Embarking on the Journey: The Philosophy and Preparation of a Motorcyclist

Alright,
let's begin. I've finally decided to write my first post. I pondered for a long
time about what to write. It seems like everything has already been covered
here, but after reading news reports and watching videos about motorcycle
accidents, I decided to write about the philosophy of a motorcyclist, to return
to the basics, and try to answer the questions: Why? What for? And most
importantly, How?!

Three years
ago, I couldn't even imagine that I would be riding a motorcycle, getting a
license, buying gear, and actually riding. It all started with a scooter.
Reflecting on my youth, I now understand why our parents answered our question,
"Buy us a Karpaty?" with a definite "NO." Maybe if they had
said "YES," I wouldn't be married now, wouldn't have a daughter, a
good job, and… a motorcycle…

A motorcycle
is something you need to grow into, not in terms of age, but mentally. Think
about it: when you are given something temporarily, what do you want to do?
Exactly, play with it as much as possible, enjoy it, and try it out to the
fullest. Everything is fine if it's not a motorcycle, a gun, or something else
that can be dangerous not only for you but for others as well! It's more
appropriate to say, "Use your brain!" and even more so, a motorcycle
is not a toy, as many think…

Why? So,
you've already started thinking in this direction and understand that you want
a motorcycle (since this post is specifically about that). Now imagine how you
will use it. Riding to work without traffic, going to motofests? That's good,
freedom and you are one-on-one with the road! The road—here you need to think
carefully once more, are you ready for the road, the real road, not the one
shown in motorcycle ads or movies where there's no one but the rider and his
bike, and everything looks so beautifully filmed, remember they are filmed by
professionals. Are you ready to become one, truly become one! Or do you need a
motorcycle to make a splash, to prove to someone that you are really cool? If
so, forget about the motorcycle and think again!!!

I won’t write
about choosing motorcycles, there are plenty of topics on that already, I will
just say that nurturing the thought that you can easily ride a liter bike is
not worth it, any careless movement of your right hand can come at a high cost,
especially since such motorcycles simply provoke you, whether you want it or
not. Choose a motorcycle that you can truly control; weight, size, power. My
first motorcycle was a Yamaha YBR125, the second was a Yamaha XVS650A Drag Star
Classic, and only my third motorcycle was a bit over a liter! Nonsense, you
might say, but I will persist in being reasonable and continue to
"grow" to the next displacement/class!

So, the main
idea of buying is "I am ready." What could be better than the feeling
of open space, the road, the wind, and observing what we usually see from the
window of a car/bus/train—nature; fields, forests, rivers, etc. The sense of
freedom, that you can now go where you dreamed of being, and combine this with
the unparalleled pleasure of riding YOUR motorcycle.

Why?
Why "me"? — you might ask. Why did the idea of buying a motorcycle
come to me now, without any external influence (and this is the most important
thing, to make this decision yourself)? Tired of standing in traffic? Craving
adrenaline? Then read from the beginning. You can avoid traffic by taking the
subway, and you can get adrenaline by skydiving or other means! But if this
thought came to you because you have already "matured" enough to
become free, if you have already proven everything to yourself, and your mind
is free from showing off, and you can "regulate" the wind in your
head whenever you want! Then go ahead, explore motorcycle sales offers and
anticipate the pleasure of riding. But!!! before making a final decision, take
a training course at a motorcycle school... maybe the dream requires too much
effort, and you can't get rid of the thought that the motorcycle controls you
rather than you controlling it... then it's better to refrain. But if you've
completed everything and now possess this roaring two-wheeled being, which will
gladly welcome you into its saddle!

How?
You have already acquired the necessary riding skills, and now the motorcycle
is waiting for you in the garage!!! The first thing to understand is —
"THIS IS YOUR MOTORCYCLE!!!". It will be yours today, tomorrow, and
in a month; you will be able to come, start it, and ride it anytime, so in your
mind, it will no longer be — "a thing temporarily given to you by someone
else." This way, you will be more calm and reasonable (the thoughts of
racing while you still have it will no longer arise). Now, you can hit the
road... I remember my first ride on a 650cc, I spent a week just hanging
around, checking Yandex traffic... what's the situation with traffic... if you
have such thoughts, it's not worth diving headfirst into the main roads! I
started by riding in the evenings to a lot 10 km from the garage. On this lot,
I learned to ride at a turtle's pace (as a friend of mine used to say — learn
to ride slowly... any fool can ride fast), along a thin white line, to brake
suddenly, first at low speed, then gradually increasing, until I felt what the
brakes and tires were capable of, to use the turn signal so that it became a
habit and effortless. After two weeks, I rode to work... though not without
mishaps, bent two mirrors a bit, apologized profusely, sweated seven buckets,
but I started riding to work every day. I continued practicing on the lot (in
fact, I still do this periodically) and stopped worrying about car mirrors. I always turn on MY BRAIN!!!

My thoughts on:

How to

-       Learn, learn, and learn again.

-       Analyze every detail in the evening after a ride: what was done
correctly, what wasn't, what could potentially have led to an accident.
Mentally play out the scenario where you didn't avoid the collision, then
mentally say "NO." Then replay the situation with a positive outcome,
noting the actions you took to avoid the accident. This way, your brain will
remember potentially dangerous situations and the actions needed to prevent
them, and it will act reflexively even if such a situation never actually
occurs.

-       Watch motorcycle accident videos as often as possible and
analyze what exactly the rider did wrong. Replay the situation to ensure you
wouldn't make the same mistakes. In practice, there aren't many mistakes, but
all of them can lead to irreversible consequences. The main ones are speeding,
riding too far to the right, riding too far to the left (especially at
intersections with left turns), and passing on the right. These are the main
ones; the rest you can see for yourself.

-       Practice using all the motorcycle controls until it becomes
automatic: throttle control, braking, gear shifting.

-       Train yourself to check your mirrors every 2-3 seconds, or at
most every 10 seconds (right to left), but not just to get a picture. Try to
remember the objects around you: car makes, whether the object can accelerate
suddenly, its speed relative to yours, and the behavior of each object on the
road (especially lane changes). Yes, it's not easy, but over time you'll even
start remembering license plates.

-       When riding between lanes, glance at the driver or passenger
mirrors of the cars in front of you to see if the drivers see you (if you see
the driver, you're definitely not in their blind spot). Pay attention to the
position of the wheels. If a driver intends to make a maneuver, they will
slightly turn the wheel in the direction of the maneuver a split second before
it happens, which you can track by the wheel position. Maneuver between lanes
at a speed no more than 20-30 km/h above the traffic flow.

-       Always look where you want to go; the motorcycle will go exactly
where you are looking.

-       Don't hang out in the blind spot (also known as "hanging on
the wheel").

-       Always reduce speed before intersections, even if the light is
green. Pay attention to lane signs, in populated areas, before blind turns,
before cars creating a "pocket" in traffic jams, and before
pedestrian crossings.

-       Always maintain a 2-second following distance.

-       Try to control the direction of your movement 12 seconds ahead.

-       Never get distracted from the direction of travel, not even for
half a second. Remember that a normal driver's reaction time is about 0.7
seconds.

-       Constantly analyze the road surface to spot even small bolts in
time.

-       Learn to use counter-steering, work only with your hands, stay
relaxed, avoid gripping the handlebars too tightly, and don't "stick"
to the seat.

Treat all road users
with respect, even if there's a "newbie" in front of you. Remember,
you didn't start out as an expert either. Moreover, a newbie can easily get
lost in any slightly unusual situation!

How Not To

-       Don’t ride while drunk.

-       Don’t ride when tired.

-       Don’t make “blind” maneuvers.

-       Don’t ride at the limit of your abilities.

-       If you don’t feel like riding (have a bad feeling) but need to,
it’s better to use another form of transportation or postpone the trip.

-       Avoid random rides like “I’ll just go somewhere for a spin!”
Always try to plan your route (at least a general direction). Aimless riding
often distracts you from the road, not only mentally (thinking about where to
go) but also physically as you search for places to turn off and look around
corners. Not often, but sometimes, this can provoke you to speed up, especially
if you encounter a more experienced motorcyclist along the way!

-       If it’s going to rain and you’ve never ridden in the rain, it’s
better to avoid riding on roads with heavy traffic.

-       If your motorcycle feels heavier than usual today, my advice is
to walk instead of weaving between cars at near-zero speeds, trying to keep
your motorcycle balanced.

-       Don’t think, “How fast can it go?! Let’s max out the
speedometer.” Remember, it’s your motorcycle; you don’t need to prove anything
to anyone. It’s yours for as long as you “grow” with it.

-       Don’t think, “Oh, there are girls watching… I’ll show them what
I can do.” Show off at special events or better yet, in private.

-       Most of this advice applies to riding on any roads, especially
those with heavy traffic. On a track, you are one-on-one with yourself, your
machine, and the road, where you can test your limits. But on public roads,
everything works differently…

-       I sincerely hope that this post will be
useful to readers. I want to emphasize that we, who are already in the scene,
somewhat shape the stereotypes of beginner motorcyclists. So let’s be fair to
ourselves and form these stereotypes CORRECTLY! Good luck on the roads and take
care of yourselves! “May the force be with
us!”©. A motorcycle is, above all, freedom of spirit, unparalleled pleasure,
and the ability to see a bit more of the world than we are used to seeing from
a house or car window!

-       This post is a kind of trial run, so please don’t judge it too
harshly!