A perfect ride???

[misti]

How would you describe a perfect ride?

What I mean by this is, what sorts of things would need to happen to make your ride, street ride, track ride or even race, perfect?  I don't mean location, or how many riding buddies are with you, I mean what techniques would you be employing, what things would be occurring, that would make your ride perfect, or as close to perfect as you can get?

 [moto]

Misti

[Gator]

No time constraints.

The best ride I have had was crossing the country on my own.
I would wake up, roll up my sleeping bag, make some coffee and just watch the world wake up.
Mount up and ride till I found a place I wanted to stop.
No schedule
No deadline
No time
No rules

Just me, my bike, and what ever stretch of road I found.

When I was riding through Colorado I found a few rode that were so fun I would back track 200 miles just to ride hem again.

I am going to do the same thing in Europe next summer. No plan at all I am going to point in a direction and turn down the first fun road I see, take it to the next and the next.

[Statler]

Never being surprised by the bike, or more specifically, having the bike do everything I intended throughout the ride/lap, etc.

So it went where I meant it to go, it accelerated and braked the way I intended, it felt the way I was expecting it to, my brain was "ahead" of my inputs, and my own body did what I meant it to do (not always a given).

[red baron]

Never being surprised by the bike, or more specifically, having the bike do everything I intended throughout the ride/lap, etc.

So it went where I meant it to go, it accelerated and braked the way I intended, it felt the way I was expecting it to, my brain was "ahead" of my inputs, and my own body did what I meant it to do (not always a given).

+1

Too bad I'm getting older and feel it.

[trenner]

I find perfect rides moment by moment.

Occasionally, when everything gels, I forget that there's a bike, and a road, and a me.  That feeling of oneness, of being in the moment, not thinking, just being, is really damn close to perfection.  Of course, you only realize it afterwards, and the realizing causes the moment to end.

[Ducatista]

It would be a track day.  I have to disagree with Statler.  I'd love there to be plenty of pucker moments but no crashing.  I want to learn where the edge of control is in each corner.  You feel it when you're reaching it.  I'm not even close.  Another factor that would make it perfect would be not having to battle with fatigue as much as I do.  I'm taking steps to fix that.     It would be warm enough to make everything a bit sticky, but not so hot I'm ready to pass out.    I'd be there with the best umbrella girl ever (boyfriend, Stillie) and all my CAM buddies.  I'd want it to be at Barber.  I know it's a very point and shoot course, but it's so quick and there is a surprise in almost every turn.  The grounds are gorgeous and the pavement has tons of grip.

[Cider]

I agree with Statler.  I usually have a plan when I ride that includes: (1) no crashing, (2) no pucker moments, (3) smooth inputs, and (4) good lines.  Even on the track, I find I learn much faster when I'm not on the ragged edge.

[duc996]

1.When the weather is perfect
2.When i ride smoothly
3.When i get home in one piece

[He Man]

No time constraints.

The best ride I have had was crossing the country on my own.
I would wake up, roll up my sleeping bag, make some coffee and just watch the world wake up.
Mount up and ride till I found a place I wanted to stop.
No schedule
No deadline
No time
No rules

Just me, my bike, and what ever stretch of road I found.

When I was riding through Colorado I found a few rode that were so fun I would back track 200 miles just to ride hem again.

I am going to do the same thing in Europe next summer. No plan at all I am going to point in a direction and turn down the first fun road I see, take it to the next and the next.

did you stop at camp sites or just any random spot?

My perfect ride....Would be a MotoGP race with Stoner or Rossis skills.

realistically....it would be completely unplanned, but with a final destination, no moto issues, no body issues (aches and pains from clip ons) and every stop would be a kodak moment.

[Statler]

remember everyone, this is in the riding techniques section...Misti asked some specifics so let's see if we can steer more towards bike control thoughts and what makes a perfect ride.



There are days when my right rist acts perfectly...I can brake smoothly from high speed and match every blipped downshift so the bike doesn't get upset at all or even notice the shifting.    When the blips don't effect the index and middle finger brake force it feels juuuust right.

My bike is very throttle sensitive, and every once in a while I have a ride where I roll on or off slightly before my brain is set so when the bike lurches forward or back I am not expecting it.  Nothing anyone else would notice, but it annoys the crap out of me until I get my head together and have input timing match my thoughts.  (I'm not talking about big newbie lurches, I'm talking about weight shifting forward or back that I can feel only).

I have noticed that if my brakes have any tiny amount of movement in them before they bite hard I am not as smooth.  That's just me, and it's opposite from G where the slight mush to the controls (by comparison only) on her 620 make her much smoother.

Amount of lean....  On a street ride, it is nice to go into a turn you have never been on, and have your lean angle match exactly what you thought it would be before you tipped in.  No thoughts of "huh...not as sharp as I thought" or "lean lean lean lean pucker"         Doesn't matter if it was a sharp turn or nice open one...it's about not being surprised.

front wheel... this is related to the roll on and off one for me.   Some rides I can put the front wheel wherever I want, both horizontal placement on the pavement in turns, or vertical placement once out  .   Some days I am not so connected to it.   I have not figured out yet what the difference is other than mindset...just like good games of squash and off days.. (tennis, basketball..insert sport here).


your gear fits well.   It can ruin a 'prefect ride' input wise from rider to bike.   If the leather bunched up behind the knee....if your helmet pulled on an earplu while putting it on just enough to pull the foam out a little...  If the seam in your glove rubs your finger wrong...    professionals have to ride around these things...we can just stop and fix them.

[misti]

Thanks guys,

I like the point about having the bike do everything you intended and not being surprised by anything.  I'd have to say that a perfect ride for me is similar to that.  It's about being relaxed, yet fast, hitting my marks bang on every time, being smooth and predictable, riding the edge but not beyond it and not having any scares, puckers, or panic moments.

I think my closest to perfect ride would have had to have been the last race at Mid Ohio.  I got a good start, followed a group of fast riders, settled into a rhythm and just RODE.  I talked to myself and told myself to relax, I had no real scares (except when I moved off line to allow Bostrom to pass and slid on the remains of the oil/oil dry on the track from the day before), I hit all my marks and rode SMOOTH.  The coolest part of it all was that even thought I felt exhausted near the end of the race and THOUGHT I was going way slower, my fastest lap time of the race came on the second to last lap....AND....all my lap times, each and every one, save for the first lap of the race were with a second.....all 16 laps were in the 1:33's.  I was astounded at the end of the race because it FELT SLOW, and yet they were my fastest times, and all very consistent.

I find consistency to be a big part of the "perfect ride" equation.  I want my laps, my rides to be as consistent as possible!

Which begs the next question......how do you get consistency each lap, each ride?  How do the pros manage to hit the EXACT same spot on the track, each corner, each ride???

Misti   

[Cider]

Good point.  Not riding smoothly feels fast, but isn't necessarily fast.  I've found that the best way to exacerbate a dramatic moment is to chop the throttle or stab the brakes.  I overcooked turn 10 at MMP (east side) a few weeks ago, but just stuck with the brakes until the bike was pointed where I wanted.  Even though I made a mistake, there was no drama, and my exit was good enough that you'd be hard pressed to know that I went wide.

[arai_speed]

I find perfect rides moment by moment.

Occasionally, when everything gels, I forget that there's a bike, and a road, and a me.  That feeling of oneness, of being in the moment, not thinking, just being, is really damn close to perfection.  ...

+1K

When you are no longer consciously thinking about bike inputs and things just flow...that's the perfect ride.

[TiNi]

to me a perfect ride would include

the roads are twisty, but not hairpins
no traffic
good scenery/weather
i take off smoothly on all of the uphill starts
and the parking lot is paved and flat