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Re: Afraid of our bikes....really now? [Khai]
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Easy Tonto, the intent was not to point out your skill set. It does make sense if you think about it though - you've got a LOT of time logged on a motorcycle and on skis, and a lot less on a bicycle. Of course you're going to be more comfortable on either of those. Given your background however, you're probably a lot more skilled in the corners than most triathletes with a similar amount of (bicycle) saddle time. I don't know if you've ever crashed a motorcycle, but if you have that will give you a healthy respect for what can happen should something go awry as well.

I have pretty much as much time logged on a bike as on a motorbike (I haven't been riding motorbikes for a while), fact is that even after several years of riding I am not nearly as comfortable on a road bike as I was after only a year or 2 on a motorbike, it is simply a fact of centre of gravity and lack of decent grip; I am a LOT more comfortable on my xc mtb than on my road bike for example, maybe I am just wired to like fat tires or something... I have never crashed a motorbike but I would take crashing with a full body suit + a dainese carbon fiber under suit to protect joints and spine + a full face helmet over crashing wearing lycra and a tiny bike helmet any day...

I have taken some bad spills downhill on skis too (the worst one I nearly sprained my pelvis or something, basically from the waist down I rotated one way, and from the waist up another way, and HARD) and I still am a lot more fearless on skis, because I know that I can control the skis a lot more than a flimsy road/tri bike, and if I fall on the skis I likely won't leave 200 yards of skin on the pavement... I've had this discussion with my dad (who was a fearless descender in his youth, although that ended up costing him his cycling career) and it always ends up with a 'either you have it or you don't', evidently I 'have it' for skis & motorbikes, but not for bikes, while he 'has it' for bikes & motorbikes, but not skis...

Basically what I am trying to say is that correlation does not imply causation, just because a lot of motorcyclists/skiers are fearless bike descenders, it doesn't mean ALL of them are or should be; yes, there is such a thing as being used to high speeds, and there is such a thing about having a basic balance, but that doesn't mean that somebody who is comfortable riding a several hundred lb motorcycle or two long planks of fiber automatically should feel comfortable on two tiny tires wearing no protection whatsoever. It'd be like saying that just because you are comfortable skiing and riding a bike you should be comfortable on a motorcycle, which is definitely not the case usually.
Last edited by: Marco in BC: Aug 19, 08 16:34

Edit Log:

  • Post edited by Marco in BC (Dawson Saddle) on Aug 19, 08 16:25
  • Post edited by Marco in BC (Dawson Saddle) on Aug 19, 08 16:34