I am still gaining confidence on my bike, but I do lane split even on the highway if the traffic is going slowly enough. The general consensus is that you should ride faster than 20 to 30 kms faster than the traffic around you, and I have to agree that this is certainly a good idea. I generally don't even ride as fast as that faster than the cars, as I am still gaining confidence and mastery of my bike at slow speeds.
Yesterday evening on my way home, on the highway, it was like some wonderful dream. The gaps were large, the cars were all friendly and made space, and the bikes behind me didn't seem in a hurry - they all thanked me when I moved out of their way, and it was all good.
This morning on my way into work, it was also good. Slightly less than 100% perfect, as a few cars deliberately cut me off, or tried to stop me from passing, etc. Again, this evening, coming home, it was good, and in general, the gaps were large, although I had to really concentrate.
I have made the following conclusions:
the cars are always the same, but the attitude of the rider determines the ride
As long as you have your wits about you 100%, the cars can do you no harm
if you are tired, or lacking in concentration, you will think it is the cars who are out to get you
if you go too fast, you will eventually come too close to a car, and we all know what the outcome of that is
if you ride like a bat out of hell, you will end up going back there
if you thank the cars, they will be more inclined to move out of the way next time
if you are patient, things are always better for you
even if the car does do something stupid, you are the one who will fall off and have an owie
cars just don't look in their rear view mirrors
I have decided that although it sometimes feels like all cars are out to kill all bikers, and deliberately cut us off, push in front of us, and block our way, it is not the case. They are either just in a hurry, don't care, don't see us, or are thick.
Either way, as a biker, I have to suck it up and wait a few extra seconds. This way I will live to write my daily reports in my blog.
ME, out.
2 comments:
You cannot win against cars. And that's the long and the short of it. Better to allow some dodgy driver to win the lane/space/gain-an-extra-second/beat you to white line/I travelled the last meter to the traffic light faster than you battle.
When I find that the cars are behaving badly, I slow down - because actually in a moment of clarity I realised that in fact I was being aggressive in such cases.
On the matter of confidence I find that I need to be firm with the bike; drive it where I want it to go, bumps, gravel or no. If I want to go through a gap, I go.
The bike does offer that freedom; but going through traffic is a little like traveling through a tunnel whose sides mean game over if touched.
You just ride within your limits. As soon as you feel uneasy. Back off and take a deep breath.
Besides we do this because we enjoy it don't we? So go and enjoy.
Post a Comment