Ride With Your Head

By now you have either decided to buy a bicycle or you have made peace with the fact that your bike, regardless of make, model or age, is fast and dangerous. Hopefully you haven’t done yourself too much damage and you have some great war stories building up to share over a beer or two after the ride. Mind you, it’s not just your bike you’re learning a deep sense of respect for, but also the terrain you insist on riding it through. And these facts that you realize are actually quite true are the essence of my tale this month. I was unfortunate to have to help a good mate of ours, with the assistance of some of the other members of our crew, an ambulance and a pair of paramedics, out of a hole in a mine dump a couple of weeks ago. Our buddy suffered four broken vertebrae and four broken ribs. He will not be back on his scooter in the foreseeable future! My nickname, “The Tombstone”, did not come painlessly either. The crew members of the Wang Gang Gang bestowed this handle on me some three and half years ago after a typical war story session where my broken-bone-and-body-metal-count was brought into the open. Yeah, the big crashes do make great war stories…….but are they really worth it? Nobody’s saying that you shouldn’t be riding, hell no! I’m also not saying that you should slow down, jump lower and shorter, or never lift your front wheel. Jeez, I’m probably more addicted to all of that stuff than most of you combined. What I am saying is “Ride with your head”! No, this is not another trick you need to learn to show off to everybody else. This means that you need to just be a little more aware of what you’re doing once you’ve let that clutch out, especially when you get into the band. So now you ask yourself “what the hell does this guy mean when he says don’t slow down, don’t jump shorter and lower and, by all means, pick that front wheel up………but ride aware?????” Its simple folks. Know your bike, know your self, and know your terrain. And when there is a hint of doubt in any or all of these areas then be very, very careful. Let’s start with the bike:Jammed throttle: not funny. Been there a couple of times. I have a couple of collar bones that wish I hadn’t but that’s another story. Throttle stickers are not uncommon on all makes of dirt bike. You get a tiny piece of grit stuck in your carb cylinder or you mistakenly route your throttle cable incorrectly and get a kink in it…….all of a sudden you find yourself on a machine with a mind of it’s own. The problem here is that novice riders don’t think. Panic is the first thing that sets in and, very often, a bunch of pain is the second. Slow your head down folks, the problem is simple to solve. Pull in your clutch and use your brakes!!! It doesn’t matter that the engine is screaming, at least you’re not falling. Once you’ve got your speed under control, kill the engine, stall it if you have to by letting out the clutch with all your brakes reigned in.Punctures: I know it sounds stupid, but you’d be surprised at how many times I’ve ridden with guys that get so bitter that they have a puncture that they just don’t accept it and carry on the ride regardless. Sometimes the “tire weld“ doesn’t work and you’re pretty much stuck with a flat. You have no choice but to ride back to civilization on your crippled steed. Use you head folks!!! Don’t race. Your ride is, for all intents and purposes, over! Be careful! You have radically reduced control over your handling, even at slow speeds, and you stand the risk of seriously damaging your rims – expensive items to repair or replace.Bent handlebars: Very, very irritating but very, very common when you drop your bike….at almost any speed. Your bike may be absolutely rideable but its setup is now radically different. Be careful! Your bike is not going to behave like you’re used to it behaving. And the freakiest thing with bent bars is when you suddenly get into a situation and your first reaction is corrective steering. You want to see the size of your own eyes when your bike goes in a direction other than the one you’re trying to steer it into.Bust levers: Another common issue when you drop your scooter – bent or broken brake or clutch levers. Again, nobody said don’t ride. Your bike is probably still cool. Just be aware of your stopping ability. And if it’s your clutch – remember that if you stall going up a hill climb or in a river, or in the middle of a road you’re crossing…..you’re in trouble!!! The terrain. Aaah, this is the part that catches everybody out. Rule number one………………y.o.u    a.r.e     r.i.d.i.n.g    a    m.o.t.o.r.i.s.e.d    v.e.h.i.c.l.e    c.a.p.a.b.l.e    o.f   h.i.g.h    s.p.e.e.d.s     i.n,    o.v.e.r,    a.n.d    t.h.r.o.u.g.h    p.l.a.c.e.s    n.o.t     d.e.s.i.g.n.e.d      f.o.r     a.n.y     v.e.h.i.c.l.e,    m.o.t.o.r.i.s.e.d    o.r    o.t.h.e.r.w.i.s.e!!!! You need to keep you eyes open and your wits about you at all times. Dirt biking is the best fun in the world but it requires two physical elements to properly complete the experience, fitness and concentration. Fitness is an issue that can be discussed on its own and does play a part in your safety out there, but concentration is paramount. You cannot go blasting your way through unknown bush or new trail. Hell, not even old trail if you haven’t been there before. Rocks, holes, ruts, thin passes, deep rivers…these are some of natures little hiccups that break your bones! I am being serious – you wouldn’t believe how much a trail’s nature can change with one overnight rainfall. It looked funny every time, but I cannot count the number of times I have seen a mate rush round a corner, or over a hill, or through a “puddle” that turned nasty on him. I’ve been the brunt of the giggle too many times myself. Sometimes it’s not funny though, take the opening paragraph of this article as an example. This was purely a case of rushing into the unknown without being wary enough of what may be waiting. And the price this time was expensive. Lastly, know your limits. C’mon guys, if you want to do tricks on your bike then great. But go play on a motocross or xtreme track. These places are confined to a specific area so help is immediately available if you need it. The jumps are obvious and so are their landing strips. Ugly obstacles like rocks and ruts do not exist and, in the rare cases that there may be a new rut, it is usually created by you going through the same line anyway. Going beyond your limit on a trail is going to:

• Hurt you;
• Break your bike; and worst
• Screw up everyone else’s ride

So, take this from someone called “The Tombstone”, hospital food sucks, the nurses in South Africa do a great job but they aren’t all oil paintings like in the movies, and I still feel every nut and bolt in me when it gets cold or rains. Take your bike, get in the dirt, go fast, wheelie, jump, do it all….…just do it with your head.Keep the shiny side up and ride it like you stole itSteve “Tombstone” Lauter