i just started riding consistently this week. i officially just paid for my bike on sunday and ive been riding it everyday just to get familiar. my learning curve is pretty fast i think.

anyway, i went on the freeway for the first time yesterday and did fine. the thing i was wondering though is checking behind myself for cars. unlike a car where you can just glance up and look behind you periodically, its harder to do that on a bike b/c every time i look in the mirror the wind just pushes my head and its kind of annoying.

so do you guys have tips for riding ont he freeway safely, especially for checking traffic behind you? what i noticed is that i have to cruise at like 80 for cars to not be on my ***, and since it was my first time on the freeway i wanted to go not much above speed limit, and when i did i wouldnt know that there was a car behind me on my **** wanting me to speed up. (they can't really pass b/c its a 2-lane highway 101 in slo)

 

A good technique is to always ride slightly faster than traffic, in that way everything is coming at you from the front. this does not mean you forget about the side or rear or it does not mean that you blast down the roadway, just flow faster than traffic. Also try and get into your mind the flow of all the cars in your immediate vicinity, you can with enough practice predict movement and flow of the vehicles around you. It's a little bit like a chess game, but your Queen move is to flow faster than the majority. I know the 101 by you very well, my family is from Santa maria, if you do not find it comfortable passing people, stay right... Also, try and remember that each car lane is broken down into two lanes for a motorcycle, so pick either the left or the right. Don't ride down the middle of the lane where the oil is.

 

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That's when you get bit in the a$$. You've only been riding a little while. Don't get too comfortable, or you're likely to go down.

Anyway, I remember at first, it seemed hard to turn my head to look in the mirrors, but over time, I got used to it.

 

good point, never get comfortable, never relax especially on the 101 freeway.

 

I'm assuming you haven't taken an MSF course yet?

 

When someone is riding my **** in carpool I usually find it quite effective to give a quick glance and a "wtf" hand gesture, sometimes accompanied with a "wtf" headshake as if to say no. They'll get the idea.

EDIT:

Point being they need to be aware of what they are doing, which they often aren't.

 

like schu said, go faster than traffic, it will make freeway riding easier. u dont want to get stuck around suv's and cagers.

 

when i meant my learning curve is fast. i dont mean that im doing stupid stuff. im just really comfortable and feel like i know what im doing. no wheelies, speeding, etc. just comfortable on the bike.

ya ive taken the msf course. but 4 years ago so i forgot all the tips they gave. and ive been riding on the street a lot, and have been on and off friends bikes for the past 4 years. just never been on the freeway.

what about cops? do they care that youre going above the flow of traffic? like what i was thining about cruising at 80 is looking back to see if there were cops in the background, like i do in my car. but it seems impractical to look back for the po's on my bike as often as i do in my car.

 

Everyone knows you run from the cops if you're on a bike


But in all seriousness, just BE ALERT. You have to assume that nobody out on that freeway can see you. I've never ridden on the 101, but it doesn't sound so safe. If you aren't required to ride on it, then why bother? But according to statistics, being on a freeway is far safer then on surface streets (for obvious reasons.)

 

In actuality utensil... the freeway is safer than the street.

 

^^come again?

 

SAFER!

 

Yah, is that not what I said?

 

 

Doesn't matter which is statistically safer...you only need to be hit once for a 100% chance of getting hurt.

 

...you can say that about anything, but reducing the CHANCES does just that.

 

nice thing about the freeway is you don't have to deal with intersections. I'd say in a sense it's safer because statistically most accidents occur at intersections. Even still there's a ton of dangers on the highway

 

this is exactly true, no side traffic, no intersections, no kids running out onto the street, no parked cars, no u turns... but there is always the trade off

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MSchu &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">... but there is always the trade off</TD></TR></TABLE>

...5000-pound hunks of metal driving at 80mph with less than alert operators.

 

thats no different than the street, I am talking about debris, multi-car pileups... and unfortunately the "over the median" highside.

My mom told me a story one time about how she was driving along the 55 freeway here in so cal. She noticed smoke in the on coming lanes and a kind of scattering of cars as she approached @ 65 mph on the opposing side of the freeway. just as she got towards the mass of moving metal and rubber she saw some guy fly up into the air and bounce on to her side of the freeway as was immediately hit by the cars behind her...


True story

 

I didnt read anybody elses response, but this is what I do on the freeway:

-Never stay in the right lane(where everyone gets on/off) you WILL get cutoff, ALOT. Some people almost miss their exit and they dont even think twice to run you off the road. Get into the carpool or the lane next to the carpool as soon as possible.

-Obviously, dont get in anybodys blindspot. Something I was taught was to never stay in the same spot for too long, but you dont have to speed. Just go fast enough so your infront of the cars around you for a little bit so they dont forget your around.

-If somebody's riding your ***, just change lanes and let them go by. There's no need to go faster and faster, because sometimes going faster just isnt enough for them.

-Dont rely on your mirrors, a quick glance over your shoulder can save your ***.

-Watch out for bikers coming up on you, sometimes you might not notice someone waiting to pass you, so they'll stay either to your rear right or left until you wave them by.. or they know you know they're there. I almost ran into someone once who tried passing me when I was avoiding a pothole, I didnt even know they were there.

-Dont stay behind semi's or trucks with stuff in the back. Things WILL fly off and hit you, and they WILL kick up rocks that hurt like hell.

-Dont stay next to semi's 1.) hard for them to see you and 2.) tires blow out all the time, which can easily cause you to crash.

-Have an escape route(be aware where all cars around you are) incase the cars infront of you suddenly stop or you see a huge chunk of tire, wood or LADDERS(yes i've had to avoid ladders)

I think that's it...