I ride with guys who have been riding ALOT longer than me and most of them are not rining baggers as is my case.I do not try to keep up on back roads as they ride alot faster than I am comfortable with as my wife is usually on back.NEVER try to keep up with someone who is riding faster than you are comfortable with.And remember even if you have the right of way you can be dead right.

 

When riding in the countryside:
1. Watch for farmers on tractors...those machines respond quickly to drivers steering wheel input...and sometimes the driver may think he's the only one on the lonely road.
2. Whenever you spot wildlife...let off on the throttle...loud pipes may save lives in the city but they scare wild animals. Deer especially react quite suddenly andmore quickly than our reflexes can respond to.
3. Watch out for pea-gravel on shoulders. Here in Colorado the DOT spreads tons of the stuff during the winter and by summer its movedconcentrated on the shoulders...becareful in turns.
4. Never run over a snake!

 

???

 

Heard stories of those flipping up in your lap from riding over them. heck, I steered clear of someones fan belt the other day just in case...

 

Wait a few seconds after a traffic light changes to green before you proceed if you are the first one to cross the intersection.
capt42a

 

watch out for rednecks in pickup trucks with shotguns who blow away freedom riders on choppers

 

A lot of good tips here.
If I may......here's some of mine.
I use up a lot of my lane when riding. That is, I'm always moving back and forth across my lane as traffic dictates, mostly when there are two lanes going in the direction I am going, whether it be in town on on the highway. As I come up on a cage in the lane adjacent to me I will hug the far side of my lane away from the cage. I will not linger in their blindspot as I come up on them either.
I hog the centerline of my lane and the lane of approaching traffic in certain circumstances. I FORCE them to see me by hanging my ***out where they can't miss seeing me. Many may dispute this, and in many situations they are correct; I will never do this in a corner for example. If someone in the oncoming lane swings even a bit wide you're toast. In corners I tend to choose lines that have me hugging the outside of my lane away from possible oncoming traffic. Especially so if the corners are blind.

When moving up in an empty lane when an adjacent lane going in the same direction is slowed, reduce your rate of closure heavily. There's a reason they are backed up, and there's always some impatient *** that will jump into your lane from the other one, often without looking (or even looking) and a high rate of closure can mean two things. You may not have been in their line of sight if they did look, or your rate of closure relative to them leaves you short of stopping room if a car now appears in your lane. This may seem like a DUH to many, but how often have you seen people speed their way up an empty lane adjacent one that is backed up for one reason or another? Some people just don't get it.

One other one that comes readily to mind is when you are coming up on oncoming left turners. I always cover my brakes and wiggle my bars as I approach hoping that my headlamps catch their eye on the chance they haven't seen me coming. (I always ride with my passing lamps on as well) I'm always looking for an escape route by eyeballing the lane next to me, or even the OTHER oncoming lanes for traffic on the off chance I'm gonna need one of 'em, and I reduce my closure rate once again. I'm doubly careful if the sun is at my back. (in their eyes) I also like to travel through intersections letting cars in adjacent lanes 'block' for me. (the only time I like to be beside a cage in traffic)

And lastly.....and I'll just bet not too many of you make a concious effort to do this one.
Every time I get on my bike to go for a ride I always sit and lecture myself for a moment or two beforehand to get my mind clear and into "ride mode". It's real easy and dangerous to ride off with your mind on work, or something that's been pi**ing you off all day and not concentrating on riding and riding awareness RIGHT NOW.
I once rode one of my sportbikes off into a ditch by daydreaming just seconds into the restart of a ride after a rest stop, and letting a second, equally as stupid a distraction interrupt this daydream just prior to entering a real nice, off-camber 140 degree corner. (the only damn one in 150 miles) I was way hot and severely offline mid-corner when I finally woke up. What saved me was an automatic reaction instilled from years of riding in the dirt. That, and a real friendly landing zone. Heavy on the friendly LZ. I'm very lucky to have lived to tell the tale. If you heed this last one, it'll save your butt one day. I guarantee it.

Hope someone finds mine worthy of adding to their own list of "to do's".

CN

 

I wiggle my handle bars and flip slowly from low-to-high-to-low beamto hopfully get the attention of oncoming left hand turners.

 

New riders should......ride enough so that they are not new riders anymore!!

 

Rember that the painted lines on streets can be as slick as snot when they're wet.