How NOT to take your first freeway ride

[Rottiedog]

OK. So, Fraidy Dog bucked up and went on the freeway at the insistance of two friends who assured her that all would be just fine. I was hesitant to trust these friends because one is known to be a speed demon and the other is rumored to have demonstrated some interesting riding. But one friend is President of the motorcycle group and the other is his wife (and the vice president). Who was I to say no?

Do you remember in another post where I said I was afraid of getting left behind? Well, they promised me they wouldn't. But, President has a Harley Street Glide that has an engine big enough to be measured in cubic inches, not cc's. V.P. has a Harley 1200 custom. I told them that they could leave me in their dust just by turning their bikes on.:lol:

So, we're halfway down the on-ramp and Mr. Street Glide is already two cars up on the freeway.

1200 custom is being nicer and is waiting for me to catch up (which I did pretty quickly) but then the next thing I know, she's slowing way down. I hit my brakes and find that she is intending to fall in behind a big rig. Problem was, the big rig hadn't even reached the bottom of the on-ramp yet (later, she explained that she thought that merging in front of the truck would make the driver mad mad). :shrug:

Anyway, we ended up doing, like, forty mph or slower for several yards while the truck could get past us. He couldn't move over into the middle lane because there was too much traffic.

As a result, my friend ended up doing those several yards on the far right side of the right lane, almost on the shoulder of the road. I ended up doing those several yards while bouncing over weeds ON the shoulder of the road.

All this time, the big rig was trying to get past us in the same slow lane.

In other words, I ended up essentially sharing a lane/road shoulder with a Harley and a big rig. :eek:

So once the truck finally passed, my friend gunned her engine to get in front of the car that was behind the truck and about to run over us. Of course, everybody forgot that I'm stuck on an ancient Honda 450 and my "gunning it" equates to going from 35-55 in, like, a year or two. :D:

Well, I did the best I could and didn't get run over. We made it the rest of the way to Panda Express restaurant with no further ado.

In a nutshell, one, my fear of being left behind became reality,two, my fear of having trouble riding in a pack became reality, and three, my fear of almost getting run over on the freeway became reality. All in, like, a few seconds.

So, tomorrow is the club's big annual ride. I have to take the freeway through three towns and two counties to get to the starting point of the ride. Am I gonna do it?

Heck ya! :wootrock:


Woof!!

[Dualsport Chic]

Good for you Rottiedog for not letting the experience limit you!

Freeways can be uber-intimidating. Don't like 'em myself as I also have what would be described as an underpowered bike when it comes to multi-lane highway use.

Hopefully your riding buddies can now see all the pitfalls of taking you up on the expressways and willl endeavor to stay clear of these going forward so it can be a fun and comfortable experience for you too on group rides.

:clapping:

[zee]

:eek: Glad that you made it through your ride safely! Sounds like quite the adventure.

Today, remember to ride your own ride. You do not have to try to keep up with anyone, ever, no matter what they (or your own ego) say. Stay within your own comfort zone, with maybe a little stretch, and it'll be a LOT more fun. My ride on country highways yesterday proved that to me. Going fast with quite a bit of wind and plenty of traffic to keep things interesting (including other bikes to wave at :hi:) was very fun, so long as I did that.

[Cyclone67]

I personally choose to ride with very few people, that's a choice you will have to make. But I know I will never ride in one of those huge group rides.

You will have to think about the difference in cc's; but also be aware that gas can be an issue to with longer rides. I have a few friends that are avid HOG riders and they always complain about the Sporties because they have to fill up way more frequently because their gas tanks are smaller. You will probably want to discuss these issues before the ride and have a plan (maybe meet-up points if you get split up, ect).

Don't let yourself get pressured to rider harder or faster than you feel comfortable. And most importantly -- enjoy yourself and don't forget some :LT:

[ImaSoftT]

:clapping: for a Fraidy Dog you sure are brave Rottie, glad to hear you safely made it through your first outing on the interstate. I was a little surprised at the tactics your friend used to get you there. Not sure about all riding groups but in our group we always make sure the newbies are in the middle, so they have an experienced rider in front to follow and one behind to help with the lane changes. And why Mrs. Harley thought it was better to slow way down to allow the semi to overtake you when it sounded like you would have been safer to have stepped in up and made your entrance than it was to have to ride the shoulder much less share it with a crowd.

Hope today's ride goes better for you, Sunday is usually a much slower pace day with less traffic or at least it seems to be around here, hope it is that way for you also. Have fun and let us know how it goes.

[motochica]

RD, nice job getting through that not letting it keep you from doing it again! :clapping:

It sounds a but like my 2nd freeway experience when i had to merge in front of and next to two 18wheelers. I basically had merged into a boxed-in situation or run off the shoulder (which in detroit aint a good idea due to all the crap left on the shoulders). It worked out, the trucker finally saw me and waved me in, but I went out and found a replacement for the 250 nighthawk I was riding at the time.

anyway...you go girl!! :):

[Follow]

you go dog!:D:

[ridingAK]

I don't want to cause hurt feelings, but whether your friends are the president/vice-president of a motorcycle club or not, they were not looking out for your best interest or your safety. Unfortunately by letting them make the decision to ride on the freeway for you, you also were not looking out for your best interest or safety. I am glad that nothing worse came of it, but you were lucky.

Please don't let peer pressure from ANYONE put you in a situation where your safety depends on luck rather than on your skill as a rider.

[sweptwingnut]

Your writing style is cute but potentially crashing and injuring yourself is not cute. So forgive me for being blunt.

<snip> I ended up doing those several yards while bouncing over weeds ON the shoulder of the road.

...........
In a nutshell, one, my fear of being left behind became reality,two, my fear of having trouble riding in a pack became reality, and three, my fear of almost getting run over on the freeway became reality. All in, like, a few seconds. <snip>

:gaah:

Like ridingAK,,I am sorry. I am thoroughly dismayed with your president/vice president. I don't put much weight in titles. Those guys put their "safety gear" on one leg at a time just like you do. So while they may have more experience behind the handle bars, this does not mean they are better riders than you are now or that you could be in the future.

Sounds like you have good intuition. Your intuition was correct and I hope you will listen to it more in the future. Never let peer pressure override your basic sense of intuition. If it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't right.

I mean really,,, ask yourself,,, was lunch at Panda Express really worth that experience? How about the risk/reward for your son? :shrug: Watch the safety video link in my signature (not gory) and answer that question for yourself.

Love those that love you. Learn to be a SAFE rider!

<snip>
Today, remember to ride your own ride.<snip>

<snip>You do not have to try to keep up with anyone, ever, no matter what they (or your own ego) say. <snip>

<snip>Stay within your own comfort zone, with maybe a little stretch, and it'll be a LOT more fun. <snip>

:iagree: There is an invaluable amount of wise advice in the three snippets above. Thank you Zee!


Don't let yourself get pressured to rider harder or faster than you feel comfortable. And most importantly -- enjoy yourself and don't forget some :LT:

Well said Cyclone67. :iagree: More invaluable advice.

Don't abdicate responsibility by letting others make decisions for you. This is the essence of, "Ride your own ride." Everyone else can take a hike when they disrespect your comfort zone.

Take your time. Ride at YOUR pace. Learn to be a SAFE rider. :thumbsup:

[Gitana]

I'm not ever PC. So I'm going to be blunt, too. As a new rider, you need to find some new friends to ride with. These people can get you killed. I'm not kidding. You are better off riding by yourself than riding with people who exhibit such poor skills and poor judgement. Frankly, you going on a group ride at this stage in your skill level is a really bad idea. I ride with very few people because very few people ride well enough for me to want to hang with them. And, equally bluntly, most Harley riders in clubs ride too close. When something goes wrong, it invariably affects multiple bikes and multiple riders because of it. I used to ride a Heritage Softail and I've done plenty of group rides. I stopped doing so when I saw people riding like idiots and felt my safety was at risk.

Please reconsider who you're riding with. Riding alone may take you screwing up a bit more courage, but it's safer than what you went through today. Ride your own ride. Be safe.

End of rant.

[jfike]

:eek: Glad that you made it through your ride safely! Sounds like quite the adventure.

Today, remember to ride your own ride. You do not have to try to keep up with anyone, ever, no matter what they (or your own ego) say. Stay within your own comfort zone, with maybe a little stretch, and it'll be a LOT more fun. My ride on country highways yesterday proved that to me. Going fast with quite a bit of wind and plenty of traffic to keep things interesting (including other bikes to wave at :hi:) was very fun, so long as I did that.

.
RIDE YOUR OWN RIDE!!! I learned the hard way, after someone told me to do this..... it was most embarrassing to come home from a group ride and have to face him and tell him, that not only did i not ride my own ride, but i TOTALLED my bike doing it. I could have been killed trying to keep up in a group while the whole time in my head i'm saying....... too fast..... too fast...... too fast.... but i didn't slow down, and went down. PLEASE ride your own ride, if something makes you uncomfortable with a situation DON'T GO THERE!! get out of it, somehow!! i can't say that enough!! it's better to be embarrassed than dead.

end rant here..... :):


ride safe!! :thumbup:

[Rottiedog]

Yeah, you guys are SO right. I toodled up the freeway this morning - - by myself - - and felt perfectly safe. There was almost no traffic, I took the exact same on-ramp as yesterday (no trucks this time), and made it to point "B" with no problems at all. Since my stupid speedometer still doesn't work I settled in at a pace where nobody was running up my butt I wasn't running up anybody else's and it was all good.

Even got the nerve to pass a very slow car. Woo hoo! My first freeway lane change :yahoo:

The other smart thing I did today was park the bike before the big group ride up the hill and hitched a ride in my friend's car to the event. Sorry, twisties just aren't on the agenda yet.

The only sorta dumb thing I did was ride home with another club member. He's a policeman so you'd think he'd be good to ride with but he's one of the speediest of the speed demons in the group. He was being very nice by offering to escort me home as it was getting dark (I'd never ridden in the dark before).

He told me that we'd be in the middle lane in order to avoid merging traffic and he promised not to take us above 65. We did pass a couple of really slow cars and used the far left lane to do it. And it wasn't the passing part that was scary (I could tell that he made sure no other cars were around before we changed lanes). It was the speed that was bugging me a bit, though.

I think I ride between 55 and 60 (which is good considering that I wouldn't go much above 40 a couple weeks ago). And, to me, the difference between 55 and 65 is huge. Well, when we arrived at my house he said that I was "doing so good" that he took us up to 70 for awhile.

Ah. That explains why I felt like I was flying down a roller coaster track in the dark at 300 mph. :scared:

To his credit, every time I chickened out and slowed up he'd slow too. So, he didn't leave me. In fact, after we got off the freeway he let me lead. That was a good thing because I figured out that my headlight isn't adjusted right and between the smeared bug guts all over my visor and the headlight shining up to the north star, I'm surprised I could see anything at all.

So, I made him cruise the rest of the way to my house at, like, 50 and he didn't care. In fact, he said that I "did real good".

With all that said, this is the lesson of the day: If your speedometer doesn't work, get the stupid thing fixed so your road captain doesn't mess with your head.

P.S. I did pay attention to the post about keeping the damp, rolled up rag in your pocket to wipe away bug guts but I've figured out that I can't get stuff outa my pockets with my gloves on.

P.P.S. jfike, I'm glad you're OK. You are OK, aren't you?

[Luna Tique]

Riders do not grow old by acting foolishly and let's face it riding recklessly can get you seriously hurt.:shrug:Always ride staggered no matter what other riders may tell you.
Side by side is for parades only and to be honest I wouldn't do it then.

Find a mentor. Choose one that is not going to be showing off or speeding. I am talking about a rider that wants to help you learn.

In my opinion taking the lead is where you should be at this stage of your learning. Then you set the pace and that allows the rider behind you to critique your ride and let you know what you are doing right and wrong. Compliments are nice but knowing what you are doing wrong is kinder..

Once you become proficient with basic braking, shifting, twisting the throttle and staying in your lane and turning, switch and follow your mentor and watch where they take a line and when they brake for the corners ( if your mentor crosses the yellow line Do not think this is ok or follow them instead look for someone else. Your lane has more than enough room to ride in and always always RIDE YOUR ON RIDE


One last thing: A bike that is not road worthy IE no speedo and misaligned headlight are safety concerns you should address before you ride again. I am thinking you might have other adjustments that you are unaware of also.Take your bike to a professional and have it looked over.
Did your friends have you do a basic check of things before you mounted up?
Do you know the basic things to check and do each and every time ?

On a softer note I hope you will recognize and heed good advise.We are concerned about safety and want you to grow to be an "Old" rider :riding:

[YahmahaDawn]

I am still a new rider and starting out with a new bike this year so my group riding experience is limited to groups of 2(my son and myself) He is very conscoius of where I am and not getting miles ahead of me even when he could:):

[Astir]

Ride your own ride.

Those four simple words will keep us all out of a lot of trouble.

[zee]

Even got the nerve to pass a very slow car. Woo hoo! My first freeway lane change :yahoo:

Congrats!

The other smart thing I did today was park the bike before the big group ride up the hill and hitched a ride in my friend's car to the event. Sorry, twisties just aren't on the agenda yet.

Good for you, recognizing your limits and acting on them safely. :thumbup:

It was the speed that was bugging me a bit, though.
*snip*
That explains why I felt like I was flying down a roller coaster track in the dark at 300 mph. :scared:

That scares me for you. As my friend said to me Saturday night, after my scary ride, "I don't want you to be scared. I want your riding to be fun!" That doesn't sound like you were having much fun.

I'm surprised I could see anything at all.

:eek:

Please be careful out there...

[lerxstqueen]

OMG, doesn't that Chinese place deliver? :eek:

I'm glad that you came out of that ride okay!

[jfike]

i'm very ok! that ride was 5 years ago ( i think.....:shrug:) and since then, I lead when i ride with my husband, and if we are in the group ( we do a big ride with them every year) I send him on his way with a couple of the others and follow along at my own pace..... :zen:

one thing i did learn last year..... i was leading a couple of guys on the Duffy Lake road, thinking i was doing a good pace for them, not too fast, but challenging myself a bit..... and when we got to the next stop they both said that the pace was good, but slower would have been ok too.... you see, i was thinking since they were guys and experienced riders that i needed to push myself a bit again.... NOPE!! they were ok with it, but i didn't need to push myself and my limits. I would ride with them again in a heartbeat because of that!

On a motorcycle, YOU are the one in charge. ONLY you!! and if they want to ride with you and look out for you, they will slow down and ride WITH you. Leading really is the best way if you are the inexperienced one, since if you falter, they will certainly see you do it, not miss it because they are watching the road or traffic.

[Rottiedog]

Luna: yeah, I took it to a mechanic the second day I had it and I'm not impressed with him. My main reason for bringing it there was the speedometer and he still didn't fix it. Instead, he ordered a speedometer cable and said I could fix it myself. He also said the throttle was stiff because it was old yet didn't bother to fix that either (my road captain friend from yesterday did). All the mechanic did was put some air in the tires, tighten a couple of nuts, and say everything else was OK. So, I'm looking elsewhere for a different mechanic.

Also, Mr. Road Captain and I rode staggered last night - - the whole group does.

He did give me a tip to come up even with him at stops so we'd take off as one bike and not two. He said that if one bike takes off first and the other trails a little, cars on the cross street are more likely to take out the bike in the back. I woulda never thought of that.

I did ask him what he saw from behind (besides my butt) :lol: and he said that speed wasn't a problem but keeping a line could be improved. Turning was fine but keeping in formation needs work. I've been told that I drive pretty straight but keeping tight in with the pack is hard. I think that's partly due to the fact that I'm trying to keep up with bikes that have 96 and 109 cubic inch engines. Like I said in an earlier post, they can pass me up by just turning their bikes on :lol:

jfike: the group I'm with won't let you get away with just meeting them at the destination. If they figure out they've dusted you, the whole pack of them will either pull over and wait for you to catch up or turn around and come back for you.

During that horrid freeway experience, after Mr. President figured out that I'd let several cars get between me and him, he pulled over at the next exit and waited for me to pass then caught up with me and rode behind me. He said that, since he had a bigger bike, he was more visible. So I rode the rest of the way to the Panda Express restaurant between him and Mrs. V.P.

All in all, you guys have really great advice and I'm surprised at the amount of concern you have for someone you don't even know. I've been finding that the biker community is kinda like that. I appreciate all your help and do have pics of my bike and the event. I just gotta figure out how to get them from my camera to you.

Have a great day!! :howdy:

[kari-star]

All in all, you guys have really great advice and I'm surprised at the amount of concern you have for someone you don't even know. I've been finding that the biker community is kinda like that. I appreciate all your help and do have pics of my bike and the event. I just gotta figure out how to get them from my camera to you.

Have a great day!! :howdy:

:hug2:Rottiedog! I'm glad you had a better trip home, and got back safely to fix the speedo and aim the light. We're all, in general, huge safety nerds - but I think more than that we're so excited to see someone pick up motorcycling and love it! that we don't want that to be squashed by a bad experience. Stay thoughtful, stay firm and don't worry about what your real life friends think :rolleyes: and you'll keep doing great!

[Gitana]

All of us have had bad experiences, or crashes that cause us to worry about the newbies. Thank you for hearing us, and understanding the spirit in which the feedback is meant. To echo Kari-Star, we want you to enjoy riding for a long time to come.

It sounds as if going out on your own was a lot better experience. That's great!

[sweptwingnut]

:hug2:Rottiedog! I'm glad you had a better trip home, and got back safely to fix the speedo and aim the light. We're all, in general, huge safety nerds - but I think more than that we're so excited to see someone pick up motorcycling and love it! that we don't want that to be squashed by a bad experience. Stay thoughtful, stay firm and don't worry about what your real life friends think :rolleyes: and you'll keep doing great!

+1

Couldn't have said it better. :cheers:

[ImaSoftT]

All in all, you guys have really great advice and I'm surprised at the amount of concern you have for someone you don't even know.

Ah but we do know you Rottie, well not the you you, but the newbie in you. And that person we all know very well. Not one of us was born on a motorcycle (or at least I don't know anyone who was), and we all have our own list of firsts; first bike, first time on the interstate, first time on a twisty road, and for some of us our first group ride. Some of us made it through all of them without a mishap, and for that we are very thankful. Others were not so lucky, and because we know all to well about what could have happened that we want to do all we can to prevent a repeat performance for you or any other new rider. I think it's called 'Tough Love' when you snap at a child who is to close to the fire. You have a son so I know you know what I'm saying. You don't snap because you don't care, you snap because you care so much.

We don't mean to grumpy, or bossy, or just plain bitchy, we just want you to be safe. We want you to be around, still riding and still loving it when you're an Old Dog, but I think you know that already.

[VStar]

Fraidy Dog, the report of your first freeway ride really scared me, "what was she thinking?' was going through my head. I've read all the responses and can tell that you realize it wasn't your best decision. I'm fairly new too, I had one moment last summer, going too fast down a steep curvy hill, trying to keep up with my Hubby, I was headed for the yellow line, couldn't seem to get the bike to round the corner, it kept heading right at the SUV going up the hill, I was on the yellow line when I whipped my head around in the direction I wanted to go, just like in class, the bike headed in the right direction, no harm done. Hubby saw it in his mirror, I got a well deserved lecture at the next stop. Your experience on the highway freightened me more.
What I really want to tell you though is that there are not a lot of us out there, showing the world that we can and do ride responsibly, ride well and we belong on the road with everyone else. We need to take care of each other. Don't let your enthusiasm take you past your ability.

[jfike]

Ah but we do know you Rottie, well not the you you, but the newbie in you. And that person we all know very well. Not one of us was born on a motorcycle (or at least I don't know anyone who was), and we all have our own list of firsts; first bike, first time on the interstate, first time on a twisty road, and for some of us our first group ride. Some of us made it through all of them without a mishap, and for that we are very thankful. Others were not so lucky, and because we know all to well about what could have happened that we want to do all we can to prevent a repeat performance for you or any other new rider. I think it's called 'Tough Love' when you snap at a child who is to close to the fire. You have a son so I know you know what I'm saying. You don't snap because you don't care, you snap because you care so much.

We don't mean to grumpy, or bossy, or just plain bitchy, we just want you to be safe. We want you to be around, still riding and still loving it when you're an Old Dog, but I think you know that already.


AMEN SISTAH!! :lol: