One of those rides...

asta1 · Scooby Slapper Joined: 03 Dec 2015 Karma :

Does anyone else just have one of those rides where you are utterly and completely useless at riding, observations and life in general?

I had one today. Thought I'd take a few hours to have a pootle and enjoy the sun whilst it lasts. For background, been riding around 6 months now, slowly gaining confidence and up until today finished each ride feeling like I had improved. Anyway, got on the bike and everything felt wrong. Almost immediately stalled coming out of my road, luckily no one around to annoy. Shrugged that off and went to the garage for fuel. Immediately got over enthusiastic with the pump and spewed fuel all over my bike and boots. Fuck. Swore some more, tidied up, calmed down and thought I'd make the most of a bad day and headed for the countryside.

Took a common shortcut along a narrow country lane and hadn't factored in that the recent rain had washed a good 5cm of mud into the road. Car the other way, moved over to let him squeeze past, stupidly went onto the mud on the verge and SO nearly binned the thing. Happily, I wasn't quite stupid enough to grab a handful of brake, so managed to prop it up with a leg and ease off the throttle whilst everything calmed down. Total speed was maybe 10mph and realistically it lasted all of 2 seconds. Still, confidence was now completely shot. Did maybe another 10 or 15miles of really poor riding, 50 pencing bends, complete lack of confidence, concentrating so hard on the bike that I wasn't paying attention to the road, the works.

Decided to write the day off as a learning experience as clearly I wasn't achieving anything constructive and headed for home. Proceeded to filter through town on the roads I know well like a massive twat, still not paying enough attention to the traffic and nearly got taken out by a car turning right out of a side road in stop start traffic. All in all just rubbish and almost certainly the worst riding I have done since passing my test.

Do any of you have those days, or is it just me!?
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CBT Acquired: 09/07/2015
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Andy_Pagin · World Chat Champion Joined: 08 Nov 2010 Karma :

Howling TerrorOutOfOffice · Posted: 23:36 - 28 Jan 2017 Post subject:

Motorcycling, guitar-ing, speaking lucidly, sometimes I even have days where I walk better than others.
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Commuter_Tim · World Chat Champion Joined: 08 May 2013 Karma :

Waaarrrggghhh · Nitrous Nuisance Joined: 27 Oct 2016 Karma :

Sometimes I have days where I geton the bike and I feel nervous as fuck, don't know what I'm doing, ask what the f*ck I am doing on this thing, feel paranoid that someone will hit me, extremely jittery etc.

no idea why.

Evil Hans · World Chat Champion Joined: 08 Nov 2015 Karma :

Howling TerrorOutOfOffice · Posted: 00:23 - 29 Jan 2017 Post subject:

@Waaarrrggghhh Sod that.
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Azoth · Brolly Dolly Joined: 07 Jul 2016 Karma :

Apologies if this sounds hugely arrogant, but the problem might be your bars. Someone I know wrote a massive Facebook note about why (almost) everyone is missing a key cornerstone of riding by having improper bars. While he belabours the point at great length, excessively verbosely and slightly tediously, I think his arguments, however outlandish, might have something to them. Since reading his post, I adjusted my bars to something approximating his theory, and I simply no longer have any 'bad days' on the bike.
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Howling TerrorOutOfOffice · Posted: 00:40 - 29 Jan 2017 Post subject:

^^^Apologies if I'm nit-picking, but you accepted his theory then approximated it.
So is your theory better than his? <<<Pure sarcasm at it's very best. Razz

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Azoth · Brolly Dolly Joined: 07 Jul 2016 Karma :

Howling TerrorOutOfOffice · Posted: 00:49 - 29 Jan 2017 Post subject:

There was nothing I found unfriendly or arrogant in your posts.

Weird, yes.
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Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
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Jewlio Rides Again LLB · World Chat Champion Joined: 06 Oct 2015 Karma :

Barnoe · Trackday Trickster Joined: 17 Aug 2014 Karma :

Nothing as bad as your ...yet

But I do get days where I don't just feel comfortable with the bike... I even start to wonder if something isn't right with the bike.

Other week got the bike out of the garage and I hadn't been on it for a while.... it wouldn't start?
I tried several times while my neighbour watched.... tried to act cool but secretly I was at a loss.
Got off the bike ready to push it back in and charge battery.

Engine kill switch was on...... grrrr ffs

I know what I'm doing, honest! Embarassed

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You know you are old when you're told to slow down by your doctor and not the police.

M.C · Super Spammer Joined: 29 Sep 2015 Karma :

Yep, being tired, when my back's hurting or when I haven't ridden for a while seems to cause spergy riding. Confidence's also a big factor, if you're nervous it translates into nervous riding (which I don't really experience in a car).

chickenstrip · Super Spammer Joined: 06 Dec 2013 Karma :

Riding a bike is the only time I don't feel wrong. I have odd days where I can't get into a ride as much as I'd like, but being on a bike just generally feels natural to me. It's where I feel I belong.

There are occasions when I try too hard and things don't go smoothly, but in those instances I've learned to take a deep breath and just settle down, stop trying so damned hard. Then it all seems to come together again.

There are also occasions when I just don't feel like getting on a bike. When I feel like that, I don't ride. I have no idea if that has ever saved me from grief of course, but I guess it might have.

But nervous on a bike? Never.

@ asta: you've only been riding for 6 months. I think you can expect some moments like this for a while, but the more you ride, the less it'll happen. You probably did the right thing to cut your ride short on this occasion. A day out in good conditions and you'll probably wonder what all the fuss was about.
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ZX-7R · Banned Joined: 24 Jan 2016 Karma :

Yeah,i get the odd day where i just can't get it together like normal.Maybe its just that i have other things on my mind so am not fully focused on my riding.
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Current Bike - 2000 ZX-7R

Dave70 · World Chat Champion Joined: 20 Jan 2012 Karma :

I had one of those days on the ride home last night.

I even stopped and checked to see if I had a flat tyre.

Both tyre pressures were fine. Just one of those days.
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Rogerborg · nimbA Joined: 26 Oct 2010 Karma :

arry · Super Spammer Joined: 03 Jan 2009 Karma :

asta1 · Scooby Slapper Joined: 03 Dec 2015 Karma :

Azoth · Brolly Dolly Joined: 07 Jul 2016 Karma :

NutsyUk · Nearly there... Joined: 22 Jun 2016 Karma :

Im still too new to riding to say, but there are times I change gear like a pro and ride really well... Then suddenly, something all goes to pot with the gearing... Ill end up in Neutral thinking im in first at the lights.... Or think im in first but for some reason even after bouncing on the gear lever was still in 3rd and stall at the lights... and then im all up in a tiz and things go wrong.... I hit a women walking with her pram sending it flying and set london on fire and cause ww3....

Then i get home and think... fook me that was a scary one.
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Yamaha FZ8/Fazer800 (split headlight one) 2014, ~~gingerly getting used to the massive increase in HP and not killing myself in the process!~~ That was easy to get used to.
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Fizzer Thou · World Chat Champion Joined: 06 Aug 2011 Karma :

I can think of an occasion when I should not have ridden the bike as my mind was on the split with a long term girlfriend the night before Sad

A friend popped round and said he would go with me and initially my mind was all over the place.I rode badly in my opinion,until I got to a stretch of road that I particularly enjoy even now,some 35 years later and went for it.This cleared my mind for the rest of the 100 mile ride and I felt so much better as I turned into my road.

The problem was,the ex-girlfriend from the night before was sitting on my doorstep in tears Rolling Eyes

Apart from this experience,in the 41 years of riding,I have not had any time when I have not enjoyed being on the bike Dance!

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Rogerborg · nimbA Joined: 26 Oct 2010 Karma :

Kal · World Chat Champion Joined: 02 Jan 2007 Karma :

On topic, if my confidence has had the bottom kicked out of it then it translates pretty directly in to the bike resulting in choppy inputs and panicked decision making.
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