It’s important to mentor new riders, but to what extent?
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05-04-2007, 09:42 PM
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It’s important to mentor new riders, but to what extent?
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05-04-2007, 10:44 PM
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RE: It’s important to mentor new riders, but to what extent?
[quote]It’s important to mentor new riders, but to what extent?
Author: An anonymous submission
At Eight o’clock on a Saturday morning, I poured myself a cup of coffee, grabbed the newspaper and slipped out onto the deck, looking for some peace and quiet. My kids were already running through the house, begging to play Tourist Trophy on the Play Station, smacking each other in the head, and doing anything else they could possibly think of to jump on my last nerve. Stepping through the door I’d expected the weather to be decent, but what I walked out into was the most beautiful spring morning so far this year.
After I’d been out there for a bit just sitting and relaxing, my ears suddenly perked to the distinct scream of a sportbike far off in the distance. Immediately, I considered the direction of the sound, and calculated which road the bike must be traveling. As the rider let off the throttle, the sound would disappear. After a few seconds, I heard the note pick up again as the rider exited a small set of twisties and accelerated onto the next long straight stretch. My God, I love that awesome sound, and the still morning provided a perfect setting to just listen and try to imagine what the rider was doing by the note of the engine screaming through the exhaust pipe. Few things are as relaxing to me as the sound of a lone bike getting ripped at a distance. As I listened a bit longer, the rider drew closer and the sound faded out as he slowed to adhere to the 30 mph speed limit entering town. Interest peaked; I waited for the bike to pass by so I could see who it was. I’d only met a few riders since moving to the area, and was eager to get a mental picture of everyone on a sport bike with the hopes of catching them out and getting a few riding partners for the many nice summer days to come.
The rider rounded the bend on my road and locked up the rear brake, sliding to a screeching halt right in front of my house. It was Bob, a nice younger guy I’d met only a few days earlier at a gas station. I liked Bob right off the bat. He had a great personality, a very level head, and was just a little cocky. Not unsociably cocky, but displaying a very high level of confidence with an equally good mix of rationality. No wonder, since the kid was damn smart; a junior in college working on a Bachelor’s degree in engineering. Being a father myself, I’m always compelled to ask about grades, and his reply was that he’d never gotten anything bellow a “B”. Obviously, Bob was a well rounded kid with a good head on his shoulders. He had a pretty sweet ride too. It was a modern, heavyweight-class Japanese inline-four sportbike, and he knew the machine intimately. He’d made a number of modifications to his cycle, but had forgone the usual chrome and bling, instead going for performance upgrades he‘d read about on some internet forums. The bike sported an Ohlins rear shock, Race Tech springs and valves, PCIII, and that loud-***, attention-getting D&D pipe which he surely could have done without. Impressively, he’d done all this work himself. Not bad for a college kid with 6 months of motorcycle ownership under his belt. Clearly though, he’d yet to learn about protective riding gear.
My kids had left a hard rubber baseball out on the deck, and it happened to be lying conveniently close to my chair. I picked up the ball and gave it a good throw. With perfect accuracy, I succeeded in bouncing it right off the side of Bob’s head.
“Hey, stupid,” I jeered. “If you’d been wearing a helmet that wouldn’t have hurt, would it? What the hell‘s wrong with you boy? Put a lid on that ugly head of yours.”
“Shut up and get dressed old man!” Bob replied. “I’ll show you some good roads if you show me how to ride them faster.” And with that, the course of our day was set.
I went down and let him in, fixing him a cup of coffee while offering up a solid scolding for his no
Author: An anonymous submission
At Eight o’clock on a Saturday morning, I poured myself a cup of coffee, grabbed the newspaper and slipped out onto the deck, looking for some peace and quiet. My kids were already running through the house, begging to play Tourist Trophy on the Play Station, smacking each other in the head, and doing anything else they could possibly think of to jump on my last nerve. Stepping through the door I’d expected the weather to be decent, but what I walked out into was the most beautiful spring morning so far this year.
After I’d been out there for a bit just sitting and relaxing, my ears suddenly perked to the distinct scream of a sportbike far off in the distance. Immediately, I considered the direction of the sound, and calculated which road the bike must be traveling. As the rider let off the throttle, the sound would disappear. After a few seconds, I heard the note pick up again as the rider exited a small set of twisties and accelerated onto the next long straight stretch. My God, I love that awesome sound, and the still morning provided a perfect setting to just listen and try to imagine what the rider was doing by the note of the engine screaming through the exhaust pipe. Few things are as relaxing to me as the sound of a lone bike getting ripped at a distance. As I listened a bit longer, the rider drew closer and the sound faded out as he slowed to adhere to the 30 mph speed limit entering town. Interest peaked; I waited for the bike to pass by so I could see who it was. I’d only met a few riders since moving to the area, and was eager to get a mental picture of everyone on a sport bike with the hopes of catching them out and getting a few riding partners for the many nice summer days to come.
The rider rounded the bend on my road and locked up the rear brake, sliding to a screeching halt right in front of my house. It was Bob, a nice younger guy I’d met only a few days earlier at a gas station. I liked Bob right off the bat. He had a great personality, a very level head, and was just a little cocky. Not unsociably cocky, but displaying a very high level of confidence with an equally good mix of rationality. No wonder, since the kid was damn smart; a junior in college working on a Bachelor’s degree in engineering. Being a father myself, I’m always compelled to ask about grades, and his reply was that he’d never gotten anything bellow a “B”. Obviously, Bob was a well rounded kid with a good head on his shoulders. He had a pretty sweet ride too. It was a modern, heavyweight-class Japanese inline-four sportbike, and he knew the machine intimately. He’d made a number of modifications to his cycle, but had forgone the usual chrome and bling, instead going for performance upgrades he‘d read about on some internet forums. The bike sported an Ohlins rear shock, Race Tech springs and valves, PCIII, and that loud-***, attention-getting D&D pipe which he surely could have done without. Impressively, he’d done all this work himself. Not bad for a college kid with 6 months of motorcycle ownership under his belt. Clearly though, he’d yet to learn about protective riding gear.
My kids had left a hard rubber baseball out on the deck, and it happened to be lying conveniently close to my chair. I picked up the ball and gave it a good throw. With perfect accuracy, I succeeded in bouncing it right off the side of Bob’s head.
“Hey, stupid,” I jeered. “If you’d been wearing a helmet that wouldn’t have hurt, would it? What the hell‘s wrong with you boy? Put a lid on that ugly head of yours.”
“Shut up and get dressed old man!” Bob replied. “I’ll show you some good roads if you show me how to ride them faster.” And with that, the course of our day was set.
I went down and let him in, fixing him a cup of coffee while offering up a solid scolding for his no
#6
05-05-2007, 12:02 AM
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RE: It’s important to mentor new riders, but to what extent?
Very powerful post, thank you for sharing. Let's all hope to learn from our lost riders, and not consider them "statistics". What we do is dangerous, and we need to be responsible out there. What we do creates a ripple effect. It can be as simple as adding to the stereotype, or have a much worse impact on our friends and loved ones. There are already too many heartbreaking stories at this early time in our riding season...please use a modicum of common sense, please be safe out there!
#7
05-05-2007, 04:38 AM
RE: It’s important to mentor new riders, but to what extent?
That was really sad and powerful. I couldnt imagine being that guy and having to think that he thinks what he taught someone more than they should. I mean its kinda like teaching someone how to fire a gun just because you taught them to fire it and then they go out and kill someone it doesnt mean its your doing they killed that person.. Anyways Be safe and if you cant be safe think twice.
#9
05-05-2007, 10:15 AM
RE: It’s important to mentor new riders, but to what extent?
I really appreciate you sharing the experience, what a shame.You have my heart felt sympathies.
I've been riding now & I can't believe it, for 39 years. I've been given a lot of advice about riding over the years. Initially, like any young turk, I took wot people told with a grain of salt, being young & invincible, relegating their experiences as "old" hat.
Like any young guy, any advice given to me by an oldie, was like my mother telling me to wear clean underpants. I survived mostly be good chance and found that with each lucky break, I learned from the experience. And after a few years, eventually realised that these old guys where not that wrong after all (and I hope to god that they have forgiven me for my arrogance). I have a young nephew who rides a CBR, I know that I have had on influence on him during his formative years, letting him sit on my bikes, rides around the driveway and stories of rides. He gets the same expression on his face when I try and tell him my own ideas on riding skill. I nagged him into buying a decent riding gear, but it took a lot.This forum is an extension of that in many ways, it is our responsibility to give advice to those just starting to discover the joys and perils of bike riding. Riding a bike has & will always a dangerous activity. You can never be complacent about it. I know I'm still learning, every time I throw my bum on the seat and hit the road.
Like everything in life, we all have our own road to ride and all the best advice in the world can't prepare you for very event. But it should not stop anyone from giving it.
I've been riding now & I can't believe it, for 39 years. I've been given a lot of advice about riding over the years. Initially, like any young turk, I took wot people told with a grain of salt, being young & invincible, relegating their experiences as "old" hat.
Like any young guy, any advice given to me by an oldie, was like my mother telling me to wear clean underpants. I survived mostly be good chance and found that with each lucky break, I learned from the experience. And after a few years, eventually realised that these old guys where not that wrong after all (and I hope to god that they have forgiven me for my arrogance). I have a young nephew who rides a CBR, I know that I have had on influence on him during his formative years, letting him sit on my bikes, rides around the driveway and stories of rides. He gets the same expression on his face when I try and tell him my own ideas on riding skill. I nagged him into buying a decent riding gear, but it took a lot.This forum is an extension of that in many ways, it is our responsibility to give advice to those just starting to discover the joys and perils of bike riding. Riding a bike has & will always a dangerous activity. You can never be complacent about it. I know I'm still learning, every time I throw my bum on the seat and hit the road.
Like everything in life, we all have our own road to ride and all the best advice in the world can't prepare you for very event. But it should not stop anyone from giving it.
