Expect the Unexpected

So last night on my ride home from work one of those 30-gallon trash bags, spread out in full sail, flew across the concrete divider from oncoming traffic and plastered itself to me. This was on the freeway, by the way, and I was cruising along at about 70 mph. In the split second my brain had to process this hazard before it wrapped itself around me, I’d put my left arm up to fend it off. Fortunately, in doing so, that cut down the amount of time I was “blinded,” as I was immediately able to pull the plastic bag away from my helmet. [Read more]

Designing Rider

Jody Levitan here, art director for Rider magazine, where you can usually find me at my computer designing layouts and doing my best to create a more enjoyable reading experience with a visual story as well. I’m also the most novice rider on staff and in May it will be three years since I’ve taken the MSF class and fulfilled my childhood dream of riding and therefore ending my rider envy for the rest of the staff. [Read more]

Low Low Load Capacities

What is up with low motorcycle load capacities these days? I’m not talking about cargo capacity, the volume of the bike’s built-in luggage; I’m referring to how much weight the motorcycle can carry in total. It’s not uncommon to see load capacities fall below 400 pounds on luxury and sport-touring bikes that seem intended to carry much more. Put my wife and me in full riding suits, helmets, boots and gloves on the typical luxotourer, for example, and we often can’t even bring our cell phones (never mind any extra clothes and such) without exceeding the bike’s rated load capacity. We’re not oompah-loompahs (we don’t even like chocolate much), so what gives? [Read more]

Ride for the Cure

October has been National Breast Cancer Awareness Month for 25 years, and for the last three of those years a Ride for the Cure fundraising event has been held at Rynoland—the Ryan Hughes Elite Motocross Facility in Anza, California. The event took place on Saturday, October 3, and proceeds went to Michelle’s Place, a local breast cancer resource center. Gates opened on Friday for overnight camping, and they opened again early Saturday morning for a full day of riding on the large and mini tracks. [Read more]

Wait Apexing

On the Rider European tour in mid-September I had, thanks in part to a pot of coffee with lunch that reminded me of crude oil, an epiphany of sorts. I use the word “epiphany” here simply because it sounds more cerebral than the operatic “revelation,” which is appropriate in this case.

In motorcycling we often use the term “late apexing” to describe a cornering technique that helps keep the rider out of harm’s way and let’s him see farther around the corner before committing to a particular line around it.  Trouble is, I would wager that using the phrase “late apexing” on its own to describe this technique imparts about as much immediate understanding to most riders as does using the word epiphany (in just about any context). Telling a fellow rider unfamiliar with the term that the best technique for negotiating blind corners is to use late apexing is about as effective as saying the best technique is to use epiphany, which could be some kind of hair product.

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Hi-Vis

I do almost all of my in-town commuting and errand running wearing a bright orange Olympia Motosports Patton jacket. I get a lot of positive comments on the color–it’s an attention grabber without the yuk factor of Hi-vis yellow. Still, a couple of recent incidents have reinforced lessons I learned long ago – you’re safest when you assume other motorists don’t see you, and you’re better off depending on your safety gear’s abilities to cushion a fall rather than its color. Hi-Vis can’t hurt, but there’s just no guarantees that all drivers will see you all the time no matter what you wear.

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