giving up street

[Stromper]

Before you give up


You are only minutes from relatively safe amusment and inspiration.

Just open a map or google maps and look for the roads that cross hills or follow rivers.

Hop on an expressway for 30 minutes and your on your way to some good fun and entertainment.

I have known many riders who never got out of there own county, the bike is just a social tool and excuse to hang out with freinds. If this is you then the track is great cause a little riding and a lot of socialising can be had.

Before you give up a road bike find a spot on the map a hundred miles away at the end of some small roads and go there. See if you have been missing something. "you don't know what you don't know"

[Chippertheripper]

Yeah. I spend a bunch of $ so I can go to the track and socialize.

[tsanterre]

I don't think I'll ever completely give up street...

I def. gave up riding stupid on the street, and took it to the track , but I still love hopping on the bike to commute to work, and to go for a 50-100mile jaunt when time allows.

I suppose it would be different if I lived in a real city and riding to work was just highway and traffic and no back roads... but I'm only 10minutes from decent riding in any direction.

I also see myself adding a bike to the collection in the future that I can take some longer (more comfortable) rides on...

[KingCast 650R]

As I hopped on the bike last night right around dusk and cruised some very unpopulated roads with temps around 70 and fog coming off of the landscape, I just couldn't wrap my head around this thread.

Maybe it's because some of you guys don't live within a convenient distance to nice country roads or maybe your senses are just numbed by the track days. I just can't relate.

The track is great time but it can't compare to cruising through gorgeous landscape with the moon coming up in front of you as your bike rushes through the night air.

Exactly.

[tsanterre]

Pretty sweet riding the bike down the road yesterday and seeing this....



Anybody else in Chittenden County see it?

[Doc]

i dont ever see myself giving up the street completely, but since ive gotten to the track, im less motivated to go "rip it up". i still like going out for a spirited ride on a nice day, but im not as desperate as i used to be.

however, at this point if i HAD to give up something for financial reasons, i'd give up the street, just cause i really enjoy speed and the satisfaction of pushing myself to be a better rider on the track.

I don't think I'll ever completely give up street...

I def. gave up riding stupid on the street, and took it to the track , but I still love hopping on the bike to commute to work, and to go for a 50-100mile jaunt when time allows.

I feel I had a direct hand in these two "taking it to the track"

I am with them, before I rode the track I couldn't see what the big deal was and thought I would never reduce my street riding. Now I know better and when I ride on the street I am much more calm than I used to be.

Of course 25 years of riding might have something to do with it as well...

[tsanterre]

I feel I had a direct hand in these two "taking it to the track"

I am with them, before I rode the track I couldn't see what the big deal was and thought I would never reduce my street riding. Now I know better and when I ride on the street I am much more calm than I used to be.

Of course 25 years of riding might have something to do with it as well...

No way, my buddy Bill Rublee gave me the push to get out on the track. You had nothing to do with it.

Kidding Doc... even if you didn't give me the push to go to the track you def. helped me and many others be safer on the street... gear and all.

Now did you see the rainbow or not?

[Fowl998]

I took about twenty years off from riding all togehter while raising a family etc. The funds were just never there to justify it. I was on a bike almost all of the time from the age of 11 to 26. The desire never went away just the means.

I got back into riding this year and have done a few track days (which I always wanted to do) and I love it. I have really slowed down on the street ever since my first track day. The thrill of riding fast on the street has gone. Nothing can compare to track riding IMO. Just being able to push yourself to your limit without worrying about cars, cops etc. is a feeling you can't get anywhere else except for maybe the dirt.

[Chippertheripper]

ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[tsanterre]

ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

YouTube - Yosemitebear Mountain Giant Double Rainbow 1-8-10

fixed

[RandyO]

I've given it up for the season for the sole reason that I haven't found a way to transport my crutches on the back.
Fitz

Jees !

I got a couple bungee cords I'll give ya, get a pair of crutches you can collapse

things as simple as that have never stopped me from riding , when I broke my thumb on my clutch hand, I had to convince the doctor to leave my fingers exposed as much as possible so I could still operate my clutch, it was a bit awkward hitting the horn or turn signal

[toocrazy2yoo]

I ain't givin' up the street. At the other end of the street is the Canadian border, Fla., the Grand Canyon, back home to D.C. and back to New England and ya can't give up the street and do that shit on a bike. Do I wanna ride up and down I-93 into Boston every morning? No. But the street? Get on them slabs, ride to where riding is cool, and come back on the slab. Why's that have ta be a bad thang? I do it regularly, trust me, it's a good thing.

[Doc]

Now did you see the rainbow or not?

What Rainbow?

[SVRACER01]

Wirelessly posted (HTC EVO "DROID" : Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; en-us; Sprint APA9292KT Build/FRF91) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

I rode 365 days a year for the 8 years I lived in AZ. I didn't have a car. When I came here, the weather is just too inconsistent. It'll be beautiful when I leave for work, then I'm hurrying home to beat a t storm. I bought a bike that I rode fairly often. Then it was less often, then even less, until the point where I didn't even reg my bike. This is the 2nd year that it hasn't been regd. I just lost interest. My next street bike will most likely be a DR650 motard. It'll have enough gearing to do some highway and still be fun at low speed.
Idk, I might switch back one day, but right now I think thats the plan.

[markbvt]

As I hopped on the bike last night right around dusk and cruised some very unpopulated roads with temps around 70 and fog coming off of the landscape, I just couldn't wrap my head around this thread.

Maybe it's because some of you guys don't live within a convenient distance to nice country roads or maybe your senses are just numbed by the track days. I just can't relate.

The track is great time but it can't compare to cruising through gorgeous landscape with the moon coming up in front of you as your bike rushes through the night air.

Couldn't agree more.

Riding a motorcycle isn't just about going fast and dragging knee. For me at least, riding a motorcycle is about getting out into the world without being cooped up in a metal and glass cage. It's about combining the basic fun of riding with the sense of discovery and exploration of going new (and often distant) places.

Maybe that's why I keep drifting further toward dual-sport bikes and don't even own a sportbike.

This picture kind of says it all:


If you've never tried motorcycle touring... you should.

--mark

[markbvt]

things as simple as that have never stopped me from riding , when I broke my thumb on my clutch hand, I had to convince the doctor to leave my fingers exposed as much as possible so I could still operate my clutch, it was a bit awkward hitting the horn or turn signal

I broke my right wrist and left hand a week ago, and I'm already pondering how to convince the orthopedist to give me the most minimal casts/supports possible at my followup appointment Monday. I figure a throttle rocker will help with the wrist, and my left hand already feels strong enough to operate the clutch...

--mark

[csmutty]

Good thing there is a type of riding for everyone...that would bore me right out of my mind. But you like it, so that's all that matters. Maybe when I'm older.

Couldn't agree more.

Riding a motorcycle isn't just about going fast and dragging knee. For me at least, riding a motorcycle is about getting out into the world without being cooped up in a metal and glass cage. It's about combining the basic fun of riding with the sense of discovery and exploration of going new (and often distant) places.

Maybe that's why I keep drifting further toward dual-sport bikes and don't even own a sportbike.

This picture kind of says it all:


If you've never tried motorcycle touring... you should.

--mark

[SVRACER01]

Wirelessly posted (HTC EVO "DROID" : Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; en-us; Sprint APA9292KT Build/FRF91) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

I have plenty of places to ride, I just don't always have time (or sometimes the desire) to do so.
I rode my bike up to the races a couple race weekends ago. It was beautiful out and relatively speaking its a short trip.
3- That's how many times I had to avoid being hit by someone in a car who isn't paying attention.
9- potholes, sand,debris etc avoided mid corner
3- not avoided
4- slow drivers going BELOW the speed limit

I realize that changing bikes might not solve my problem with riding on the street but I hope it will. I don't like riding alone, whether its with a passenger or with a friend its just what I enjoy. My g/f hates being on the back and she's not really available to ride with. Idk, maybe I'm just worn out.

[Lxpony]

Like it has been said- I think too many people ride around in urban areas... that gets really boring and REALLY dangerous. The real fun is hooking up with a small group of people, going out into the country for a ride, getting lunch and riding home. I have had a lot of those rides this year and they are VERY enjoyable. It is all in where you live. If it takes you 3 hours to get out into the area with good roads I could see how it would get boring but if you live already in the country then there is really no way that I can see how it could ever get boring.

[SVRACER01]

Wirelessly posted (HTC EVO "DROID" : Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; en-us; Sprint APA9292KT Build/FRF91) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

No, it takes a couple hours to hook up with the group of friends that I ride with, then another hour or 2 to get to the roads