Hello from a newb
Discussion
I`ve all ways considered getting a bike but 2 reasons put me off
1, all the other nut jobs that could be on the wrong side of the road just in time for me to do a superman over their car
2, and how viable it is to use a bike all year round
Well anyway i`ve managed to figure out that that proportionally the amount of accidents that happen between cars and bikes is roughly the same, and it`s how you drive that will protect you, ie no daft over taking on a corner on some b road in the middle of no place
and i reckon that a bike would be usable almost all of the year(apart from snow, ice, monsoon, volcano explosion)
So for that reason i`ve decided to go ahead and get this thing sorted out..
1, all the other nut jobs that could be on the wrong side of the road just in time for me to do a superman over their car
2, and how viable it is to use a bike all year round
Well anyway i`ve managed to figure out that that proportionally the amount of accidents that happen between cars and bikes is roughly the same, and it`s how you drive that will protect you, ie no daft over taking on a corner on some b road in the middle of no place
and i reckon that a bike would be usable almost all of the year(apart from snow, ice, monsoon, volcano explosion)
So for that reason i`ve decided to go ahead and get this thing sorted out..
cool chap welcome aboard...
I've just been through a similar thing a few months ago... did junior trials as a kid but manouvered into cars at 17 ( probably a good job I was bad enough in cars on a bike I'd never have made 18!!)
a bit older now :cough: 39 and more sensible ( just) and I've gone for it and got a licence and a bike...
I think as long as you assume the worst from every other road user (i.e. they are trying to kill you and havent seen you even i they look straight at you) and dont ride like a lunatic then you should be ok
have fun
G
Also - the 'year round biking' thing with the macho attitude towards 'fair weather bikers' is not always a good idea to have.
I did 4 years commuting (on a fast scooter, mind you, but still only two vulnerable wheels) in all weathers, all year round. Snow and ice, and one particularly icy day I will never forget (fortunately I didn't crash, and only have memories to show for it, unlike some of the poor buggers who came off). Bikes and icy roads / snow do not mix very well - there's the macho tales to be told of riding to work in the snow and sliding everywhere but that's just BS and almost close to 'I spent the whole ride out of control today'...
There are two other factors to riding in abysmal weather - firstly if it's very cold then your concentration and hand / finger control will be shot unless you have invested in really good gear (heated gloves, etc. BMW-style). If you've done this, then the second problem, especially commuting in the mornings, involves cars. When the weather gets to the point where half the cars on the road have misted up windows and drivers are looking out of a smeared porthole on the windscreen, the chances of them seeing you in the mirrors or even next to them are nil. I actually knocked on the driver's window of some woman in a big 4x4 once as she pulled right as I was alongside her in traffic - frightened the s
t out of her as she really hadn't seen me.
I guess that's why they play that 'I just didn't see you' song / video to new CBTers these days (my girlfriend did it last year and the video certainly did the trick - memorable and to the point)...
Personally I'd always have use of a car, even a crappy one, for poor weather and not rely on the bike. I'm a n00b too - got my first proper bike last weekend, since then the weather's been crap and I'm only riding for fun. I'll happily accept calls of 'hypocrite' when it's realised that my car is just as impractical for poor weather as a bike, and just as likely to lose control in
I did 4 years commuting (on a fast scooter, mind you, but still only two vulnerable wheels) in all weathers, all year round. Snow and ice, and one particularly icy day I will never forget (fortunately I didn't crash, and only have memories to show for it, unlike some of the poor buggers who came off). Bikes and icy roads / snow do not mix very well - there's the macho tales to be told of riding to work in the snow and sliding everywhere but that's just BS and almost close to 'I spent the whole ride out of control today'...
There are two other factors to riding in abysmal weather - firstly if it's very cold then your concentration and hand / finger control will be shot unless you have invested in really good gear (heated gloves, etc. BMW-style). If you've done this, then the second problem, especially commuting in the mornings, involves cars. When the weather gets to the point where half the cars on the road have misted up windows and drivers are looking out of a smeared porthole on the windscreen, the chances of them seeing you in the mirrors or even next to them are nil. I actually knocked on the driver's window of some woman in a big 4x4 once as she pulled right as I was alongside her in traffic - frightened the s
t out of her as she really hadn't seen me.I guess that's why they play that 'I just didn't see you' song / video to new CBTers these days (my girlfriend did it last year and the video certainly did the trick - memorable and to the point)...
Personally I'd always have use of a car, even a crappy one, for poor weather and not rely on the bike. I'm a n00b too - got my first proper bike last weekend, since then the weather's been crap and I'm only riding for fun. I'll happily accept calls of 'hypocrite' when it's realised that my car is just as impractical for poor weather as a bike, and just as likely to lose control in
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