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RIDERTORIDER Send your letters and comments to: editor@bmwmoa.org
Safety first
I’ve been a member and reader of BMW ON for many years and always look for the letters on safety in order to become a safer rider. I just finished Dave Armour’s article about left turning motorists, very good article. There have been people injured and killed recently at road construction sites. Recently, a motorcyclist was killed while sitting in line at a construction site when the line of eight vehicles was rear-ended by a semi truck. The motorcycle was five or six cars ahead of the impact, and several other motorists were injured. The truck was just coming out of a 45-mph zone, and the incident is still under investigation. I have some friends whose car was hit by a pickup truck at 70 mph at a one-lane stop light. They have taken months to recover. This makes me very aware of what is behind at construction sites, whether in a vehicle or on my motorcycle, especially on the bike. When I see I am going to have to stop, I turn on emergency flashers, watch my back and look for an escape route. I always point the bike slightly out of line and if there is a shoulder, I swing out on it. If I see a vehicle behind me which may not stop in time, I move up beside a larger vehicle. This saved me from being in a sandwich once as the car behind me got bumped into the car ahead, but I was on the shoulder two cars ahead by the time the impact happened. It didn’t do a lot of damage to the cars but would not have been minor for me. Roger N. Baker #158065 Clarkston, Washington
A different opinion
I was grateful for David Haedt's "Another Perspective," commenting on Jim Ford's "Squeezing Satisfaction and Fun Out of Straight Roads." As I read Jim Ford's
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BMW OWNERS NEWS | July 2019
original article, I was uneasy regarding his recommendations to assert oneself to oncoming traffic. I am a relatively new rider, and my ethos is "no one can see me and everyone is trying to kill me." It seems antithetical that riding in the left mini-lane in order to force a reaction or acknowledgement from an on-coming vehicle is the safest way to ride. Most of the time, unless road surface situations require a change, the safest place on a straightaway is in the right mini-lane as you still have maneuvering ability but you are not dependent on on-coming traffic to spare your life. Kim Caruso #216863 Durango, Colorado
Good article Wes!
I really enjoyed Wes Fleming’s two-part article on taking extended trips by motorcycle and wanted to suggest a few things that have really helped my wife and I on trips in the past. The first motorcycle trip we ever took together, we laid out everything we intended to take on the floor. We then divided it into three groups: what we needed, what we wanted to take, and what we could do without. As we packed our stuff, we listed each item on a sheet of paper. While on the trip, we checked off everything we used. On our return, we reviewed the list and crossed out anything that didn’t get used, to make sure we didn’t take it again. Going through this process over several trips really enabled us to refine what we take when we travel together, and we use this on non-motorcycle trips, too. When it comes to clothes, I like to ride in non-cotton t-shirts and really like Lululemon’s silver threaded t-shirts (odor reducing), although Under Armour shirts and other brands work just as well. The best thing about non-cotton t-shirts, is the ability to wash them in the shower after a
long day's ride, ring them out, roll them up in the towel you just used, and walk up and down on the towel roll. Doing this last step gets most of the moisture out and hanging them over the shower curtain rod overnight means they are ready for use the next day. For underwear, I have had great luck with both Moto-Skivvies and LD Comfort’s products, but my favorites for riding, are 3/4 length baseball slider shorts. These are light weight with pretty good moisture wicking and have thin padding in the exact same areas as my riding pants have their armor, which makes wearing the riding pants more comfortable. Again, they wash and dry easily. Another thing that can reduce the amount of clothing you need to bring is using tomorrow’s underwear and socks as part of your post ride clothes the evening before. My wife really likes to use those rollup vacuum bags to pack clothes into. These are like extra large ziplock style bags that you roll up and squeeze out all the air, reducing the space taken up by your clothes. Wes, thanks for a great article and very entertaining podcasts, I always look forward to them. Matthew Maclean #149040 San Rafael, California
Recommended reading
I took Jim Ford’s Rider’s Workshop in the spring of 2018. It helped me to improve my curvy road skills greatly! I have very much enjoyed seeing Jim's monthly articles in BMW ON in these last several months. They have been useful to me as reminders of the technique I learned and need to continue to practice every time I get on my bike. For those who have not attended one of his workshops, I highly recommend them! You can get a good idea of his techniques by reading these articles as