Take Me Home Country Roads
Riding Safety Tips: When it comes to riding the only direction to the graph is upwards. But with this are also a lot of accidents and disheartening deaths. Biking may be one of the most dangerous hobbies you may get into. Close calls are likely too. But in the end it’s the family that suffers and close friends that miss you.
So it is really important for you to be safe and come back to your family. For that baby waiting to jump into your arms and listen to your story or your dog just waiting to see you and lick your face.
I can say from personal experience that, I too was one of those I don’t care kind off rider so I can relate but times change and things change. Yes the ride is to have fun, feel free, leave your worries behind, well at least till you return. Especially in India the death rate is too high. With people not following traffic rules a bit too often and yes the most obvious thing is our awesome road conditions. So it is really important for you the rider to keep yourself safe.
You must have seen the meme and relate too,
That is very true. Let’s make a list of 6 Riding Safety Tips that you can keep in mind that can get you back home ringing the doorbell alive.
- Ride in your comfort zone.
This is the 1st step. A safety riding tip to always remember is that each rider is different, some are slow riders, some like me keep the speed varying, some are fast riders. Now ride in your comfort zone. Never try to race with someone or vice versa. If you are a slow rider, stick to it. Do not try to keep up with someone. That is just asking for trouble. Some of us vary as keeping constant speed may make us drowsy. Also maintain speed according to the traffic around because always remember. The road is full of Idiots. There are a lot of car drivers or bike riders that get excited seeing a big bike. Let them go. You just chill.
Do not get aggravated or carried away by other riders.
This is kinda the part of the 1st point. When you do this your focus goes onto the other rider and there is just disaster waiting to happen. Always keep focus on yourself and your surroundings.
- Get comfortable and in sync with your bike.
Many riders take this point lightly. Get to know your bike. It’s like the sync in Avatar.
Become one with your vehicle. This helps you, when you know the pros and cons and dept. of how your bike handles and behaves in diff situation. You may have the best of bikes, but if it isn’t a part of you. It is a bad sign. For example I love faired super sport bikes , but I couldn’t ride one or use even 1\3rd of its potential if I tried to ride one. So here looks aren’t everything. Take your bike for training programs whether it’s off-road, basic riding or track days, this helps you get to learn more about your bike. Maybe sit with the technician at the SVC and ask him what has worn out more due to your riding style.
- Wear Good Riding Gear
One of the most important riding safety tip is Riding Gear, Yes! good gear cost a lot but also focus on comfort and safety rating. Sometimes a 16k helmet is 5 star rated in a crash test and a 40k helmet isn’t. The more expensive the better, lighter , the material but at times keep safety in mind. Have good protectors. You may or may not spend much on the jacket or pants but put that little extra moolah in and get good armour. You will not realise how important this is till an incident happens. Each material has it own pros and cons and you have to decide what is idea for the type of riding you are going to do. You should feel like a superhero in the suit not a mummy that was recently excavated.
- Be aware of your surroundings,
Keep an eye on at least 4-5 vehicles around you or your close proximity surroundings. Also in case you are riding fast don’t just focus on the vehicle in front but 4-5 vehicles ahead too. As a movement can cause a rippling effect and trust me you don’t want to be a part of the chain reaction. Also, Animals specially our beloved doggos. They have a tendency to air straight for your bike. So be aware.
Splits in the Divider on highways
Highways are places where most of the riders exceed speed limits. This is because of vast open stretches. But sometimes there is an opening in the divider and a vehicle suddenly decides to turn, that is when you realise you are closer to God than ever. Lot of bikers rear end or T-bone into vehicles.
So remember. If there is an opening in the divider to slow down, irrespective you may never know what vehicle may decide to come in front of the opposite side or vehicle parallel to you may want to switch directions.
- Know your Route
Most of the time we ride regularly on the same route. At least the breakfast rides, sometimes roads are straight, sometimes with potholes and sometimes with sudden dips and rises and curves. And in those sometimes our overconfidence can lead to some mishaps due to those road situation. For example One of the roads I ride has a sudden rise and dip, but the dip is a right and I have seen riders go straight out when it wasn’t anticipated or may be forgotten. A good riding safety tip to remember is Know Your Route and be aware of where you can enjoy the speed and where you need to keep the speedo in check.
- As far as possible, have a riding buddy.
Like any relationship a riding partner is one of the best things to have. Makes the journey fun with stupid conversations, the both of you or more can keep each other aware of the surroundings and look after one another in case of problems. I have been very fortunate to ride with different groups. Especially one called LOST. It is fun to have new experiences, but being able to share those is God’s gift to a rider. Another riding safety tip is a communication device is another boon to the world of biking. It helps keep a track of one another in current situation and if any kind of odd feel you can always make it known to your team and come to a halt before some goes majorly wrong.
Ride Hard Ride Safe and Stay Alive.Â
