Sometimes You’ve Got to Turn Thinking Off To Turn Motorcycle Skills On.

It is not uncommon for us to think too much, and it seems to curse many of us more often than we’d like. Our thoughts and imaginings can be our own worst enemies - even when we’re trying to learn a new motorcycle operational skill!

One of my own "over-thinking-it" experiences comes to mind during my first attempt at snow skiing. My excitement and impatience found me at the top of an advanced hill! I stood there for a very long time, starring down the hill and wondering  . . .how? How did I get way up here and how do I get down there? Finally I surrendered and pushed off! Though my form left much to be admired, I managed relatively well. It was super exhilarating inclusive the snowy cushioned fall! But I won’t forget those thoughts, the ones which kept me frozen in place - thinking about it too much!

When it comes to motorcycling, the same is true. We can prevent ourselves from moving forward by over-thinking what we’re doing. Of course, there's a difference between that and the good accumulation of thought (information) learnt/needed to create that second nature motorcycling mindset for success. With guidance and the good schooling of an officially recognized instructor, there’s little to distrust or question. And most motorcycle schools utilise methods of training evolved through the years which result in best practises. Personally, there’s nothing more thrilling for me than the success achieved in teaching someone a motorcycle operational skill which advances their riding experience!

That said, I had that very opportunity recently to assist a rider with a skill causing them challenges. It was push-steering. With further review of push-steerings' science, accompanied with a simple riding exercise; success resulted! The major factor(s) with mastering push-steering is in simplifying the mind (focus) and the exercise. It was super to receive her email filled with ecstatic enthusiasm in the joy of discovery! Being proficient in steering your motorcycle with push-steering is huge for rider confidence! (Yes, she had already graduated from a motorcycle safety course and went through the push-steering exercises but, like many, wasn’t quite grasping the technique.)

This also reminded me that we didn’t have a detailed article on MOTORESS about push-steering. That’s changed -  READ MORE! 
And here a note of appreciation for the terrific resource available to complete the MOTORESS push-steering article because all that physics can be just too much to think about!

Season of New Motorcycle Riders Reaches Finale

This weekend, I’ll be instructing the basic motorcycle riding course to newcomers for the last time in 2011, but oddly, unlike seasons before, I feel unusually sentimental. My 26th season as an instructor is closing. It’s probably the combination of PMS – no not that the female thing - “parked bike syndrome”. Yes motorcycling is closing down for the season and I’m rejecting it!

Students often ask, “Doesn’t this teaching ever get tiring? - no, not for me it’s eternally rewarding. My instructional experiences have taken me to training folks in the Caribbean and throughout Europe right back to Canada where it all began. I fondly remember when I took the licensing course and learned to ride- 1983, Dartmouth Nova Scotia. (*photo below shows me on rented Kawasaki 440LTD from Mic Mac Cycle.This is the first bike I took on the real road! Notice the helmet tied on? I took a male friend of mine for a ride! He was a tall fella,  6' 2" my first passenger.) 

I doubt any rider ever forgets the time they learned to ride. I recall my instructors; not their names but their faces. They were great folks and one was a woman. To me this was normal, a woman instructor/rider. We had a blast! Instructors are urged to bring the ‘fun’ factor into training. I’m sure we’ve all said “are we having fun yet?” Humour greatly reduces stress or anxiety which some students may have. Then again, instructors are characteristically fun loving, adventurous nutty folks! And that week in Eastern Canada within the parking lot of that training course my life changed; I took to riding like a mermaid to the sea! Would you believe I was the one in the class who was consistently hollered at from across the parking lot - “Vicki! Slow down”! 

     
A good instructor continues to hone one’s own self knowledge and riding skills in order to bring the best to the student. This fits perfectly with the passion – the advancement of knowledge! I recall when I first started teaching which wasn’t that long after I became a rider- I discovered the absence of mechanical know-how. I’d never ‘wrenched’ before. Immediately I enrolled into an advanced motorcycle mechanics course. It worked! I was able to bring even more shared knowledge to my students and engage better discussions with my, mostly male, peers. Plus, I could interject if hey were talking nonsense- as often guys do! *wink*. (pictured below, though poor quality, is me riding over the 'teeter-totter" part of rider training back then!)

No matter the character, culture, age or mindset of the student, my enthusiasm for bringing a learner into the total realm of motorcycling is nonstop! And my specialized focus to women riders, as a woman who has gone through the rungs in a ‘male directed sport’- transmits a broader (no pun intended) language for proficient, confident motorcycle operation.

So... here’s to the motorcycle training course finale of 2011!  Here’s to the students, the newcomers this weekend who too, will make the very same discovery, motorcycle riding which to this day has continued to thrill me and give me “kicks” beyond …expression! Yes, thank you God for motorcycling!

That’s The Way Love “Rolls”

I confess, and it’s no secret that I’m in love with motorcycling! Nothing else to date has succeeded to top this passion. You can’t break us up and in fact I’ve a license as a full endorsement of the relationship – a marriage license of sorts! We’ve shared thousands of kilometres between us and stayed together through the “rough patches” and catastrophes such as crashes on the track. We’ve moved to different continents and adjusted our methods through different variations of the bond. The day we first met is still a perfect memory. It was in Nova Scotia while stationed for a short term business position. I was shy and excited by a somewhat intimidated perception but it seemed so powerful and oh so intriguing! After the initial introductions and we got to know each other better, we partnered up, hit the road and never looked back except to check blind spots!

So I thought I’d see where others stand on the matter although I pretty much knew most would share the same passion that I do. I decided to use my social network on facebook which is 95% made up of motorcyclists to see what others really felt. I posted an update status question that asked: Would u say you have feelings of 'love' for your motorcycle? Would you say it has a life or personality of its own with an anthropomorphic tendency for your ride? The responses were overwhelming! One reply stated “It sure does. It's a part of me. I talk to it like it’s real and feel bad during the winter and it sits all by itself in the garage!” Another expressed “I definitely feel like there's a connection between me and my bike! I talk to her, pet her... and I "feel" her when I ride, especially at the track! She becomes part of me and me a part of her!” There was “YES!!! I love riding” and “I love love love my bike!!” and then just a simple response of “I do. I do. I do!”  

All of us remember the moment when we officially purchased and then picked up our first motorcycle and when it really becomes ours! We also remember and for some too many occasions of regret at situations when we had to sell a bike or trade it in for an upgrade. I’ll also bet that every rider has at least one photo of their motorcycle in their smart phone! I still have the key to my first sport bike. I told the person who purchased the bike from me I had lost the spare key just so I could keep a small memento! It was the key from my 1987 Honda Hurricane CBR600. I had to sell it because I was moving to the Caribbean. The other motorcycle “divorce” that still causes me pain, was my recent move to Canada. Customs would not allow me to bring my 1995 Ducati 900SSE due to emission and engine issues.

Motorcycling seems also to make love happen. So many friends I know met their partners during a motorcycle trip or event of some sort. The shared camaraderie removes a lot of social barriers that normally stand between everyday potential casual encounters. The renowned “biker’s wave” already symbolizes our kinship with each other. Could you imagine what reactions would occur if we waved at every one else in an auto?

The best motorcycle love story I’ve heard was shared with me during my Daytona Bike week and while filming our TLC biker girls show. We were co-hosting the largest “biker wedding vow renewal ceremony”. Motorcycle couples had gathered in the hundreds aiming to set the new record for this special ceremony. Our view from the stage was thrilling and overwhelming from the energy emitting from these ‘in love’ motorcycle married couples. It was after this ceremony I met an elderly couple in their mid/late 60’s. They had been together their entire lives. The wife and passenger said to me, “If we had had to speak to each other all those years, we would never have stayed together!” I guess not having to converse is another benefit of motorcycling.

Motorcycling is definitely my ultimate passion - the way I see it, anything that “starts my heart” in such a manner - must be ♥love!♥

Training Wheels on Scooter Keep you Balanced.

Not ever in my nearly three decades of riding have I seen, considered or thought of training wheels for a motorcycle. But what a great idea!

Recently, when visiting the Scooty website located in India, and having a look over their product line (see article here) I discovered a scooter featured in their line with -‘training wheels'. As you can see in the pictures below, the wheels are attached onto the centre stand- a very interesting concept! I suppose these small wheels and brackets wouldn't really be that difficult to design and it all makes perfect sense. Naturally very handy and useful for the learner who has not had any experience balancing a two wheeler, namely a bicycle.

I frequently encounter this very challenge in rider training —students with no prior bicycle riding experience. Unlike when training someone to ride who has not ever driven a standard stick shift car, training a new student to ride when they've not yet learned to be stable on two wheels is much harder. They need to not only balance on two wheels but at the same time manage/cope with the additional weight of a motorbike.

I think the big question here is however —do the training wheels work? They really don't appear that strong. Nevertheless, I'm certain this manufacturer wouldn't provide them if they didn’t do the trick. And remember, this scooter is 80cc and similar to many smaller scooters, are not that weighty.

The wheels and their small attachment can be removed once the rider is safe to ride alone. Personally, I think these training wheels a great idea! And you might already know this--I'm for anything that'll help someone learn to ride and enjoy motorcycling!