District Rider ED Articles

Beware Of Bambi

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 08:55:12 -0400

Article By Rich Morgan
On Saturday afternoon Sep 3rd Jeff Verner, Jimmy Strickland, Bill and Betty Livingston, and I took a ride up to Chapter E in Thomaston. It was a great day for riding and we were motoring stately north on US 19. Jeff was in lead, then Jimmy, yours truly. Bill and Betty were running drag. As we topped a hill, Jeff saw a couple of deer on the right shoulder and radioed everyone to slow down. We quickly slowed to about 30 MPH and Jeff blew his horn. One went back into the woods and a fawn ran across the road in front of us to the median and then back to the right shoulder and on into the woods. At this point the Doe (fawn’s mom) came flying out of the woods on the left side of the road crossed the south bound lanes slipping a bit. She then hit the median regained her footing and speed and hit our lanes. She went down on the pavement and slid head first very rapidly across our lanes and struck the left rear tire of Jimmy’s trike. The impact broke the deer’s neck and killed her instantly. Jimmy said he felt the bike move about a foot to the right. We all pulled over and stopped to check Jimmy and his trike out. Fortunately both were fine. There was a small pinch of fur caught between the rim edge and tire. We dragged the deer out of the road, collected out thoughts and continued on to Thomaston. The event really made me think. If he had been on a two wheeler, he would have been down and things would have been a lot worse. If it had happened a second later, I would have taken the hit. Two seconds later, Bill and Betty would have been the target. This happened at 4 PM in broad day light. The situation could have been totally different at night.
So what did I learn from this? First when riding the bike you need to be looking for any and all potential hazards. Day dreaming can be hazardous to your health. Second, animals are very unpredictable and erratic in movement. Slow down when they are present. This will give you more time to react. Third maintain proper intervals when team riding. This gives you more room to maneuver. Bambi might be a cute furry critter but Bambi can kill you!

Do you Ride with the Right Attitude?

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 10:06:57 -0400

When you decide to take your motorcycle out for a ride, what are you thinking about? Where is your attention? Are you thinking about the things you will be doing when you get to work? Is your mind playing with the words you could have said, or should have said, in the debate with your boss or your spouse earlier in the day? In short, where is your head at when you saddle up? Each and every time you throw a leg over your motorcycle it matters what you are thinking about. Whether you are simply commuting to work on your motorcycle to reduce fuel costs, or you are heading out on a week-long vacation on two-wheels, your mental attitude plays a big role in how safe you will be on the road, and how much you will enjoy the ride.
Riding a motorcycle is an activity that is 80% to 90% mental while the rest is physical. When you are thinking about the job on your way to work, or going over the list of errands you need to complete, or just letting your mind drift as you idle down to the end of your driveway, your level of safety is reduced. You need to shift your attitude and focus only on the ride to insure an incident free trip.
So how do you make the shift from thinking about daily issues to the ride at hand? Establish a routine that you will go through before every ride. Start by evaluating the condition of your motorcycle as you walk up to it. Do a mental T-CLOCS. Look at the tires as you approach (inflated, tread, visible damage). Are there any oily or wet spots on the ground under your bike (where did it come from, is it safe to ride)? And try to be conservative when you answer these questions to yourself. Keep your eyes open for anything amiss. Then, if everything looks okay, gear up. (Of course, you should do a physical T-CLOCS regularly, too, especially before starting a long ride!).
Next step, finish donning your protective outer layer. Most of us put on our gear in the same sequence every time. Long pants and boots are usually put on in the house. Out at the bike, your jacket, helmet, eye protection and gloves complete the process. Consider the weather and make sure you have packed any other gear you may need before the ride is over,. Put the key in the ignition and start the bike. While the engine warms , check the fuel level. Determine how far you will be able to go before you need to stop for a fill-up. Do you know the route you plan to take? Do you have all the necessary information with you to get you where you want to go? Good. With those aspects considered, you are ready to focus on the journey. Now, when you shift your bike into gear, shift your brain into “active rider mode” because nothing else matters now except your safety. All your thoughts should be about the ride you are beginning., Your eyes should be active and scanning your surroundings– aggressively. Look for potential hazards that might cause you to change your speed (by braking or accelerating), to change direction (by swerving or turning), or to communicate to other road users. A wave of the hand, a flash of your high beams, or a toot of your horn tells others that you are there. Make sure they are aware of you. All the while your mind should be translating the inputs from your eyes and ears into pictures of things that might happen next. Evaluate in your mind what your response would be to each of the possibilities. When a hazard comes up. Keep your options open until you have to choose one– the best one– the one that lets you avoid the hazard safely and without any drama. This is riding with the right attitude– the attitude that your job is to ride safely until you park your bike and remove the key from the ignition. Develop a routine like this for yourself and every ride you take will be a safer and more pleasing ride.
Larry Crouse
Chapter Educator

Perfect Practice Makes Perfect

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 09:48:53 -0400

My father was my baseball coach when I was young. He always used to tell us that “Practice Makes Perfect!” I adopted that saying and used it on my kids as their coach until someone corrected me one day. I wish I could remember who it was that told me Practice doesn’t make Perfect – Perfect Practice Makes Perfect. Whoever it was (my memory stinks) deserves a lot of credit because they were absolutely right. So many times we learn to do something the wrong way and practice that poor technique until it is ingrained into our muscle memory.
*WARNING – The nerd is me is about to come out – don’t get too comfortable!*
Muscle Memory is the ability for the body to replicate motion or the ability to recruit a family of muscles necessary to accomplish a task. You have two kinds of memory:
• •
Explicit Memory is the memory of people, places or objects. Implicit Memory is the act of hitting a baseball, riding a motorcycle or anything that involves sensory motor skills.
With enough repetition an explicit memory can become implicit and automatic or reflexive. When you first learned to ride a motorcycle you were probably terrified because you were trying to think (through explicit memory) about when to shift and which lever was the clutch and which was the brake. When you learned how to ride, it all became a part or your Implicit Memory and then you didn’t have to think, you just did it automatically.
The problem is that some of us have learned some bad habits throughout the years that are now automatic. The phrase “You can’t teach old dogs new tricks” is true if the old dogs are stubborn. If the old dogs are willing to listen then our chapter has a lot of experienced riders that are willing to teach proper techniques for riding a motorcycle. I find that I have to continue to practice proper techniques so that I don’t fall back to my bad habits. Practicing proper techniques is the only way to develop proper Implicit Memory skills.
Mickey Mantle was arguably the greatest hitter of all time. Many scholars have studied his swing to attempt to duplicate it. No science can re-create what he had. In fact, when Mickey Mantle was asked in the early 60’s what made his swing so great, he couldn’t even describe it. That is because he unknowingly relied on Implicit Memory and didn’t have the ability to convert that back into explicit memory so that he could explain it. It is just like signing your name. You have done it so many times that it is reflexive. If you tried to sign someone else’s name, you would have to think about it and nothing would seem natural.
My point behind all of this is that you have to be able to learn proper techniques of riding a motorcycle. Once you have learned those techniques, practice until that technique becomes instinctive. If you are told you are doing something wrong, you can either be offended or you can be thankful that that person cared enough to help you out. It’s your choice of course!
Thanks again for your time and Ride Smart!

Paul Johnson
Ga. B-2 Ride Educator

Finding Inspiration

Tue, 7 Jun 2011 16:30:14 -0400

Finding Inspiration
The great thing about inspiration is that it will be different for each individual. Some find inspiration in a great motivational speaker, their faith, from a survivor of a national disaster or a loved one. The point is, you never know where you will find it, but you'll know when you do.
So what does this have to do with Motorist Awareness you ask? Well, maybe you are thinking about Motorist Awareness, but you are just not sure whether you want to get involved. Maybe you are thinking that so many others are involved what could I possibly contribute? You are looking for that spark, that inspiration that will make you step off of the sidelines and into the game.
Here is a story that has absolutely inspired me! It makes me think about Motorist Awareness everyday. It makes me want the world to take heed of this inspiration and to read it, hear it, talk about it, debate it, but most of all I want them to apply it!
The story begins as we are walking into Woodland High School for our daughters' final Beta Club induction ceremony. It is held in the schools multi-purpose room which is also the school cafeteria. As we were looking around the room at the balloons and the decorated tables my eyes came upon a lone poster on the wall. I read the poster and it said:
Don't Drive While Intexticated!
I was absolutely floored! I do not know if a student at this school came up with this. I asked my daughter and she said she thought they got it off of the internet. I do not know where its origins lie, but I can tell you this lone poster has inspired me!
Someone has updated an old slogan and made it relevant to the times and on top of that felt strongly enough to hang it on a High School cafeteria wall! I realize it applies to a large segment of our population, but it sure does apply to "Generation Text", our current middle, high and college students. I wonder if they even knew they were promoting Motorist Awareness?
Come on, say it again; "Don't Drive While Intexticated!" Doesn't it seem to feel just right? I would love to see this in Public Service announcements and print pages and internet banners. Shout it down the halls, from the street corners from the Drivers Education classes…..from our Motorist Awareness encounters either formal or informal.
I wonder if you can tell how much this has inspired me?
So now let me ask you a question; What is your inspiration?
We appreciate all that you do! Until next time;

Take Care – We'll See You On The Road!