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Do others feel "bad" days riding

4K views 31 replies 22 participants last post by  black-bonnie 
#1 ·
Is it just me, or are there others that experience what I experience.

Most of the time I feel that I can make my bonnie dance. I lead, it follows. But other days I feel like I'm stepping on my bonnie's toes. I just can't get in the groove. I just don't "flow" like other days.

Are others like me or are you all good all the time? Just never skip a beat riding.
 
#5 ·
On 2006-06-05 18:32, black-bonnie wrote:
I just can't get in the groove.
Where you been man? I had a fun day Sunday doing the ride to the British Rally at Ski Shores. A guy on another Thruxton was right with me the entire ride. We need to get more Bonnies together for these RAT rides.

Otherwise, the only time I don't feel so hot is in crappy weather.
 
#7 ·
whoa,

I was going to go but.....I didn't. I don't know. Maybe it is my experience with a few rallies where several people make it dangerous because they don't know how to ride in a group. That is not to say that I don't love seeing the different bikes and meeting the truly wonderful riders. Anyway, how was it? A lot of cool bikes? Go ahead and torture me how great a time I missed. I deserve it.

Mad,

You're making me sick thinking that you are on ALL the time. Fact is, I wish I was the same, but I'm not. Rather than "park it" on off days, I'm bull-headed to figure out what I'm doing wrong. Most the time, I can't figure it out.

Why is it that I'm glad others here do have off days? Maybe I just want to be normal.


:)
 
#9 ·
Easily..... got my off days, and the occasional "on" day. I've found that if I ride stiff, fighting the handlebars, sitting centered in the saddle, and using absolutely no body english..... that I'm not likely to ride well.

I even have those days when I would rather park and smoke a cigar than join the fellas for for a dance card filler. Even if I want to play, I try to listen and recognize when I'm 'lacking.' Then there are those rides when I see everything as two dimensional, and am unable to distinguish distances. Bad daze...... gotta deal with it.

I'm not saying that I park and don't bother to go out riding when I feel out of sync'. Hell, I don't even know that I'm not feeling well about my riding until I've been out riding for an hour or two.

Frankly, my 'off' daze far exceed my 'on' days. The rest of the time I'm just another rider trying to stay alive.
 
#14 ·
Well, there you have it. Some have it and some don't (at least not 100% of the time).

Today was I day I didn't. I felt good, just didn't "dance" good. It just wasn't nearly as enjoyable either. Yet Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I was a riding machine.

Anyway, sure appreciate the honest feedback.

Who knows, maybe someday us "off day" riders will no longer have off days. Will we then appreciate the good days as much as we do? Or will riding be less of a challenge and more boring?
 
#15 ·
On 2006-06-05 20:00, black-bonnie wrote:


Mad,

You're making me sick thinking that you are on ALL the time. Fact is, I wish I was the same, but I'm not. Rather than "park it" on off days, I'm bull-headed to figure out what I'm doing wrong. Most the time, I can't figure it out.

Why is it that I'm glad others here do have off days? Maybe I just want to be normal.


:)
Put 340 HP between your legs and tell me how your just a little off. You will be dead before you can explain to somebody that you were a little off.
You only get one chance when you fall off. There are NO second chances.
Be careful, Mad`
 
#16 ·
Off days? Hell yes. But rather than not ride, I severely limit my chances for a flameout by avoiding the traffic, taking it ou into the country and giving myself a speed limit of 25 or 30 mph. There are days when my tbird and I just wanna toodle around in second and third in the country, look at cows, flowers and the oklahoma sky and stop at some wayout in the sticks general store and grab an ice cream bar. There are days when my tbird and I don't really wanna challenge death, we just take it slow and easy, and ride to survive. Those "off" days often end up being some of my favorite rides.
 
#17 ·
On 2006-06-05 21:32, Mad wrote:
Put 340 HP between your legs and tell me how your just a little off. You will be dead before you can explain to somebody that you were a little off.
You only get one chance when you fall off. There are NO second chances.
Be careful, Mad`
That is why I have a Bonneville. I can take it easy and enjoy the ride. Even if I whack the throttle wide open it will not spit me off or scare me to death. That stuff does not interest me any more. Why anyone would want to put 340hp between their legs is beyond me.
 
#18 ·
Usually if I have a bad hangover I feel like I might be endangering myself. But then I usually go riding anyway and the ride invigorates me to the point that it helps my hangover dissapear.

I think the most dangerous condition to ride in is if you are extremely tired or distracted. Daydreaming and bike riding is a bad mix.

Also, when I ride I try and count up and keep track of my errors. Not necessarily mistakes but could be things I could have done better. For example if I hit a false neutral going from first to second that counts as an "error". Downshifting un-necessarily going into a turn or not making the downshift when it was needed prior to an uphill turn counts as an "error". I will sometimes find an empty parking lot and try and pull a uturn inside of two adjacent spaces- if I make a jerky turn or drift outside the two car width spaces that is an error. Etc. etc. If I come back from a two hour ride with zero error that is a pretty good feeling but usually I make at least one error.

[ This message was edited by: ChuckofTahoe on 2006-06-06 00:40 ]
 
#19 ·
I FEEL BETTER NOW! I feel "normal" since it is just not me. Even still, like I do now, I won't make it an excuse.

ChuckofTahoe,

We share the same brain cells. I too keep track of my mistakes. I'll go back to what I didn't do right until I get it right. But that is good and bad because I WILL get it right, think I have it down pat because of so many good attempts done right, and then one day not get it right again. Then I analize what I did wrong.

I use to shoot a LOT of action pistol competition. It was the same thing. Good and bad days. In that sport, many shooters had bad days and when it was, they just slowed down a bit and did the basics in their head. I'll have to do the same for riding.

JhuFrank,

Good input. Just take another form of riding. But as I eating my ice cream, I'm thinking how I can improve.
 
#20 ·
i like to think of every day on the bike that doesn't involve injury as a good day. sure there is always room for improvement but i refuse to criticize myself when i'm out for a ride. i feel it when i'm on and i register on some level when i could have pulled something off with better precision but i just tend to keep rollin' and grinnin'.
life's short. ride on . . .
 
#22 ·
I take it we're talking about tramping on a bit and not the daily commute to the office.....if so.

I've found that I have three riding styles and use them according to my mood and the road I'm on, I've got my old racing style where I climb all over the bike and get it a bit squirelly (Love that old Kevin Schwantz word and have been dieing to use it) but I reserve that for the beautiful twisty lanes through open fields that we've got around here, makes for very safe over the top riding.

Then I have my sit plumb in the seat a'la Mick Grant (Any one remember him? British racer from the 70's who sat dead still in the saddle but was incredibly quick especially round the Island) which I use for roads I don't know and I'm being careful.

Oh and then there's slouch with left hand on knee for days when I just don't give a monkies.

As to having off days when nothing seems to work......does'nt everyone have them.......Ask Valentino Rossi if it's always a dance on a bed of roses, at the mo I think he'll poke you in the eye with a sharp stick.

If all else fails take up fish dancing

Fish Dancing :razz:

[ This message was edited by: Strangely_Brown on 2006-06-06 04:17 ]
 
#23 ·
I've definitely had off days, and I thought it was just being a newbie (6 months and 3000 miles).. times when you're wobbling about in the car park, gear changes a bit rough (changing down instead of up unexpectedly is a good one) etc etc. I'm very aware of it as soon as I have that feeling that all is not as it should be, and take a lot of extra care. Three things 1) it's interesting that biking puts you that much on the limit that you notice the mistakes - I've never noticed mistakes driving a car, though I'm sure I've made them 2) You can't tell before you set off that you're going to not be "all there", it only makes itself apparent on the way and has nothing to do with hangovers or any other obvious cause 3) I pick up the blacked out brand new Speedmaster tomorrow, the little Honda Shadow I've been riding about going in part-ex.. suddenly a whole lot more to learn..!!

[ This message was edited by: richb on 2006-06-06 03:58 ]
 
#24 ·
On 2006-06-05 21:32, Mad wrote:
Put 340 HP between your legs and tell me how your just a little off. You will be dead before you can explain to somebody that you were a little off.
You only get one chance when you fall off. There are NO second chances.
Be careful, Mad`
Oh my friend you get many more than one chance to fall off!

Remember that you've never really crashed until your lying in the ditch looking up at the sky wondering what the heck happened there

Ever crashed
 
#25 ·
On 2006-06-06 04:31, Strangely_Brown wrote:
On 2006-06-05 21:32, Mad wrote:
Put 340 HP between your legs and tell me how your just a little off. You will be dead before you can explain to somebody that you were a little off.
You only get one chance when you fall off. There are NO second chances.
Be careful, Mad`
Oh my friend you get many more than one chance to fall off!

Remember that you've never really crashed until your lying in the ditch looking up at the sky wondering what the heck happened there

Ever crashed
Fall of at anything over 160 mph and you won't need a helmet, leather jacket, or crash bars. All you'll need is a box, a hole, and a marker.
I am convinced the Japanese chicken scratch on the Busa fairing means "Yankee You DIE".

To the previous poster: My old Triumphs are more fun to ride than any of my other bikes and I rarely exceed 50 MPH on them.
Mad`
 
#26 ·
On 2006-06-06 06:21, Mad wrote:
On 2006-06-06 04:31, Strangely_Brown wrote:
On 2006-06-05 21:32, Mad wrote:
Put 340 HP between your legs and tell me how your just a little off. You will be dead before you can explain to somebody that you were a little off.
You only get one chance when you fall off. There are NO second chances.
Be careful, Mad`
Oh my friend you get many more than one chance to fall off!

Remember that you've never really crashed until your lying in the ditch looking up at the sky wondering what the heck happened there

Ever crashed
Fall of at anything over 160 mph and you won't need a helmet, leather jacket, or crash bars. All you'll need is a box, a hole, and a marker.
I am convinced the Japanese chicken scratch on the Busa fairing means "Yankee You DIE".

To the previous poster: My old Triumphs are more fun to ride than any of my other bikes and I rarely exceed 50 MPH on them.
Mad`
Where in gods name are you doing 160mph + cos if it's not on a race track where 300kph crashes have been shown to be survivable (take Shinya Nakano's main straight WOT blow out as an example) and para-medics are just a whisper away then you will also probably be needing to add a 10" x 10" biscuit tin (preferably a vintage 1967 Dundee cake tin ) to your list of equpment.
 
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