Hey, Lee Parks -- Thanks A Lot!

[bigskynyc]

I woke up early this morning, walked the hound, showered, and headed over to Starbucks with Lee Parks' Total Control: High Performance Street Riding Techniques in hand. Over a low-fat turkey bacon egg sandwich and a grande latte, I re-read the chapters Line Cornering and Throttle Control. I'd read the book before, but wanted to re-read it because I'm taking the ACR Clinic later next month.

Anyway, for some reason, his writing really made lots of sense and so I thought I'd head up to Bear Mountain, drop down into Harriman State Park (both of which are in the Hudson Valley and are very popular places to ride -- for good reason) and try to put some of it into practice.

This has been one of the first decent weekends that I've been able to put some quality miles on the Street -- and MAN, I can't believe how this thing handles! Looking ahead into curves, delaying my entry, terrific exits-- it was all working. Just beautiful Harriman State Park, me, the bike ... and a very unamused patrolman who pulled me over for speeding.



(I have to admit, though, that about thirty minutes before my encounter with the Man, I was thinking that this bike had the potential to get me -- Mr. Boy Scout with the clean driving record -- into trouble.)

Well, after that, I rode home with my tail between my legs and filled out the request for a court appearance. It might help, and it couldn't hurt, right? I mean, what are they going to do?



________
Don

[Gdsila]

Without doubt Harriman is the playground. However the key to avoiding
"performance awards" is never go fast in a straight line. As soon as you exit a series of corners and see a nice long straight in front of you, gently close the throttle.
Believe me it takes more discipline than you think. But It will save you a fortune.

[bigskynyc]

Originally Posted by Gdsila

Without doubt Harriman is the playground. However the key to avoiding "performance awards" is never go fast in a straight line. As soon as you exit a series of corners and see a nice long straight in front of you, gently close the throttle.

Believe me it takes more discipline than you think. But It will save you a fortune.

Performance awards -- and I never thought I won anything.

Anyway, thanks for the tip. I've been thinking a lot today about the Street Triple -- the thing is it's not a lazy, laid-back ride -- and I'm going to have to get a little more disciplined about the way I'm riding. (And that definitely means not being able to report how fast it can go.)

______
Don

[StreetNipple]

Always go to the court date. It's in Harriman so I'm assuming its a state trooper. I always say wear a suit or put a jacket and tie on, be early, and just talk to the cop before you go in the court room as they are usually willing to plea it down if you weren't an ass hole to them when they wrote you the ticket. The best case scenario he won't show and its dismissed, which happens more time than you think it would.