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SPRINGTIME RIDING
I went riding on the Angeles Crest Hwy yesterday (one of my favorite local roads.) It was a lovely day for riding, much nicer than last weekend when I also went up the ACH and the winds were gusting, and got worse the higher I got in the mountains. Also a week ago there was plenty of rocks and gravel on the road, washed out by what passes for rain here in SoCal, whereas this weekend the road was nice and clean. Some traffic, not too bad.
Ideal conditions ... and I still had trouble getting my groove on. You know the feeling? Where you just feel like you're riding crappy, going too slow, not flowing through the corners? Bleah.
I'd made my overly cautious way up the hill, had turned around at Newcomb's, and was heading back down. A sportbike came up behind me and I waved him past ... this happens all the time, not just when I am riding crappy ... and he gives me a courteous little wave as he zooms by then immediately sets up for the next turn, a tight right-hander, hanging his butt off the seat. That's when it dawned on me that I am sitting my bike like a great inert lump, and no wonder I'm not having fun. I'm not shifting my weight. (You obviously don't shift your weight on a cruiser the same way you do on a racer ... but I have a bad habit of forgetting to shift weight at all, which makes mountain roads difficult.) The rest of the way down the hill, I woke up and started riding much better, and having much more fun. I must have been going quite a bit faster too, since no one else passed me for the rest of the day.
So this is just a reminder to wake up your brain for riding ... springtime is the time to discard old bad habits, reinforce good ones, and generally polish our skills after our "off-season." Even a year-round rider like me might not put so many winter miles on the bike, and so I am coming into spring kinda rusty. It's time for me to practice & be the best rider I can be. I hope you ladies have a chance to get out there & brush up what you want to be good at. A little parking-lot practice is a lovely thing this time of year. :)
ride safe, Boo
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