New Riders

[leikam]

On my daily commute I see a lot of things. This being spring, lately I've seen a fair number of new riders on the street.

 

This morning, as I was passing through downtown LA, I found myself behind a guy on a new 600cc sportbike. He was going a bit slow for my taste, but he seemed to have things under control. He was wearing a some good gear but what gave him away as a new rider were his white jeans. I don't think I'd ever seen anybody riding in white pants before this morning, but that will fix itself if he keeps up the two-wheeled commute. I waved to him as I passed in my dirty 'stich.

 

The other new rider I saw today was on the way home. We rode at about the same pace for a couple miles approaching a split in the freeway. Turns out he and I were both taking the left fork, but his lane choice made it necessary for him to make two last-minute lane changes. At this split in the road that sort of last-minute adjustment is very common. If he rides this route regularly I'm sure he'll adjust his approach. Maybe his GPS was broken? I gave him room to merge and passed him 1/2 a mile later.

 

A couple weeks ago a Ducati 916 with carbon fiber bodywork showed up in the lot at work. Naturally, we stood around admiring sex on wheels but before long the owner turned up with a parking permit in hand. The powers that be require a permit sticker with an adhesive made to last the ages. Those in the know (namely me) use an inspection plate to avoid the chemical bonding that happens when said sticker is applied. Other bikes still sport stickers from 5 years ago. (Careful readers can see where this is going...) The rider seemed to be experienced, but this situation was clearly new to him. In his ignorance, he was about to destroy a perfectly good Ducati in order to satisfy a meter maid. What else could I do? I insisted that he didn't want to put that sticker on that bike. Come to think of it, I haven't seen that bike again, so maybe he didn't take my advice.

[Francois_Dumas]

Whats an 'inspection plate'? I refused to stick stickers on my windshield and am interested to learn about alternatives.

 

Francois

[Limecreek]

New riders are out and about in Texas too. The paper tags and stiff bike handling skills quickly give them away. Most are wearing helmets and a good jacket.

 

The really interesting trend; a trend I've notice for a few years now, are all the new female riders. It seems like 1 in 3 new riders I observe is a young woman. I've noticed this same trend with bicyclists.

 

My hope is that all the new riders take the time for training and look for mentors like I did to help them through the first year on two wheels.

[leikam]

Have a look at j&p cycles. There are a couple different styles. The one I have is a plastic piece that mounts behind the license plate. It has a tab that sticks out on the bottom; it's big enough for permits, inspection stickers, etc.

[Francois_Dumas]

Thanks Michael.... I was thinking of something else actually, but didn't know what inspection plates were. We don't have such a system down here. What I was looking for is something to accommodate plastic stickers we have to show on the vehicle for toll purposes (like in Austria, Switzerland and some other countries). They stick on the INSIDE of the car window (or bike's windshield) and are VERY difficult to remove, especially if the windshield is not made of glass.

 

Last year I just put the darn thing in my (transparent) tankbag cover, but almost got fined because of doing so.

[Quinn]

Thanks Michael.... I was thinking of something else actually, but didn't know what inspection plates were. We don't have such a system down here. What I was looking for is something to accommodate plastic stickers we have to show on the vehicle for toll purposes (like in Austria, Switzerland and some other countries). They stick on the INSIDE of the car window (or bike's windshield) and are VERY difficult to remove, especially if the windshield is not made of glass.

 

Last year I just put the darn thing in my (transparent) tankbag cover, but almost got fined because of doing so.

 

Why not just attach it to a clear plastic card and then rubber cement the card to the inside of you windshield. My wife's Volvo has a clear plastic clip on the side windshield post to hold tickets, etc.

[leikam]

My hope is that all the new riders take the time for training and look for mentors

 

I think that means that the "old" riders ought to listen for people who want mentors even if they don't come out and say it.