Getting Ready for the First Ride of the Year

I’m certain that all of us are suffering from various degrees of Parked Motorcycle Syndrome! Punxsutawney Phil said that we will have an early Spring.  Before you hop on your bike for a quick ride on one of those 40 something degree days, there are some things that you need to do to your bike and yourself.

More than likely you haven’t ridden your pride and joy for the last few months.  There are muscles that you haven’t used in a long time that make riding comfortable when they are in shape. You will want to do some stretching of your legs, back and abdominal muscles before you get out on the road.

You should give your bike a thorough once over. Do a thorough “TCLOCK” inspection of your bike and take care of whatever needs attention before you take it out for a ride. A “TCLOCK” checklist can be downloaded from the safety page. Check out all of your riding gear as well.

Now that you know your bike, riding gear and youself are all in shape for a nice ride you need to be sure that the roads are worthy of being ridden on with only two wheels. Have we had enough rain to wash away all of the road salt and cinders that are scattered around. I think we all know that riding on salt and cinders can be like walking on a floor covered in marbles. Over the years there have been plenty of nice February and March days that I wanted to go for a ride, but I saw too much salt on the and decided it wasn’t the best idea.

Due to all of the temperature changes that we have gone through this winter the roads get beat up pretty bad. We are coming into Pothole season followed by Road Construction season. Both of these are things we don’t look forward to, but we get through it. Just don’t force things. Whenever something gets forced, something else usually breaks.

When you do get back out on the road take your time and relearn all the things that got rusty over the winter. Give yourself that buffer zone between you and other motorists. Be very mindful of intersections. Most importantly, Alcohol and Motorcycles DO NOT MIX!! Above all else, be safe. There is absolutely no need to become a statistic.