At the cones class that I took again yesterday, I remembered a phrase that the instructor used the last time I took his class that I like a lot: Time to go to work.
The instructor was a retired motor officer in the ATL area who still does escorts and funerals. A lady was having trouble with many of the maneuvers and he was getting very frustrated with her because she wasn't listening to him and following his instructions about posture, riding position, turning your head, friction zone, etc.. She dropped her bike several times. He called all of us together and used her as an example of not concentrating. What he said to her (and us) was that it is all good and well to be relaxed and enjoying your motorcycle when you are rolling down the highway but when you come upon traffic, a busy intersection or when you are making a turn or are in a parking lot, that you need to get up on the tank, heighten your awareness and pay attention to what you are doing - It's "time to go to work" was the phrase that he used. That lady did not like being used as an example and promptly left the class that day but I often have thought that she simply was riding her bike like she was driving her car/truck and failed to "get it" that motorcycle riding was not as simple as it looked. For me, when I get on my bike I enter a different level of concentration and even more so when I get in traffic or in situations where the potential for "trouble" is even greater but now every time I scoot forward in the seat or up on the tank I will be reminded of his great one liner.👊
The instructor was a retired motor officer in the ATL area who still does escorts and funerals. A lady was having trouble with many of the maneuvers and he was getting very frustrated with her because she wasn't listening to him and following his instructions about posture, riding position, turning your head, friction zone, etc.. She dropped her bike several times. He called all of us together and used her as an example of not concentrating. What he said to her (and us) was that it is all good and well to be relaxed and enjoying your motorcycle when you are rolling down the highway but when you come upon traffic, a busy intersection or when you are making a turn or are in a parking lot, that you need to get up on the tank, heighten your awareness and pay attention to what you are doing - It's "time to go to work" was the phrase that he used. That lady did not like being used as an example and promptly left the class that day but I often have thought that she simply was riding her bike like she was driving her car/truck and failed to "get it" that motorcycle riding was not as simple as it looked. For me, when I get on my bike I enter a different level of concentration and even more so when I get in traffic or in situations where the potential for "trouble" is even greater but now every time I scoot forward in the seat or up on the tank I will be reminded of his great one liner.👊