Decisions, decisions…

Deputy Director’s Report

By John Reblin

Decisions, decisions…

Every day we are making some sort of choice or decision. I mean some are pretty basic choices. Whether or not you get up, go to work and pay the bills or kick back and catch reruns all day along with Judge Judy.

Some are life changing, (congratulations to Wendi and Da Man for his proposal of marriage to Wendi. I am sure it is a USDA Prime choice to make. You two will have a long and happy life together!)

Some are a little more involved. Making the right decision for work related issues. What do you need to do when you get home as far as yard or inside chores? You see Carmel Cashew at the custard stand, so do you get the quart or splurge and get the half gallon. All serious things, and if you count them up in the course of the day you probably are in the hundreds even the thousands. But we make them, hopefully the right decision that will make your or someone else’s life more comfortable.

But now, that we are in the deep freeze of winter, it is minus 2 right now, are you thinking of making the right decisions when you are out riding this upcoming season?

Are you getting ready to pull up the SafeRider schedule and registering for your first or next BRC2 class? If it’s too hard for you to make it up to Tomah and get a free course, look around the area you live in for what’s available and please sign up. Having a skilled instructor see and evaluate your skills will make you a better rider. They see the habits that you don’t recognize and help you correct them and give the reason why you should. These instructors will also give you tips on what you can do on your own to keep your skills fresh and up to date at home on a piece of asphalt. Getting out once in a while on your own in a parking lot is a great way to stay “in tune” with the controls and handling of your bike. Want a little more challenge? Try the ARC, UBBC or the Street Skills riding course available in the Milwaukee area. All these courses will test your ability and skill level. I have heard that some locations may be offering an alternative to the UBBC where on the first day you use a training bike, removing the fear of dumping your own.

Have you been riding but don’t have that legal license to ride in Wisconsin? Now is the time to get that corrected also if you are able to. The BRC2 course may be what you need to get your M Endorsement. Now, if you are riding on a suspended license that’s a different story, you are out of luck until you are eligible for reinstatement.

Are you planning when out, not just on your bike but also driving your car to make those correct choices when going out for dinner or meeting someone? When you stop for a beverage at a local bar, or maybe hitting a stop on a summer long run, will you make the right choice? Will you maybe have one or two adult beverages and switch to a soda or a juice? Pacing the alcohol so you are not operating under the influence? If you get over a safe limit will you park the vehicle you brought, call a friend or a maybe a get a ride from the bar? You may think you’re OK but will something happen and you are just that second slower in your reflexes and yours or someone else’s life is changed forever. Maybe you’re lucky and you just drifted a little over the fog line, but the cop saw it, and you’re busted for that long ordeal of DUI.

Will you ride at a speed you can handle in the conditions the road is giving you? Will you ride your “own ride”, not over driving your skills? Can you stay in your lane through the curves so that you won’t need to worry about hitting an oncoming vehicle when trying to stay with the other riders? Hopefully before the group leaves they recognize that maybe someone may struggle and share the route. No big deal you get there a few seconds or a minute later. A newer rider should not worry about “keeping up” and worry about practicing the skills that will keep him operating on the road safely. Not use to the group rides? You may want to get right in the thick of the pack but maybe for a few rides just lay back and see how you fit in, and let your skills grow. Remember also not overdriving your headlights, so you don’t run into someone or something on the road, that probably should have been marked better, but to their error was not. Or not catching the road sign warning of a curve or stop ahead and when you get into the curve or close to the stop sign. Something bad happens.

All these decisions are easy to make sitting back in the recliner and thinking about them, they are hard when out and about. You’re never wrong when you make the right choice.