Preparing For the Riding Season

There are four Pillars Of Preparation for the Riding Season, Mental; preparation and mindset. Physical; Strength and Coordination. Mechanical; Bike ready and Cultural; Helping you and helping others.

Mental preparation includes transitioning back into riding after winter. Do you need to retrain your brain to follow SIPDE (scan, identify, predict, decide, execute)? This skill set can grow rusty after being in a car or truck all winter. Yes, this is something we should practice every time we are on the road, no matter what our mode of transportation. I know that I don’t practice it as diligently in my truck as I do on my bike, so I need to get my mental game back into high gear when I throw my leg over my bike this spring. I am going to need to concentrate more on lane placement and following distance. I need to return to the habit of riding where I can see the best and be seen the best by other drivers that are not used to looking for Motorcycles when we get back on the road after a long winter.

Physical preparation, did I spend the winter vegging in front of the tv and losing my physical conditioning? Can I still move the bike around as well as I need to? I would really hate to tip it over, wheeling it out of the garage. Has my physical condition stayed strong enough to handle a passenger? Do I need to consider relocating my controls? Am I rested and ready for the challenges I have not put my muscles through in the last 4 months? Being well rested will allow me to focus on the art of riding well. Do I have the gear on or loaded for the changing weather in early spring? Did I eat well today? Am I taking any new medications that may affect my reaction time or cause me to become dehydrated faster? Dehydration seriously affects mental performance. Do I need to take a refresher training class to improve my skills?

How well have I prepped my bike for riding? Do my tires still have good tread and are they fully inflated? Do all my lights work? Did I check to see that my brakes are not worn too far or malfunctioning? Are my cables lubed and did I inspect the whole bike to make sure that nothing is loose? Is my chain or belt at the right tension? Does my chain need to be lubed or replaced if sprockets are worn?

Cultural preparation, we are a Community. We don’t all ride the same thing or enjoy the same riding style. We don’t all head to the same destination or do the same thing when we get there. But we do talk to other riders much more often than those using other modes of transportation interact with each other. To keep Motorcycling strong we need to hold each other accountable and find ways to come together to preserve our way of life,

The snow is over for the winter, the spring rains have washed the salt off the roads. Now get out there and get some Wind Therapy after a long winter.

Dave Dwyer