This was meant to be a "random collection" of biking-related tips, but seems instead to have turned into the set of rules which I use to ride by. They all seem to relate to "before getting on the bike" rather than "riding the bike" too, although not particularly by design. I hope that something here will be of use to others.


RULE #1:

Never, ever ride when angry under any circumstances. This is my paramount rule.

I've never violated it and never will. Break this rule at the risk of your life.


RULE #2:

Do not drink and ride.


RULE #3:

Listen to the little voice in your head before getting on the bike. If mine ever says, "no", no matter how quietly, I do not ride.


RULE #4:

"Only the ride"

This is like a little mantra I use to get my head into the right space to ride the bike, along with the other little routines of getting ready to ride.

It simply means, "do not think of anything else other than riding the bike, no matter what's on your mind". If you can't put everything else out of your head then don't ride.


RULE #5:

Dress appropriately.

This means head-to-toe protection for a start. If it's raining or likely to, then wear or pack some waterproof over-clothing (if you use leathers rather than synthetic, waterproof protective clothing).

Make sure your visor is clean. If the weather or conditions are bad, make sure you have a way to keep your visor clear whilst riding (e.g. a vee wipe).


RULE #6:

Warm up!

Do a few star-jumps, stretch a bit, rub your hands together, whatever it takes.

This gets your blood flowing, loosens you up and wakes the brain up; a much better state to ride in than just crawling out of bed and drinking a cup of coffee.


RULE #7:

Do a few pre-ride checks on the bike. You should have a good maintenance routine in-place already, so this shouldn't have to be too involved or take too long.

I usually go through a little routine before getting on the bike and also whilst warming the engine for a minute or two before setting off, usually consisting of:

(before starting engine/getting on bike)
o Air in tyres?
o Lock off?
o Quick visual check of machine
o Have I got my house keys/has that blardy cat sneaked in again?!

(after getting on/starting engine)
o Check front brake/forks/steering
o Check rear shock
o Check electrics all work OK (I don't always check the horn due to the noise)

Things like chain tension, air pressures, brake fluid levels etc. are all taken care of by routine maintenance, so I don't often check those before riding.


RULE #8:

Don't hurry. So you're late for work/an important meeting/your wedding/your boat's just come in. So what? See RULE: #4. Better late than never innit.


RULE #9:

Forget about road rage. See RULE: #1. You can't win; let it go. You'd lose in a fight with a Robin Reliant, let alone a Volvo or a lorry. If somebody's getting on your nerves or has nearly hit you, whatever; let it go. If necessary, stop, clear your head, let the moron cager disappear up the road and then start over.


RULE #10:

If on a long ride, take a break every so often. Whether it's a minute to stretch your legs, a quick fag or a fry up and a cuppa tea it's important to do this.

Your mind can get a bit numbed or stale after an hour or two in the saddle, taking a quick break is a good way of resetting it and can help identify fatigue.


I've saved perhaps the most important Rule 'till last, its's:


RULE #0:

Enjoy yourself!


(I consider Rules 0-5 inviolable. The others, I'm a little more flexible with).

I'd definitely agree with rule #3. there's a few times when I've been out and about on the bike and heard it (no, not those kind of voices...).

e.g. I've been sitting in a queue at traffic lights and suddenly thought "why am I not filtering to the front?", next thing an ambulance will come through the traffic or some dozy barsteward will jump the red light. When things like that happen and I realise I could have been an bad obstruction or fishbait it kind of freaks me out. Still, I'd rather be freaked out and alive!

Cheers CP - Good advice I'll try to abide by when I get my license

Rule #2 makes sense too, after all, you'd only spill it

Get one of them beer helmets...

same applies to drugs, particularly some of the prescription jobs that definitely make you dopey (let alone cannabis)

I'm still pondering the star jumps



That's like exercise, right?

transpose rule 2 to rule 1, and refer rule 3 to rule 6, no way the voices in my head say jump! They say sleeeeeepppppp!

I always find crouching down and touching the nearside foot peg then when on the bike standing up and pulling the leathers from out of me ar*e has made me ride so much quicker than anyone else


Well it worked for Rossi

Top post. Rules 1-5 I could not agree more with.

I find it useful with rule 4 - if my mind does start to wander at any point I will start a running commentary (like police drivers do) in my head which very quickly brings everything back into focus and clears everything else out of my mindspace.

I've not been passed very long and have only had the chance for one or two rides, but will def bear rules in mind. Interestingly, the day after I'd passed I really wanted to go for a short ride....the weather was unpredictable, a friend had just e-mailed me some horrendous apparently "amusing" footage of people having accidents, I had a million gremlins inexplicably appear on my laptop, yet I still didn't listen to the little voice saying telling me to leave the bike safely in the garage.

I went on to drop the bike in the drive, and once back up and on board hit dense and terrifying fog a mile and a half from home. I used to get a lot of intuitive moments around horses, but didn't expect to get them around bikes! Will pay more attention in future.

Sixth sense, gut feling call it what you may but being open to those feelings is cool

In the bad old days i used to ride, drive in a state not becoming to concentration... no more if I'm out and about I want to be in FULL control..that goes for body mind or anything else

Always always listen to the voices - they are invariably right and your fuel gauge could be wrong

bikes and horses are very similar SusieB - except for the bucket of oats/drinking water



oh and the sugar lumps


Guardian spirits have a very close association with both for some reason

Rules #8 & #9, I would add; Be Patient.

I just wish I could do it

It's all very well saying listen to the voices, but if the bike's yer only form of transport, yer buggered

OMG, loks like i'm buggered then, pass the vasylene!

Just take extra care Faze - bike is my transport as well - listen to the one that tells you to do an extra lifesaver justincase , or the one that says "nip into that service station" - might find a bargain ,,,, or it might start to rain - giving you chance to put your waterproofs on before you get soaked

I'll add a good quote from the film Ronin (quality film for those that haven't seen it! This relates to those moments when your 6th sense pops up!

"Whenever there is any doubt, there is no doubt"

Worth remembering on those potentially dodgy overtakes etc...

Eh..............what!!!!!..................little voices in your heads ?????...........are you lot ok



Geez i didnt know you had to be a jedi to ride a bike

ah come on, you know it. let's face it, we all know what white van man, the elderly driver, the boy racer, the black hack will do in any situation when we're about. it certainly won't involve indicators, mirror checks or shoulder checks!

and no, i'm not paranoid. paranoids only think everyone is out to get them, i know it!

Why when anything goes wrong do we always blame someone else?..
Im not saying that these things dont happen....but were all part of an accident, and if we dont accept our part in that accident then we dont learn from it.

Nobodys goes out in there car/van/bus/lorry with the intention of killing or maiming some poor sod on a bike.

if they don't look and they hit you and you're just sat in the centre of your lane / stopped at lights. and they don't look and barge into you when they change without looking / rear end you at lights, You may see it coming but you probably have no blame for it, they may not mean to, but they still do.



They don't go out with the intention of doing it, but they drive like they don't realise they will.

Have to agree there, especially in London. I think the taxi driver who closes up to the car in front, the white van that edges you out of the lane, the car that pulls out on a roundabout or the SUV driver who indicates after creeping in to your space and almost side swipes you simply doesn't think through their consequences. If they thought about it, they'd realise that what they are doing could kill a bike rider. Most of them seem to think you're small enough you can get out of the way (regardless of whether you should or could), or that if worst comes to worst, they'll be better off in an accident.

So whilst they don't have the intent, they are negligent.

it's definitely worth riding defensively at all times. I know no-one jumps into their cage in the morning looking for another notch on their door (at least, I hope not) but they have so much more leeway to make mistakes than we do if they have a momentary lapse of concentration. if you head off fully expecting someone to do something moronic you'll have much more of a chance to avoid any unpleasantness which may come your way on the journey. and if no-one does anything dangerous...? well, how much better can your day get from there?

I cant dissagree with what your saying Blue, Its just that as a car driver as well as being a biker....it gets up my nose when all drivers are lumped together as some sort of brainless moronic toss pots who dont care or pay attention whilst driving...

Yup, I totally agree with you on that pet. it's the same with everything in life unfortunately, you always get @ssholes who let the side down. there's lots of really careful, considerate and cautious car drivers out there just as there's also a lot of reckless morons on two wheels. i've had loads of conversations with car drivers when sitting at traffic lights, given plenty of , etc. in contrast, there's one bloke on the M8 every morning who filters between all five lanes at idiotic speeds. i'm just waiting for the day an artic pulls out and right over the top of him and i'm honestly not sure how much sympathy i could muster given what i've seen of his riding.

in my experience however, a lot of car drivers seem to switch off on the road , almost as though they're relying on their ABS, crumple zones, dual airbags, etc, etc to keep them from serious harm. they have no real idea what it's like to be a vulnerable road user like a biker or cyclist and therefore have no idea how unnerving it can be when they pull out in front of someone, sit two feet off their back tyre in the wet, change lanes without checking blind spots, etc, etc. i've never (*touch wood*) had to slam on the brakes or take evasive action for the actions of another biker. i have, however, done it for buses, taxis, pedestrians, all sorts of vans and more car drivers than i can imagine. for example, my current nemesis is a green mondeo who cut across THREE lanes of traffic without moving his head, switching on an indicator or even looking in a mirror. that little manoever bashed my left fairing, scuffed my bar end and put me onto the pavement (not to mention scaring the absolute keech out of me). when i got hold of him at the next set of lights he had NO idea what he had done wrong. i've yet to find a biker who can drift off at the helm, hit someone at 30mph and not realise it.

if i had a penny for every driver i've seen in the rush hour on their mobile, reading the paper, applying makeup or wandering across lanes when fiddling with their stereos i'd never have to work again. on the whole, i think it's far more dangerous to other road users to be a prat on four wheels as opposed to two.

*gets off soapbox and shuffles away for overdue medication*

Wish I'd listened to the little voices when I ran out of petrol on the Autobahn a couple of years ago!

They told me to stop at that last petrol station.... did I listen... Nooooooooooooo
DUH....

Been there done that haha. Oh well ...

One thing i always do is as a pre ride check is to check my stuff...

I have a variety of biking related stuff that i always carry with me and dont ride without.

1) Sunglasses, even on a cloudy day these are essential cos u never know when the suns gonan shine (usually right in your eyes!)

2) £2 for emergency petrol. People who always have money might want to ignore this un, but as a student i regualry find my wallets empty when i need some petrol and have to resort to my emergency £2 (which is btw the minimum amount of petrol u can buy from most stations)

3) For ppl with 2 stroke engines - a small bottle of 2 stroke oil. I always keep one under my seat. Again u never know how far ull be from the petrol station or even if u have enoguh money to buy some.

4) Some tissues. Useful when eyes run and to wipe muck off visor.

5) Your bike lock key!

6) Some lightweight trousers. Probably jsut me but i always seem to get caught in a shower even when the weather is dry, so i shove some lightweight pants in my backpack when i commute.

PS! Sorry if im patronising but this is all stuff id reccomend!

piece of paper and a pen as well, they told us this in the army, but it holds true for biking, always be able to jot down a number plate or take the details of witnesses......