19-12-11, 08:27 AM
Grahamm
Couple of things...while I am no Keith Code....I have ridden very fast indeed in the past ..even been blackflagged once for speeding on a trackday :lol ...but I do see myself as being one of the lucky ones, being still here today ....many experiment and end in disaster.I put it down to not just having a guardian angel, but an ordered and self critical approach to my own bike training. If I want to develop a skill, I empirically do so, and search out sources of info. A bit diffrent to dodging traffic on mopeds for sure. I started off small and moved through various training schools.I suppose at one point I was " fast", maybe even felt impregnable, I was so " good" ...but it all ended when I had my big crash, a silly smidsy at legal speeds ( 40 mph). That really brought home just how terminal and disastrous for my family , any mistake I made would be at the daft road speeds I had done b4. A road to damascus moment I spose, and it really calmed my desire for speed for its sake alone.
Hence why I preach a bit when I maybe see guys who are what I was like when I was starting out , and why I chuck in my twopenneth to see if it helps at all....
I still like to ride fast , but do so at my bidding , in my environment, and call it a day when I choose to. It swhy I like to ride alone or in very small groups...so I call the shots.
My advice is to try atrackday, its agreat environment to build up yer speed, and tuition is available to help you learn braking points, apexes etc. You also will gain so much confidance in machine control and knowledge of what the bike can do. Hopefully this will help on the road, so if you do encounter that moment at the limit where you might have hesitated and gone a cropper, you will know just what both you an dthe bike can do.Its not something best learnt on the road itself (IMO)... and certainly stuff you wont get taught by the IAM. ! 8)
Couple of things...while I am no Keith Code....I have ridden very fast indeed in the past ..even been blackflagged once for speeding on a trackday :lol ...but I do see myself as being one of the lucky ones, being still here today ....many experiment and end in disaster.I put it down to not just having a guardian angel, but an ordered and self critical approach to my own bike training. If I want to develop a skill, I empirically do so, and search out sources of info. A bit diffrent to dodging traffic on mopeds for sure. I started off small and moved through various training schools.I suppose at one point I was " fast", maybe even felt impregnable, I was so " good" ...but it all ended when I had my big crash, a silly smidsy at legal speeds ( 40 mph). That really brought home just how terminal and disastrous for my family , any mistake I made would be at the daft road speeds I had done b4. A road to damascus moment I spose, and it really calmed my desire for speed for its sake alone.
Hence why I preach a bit when I maybe see guys who are what I was like when I was starting out , and why I chuck in my twopenneth to see if it helps at all....
I still like to ride fast , but do so at my bidding , in my environment, and call it a day when I choose to. It swhy I like to ride alone or in very small groups...so I call the shots.
My advice is to try atrackday, its agreat environment to build up yer speed, and tuition is available to help you learn braking points, apexes etc. You also will gain so much confidance in machine control and knowledge of what the bike can do. Hopefully this will help on the road, so if you do encounter that moment at the limit where you might have hesitated and gone a cropper, you will know just what both you an dthe bike can do.Its not something best learnt on the road itself (IMO)... and certainly stuff you wont get taught by the IAM. ! 8)