Hey, Kevin. Glad to see you are enjoying the ride and the thrill of learning what the bike will and won't do.
I do a lot of interstate riding to get to places where I really want to ride and trucks are to be respected - especially if they are driven by jerks. To them you are less than a flyspeck.
If a truck is in the left lane I don't care how long it takes I wait until it pulls back into the right lane before trying to pass. And never sit in the right hand groove of the right lane behind a truck because of the turbulence - guess you learned that! :-D Most importantly, if you can't clearly see his mirrors, or at least one of them, he can't see you at all! On windy days I have actually seen bikers ride in the dead air only a few feet behind an 18 wheeler! Insanity!!!
When I pass I get into the far left groove of the left lane and accelerate. I want to get past him and into the lane in front of him as quickly as possible. I've seen guys just slowly pass trucks and that is dangerous. There is for the driver a big blind spot as you pass and if you sit there he may well forget you are there at all. And, to make it worse, I have visions of a tire tread seperating and this road gator coming at me. Now there is a nightmare!
Glad you are having fun riding. Enjoy! Ride smart!
Monte
