Thursday April 20 ride.

[flash]

Good ride guys. I agree with Hornet though. 137 members and only 4 show up to ride. Good to meet you Ron19. See you again soon. I probably won't be able to make this Thurs, So there'll only be 3 riders.

[Shaman]

I know I won't be there this Thursday.  I'll be packing up the bikes and gear to head down to Deal's Gap for a week.    

[Ron19]

Hi all!  Good ride for me too.  Good to finally meet you 3 too! It was my longest one to date. (Not including the 15 hours I spent in the rain on a bike at my M1 exit course last weekend )   Sorry I slowed you guys down .  But I did learn a few tips and tricks.  I'll be riding with people better than me for a while.  I won't be at this THursdays ride but will most likey pop by for the next one.  Thanks again for the great ride.  Looking forward to lots more this summer.

[pailface]

Tips and Tricks - hey, that could be a new forum category.. huh?   

As a relatively new rider,  I'm all ears..   Care to share ? 

[Ron19]

I learned that I can't keep up    My best advise is take the course at St Lawrence if you haven't already.  Just try to plan it when it's nots pissing rain

[Shaman]

Hopefully you also learned that we'll wait for you at the next turn if you get behind.  So you don't have to rush yourself or feel like you're holding us back, because we've all started there.

[Gixxed]

Glad you guys are so receptive of rookie riders.  Although I've got a couple of seasons under my belt, I'm SLOW as ech eee double hockey sticks.     I'll be out for the Thursday rides as soon as I stop working Thursday nights (Early June.)

[Ron19]

Hi Shaman,

I did learn that.  I wasn't too worried though.  Worst case scenario if I completely lost you guys I could find my way home    I did push it a bit, how else am I gonna learn, but not to the point where I was being reckless.  I learn by watching too.  So just keeping an eye on you guys in front was helpfull.  Although the guy on the red/burgandy Suzuki? that passed me scared the crap out of me.  Wasn't cheking my mirrors enough and never saw him coming. 

[Shaman]

Although the guy on the red/burgandy Suzuki? that passed me scared the crap out of me.  Wasn't cheking my mirrors enough and never saw him coming. 

Meet larryt.  

[pailface]

Captain Obvious here -  but there is definately a 'stay-with-the-pack' mentality that kicks in when you're riding in a group..  Point in case -  I "merged" with a group of  3 sportbikes last week that went from downtown area up to CatWoods, and I probably rode more 'aggressively'  to stay as a "group" than I would have if alone..   Not past my ability,  just 'quicker' than normal..  A few times they left me in the dust (ie.  from Bayridge/Front Rd,  north up to Bath entrance - a nice straight away, then a big left arc),  but city traffic lights re-formed the pack..   

 

 



         

[flash]

  :DI saw larryt coming in my mirrors. I was checking on Ron and saw two sets of headlights and thought my mirrors were vibrating so much I was seeing double. Didn't know it was Larry until we got to the end of the road.
I followed you for a bit Ron, I think you're doing great.

[Ron19]

Thanks flash!  I figure I'm doing OK as long as I stay on the bike and keep the rubber side down   I'll learn and get better the more I drive.  Pretty soon I'll be almost keeping up to you guys with confidence.  Well as soon as I get a faster bike   Next year .... I hope    Leathers first though

[Gixxed]

Yeah, leathers are a good thing.  What're you riding in now?

[flash]

Leathers are a good thing. I always feel more confident with my leathers on. I rode to Calabogie on Friday wearing my Textile gear (it's warmer for this time of year) and didn't feel I could ride any harder than about 60%. With my leathers on...Good bye chicken strips.  Mind you, I was also testing out some new mods on my bike and wasn't too sure how it would handle.

[Giv'Er]

Pretty soon I'll be almost keeping up to you guys with confidence.  Well as soon as I get a faster bike   

That happened to me last year. Around this time in 2005, Shamen, Slotman, and I went out for a ride out picton way... I remember doing a stint where I pushed my little 600 really hard through some nice twisties just to keep up to Shaman on the 1000. By the end of the summer, I had traded my 600 in on a 1000 and now I ride with the big boys....  My friends keep complaining about how hard they work their bikes just to stay at the same cruising speed as me....  600 cc - 160Km = 7/8000rpm...   1000 cc - 160 Km = 4/5000rpm....

I LOVE IT!!!!