They are coming out the woodwork now.

[OldGermanHeaps]

fk me a wee bit of sunshine and the roads are now full of people on bikes who cant ride for st. Seen more near misses from inept riding this week than i have all winter. Brushing against hgvs while trying to filter, wobbling all over the place, terrible road positioning, nearly sqished a gs this morning way over on my side of the road on a tight blind left hander on the a7, if i didnt mount the grass he would have had 3.4 ton rolling over the top of him. I could literally see the terror through his visor.
How do you completely forget how to ride a bike in a few short months?

[slopes]

And this is one of the reasons i will not have another bike, my reactions are terrifying now and that is what is happening in the instance you quoted above, people don't realise their reactions are degrading and when they get a visual indication of this, it scares the bajeezus out of them.

Bikes are great and i'd love another one but i would be a danger to myself and others, so i'll just content myself with admiring them and walking on.

[Gas1883]

😔😔i,d describe me as one of the ones above , a wobbler ( though I have had a break of 20 yrs ) , I’m getting better but it will take time , I just ride at my pace .
I’m loving it to be honest , can’t stop grinning , and until I’m at a decent standard I’ll give you many a hour of 🙄🙄 and much amusement no doubt .

[black-k1]

The issue is not that the skills of the fair weather bikers have eroded over winter (and, as a fair weather biker, I know what that's like) it's that the riders don't seem to understand that their skills have eroded. If you understand that then you can be safe on the road.

I know I spend my first few rides constantly telling myself "eyes up" as, for me, the skill that disappears quickest is to look ahead at where I want to go, not at where I think I'm going!

[Gixer968CS]

I commute (mostly) year round in to London from Kent and during the winter bikes are few and far between but this last week more have come out and, yes, it's frustrating to be around some of them! It is general awareness of what's around them that seems to be most impacted. My pet hate is following a biker past traffic only for them to stop at the front of the queue not leaving room for me as well as they have no idea I'm there!

Bicycles are worse though, none in winter and now Borough High Street and over London Bridge is like a Bicycle soup of lunatics riding in between buses, running red lights, riding inside vehicles (including me) turning left etc. Bicycles need to be segregated for their own safety and the cycle lane over London Bridge is tiny meaning they're all in the bus lane. Scary.

Edited by Gixer968CS on Wednesday 9th April 09:45

[Drawweight]

I was out on Sunday for a 300 mile run with some mates.

Apart from going out earlier in the week with my wife as pillion that’s my first run of the year.

It took me about half way through to get back into the swing of things and feeling confident chucking it into the bends. I felt noticeably different at the end than the beginning.

I think that part of the problem is the lack of mileage. A few miles on the occasional weekend isn’t enough to hone your skills. You can’t get good at the piano without many hours of practice so why should riding a motorbike be any different?

[MDUBZ]

OP st happens, well done for avoiding it.

I've been wobbling all winter maybe there is just more of us in the summer. I have odd days where my brain seems to forget how to connect the dots and i'll do something stupid and have several WTF moments like forget to cancel indicators after every junction or forget to put it in 1st to pull away and be in 2nd or 3rd. Last week for some reason I was making some really bad choices and nearly had a head on myself - slight left hander on a single carriage, 7.5t luton a couple of vehicles ahead obscured my sighting of a van coming the other way so my clear road for overtake was unexpectedly full of transit (I think this was more related to tiredness tbh, back to the gym, recent clock changes etc)

@slopes I'm not sure it is all down to reaction times, it does take time to adapt back to riding if you have been away from it for any length of time. As i use the bike far more than the cars, and having not driven 1 for a few months over the winter it felt completely alien last week: road position, braking, gearing, grip levels, clutch control all took a little bit of getting used to again. Some get it back faster than others but there is no guarantee the riding was up to scratch when they put the bike away anyway..

Edited by MDUBZ on Wednesday 9th April 09:40

[Krikkit]

black-k1 said:

The issue is not that the skills of the fair weather bikers have eroded over winter (and, as a fair weather biker, I know what that's like) it's that the riders don't seem to understand that their skills have eroded. If you understand that then you can be safe on the road.

I know I spend my first few rides constantly telling myself "eyes up" as, for me, the skill that disappears quickest is to look ahead at where I want to go, not at where I think I'm going!

Definitely, same here.

Little things like going out and practicing low-speed maneuvers in a car park to get the cobwebs off doing a U-turn or similar helps hugely as well.

[moanthebairns]

I'll be honest, my biggest problem is riding a bike all weekend, then jumping in the works van Monday morning and thinking I can filter a Renault Kangoo.

[Gixer968CS]

In a similar vein, I ride my GS about 3 days a week, c7000+ miles a year and obviously its like a piece of me. Riding it becomes second nature, I don't even think about it and it's probably the only bike I ride from October to March. So, when I hopped on the SP2 last weekend I rode that like a cretin for a good hour until I got used to how it turns - nearly clipped a bank on the inside as it just lays down on it's side so easily. Also, no steering lock on the Honda (like most sports bikes) so when I stop and manoeuvre it I nearly dropped it about 3 times as it doesn't turn like the GS which is far easier to ride at slow speeds or when parking it backwards etc. Probably people were following me on the Honda thinking I was a fair weather rider out for the first time

[Biker9090]

Same thing every spring.

Careful though, some will call you judgemental for daring to mention it!

[Harry H]

It's surprising how quickly the brain switches off. I notice it after just a week long holiday when returning to the commute. Takes a couple of days for "The Force" to return.

[carinaman]

Not a wobbler and someone who may've forgotten they're not on a motorcycle (from the dashcam thread):

FakeConcern said:

Today in Mrs Concern's car we were sat in a jam on a double white line section of the A21 into Hastings and heard a motor bike coming past us, only it wasn't a bike...
I couldn't see how he managed to slot back in (we were standing still by the way). How would other drivers have reacted if this had been a car?

[P675]

I've been on the bike a bit when it's dry over winter but had my first proper long ride on Sunday, started early and saw it get busier into the afternoon. Bikes all over the place.

Seems like a lot of bikes overtake without a care in the world, leaving little space on the right and cutting back in much too close. I like going fast but I'm cautious of other drivers/riders, make sure there's plenty of room to the blind bend up ahead in case a fellow enthusiastic motorist is coming through, and treat the thing in front like it might suddenly lurch sideways into me. Most bikes I encounter are just chilling, but some seem to think it's MotoGP.

Maybe I'm over cautious but have had enough near misses due to my stupidity and learned from them.

[Pebbles167]

I find riding all year round helps avoid this. And if not, just being aware that you've not ridden for a while and should take it easy is a good start.

I've not seen much crap riding in rural areas, though I have heard screaming 4 cylinders flying through the gears in the 30 zone near my house which is expected but always disappointing.

I've seen quite a few idiots on the motorways though, a GS rider that without looking just moved into my lane with about a metre to spare, and a ninja rider who would repeatedly overtake at about 90 only to slow down to 65 a mile on.

No wonder everyone thinks bikers are dumb.

[stu67]

Yes, I commute all year round on the bike, I witnessed a guy yesterday clipping the back of a HGV whilst unsuccessfully trying to filter. I was following him on his nice shiny mid size GS 900? down the bottom end of the A1, he looked very uncertain and was attempting to go for gaps that didn't exist. I hung right back as thought I might have been putting under pressure. Whacked the back of a HGV tailgate with his handlebar, thought he was going to drop it but give him his due he kept it upright.

[Biker9090]

carinaman said:

Not a wobbler and someone who may've forgotten they're not on a motorcycle (from the dashcam thread):

FakeConcern said:

Today in Mrs Concern's car we were sat in a jam on a double white line section of the A21 into Hastings and heard a motor bike coming past us, only it wasn't a bike...
I couldn't see how he managed to slot back in (we were standing still by the way). How would other drivers have reacted if this had been a car?

Christ that's dodgy

[Bob_Defly]

Biker9090 said:

carinaman said:

Not a wobbler and someone who may've forgotten they're not on a motorcycle (from the dashcam thread):

FakeConcern said:

Today in Mrs Concern's car we were sat in a jam on a double white line section of the A21 into Hastings and heard a motor bike coming past us, only it wasn't a bike...
I couldn't see how he managed to slot back in (we were standing still by the way). How would other drivers have reacted if this had been a car?

Christ that's dodgy

Fookin' 'ell. I once saw a guy on a trike do that, it didn't end well at all.

[OldGermanHeaps]

Just spotted a scratch down my passenger side from a tree branch and a tyre is out of balance.
I hope that useless bellend never gets the stain out his trousers. I am out of pocket now so some useless gets to go home scott free.

[TheInternet]

moanthebairns said:

I'll be honest, my biggest problem is riding a bike all weekend, then jumping in the works van Monday morning and thinking I can filter a Renault Kangoo.

I generally see it as a good sign when I find myself looking into mirrors that aren't there on my push iron.