it.
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Old September 30th, 2018, 07:12 AM   #4
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Do you think you could do the 16 HR. BRS? That is the one on thier bikes. Or do you think the stress of a class is to much?
You could look into the BRC (no certificate for your endorsement given) for more help.
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Old September 30th, 2018, 08:05 AM   #5
Koala
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Quote:
Originally Posted by snot View Post
Do you think you could do the 16 HR. BRS? That is the one on thier bikes. Or do you think the stress of a class is to much?
You could look into the BRC (no certificate for your endorsement given) for more help.
I think the class setting is too much for me. I knew what to do in this class. I've practiced the majority of what was in the class already with Chris or on my own. The only thing I hadn't worked on was stopping quickly in a curve. I still managed that fine. Ken kept telling me to turn the bike, let it lean, use the clutch to keep it pulling, etc. All stuff I've felt completely fine doing any other time. I was just so tensed up that it was harder to do (cone weave/swerve) or not doable at all (turning in the tight lines). As soon as I was off the range and leaving I was more relaxed. Like I said, I did the right turn from the stop sign perfectly, I'd say the best one I've ever done. I was flapping my arms like a chicken to make sure I was loose, gave another biker the wave, etc. It was a very enjoyable ride home.
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Old September 30th, 2018, 08:29 AM   #6
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So stop putting yourself thru hell. Just go ride on the learners for a year and take the test when your ready. This is suposed to be fun and relaxation, not a fight.
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Old September 30th, 2018, 08:55 AM   #7
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So stop putting yourself thru hell. Just go ride on the learners for a year and take the test when your ready. This is suposed to be fun and relaxation, not a fight.
That's what I'm going to do. It will just be easier on me that way. I had wanted to give this class a try because of what I saw in Ken. I thought with a coach like him and being on my bike that I might be able to do it. I did have some fun in his class. I wasn't miserable and freaking out like I was in the BRS, just not able to relax enough to get through it properly.

I'm going to ride as much as I can until they start doing the tests at the BMV next year and then go for it. Winter hasn't been too bad here the last couple years, several days with dry roads, so I plan on riding then too.
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Old September 30th, 2018, 11:54 AM   #8
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Don't ride in NEO in winter as a new rider. SALT! Best case it makes everything rust. Worst case, you find a patch where it's laid down so heavy it's more like gravel. Also the roads are still hella cold and that makes a giant difference in grip.

Tuck the bike away in the garage. Do all the maintenance it needs so you minimize down time in the summer months. Watch every motorcycle documentary you can find on Netflix. Practice SLPR in the car and make a point to work on awareness/vision. But do yourself a favor and don't ride in winter in NEO as a new rider. Just accept that your riding season ends somewhere between Halloween and Thanksgiving and doesn't start again until the rainy season of spring.
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Old September 30th, 2018, 04:02 PM   #9
Koala
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@choneofakind I have thought about the salt on the roads during winter. These last couple winters they haven't even bothered with salt half the time in my area. I wouldn't try and ride if they are getting the roads ready for a winter storm (they just drop the salt in piles here, it's not spread out at all), or if we've had snow recently but the roads are dry. What I was meaning is there have been several periods in the last winters where we went a stretch long enough without heavy snow to the point where the roads were dry and no salt on them. I hadn't thought about the roads being too cold to get good grip with the tires. If I did go out during the winter, it would just be to practice skills on the Rubber City range down the road. Would that be ok? I don't have anywhere to store the bike for the winter. She'll just stay covered up and I'll keep moving any snow off the cover when I can.
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Old September 30th, 2018, 05:32 PM   #10
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Some Harley and other dealers offer storage in climate control garages.
Some covers are not very good and hold moisture in, causing rust.
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Old September 30th, 2018, 06:05 PM   #11
Koala
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I left a message to see if Rubber City would take Takara since they are closer and cheaper than State 8. The cover I have is the Dowco Guardian Weatherall Plus and I'm really happy with how well it has done with all the rain we've had. It has vents on it. I've only noticed teeny amounts of condensation on the bike, say if it rained all night and I went for a ride the next morning.

*just read the reviews on Revzilla for that cover I have. There are several mentioning how well it did with snow in the winter.
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Old October 16th, 2018, 04:08 PM   #12
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I have spent many cold snowy winters with my bike in the living room right behind the couch. I used to put a few trash bags down then put a rug over them and park the bike on top! Was so great to play games involving bikes while sitting on my bike! Now I have a garage with a walk in basement. Don't know if you have the option to get your bike into your apt. But I had to try and managed to get mine inside easier than you might think as a Ninjette will fit in an average elevator!
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Old October 16th, 2018, 04:42 PM   #13
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I have spent many cold snowy winters with my bike in the living room right behind the couch. I used to put a few trash bags down then put a rug over them and park the bike on top! Was so great to play games involving bikes while sitting on my bike! Now I have a garage with a walk in basement. Don't know if you have the option to get your bike into your apt. But I had to try and managed to get mine inside easier than you might think as a Ninjette will fit in an average elevator!
did you sit on the bike making "vroom vroom" noises??? I would.....

I have gone back to that idea. would save me the money, and Rubber City never returned my call as to if they would take my bike or not. It wouldn't be too difficult to get Takara in my place. I've been keeping an eye on the extended weather forecast for my area. It's getting colder, but no snow in sight yet. At the moment, just getting over this damn flu bug cuz I wanna ride I still felt weak when cleaning this morning, but I figure I'll be good by the weekend.
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