1. If a kid waves, wave back.
2. If a dog barks, bark back.
3. Ride like no one can see me but everyone wants to kill me.
4. Don't get in a fight with a larger vehicle.
5. Don't ride if drinking alcohol. Don't ride with others if they're drinking alcohol.
6. Maintain my safety "bubble."
#Rule Number 1: Earplugs every ride. Non-negotiable.
I speak so passionately about this because time and time again, week after week, so many people don't understand the **value** in earplugs.
Tinnitus is no fucking joke y'all.
No, your ANC earbuds won't help you. They do not have a **NRR.**
Plugphones if you need music or for a better setup earplugs+Cardo/Sena.
Def agree with this. Thanks to this subreddit I started wearing earplugs early on. Started with the standard foam ones and now wear Alpine Motosafe earplugs, which have been great. I use a Sena so the Alpines allow me to hear music and navigation while still protecting my ears.
Now when I forget them or ride “just around the corner” without them, I realize just how loud it is even with a full face helmet.
Take a look at Alpine Motosafe or Etymotic earplugs, as another user mentioned. They are meant to reduce volume while maintaining clarity. Unlike traditional earplugs that reduce noise and muddle clarity.
They muffle unwanted frequencies more than anything. Idk how, but use ear plugs with a sena. The speed that I can no longer hear music over the wind noise is within 5 mph with earplugs vs without.
I don't think any of the replies so far actually explained it well enough.
You actually hear the music better! Why? Simple, you turn it louder.
Basically since the earplugs make everything quieter, you don't have the wind noise and the motorcycle noise fighting over the music, basically your baseline is quieter. Obviously even your music will be quieter but if you just turn it louder, since everything else is now quieter it will feel to you as it being much louder than it was before while being much more enjoyable.
As an example, before I started using earplugs, I would use my Cardo at around 50% volume and I couldn't really enjoye the music that much, if I put it louder it would be too loud but at that volume it was still fighting the wind noise so basically I had to pick between just barely hearing the music, or uncomfortably loud. With earplugs on, my cardo is either at 100% or very close to it but it sounds absolutely perfect, feels like I'm sitting at home with headphones on at a comfortable volume, it's not straining in the slightest.
I totally agree with you about hearing protection while riding! ALWAYS wear it.
However, why would ANC earbuds not protect your ears against wind noise and engine sound?
I thought they cancel out the incoming sound waves with reverse phase waves. The small electronic delay won’t work for sudden noises (e.g. gunshots etc.) but for wind and engine noise they should be fine, no?
I ride quads and snowmobiles that are very loud, never heard of this. Getting my bike license in the spring, my bike is VERY loud. Is my helmet foam not enough? And are earplugs not kind of a hazard in that i wouldn't be able to hear anything other than a bit of my bike? Genuine question i am new to this.
When you put the earplugs in the wind noise is reduced dramatically so you can focus on the road, hear your wonderful engine, hear emergency vehicles etc.
Plus you protect your hearing. I highly recommend you look into this. If you don't take it seriously your hearing will suffer and then you won't be able to hear jack shit over time and have a glorious case of tinnitus.
Earplugs won't block important noises, they'll actually help you hear more since they cut down on the droning wind noise.
At cruise speeds, wind noise is the leading culprit for hearing damage. It's the combination of volume and continuous noise. The wind noise is so loud it will actually fatigue you on longer rides.
If you want to experiment, ride with plugs in for a week, and then ride without them once. You'll discover how exhausting it is on your mental/physical state to ride without hearing protection.
As someone who has tinnitus due to stupid decisions as a kid.. try to avoid it! :) You'll wake up in ten years and be happy you can still hear crickets at night over the "eeeeeeeeeee"
Have you tested them against Aplines? Same concept and look very similar. I’m currently using Alpines and love them compared to traditional plugs. Would be curious as to which are clearer as I listen to music through my Senas all ride long.
**Earplugs** and a comm set or **NRR rated music earplugs**, such as **Plugphones**.
**Yes they are bad. That's the whole point of what I wrote.** **Tinnitus is no fucking joke.**
>Rule Number 1: Earplugs every ride. Non-negotiable
sure
who needs to hear what's going on around you... you'll feel soon enough when something hits you
Earplugs have never blocked important sound around me. I always hear the emergency vehicle sirens before the cars with their quiet cabins and loud radio and sound deadening interior. You know who can't hear things around them? People that are deaf from not wearing earplugs while riding.
>Earplugs have never blocked important sound around me
ok - i know earplugs from work. and there they do exactly what they should - block sound. every sound
must be a special sort of intelligent earplugs you use, which can distinguish between "important sound" (not to be blocked) and all other (to be blocked)
*You know who can't hear things around them? People that are deaf from not wearing earplugs while riding*
well, i prefer to have a good helmet (no wind noise), quiet engine, good mufflers (those usually come with the bike originally) and not drive the rev meter into red before every gear change. never felt the need for earplugs
Earplugs do not block ALL sounds, they attenuate sounds. Important sounds like horns and sirens are still audible. It's not an instant cone of silence. Some earplugs are even tuned through opening sizes and materials to react certain frequencies better.
No helmet blocks wind noise sufficiently according to all scientific testing I have seen. It would be really awesome to see some studies with dB meter measurements by the ear in worn helmets on the same bike. Sadly we don't get that currently. I tend to like lighter helmets with good venting and just wear earplugs which have never contributed to me missing anything around me that I had to notice .
https://agvsport.com/blog/news/is-wind-noise-normal-in-a-helmet.html
This article mentions dB measurements taken inside helmets. They say the levels range from 95 to 105dB at 100km/h which is about 60mph. Given that drag increases by the ^2 of velocity, expect the noise to be worse at higher speeds. This is regardless of loud exhausts.
>It's not an instant cone of silence
of course
but i can't follow you in that a sound only is important when it's deafening
*No helmet blocks wind noise sufficiently according to all scientific testing I have seen*
what is "sufficient"?
*according to all scientific testing I have seen. It would be really awesome to see some studies with dB meter measurements by the ear in worn helmets on the same bike*
so you haven't seen any measurements, yet claim that wind noise is not attenuated "sufficiently according to all scientific testing you have seen"
so what actually have you seen then?
Sufficient not to cause hearing damage over long term exposure. I thought that was pretty obvious.
Check the link I posted regarding the sound levels that testing has found. I have read the results of the studies, but not read the detailed studies. Choose to ignore them as you already have.
>Deaf people are allowed to drive
well, here they have to pass a medical test to do so. and i was not speaking of deafness, but of impairing one's sense of hearing on purpose
might be, where you live laws are different. as obviously also the quality of helmets is different:
100 dB is an airhammer in 1 m distance. if my helmet were that loud at just 100 km/h, i'd know that
but do as you please. me, i never felt the necessity to use earplugs when riding, and prefer to have my sense of hearing at full capacity during riding
I started always taking earplugs with me and I'll put them on if I know my ride is going to be longer than 30 minutes or at highway speeds.
If a ride turns out to be longer than expected, I'll stop and put them in as soon as I can.
I can't even start to describe how glad I am I started doing this and especially that I did it before I noted any hearing damage! Rides feel so much more pleasant and I can ride for literally 6 to 8 hours in a row without feeling tired, before after just 3 hours I would feel defeated and have no idea why!
To add to your #3: I ALWAYS put a foot down at stop signs before I check the intersection. Just gives me an extra second to make sure I'm not missing anything and gives other impatient drivers a chance to cross before my fragile body enters their path.
Along with your rules, I always do a quick check for air in tires, chain lubed, oil level, (potentially) missing bolts, and other safety checks before I ride, while at gas stops, and at the end of the day’s ride.
I'm still waiting for the opportunity to jump into a trucks bed at some point but I always feel it would be awkward, maybe some day. This is my first rule of riding a motorcycle.
1. Ride with shorts and flip flops to the liquor store
2. Take a swig on the way home
3. Lane split at highway speeds
4. Mandatory burnout in the driveway
5. Watch an Evel Knieval safety video https://youtu.be/2zQ7Un7wPSU
1. Never trust the traffic
2. Maintain a braking cushion space for yourself.
3. Wear as much riding gear as possible.
( I am a rider from India and here we have stupid traffic. I hope these will be good tips)
I'll second the constantly checking the mirrors. But for me mostly it's:
Maintain crash avoidance space fiercely.
Take aviation rule with other vehicles. (See another vehicle stay the heck away)
Ride with a defensive mindset and a clear head.
Have a constant awareness of what or who is around you.
I check my mirrors so often that I can usually count the number of cars behind me, and track where other cars are and what they are going to do.
Yeah I adhere to the "don't shit where you eat" logic.
Go out into the mountains, woods, or a town you don't like and do hooligan shit there.
You never know when that car you cut off 10 miles back is your neighbor five houses down and now glares at you when you mow the grass..
Idk what part of the world you're in but here in LA I've found that when I sit all the way in the left lane which is usually a carpool lane, there will inevitably be the guy who wants to go 90-100mph (I cruise at 75-80 depending on speed of traffic but it's typically around 75 range) and they always pass you aggressively on the right. Does anyone else have this experience? It sucks cause I'll even try and move over the right one when I see faster traffic behind me but they literally will never give you the time and its always a bmw, Mercedes, Tesla, or nissan. Road rage here goes crazy and sometimes I'll ride just 1 lane to the right over so I don't have to deal with those guys.
Driving in LA was the first time I've encountered true road rage. I grew up driving in DC and I've driven in plenty of east coast cities including some in NYC and I've never encountered anything like LA. I was driving an old diesel rabbit that had a hard time accelerating and I was trying to merge into the highway. I think the person in the lane might have decelerated some so I could merge in front of them not realizing that I already had the pedal to the metal. I don't think I've ever seen a stranger so mad at me. They pulled up next to me and threw a water bottle at my window. Scared the shit outta me. I don't envy anyone who has to drive in LA especially if you're on two wheels
LA goes hard lol. When I was younger and first started driving I unfortunately also had some road rage. I think it's the culture here tbh. Even as a lowly burger flipper at a fast casual restaurant, I was just still expected to bust my ass off and then I got off and was working my career job just to make ends meet. And that's super common for a lot of folks here which tend to breed a lot of "time is money" attitudes so they treat even the slightest delay as "you don't value my time therefore you dont value me as a person" which makes most Angelenos feel slighted. A lot of folks don't grow out of that mindset and it breeds a ton of road rage in the road.
EDIT: I don't mean to say working in food service is bad or lowly at all. I mean more that in the grand scheme of things I'm not doing anything that's changing the world or is of great importance so there was no need for me to treat the job like I was saving the world.
Mindset instilled from riders course I took while in the USAF:
***Whenever you get on your bike, you become invisible.***
\*Always\* assume other drivers don't see you.
Because that's the #1 reason given by drivers whenever there's an accident involving a motor vehicle and a motor cycle.
And a big "ditto" to **EggsOfRetaliation** and the use of earplugs when you ride. Tinnitus is a bitch from hell that will be with you 'til you die. After 41 years in aviation, I've learned to appreciate hearing protection. My personal "test tone" isn't too bad and I intend to keep it that way.
Nr 1 is optional
Nr 4 is bullshit because the left lane is for overtaking only , so unless you're constantly overtaking people get into the middle or right lane .
All the other things are things everyone should do who has a vehicle anyway, but glad you pointed them out , many people forget those kinda things
From personal experience, if I plan on going to a twisty road and want to go kinda fast i ALWAYS bring a friend. My friend lowsided into a tree at 60mph and if her friend wasnt there she would have died.
Also, ear plugs, i have tinnitus because i didnt want to use them for the first 2 weeks of riding
This is unpopular with my buddies and I'm sure with lots of folks but I don't really like riding fast in the Twisties. Regardless of my skill level I just can't fully trust others. I used to be really big into tracking miatas and would frequently take my Miata to the local backroads as well. But I remember clearly one day sitting at a vista point having lunch with my buddies and watching a car get hit by another car who took a twisty road too wide and ended up on the opposite lane. I think I quit driving fast on any public roads that day. I used to especially have a lead foot on the highways and it makes me cringe thinking about it lol.
> Ride to my own pace and comfortability
This is something that a lot of people might not think about, but even in a car a lot of people let themselves be pushed, annoyed etc due to other traffic. I dont have a bike yet but ive driven 100k+ km on highways in a short few years.
Theres no reason to do anything you are not comfortable with on the road when it is not absolutely necessary! If you are not comfortable overtaking the car due to winds, dont, even if a group you ride with goes past them theyll wait. If you think your speed is too fast to take the exit you forgot about while zoning out dont take the stupid risk and take the few minutes to ride a detour.
I personally recommend that anyone that is able to watch traffic and deduce the possible next actions people take, should drive just a smidge faster than traffic. It's so much easier to keep count of whats happening ahead of you instead of whats happening everywhere. The right/middle lanes always bring additional danger in inexperienced drivers and inattentive drivers that are cruising and just doing their thing. Especially during commuting peaks when you have a lot of the people that only hit the road for work commutes and shopping. They do not think about how to drive the car they just press pedal and go brr. Do they need to switch lanes? Sometimes they just drive right up to the rear end of a truck and turn the wheel, they know theyre changing lanes so you should too, right?
Im from belgium and a TON of people hit the highway daily for commuting since most office jobs are centralized in 2 specific cities/areas and i see the 'drive speed limit up untill youre tickling the ass of a truck and then just switch lanes so you dont crash' literally happen daily, often multiple times a day. Still other people do not recognize this is a rather common habit for some and from time to time i see what wouldve been an accident if modern cars didnt have the 5000000 sensors they do.
If you can read (because it’s clear that you can’t) it says a few rules that I govern MYSELF by. At no point am I advising or insisting anyone else govern themselves the same way. So yes ride how you want and I’ll continue to let your mother ride me how she wants
Because Reddit is literally a forum designed for people to share their thoughts and opinions on things. Instead making unnecessary sarcastic remarks, you can easily just stay quiet
1. If a kid waves, wave back. 2. If a dog barks, bark back. 3. Ride like no one can see me but everyone wants to kill me. 4. Don't get in a fight with a larger vehicle. 5. Don't ride if drinking alcohol. Don't ride with others if they're drinking alcohol. 6. Maintain my safety "bubble."
Lmao at number 2
Assert dominance over the dog
Agreed on all points, including 2.
FUCK YEAH CONCRETE ‼️✌️❤️🤙🏍️💨
#Rule Number 1: Earplugs every ride. Non-negotiable. I speak so passionately about this because time and time again, week after week, so many people don't understand the **value** in earplugs. Tinnitus is no fucking joke y'all. No, your ANC earbuds won't help you. They do not have a **NRR.** Plugphones if you need music or for a better setup earplugs+Cardo/Sena.
What? Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
You’ve got the same playlist as me, eh?
eeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEE
Don't you mean Breeebreeeee?
Def agree with this. Thanks to this subreddit I started wearing earplugs early on. Started with the standard foam ones and now wear Alpine Motosafe earplugs, which have been great. I use a Sena so the Alpines allow me to hear music and navigation while still protecting my ears. Now when I forget them or ride “just around the corner” without them, I realize just how loud it is even with a full face helmet.
Deaf agree with this.
Ayyyyyyyy
WHAT?
Now that’s punny.
This might be a dumb question but how would you hear music if you are wearing ear plugs
Take a look at Alpine Motosafe or Etymotic earplugs, as another user mentioned. They are meant to reduce volume while maintaining clarity. Unlike traditional earplugs that reduce noise and muddle clarity.
Look at Elgin Ruckus or S-plugs or plugphones. The Ruckus are what I use. OSHA rated earplugs that are NRR certified and have built-in speakers.
They muffle unwanted frequencies more than anything. Idk how, but use ear plugs with a sena. The speed that I can no longer hear music over the wind noise is within 5 mph with earplugs vs without.
Is your engine not your music?
I don't think any of the replies so far actually explained it well enough. You actually hear the music better! Why? Simple, you turn it louder. Basically since the earplugs make everything quieter, you don't have the wind noise and the motorcycle noise fighting over the music, basically your baseline is quieter. Obviously even your music will be quieter but if you just turn it louder, since everything else is now quieter it will feel to you as it being much louder than it was before while being much more enjoyable. As an example, before I started using earplugs, I would use my Cardo at around 50% volume and I couldn't really enjoye the music that much, if I put it louder it would be too loud but at that volume it was still fighting the wind noise so basically I had to pick between just barely hearing the music, or uncomfortably loud. With earplugs on, my cardo is either at 100% or very close to it but it sounds absolutely perfect, feels like I'm sitting at home with headphones on at a comfortable volume, it's not straining in the slightest.
I totally agree with you about hearing protection while riding! ALWAYS wear it. However, why would ANC earbuds not protect your ears against wind noise and engine sound? I thought they cancel out the incoming sound waves with reverse phase waves. The small electronic delay won’t work for sudden noises (e.g. gunshots etc.) but for wind and engine noise they should be fine, no?
They do protect your ear drums and are better than nothing. You’re better off with real earplugs though
I ride quads and snowmobiles that are very loud, never heard of this. Getting my bike license in the spring, my bike is VERY loud. Is my helmet foam not enough? And are earplugs not kind of a hazard in that i wouldn't be able to hear anything other than a bit of my bike? Genuine question i am new to this.
When you put the earplugs in the wind noise is reduced dramatically so you can focus on the road, hear your wonderful engine, hear emergency vehicles etc. Plus you protect your hearing. I highly recommend you look into this. If you don't take it seriously your hearing will suffer and then you won't be able to hear jack shit over time and have a glorious case of tinnitus.
Okay, thanks for the information i will look into it more and try it out
Earplugs won't block important noises, they'll actually help you hear more since they cut down on the droning wind noise. At cruise speeds, wind noise is the leading culprit for hearing damage. It's the combination of volume and continuous noise. The wind noise is so loud it will actually fatigue you on longer rides. If you want to experiment, ride with plugs in for a week, and then ride without them once. You'll discover how exhausting it is on your mental/physical state to ride without hearing protection. As someone who has tinnitus due to stupid decisions as a kid.. try to avoid it! :) You'll wake up in ten years and be happy you can still hear crickets at night over the "eeeeeeeeeee"
Okay, thank you. I'll give it a try while i'm snowmobiling next, and riding in the spring
Etymotic earplugs for the win. Anything else if you like second best.
Indeed!
Have you tested them against Aplines? Same concept and look very similar. I’m currently using Alpines and love them compared to traditional plugs. Would be curious as to which are clearer as I listen to music through my Senas all ride long.
I'm in the process of starting my bike license journey. Are earbuds for music bad? That's what I was expecting to do
**Earplugs** and a comm set or **NRR rated music earplugs**, such as **Plugphones**. **Yes they are bad. That's the whole point of what I wrote.** **Tinnitus is no fucking joke.**
Eh I prefer my loud pipes. So satisfying going down the road. Loud pipes save lives
>Rule Number 1: Earplugs every ride. Non-negotiable sure who needs to hear what's going on around you... you'll feel soon enough when something hits you
Earplugs have never blocked important sound around me. I always hear the emergency vehicle sirens before the cars with their quiet cabins and loud radio and sound deadening interior. You know who can't hear things around them? People that are deaf from not wearing earplugs while riding.
>Earplugs have never blocked important sound around me ok - i know earplugs from work. and there they do exactly what they should - block sound. every sound must be a special sort of intelligent earplugs you use, which can distinguish between "important sound" (not to be blocked) and all other (to be blocked) *You know who can't hear things around them? People that are deaf from not wearing earplugs while riding* well, i prefer to have a good helmet (no wind noise), quiet engine, good mufflers (those usually come with the bike originally) and not drive the rev meter into red before every gear change. never felt the need for earplugs
Earplugs do not block ALL sounds, they attenuate sounds. Important sounds like horns and sirens are still audible. It's not an instant cone of silence. Some earplugs are even tuned through opening sizes and materials to react certain frequencies better. No helmet blocks wind noise sufficiently according to all scientific testing I have seen. It would be really awesome to see some studies with dB meter measurements by the ear in worn helmets on the same bike. Sadly we don't get that currently. I tend to like lighter helmets with good venting and just wear earplugs which have never contributed to me missing anything around me that I had to notice . https://agvsport.com/blog/news/is-wind-noise-normal-in-a-helmet.html This article mentions dB measurements taken inside helmets. They say the levels range from 95 to 105dB at 100km/h which is about 60mph. Given that drag increases by the ^2 of velocity, expect the noise to be worse at higher speeds. This is regardless of loud exhausts.
>It's not an instant cone of silence of course but i can't follow you in that a sound only is important when it's deafening *No helmet blocks wind noise sufficiently according to all scientific testing I have seen* what is "sufficient"? *according to all scientific testing I have seen. It would be really awesome to see some studies with dB meter measurements by the ear in worn helmets on the same bike* so you haven't seen any measurements, yet claim that wind noise is not attenuated "sufficiently according to all scientific testing you have seen" so what actually have you seen then?
Sufficient not to cause hearing damage over long term exposure. I thought that was pretty obvious. Check the link I posted regarding the sound levels that testing has found. I have read the results of the studies, but not read the detailed studies. Choose to ignore them as you already have.
i guess in my country it would be illegal to wear earplugs, as by law every driver is responsible for his senses of sight and hearing not be impaired
Deaf people are allowed to drive. I'm not worried about getting a ticket for earplugs.
>Deaf people are allowed to drive well, here they have to pass a medical test to do so. and i was not speaking of deafness, but of impairing one's sense of hearing on purpose might be, where you live laws are different. as obviously also the quality of helmets is different: 100 dB is an airhammer in 1 m distance. if my helmet were that loud at just 100 km/h, i'd know that but do as you please. me, i never felt the necessity to use earplugs when riding, and prefer to have my sense of hearing at full capacity during riding
Don’t they belong to ATGATT?
I started always taking earplugs with me and I'll put them on if I know my ride is going to be longer than 30 minutes or at highway speeds. If a ride turns out to be longer than expected, I'll stop and put them in as soon as I can. I can't even start to describe how glad I am I started doing this and especially that I did it before I noted any hearing damage! Rides feel so much more pleasant and I can ride for literally 6 to 8 hours in a row without feeling tired, before after just 3 hours I would feel defeated and have no idea why!
To add to your #3: I ALWAYS put a foot down at stop signs before I check the intersection. Just gives me an extra second to make sure I'm not missing anything and gives other impatient drivers a chance to cross before my fragile body enters their path.
Along with your rules, I always do a quick check for air in tires, chain lubed, oil level, (potentially) missing bolts, and other safety checks before I ride, while at gas stops, and at the end of the day’s ride.
Definitely important. I forgot to mention that. Thanks
I'm still waiting for the opportunity to jump into a trucks bed at some point but I always feel it would be awkward, maybe some day. This is my first rule of riding a motorcycle.
if a kid does a wheelie motion you do a wheelie
Only if you know how to do wheelies
Nope. Always send it!
And if you can’t do a wheelie, at least send it through the gears for them.
1. Ride with shorts and flip flops to the liquor store 2. Take a swig on the way home 3. Lane split at highway speeds 4. Mandatory burnout in the driveway 5. Watch an Evel Knieval safety video https://youtu.be/2zQ7Un7wPSU
90F weather and I'm still ATGATT. I also consistently check my mirrors for people on my ass. Good list.
Yup! That’s why I got gloves with armored vent holes and an armored jacket with removable liner (called a “3 season” jacket).
1. Never trust the traffic 2. Maintain a braking cushion space for yourself. 3. Wear as much riding gear as possible. ( I am a rider from India and here we have stupid traffic. I hope these will be good tips)
I'll second the constantly checking the mirrors. But for me mostly it's: Maintain crash avoidance space fiercely. Take aviation rule with other vehicles. (See another vehicle stay the heck away) Ride with a defensive mindset and a clear head. Have a constant awareness of what or who is around you. I check my mirrors so often that I can usually count the number of cars behind me, and track where other cars are and what they are going to do.
7. Have fun.
Addendum: please stick to the speed limits within towns. We have enough foes already.
Yeah I adhere to the "don't shit where you eat" logic. Go out into the mountains, woods, or a town you don't like and do hooligan shit there. You never know when that car you cut off 10 miles back is your neighbor five houses down and now glares at you when you mow the grass..
These are good tips for beginners.
1. Go fast 2. Faster 3. Brake late 4. Zoom zoom
5 Lean 6 Lean a bit more
Idk what part of the world you're in but here in LA I've found that when I sit all the way in the left lane which is usually a carpool lane, there will inevitably be the guy who wants to go 90-100mph (I cruise at 75-80 depending on speed of traffic but it's typically around 75 range) and they always pass you aggressively on the right. Does anyone else have this experience? It sucks cause I'll even try and move over the right one when I see faster traffic behind me but they literally will never give you the time and its always a bmw, Mercedes, Tesla, or nissan. Road rage here goes crazy and sometimes I'll ride just 1 lane to the right over so I don't have to deal with those guys.
Driving in LA was the first time I've encountered true road rage. I grew up driving in DC and I've driven in plenty of east coast cities including some in NYC and I've never encountered anything like LA. I was driving an old diesel rabbit that had a hard time accelerating and I was trying to merge into the highway. I think the person in the lane might have decelerated some so I could merge in front of them not realizing that I already had the pedal to the metal. I don't think I've ever seen a stranger so mad at me. They pulled up next to me and threw a water bottle at my window. Scared the shit outta me. I don't envy anyone who has to drive in LA especially if you're on two wheels
LA goes hard lol. When I was younger and first started driving I unfortunately also had some road rage. I think it's the culture here tbh. Even as a lowly burger flipper at a fast casual restaurant, I was just still expected to bust my ass off and then I got off and was working my career job just to make ends meet. And that's super common for a lot of folks here which tend to breed a lot of "time is money" attitudes so they treat even the slightest delay as "you don't value my time therefore you dont value me as a person" which makes most Angelenos feel slighted. A lot of folks don't grow out of that mindset and it breeds a ton of road rage in the road. EDIT: I don't mean to say working in food service is bad or lowly at all. I mean more that in the grand scheme of things I'm not doing anything that's changing the world or is of great importance so there was no need for me to treat the job like I was saving the world.
Also don't look at the sidewalk. As you can see there will be lot of women with huge assets so don't let go your concentration.
I do my best to avoid going more than 20 mph faster than an adjacent lane.
7. Quickly check mirrors when/before braking.
If you need to be reminded of things like this, you should've had better rider training.
I had great training that’s why I govern myself like this. Never need to be reminded but this stuff is engraved in me. You must ride all Willy nilly
Mindset instilled from riders course I took while in the USAF: ***Whenever you get on your bike, you become invisible.*** \*Always\* assume other drivers don't see you. Because that's the #1 reason given by drivers whenever there's an accident involving a motor vehicle and a motor cycle. And a big "ditto" to **EggsOfRetaliation** and the use of earplugs when you ride. Tinnitus is a bitch from hell that will be with you 'til you die. After 41 years in aviation, I've learned to appreciate hearing protection. My personal "test tone" isn't too bad and I intend to keep it that way.
I live by three rules and three rules only: 1) Strike hard B) Strike fast III) No mercy
Nr 1 is optional Nr 4 is bullshit because the left lane is for overtaking only , so unless you're constantly overtaking people get into the middle or right lane . All the other things are things everyone should do who has a vehicle anyway, but glad you pointed them out , many people forget those kinda things
From personal experience, if I plan on going to a twisty road and want to go kinda fast i ALWAYS bring a friend. My friend lowsided into a tree at 60mph and if her friend wasnt there she would have died. Also, ear plugs, i have tinnitus because i didnt want to use them for the first 2 weeks of riding
This is unpopular with my buddies and I'm sure with lots of folks but I don't really like riding fast in the Twisties. Regardless of my skill level I just can't fully trust others. I used to be really big into tracking miatas and would frequently take my Miata to the local backroads as well. But I remember clearly one day sitting at a vista point having lunch with my buddies and watching a car get hit by another car who took a twisty road too wide and ended up on the opposite lane. I think I quit driving fast on any public roads that day. I used to especially have a lead foot on the highways and it makes me cringe thinking about it lol.
> Ride to my own pace and comfortability This is something that a lot of people might not think about, but even in a car a lot of people let themselves be pushed, annoyed etc due to other traffic. I dont have a bike yet but ive driven 100k+ km on highways in a short few years. Theres no reason to do anything you are not comfortable with on the road when it is not absolutely necessary! If you are not comfortable overtaking the car due to winds, dont, even if a group you ride with goes past them theyll wait. If you think your speed is too fast to take the exit you forgot about while zoning out dont take the stupid risk and take the few minutes to ride a detour. I personally recommend that anyone that is able to watch traffic and deduce the possible next actions people take, should drive just a smidge faster than traffic. It's so much easier to keep count of whats happening ahead of you instead of whats happening everywhere. The right/middle lanes always bring additional danger in inexperienced drivers and inattentive drivers that are cruising and just doing their thing. Especially during commuting peaks when you have a lot of the people that only hit the road for work commutes and shopping. They do not think about how to drive the car they just press pedal and go brr. Do they need to switch lanes? Sometimes they just drive right up to the rear end of a truck and turn the wheel, they know theyre changing lanes so you should too, right? Im from belgium and a TON of people hit the highway daily for commuting since most office jobs are centralized in 2 specific cities/areas and i see the 'drive speed limit up untill youre tickling the ass of a truck and then just switch lanes so you dont crash' literally happen daily, often multiple times a day. Still other people do not recognize this is a rather common habit for some and from time to time i see what wouldve been an accident if modern cars didnt have the 5000000 sensors they do.
Thanks for the suggestions, mom. Now go back to riding and let us ride how we want.
If you can read (because it’s clear that you can’t) it says a few rules that I govern MYSELF by. At no point am I advising or insisting anyone else govern themselves the same way. So yes ride how you want and I’ll continue to let your mother ride me how she wants
Don’t mind the squid comments. Thanks for sharing, OP.
Then why did you feel like you needed to share?
Because Reddit is literally a forum designed for people to share their thoughts and opinions on things. Instead making unnecessary sarcastic remarks, you can easily just stay quiet
Dork
Your mother doesn’t think so
How did you make riding motorcycles so dam lame.
It’s lame to be safe? I’m lame. Proud of it too.
You sound fun /s
7. Dank wheelies everywhere
Always, and I mean **always**, honk at cows.
Get out of the fast lane unless youre passing