What a difference a year and 10,000 miles makes...

[alanmcorcoran]

...Just got back from a maintenance ride on my GZ down a popular motorcycle road and I thought I'd share some thoughts:

Santiago Canyon is a common destination for weekend riders - it's a moderately curvy, rolling, back-country two-laner and it's packed with (mostly Harley) riders on the weekend mornings. There's no lights or stops for 12 miles and the first stop is Cook's Corner a longtime "biker" bar (it's pretty tame nowadays, but it used to be a little crustier back in the day.)

The first time I rode this was about a month after I got the GZ - it was my first "big boy ride" and I was pretty nervous. I barely managed to crack 50 and I pulled over several times to let impatient cars go by. I'd ridden it a few times after, each time getting a little more confident, but always with a heavy dose of respect for the curves and with a great deal of caution.

Well, things have changed. This time, despite being on a cranky machine, I pretty much let her rip. I rode the whole thing, in both directions with the GZ WTFO the entire time. At no point was I anxious about the curves, or going too fast or should I be leaning more, or pushing the handle bar more or really anything other than, "Can I flog this beast into a couple more mph without blowing the engine?"

I'm writing this not to pat myself on the back (my fellow SoCalGeeZeers can attest to the fact that I'm a pussy when it comes to bombing through the twisties) but as a note to up and coming riders: practically all of my improvement in riding skill came solely from just riding more miles. I didn't have to work on leaning, or pushing or head tracking or anything - just riding. It might also be due to riding a much heavier bike, but I'm not so sure about that.

So, if you are a brand new rider and you are crapping your pants whilst your riding buddies are leaving you in the dust on 50mph corners, just relax. Take your time, go as slow as you feel comfortable and just keep at it. After a year you will miraculously improve and move up to a much greater level of confidence and enjoyment.