Things I've Learnt On A Bike As A Newbie.

[Hippy]

Thought I'd just summerise the past 2 months of 'relatively' trouble free commuting and some observations i've made and stuff i've learned

1: People aren't joking when they say drain covers are slippy in the wet!!
2: Cars will do anything to get past you for some reason. Is overtaking a bike considered a great achievement?
3: Scooters are feckin' dangerous!
4: Wet White lines in the road make you need to change your pants.
5: Cordura isn't as waterproof as it may seem
6: Clearing your visor in rain can be done by turning your head to the side, using the visor wipe in the gloves results in a scratched visor
7: Earplugs are pretty essential at anything over 60
8: It's nice to nod at other riders
9: Harley riders don't nod back
10: The chain needs to be lubed and checked REGULARLY
11: indicators don't cancel themselves (someone needs to invent telepathic indicators)
12: not wearing any socks results in the hair on your toes being slowly removed every time you change gear.
13: When filtering, watch out for volvo's and bmw's, they're likely to try to stop you by moving into the middle of the road.


May think of more in a bit.

[andrew]

hehe i'll echo all of them, except im too much of a girl to ride in the rain

[Richie]

Gotta defend car drivers a bit there Hipps.... Only the other day did I pull upto a T Junction to turn right (minor onto a major road)... I waited till it was clear and was ready to proceed when some fudrick on a bike came up my nearside and turned to the right as well !!!


Or, take another once - stopped at lights on a dual carrigeway. Lights go green so me and the other person next to me starts to pull away and gets to about 10MPH when this twit on a bike shoots between us and away...


Yep, a handful spoil it for the many but it goes both ways.... If I had hit any of them, I woulda been roasted at the stake by bikers as a "typical cage driver"....

[Hippy]

I agree mate, fast bike riders don't have much consideration for slow riders such as myself either, only yesterday did i get cut up by a nob on an R1 who flew past me so fast he want from a vibrating blur in my mirror to a red blur in front of me in about a second, didn't even know it was a bike until he was right in my eyes.

But i find with bikes when i'm in a car, you let them do what they want, they tend not to put themselves directly in your path, but car drivers frequently do.
And they're always volvo's or BMW's sorry mate hehe.
Just ignore them and get on with it.