#ridedays — Public Fediverse posts

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I’d like to come at it from another perspective though. Look at the state of our roads. Especially mountain roads which are fun to ride and fully deliver on the joy sought from bike riding, no matter the skill level of the rider. I postulate that imposed speed limits are not a factor in mediating risk of road fatalities, but that correct advisory signage does. And I want to emphasise the correctness of signs and not just a substitute for speed limit signage. A fully informed rider on the conditions, contour and elevation of the road ahead will be more effective in mitigating the risks of a likely fatality. But that’s not all. I will also postulate that reforms in how we teach motorbike newbies supported by follow-on programs to maintain and hone the skills imparted to the riders for the rest of their riding life will bring fatalities down to statistical noise (unfortunate though it is for the departed) and bring road safety to a level just above theoretical limits. Bear with me here. I further postulate that the opening up of good and challenging road racing circuits to everyday riders chaperoned by seasoned racing riders and instructors as a reasonable cost to maintaining a license to ride would guarantee safer riding overall and hence a lower motorcyclist road toll.

Finally – and I can personally vouch for this – track time calms a rider down when they transition to public roads. The effect lasts from one to two months at most, but the restlessness that replaces good judgement, and indeed the ‘fear of traffic’ – is gradual, almost imperceptibly so. Hence, my recommendation is that if you are a regular day-to-day motorbike rider, go get some track time (open or structured) every couple of months and fang your ride away until you burst with joy and can’t take anymore. You’ll discover that, drained of strength, your mind (attention) is all the sharper when confronting the chaos brought on our roads by stupid tin tops. BTW, even if you are only a casual bike rider or a weekend warrior, there is enormous benefits from regularly attending riding courses run on race tracks if open track days are not your thing.

As for the road safety wonks out there, get on a motorbike, see what it’s like, then come back in to the office and fiddles with all the stats you can lay your hands on to arrive at a real world conclusion before you once again try to dumb everything down to the level of the most incompetent. Most of us, the greater majority of bike riders, are not numpties and old enough to manage risks while enjoyed our agency in autonomy.

#Motorbikes #BikeRides #RoadStats #RoadSafety #RideDays #TrackTime #TinTops #RoadRants #BikeCourses #BikeLicense #WeekendWarriors #DailyRide $PrideAndJoy #TwistiesAndBends

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I was reading an article in the Australian Motorcycle News (AMCN) written by Alan Maloney, a 60 year old motorcycle addict, which spoke of the joy riding can bring even if obvious risks are added in. Among other claims, he reckons that this joy is what keeps him sane and in a healthy mental state. And this may be true – I have no reason to doubt that the effects of experiencing joy are good for mental health. Whatever your poison is, having fun and enjoying the rush that comes from it is something that is worth pursuing. So, Alan has, over 30 years, travelled the better motorcycle roads between Brisbane and Sydney and has observed a progressive swathes of road safety measures – to what end is up for discussion later – which have questionably reduced road fatalities but unquestionably removed any joy to be had carving up those lacy strips of bitumen. Over the years, speed limits and speed cameras have reduced riding to a level of enjoyment to be had on an electric treadly.

So much of these roads have been tamed by the posting of speed limits signage that the joy factor once felt in riding a motorcycle with purpose and intent is nowadays hard, if not impossible, to find again.

That the continuously reducing speed limits affected on stretches of roads, which post fatalities incommensurate with the safety witches and warlords’ reckoning of safe private transport environments, are having the desired effects is in itself a debatable assumption. Among other rants, the author takes umbrage at the speed limit regulations intended for Brisbane’s iconic Mt Glorious’ twisty bits and, addressing an RACQ report of mounting motorbike fatalities, points out the commensurate increase in motorbike traffic (either due to an increase in bike ownership or, perhaps more to the point, a reduction of alternative opportunities nearby -- he doesn’t say). He argues that road toll figures are not more, nor less than any previous period when taking into account increased traffic. He may indeed have a valid point.

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#Motorbikes #BikeRides #RoadStats #RoadSafety #RideDays #TrackTime #TinTops #RoadRants #BikeCourses #BikeLicense #WeekendWarriors #DailyRide $PrideAndJoy #TwistiesAndBends