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Do not try to emulate racers on public roads


r1limited

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I know it has been discussed and probably to death, but thats what we are trying to prevent right?  Another perspective from across the Ocean
 
http://www.lisburntoday.co.uk/news/transport/do-not-try-to-emulate-racers-on-public-roads-1-8078400
 
I thought it was an interesting article to an old issue with a good idea.
 
I have seen at Laguna Seca and many other venues pozers try to emulate the racer after its over.  Ya I did it what I was like what 16, but I never have put others in jeopardy on city streets.  If I have a need for speed I have my locations I can safely put the hammer down and get it out of my system.    Good topic for New Riders as we try to educate, assist and say DO NOT USE THE PUBLIC ROADS AS A PERSONAL RACE TRACK
 
 

The Ulster Grand Prix returns next month, and police in Lisburn and Castlereagh are appealing to everyone in the motorcycling community to ’Keep the Race in its Place’. 
The MCE Ulster Grand Prix takes place in Dundrod and is known as ‘the world’s fastest motorcycle road race’, but police are urging enthusiasts and spectators alike to keep the speed on the race circuit.
 
Police want everyone who attends the Grand Prix to enjoy themselves, but they’ve stressed that road safety must come first.
 
In the lead up to UGP Bike Week (August 6 - 12), PSNI officers have been working with race organisers and colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and Northern Ireland Ambulance Service in a bid to get the ‘Keep the Race in its Place’ message out.
[video src=https://youtu.be/VruWHHEnZGw]  
 

“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.” --Thomas Jefferson quoting Cesare Beccaria

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Agree 100%. There's a time and place for everything. Public roads are usually never the place for it. Thats the best thing about bikes, they're still fun even at legal speeds

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I cannot say I haven't ridden like a moron on public roads. Not to mimic racers, but for the imagined sensation of being in control at the limit. By riding much faster than I could see to stop if needed I have put others at risk. By shear luck I have only hurt myself, badly and repeatedly. These days, I have a totally different attitude, and I am forever grateful nobody else were harmed during my years of idiocy.

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I saw that same video recently, it's awesome. Trouble with it is no fearless, immortal youngster is going to pay any attention to it so we have to stay frosty and watch out for them and cagers.

Beemer

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The normal brain is not able to understand risk before the age of 24. Some age very slowly, and I think I was 48 when it began to sink in. Actually, I did understand the risk all along, I just ignored it. And stupids like me are impossible to educate, unfortunately, because we do not care.
 
Most people, even less than 24 years old, will change behaviour once something really scare happen. Like actually falling off your motorcycle or having a crash. "WOW! This can actually hurt me!!!" Sure, they have heard the warnings, but - like most - it never occurred it could actually happen to them. Until it did. And they got scared, like the burned child, and will remember for the future. Unfortunately, some never mature and simply do not care about the consequences. I have talked to one who was quadriplegic who said that if he could drive again, he would be going just as hard as before. Williams, F1 team owner, also ended up in a wheel chair due to speeding, and also say that despite the obvious risk, his craving for speed is (or was, it's been some years since the interview) undiminished.
 
 

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The normal brain is not able to understand risk before the age of 24. Some age very slowly, and I think I was 48 when it began to sink in. Actually, I did understand the risk all along, I just ignored it. And stupids like me are impossible to educate, unfortunately, because we do not care. 
Most people, even less than 24 years old, will change behaviour once something really scare happen. Like actually falling off your motorcycle or having a crash. "WOW! This can actually hurt me!!!" Sure, they have heard the warnings, but - like most - it never occurred it could actually happen to them. Until it did. And they got scared, like the burned child, and will remember for the future. Unfortunately, some never mature and simply do not care about the consequences. I have talked to one who was quadriplegic who said that if he could drive again, he would be going just as hard as before. Williams, F1 team owner, also ended up in a wheel chair due to speeding, and also say that despite the obvious risk, his craving for speed is (or was, it's been some years since the interview) undiminished.
 
 

I think that's what we see a lot out on the roads, the proverbial adrenaline junkies and there's no cure for it. I wonder how many people have wondered if they were going too fast just before having an accident or were they thinking, "muuuust goooo fasterrrrr!!"

Beemer

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I have rarely wondered if I went too fast - I knew I was going too fast. For the conditions, not for my moderate skills or the bike, but too fast to stop in time if there was something in or on the road behind any number of blind corners. And it was never about adrenaline - if I felt the adrenaline, I would slow down. For me, it was about being able to control the bike, preferably sliding both tyres slightly around a bend with a 500 ft drop on the outside. Any mistake, and it's over. The sensation of control - which was imagined because I understood fully nobody actually are in control on public roads riding like that - was worth the risk for almost 3 decades.
 
What took a quarter of a century to grasp fully, was the amount of risk I put others in. I showed a despicable lack of respect for other road users for much too long. I fooled myself into saying I took care in that I only road hard on roads away from people where traffic was low, but the reality is that even here cars can break down or people can be out hiking or bicycling. I was much less of a thug in a car than riding, and I also limited myself by riding cruisers or smaller, slower bikes most of the time; I knew a fast good handling bike was equal to fatality. Mine or somebody else's.
 
 
 

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I'm trying to live not corner the best line on my commute. Riding this weekend with some buddies and I was up front. A1a is the beach route and it is only 35mph or so but has a few blind turns and the streets are 2 lane with opposite directions. There are also tons of bicyclists that take up space as well.
 
I slowed for the blind turn until I knew it was safe. My buddy asked me later why I took that corner so slow as he knows I can lean much better.
 
I explained I had no idea what was on the other side of those trees and didn't want to find out the hard way.
 
None of us are Rossi so lets stay safe and have fun!

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I have plenty of road rash scares to tell the tail of stupid decision. I have far to many "HEY GUYS HOLD MY BEER WATCH THIS" stories that ended in the ER. At 60 I still push the envelope when I cam and where depends a hell of a lot of when. I have never ridden with a tourist on the back as I have taken the point that I will risk my own skin but not that of another. I have seen some pretty stupid poop from squids and seen many times inexperianced new (and Experianced) riders put themselves into harms way. Riding Street over Dirt are two differing worlds, I do not ride Dirt anymore as I have a deseas called WFO and it over takes my sense of survival. Streen well its a controlled beast.
 
Teaching someone to ride within thier limites is as futile as stopping a hardon.

“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.” --Thomas Jefferson quoting Cesare Beccaria

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Keep the racing on the track. Tracks are much more maintained and clean than public roads, plus everybody there is expecting you to be screaming around it.
Public roads can be dangerous even at legal speeds, why push it? Did someone just blow a radiator and dump antifreeze in the corner you're fixing to lean into? Antifreeze is wicked slippery (that's why it's banned on tracks). Did a dump truck or grain truck lose part of the load there? Did someone lose a bag of deer corn off the back of their pickup and the bag busted open and scattered little corn marbles all over? Is there broken safety glass from an accident? More marbles.
I've seen all of these, some in time to avoid, some not. They're virtually invisible until you're almost on top of them. You never know what you're going to run into.
Ride smart, ride safe.

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It's about compromise. I do not like tracks because I dislike repetitions. So after a few laps I'm bored. I even strongly dislike riding the same road twice unless there is a long breach between the rides. My Nirvana is a constantly winding, gnarly road that I have never ridden before and then manage to hit every corner at my - or the bike's if it is an older thing - cornering limit. Throwing sparks around every unfamiliar corner - nothing in this world can compete with the satisfaction I feel then.
 
Is there some risks involved? Yes, but now that I go slow when I cannot see I consider the risks manageable and well within acceptable. What would life be without risk? Of course, the level of risk each individual is willing to take will differ greatly. Some will want a hard hat in the shower, others like to jump off buildings with a tiny parachute on their backs.

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It's about compromise. I do not like tracks because I dislike repetitions. So after a few laps I'm bored.
You find zero excitement in figuring out a faster line, different entry and exit to an apex?  To each his own I guess, but I find it puzzling as I apply this to any back canyon road even at safe speeds, I read the road conditions, feel for the nuances even in familiar roads trying to better my skill sets.  You go faster by going slower is what I teach and was taught.  Sorry but if I had that mind set I would not be riding.  Just my opinion, I respect what you say but find it puzzling. 

“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.” --Thomas Jefferson quoting Cesare Beccaria

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I know many find it strange, but nope, I find no pleasure in finding the final tenths or in perfection. In general, I live by the rule "20 % effort gives 80 % result, which is good enough".
 
I drove a go kart a few times with a bunch of friends, was very close to my personal best time already on lap 2 - when I was miles faster than anybody else in the group - with little extra speed to be found. After 30 minutes, most of the others had just about caught up and one set a lap time marginally better than mine. Another half hour and I'd probably been the slowest, with next to no progress to show for myself. I tried different lines, different braking points etc. but found no extra speed. Also tried a track outing on the motorcycle and after 8 laps I was sliding both wheels all over the place (lousy tyres) and bored to the bone, so I pulled in. Never cared to try it again because I had no fun, be that on the bike or in the go karts.
 
Still, I can understand the attraction about improving little by little, trying over and over in order to find that little key that can unlock the door to the next level. There is always gratification to be had by improving. But for me, there is no joy repeating the same thing ever 2 minutes.

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I live by 20% of the people do 80% of the work while the 80% biatch about having to work. Just my opinon @faffi that just sounds complacent I cannot let my skills lack or I am dead

“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.” --Thomas Jefferson quoting Cesare Beccaria

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You can see this another way; if I work 100% of a certain time frame, I can do one job 100%, or I can do 5 times that at a respectable quality. Not that anything can be done to 100% perfection, of course, but close enough. 80% of perfect is pretty good. 80% of your maximum effort is still pretty good for you. It is not about being lazy or sloppy, it's about being efficient. At least that's how I see it ;)

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You can see this another way; if I work 100% of a certain time frame, I can do one job 100%, or I can do 5 times that at a respectable quality. Not that anything can be done to 100% perfection, of course, but close enough. 80% of perfect is pretty good. 80% of your maximum effort is still pretty good for you. It is not about being lazy or sloppy, it's about being efficient. At least that's how I see it ;)
 
 
At least you have a sense of where you are in terms of perfection. Sometime you meet some people who have no clue and you think:
You're in that "80% of the people who do 20% of the work" group. ?
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bornagainbiker
Keep the racing on the track. Tracks are much more maintained and clean than public roads, plus everybody there is expecting you to be screaming around it. Public roads can be dangerous even at legal speeds, why push it? Did someone just blow a radiator and dump antifreeze in the corner you're fixing to lean into? Antifreeze is wicked slippery (that's why it's banned on tracks). Did a dump truck or grain truck lose part of the load there? Did someone lose a bag of deer corn off the back of their pickup and the bag busted open and scattered little corn marbles all over? Is there broken safety glass from an accident? More marbles.
I've seen all of these, some in time to avoid, some not. They're virtually invisible until you're almost on top of them. You never know what you're going to run into.
Ride smart, ride safe.
I hear ya,  the only street crash I had was from hitting a patch of transmission fluid at the end of a slow 90 degree turn.  I never even saw it until after I slid into the curb and went down.  Thankfully I was only going about 30 km/hr and the damage to me and the bike were minor.

Give Respect To Get Respect   https://jeff-galbraith.pixels.com/

 

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