ThinkFast
Live Long
I recently washed my bike, removing a heavy layer of bugs and grime that had been accumulating since last fall's camping trips. It was long overdue, but winter weather kept me off the road, so a clean bike was not top of mind.
After a bucket wash and wheel scrub I always like to take my bike out for a drying lap around our local twisties, which in this case is China Camp, right out the end of my street.
It was early afternoon on a weekday so the place was pretty deserted. A few cars parked at trailheads, but otherwise very little evidence of people. No cars or even any cyclists on the road.
With the place to myself it was just me, my bike, and the deer, coyotes and wild turkeys to worry about. Perfect for a third gear run.
A third gear run is something I came up with while living overseas awhile ago. My buddies and I had ridden the same stretch of road so many times we got to know the location of every corner, bump, tar snake and wet patch. Even though it was a fun road, we started getting blase about riding it. So I decided to challenge myself by seeing if I could keep up with them without shifting gears, using my brakes, or even pulling in the clutch. Turned out this was a lot of fun, so I started challenging them to do the same, and see who could stay in front of the pack with the minimum number of "points."
It's not only fun, it's also a great way to learn how to judge corner entry speed, smooth out your inputs, and carry corner speed so you're not dogging it on the exits.
Well, little did I know back then - this was the mid 90's - that this was more or less the basis for what Nick Ienatsch would write about in one of the all-time best articles on motorcycling ever written: The Pace.
BARF number cruncher safety guru @datadan has written up a sticky post on The Pace over in 1Rider - you can view it here: https://bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=305743
So there I was, out on my drying run in China Camp, road to myself. Third gear. Steady throttle. Here come the tight bits. Love my boxer twin - it's like a diesel locomotive coming off the corners - really doesn't care how slow you go in, it's always happy to pull like a train coming out. A little straightaway now. Oh well, don't ring its neck - the next corner's coming up soon enough. Tight, blind right hander. Stay on the paint, max visibility for whatever's coming at me. Head turned nearly 90 degrees, where's the exit? Keep straining for the exit. Tip it in. Let the front scrub off some speed. There it is. Roll 'er on, smooth...Off we go. Sweet. Engine's barely breathing hard. Love this. Yeah, this next corner is gnarly. Decreasing radius right hander. Blind. Narrow. No inside edge - just a giant rut. Resist the urge to tip in early. Stay out here. Stay...Now. Nailed it!
Ended up running out of turns and realized I'd just made it all the way through in 3rd gear and never touched the brakes or the clutch. Sweet run!!
Big fun. Highly recommend this. Even if you don't like riding solo - or especially if you do - this is a fun way to enjoy your ride and doesn't require you to push your luck riding faster than is safe or legal to give yourself a thrill.
Ride on, everyone. Stay safe out there and at home, and after this whole crazy COVID-19 thing is over and it’s ok to go out for a ride, give a 3rd gear run a try. :ride
After a bucket wash and wheel scrub I always like to take my bike out for a drying lap around our local twisties, which in this case is China Camp, right out the end of my street.
It was early afternoon on a weekday so the place was pretty deserted. A few cars parked at trailheads, but otherwise very little evidence of people. No cars or even any cyclists on the road.
With the place to myself it was just me, my bike, and the deer, coyotes and wild turkeys to worry about. Perfect for a third gear run.
A third gear run is something I came up with while living overseas awhile ago. My buddies and I had ridden the same stretch of road so many times we got to know the location of every corner, bump, tar snake and wet patch. Even though it was a fun road, we started getting blase about riding it. So I decided to challenge myself by seeing if I could keep up with them without shifting gears, using my brakes, or even pulling in the clutch. Turned out this was a lot of fun, so I started challenging them to do the same, and see who could stay in front of the pack with the minimum number of "points."
It's not only fun, it's also a great way to learn how to judge corner entry speed, smooth out your inputs, and carry corner speed so you're not dogging it on the exits.
Well, little did I know back then - this was the mid 90's - that this was more or less the basis for what Nick Ienatsch would write about in one of the all-time best articles on motorcycling ever written: The Pace.
BARF number cruncher safety guru @datadan has written up a sticky post on The Pace over in 1Rider - you can view it here: https://bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=305743
So there I was, out on my drying run in China Camp, road to myself. Third gear. Steady throttle. Here come the tight bits. Love my boxer twin - it's like a diesel locomotive coming off the corners - really doesn't care how slow you go in, it's always happy to pull like a train coming out. A little straightaway now. Oh well, don't ring its neck - the next corner's coming up soon enough. Tight, blind right hander. Stay on the paint, max visibility for whatever's coming at me. Head turned nearly 90 degrees, where's the exit? Keep straining for the exit. Tip it in. Let the front scrub off some speed. There it is. Roll 'er on, smooth...Off we go. Sweet. Engine's barely breathing hard. Love this. Yeah, this next corner is gnarly. Decreasing radius right hander. Blind. Narrow. No inside edge - just a giant rut. Resist the urge to tip in early. Stay out here. Stay...Now. Nailed it!
Ended up running out of turns and realized I'd just made it all the way through in 3rd gear and never touched the brakes or the clutch. Sweet run!!
Big fun. Highly recommend this. Even if you don't like riding solo - or especially if you do - this is a fun way to enjoy your ride and doesn't require you to push your luck riding faster than is safe or legal to give yourself a thrill.
Ride on, everyone. Stay safe out there and at home, and after this whole crazy COVID-19 thing is over and it’s ok to go out for a ride, give a 3rd gear run a try. :ride
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