I have rode bikes for over 30 years or so, but I didn’t take a rider safety course until about 6 years ago...didn’t think I needed it, but I did in fact learn a lot.
A few years ago I had a friend go on a bike trip with me through some pretty moderate twisties, he had ridden bikes for most of his life...however it had been some time since he had spent much time on a bike, plus his riding experience did not include advanced roads, but mostly straight ones. Something else I did not know at the time was that he had recently been experiencing balance issues. He had a wreck during our trip, cracking 5 ribs and puncturing a lung. After about half a year, he recoverred and eventually got back on the horse.
Being in good health and being fit to ride is very important. If you are suffering from physical ailments, if you are operating on very little sleep or under the influence of medications, alcohol or anything else that could affect your ability to process your surroundings and execute appropriate maneuvers under any given situation, YOU SHOULD NOT GET ON YOUR BIKE.
Experience is great, but experience alone doesn’t make one a safer rider. It doesn’t matter if you’ve ridden bikes for years if you have been doing things wrong the entire time. You are never too old or experienced to learn something new or discover a better way to do things.
It should be a forgone conclusion that bikers should have a heightened awareness and alertness at all times. Unfortunately a biker can take every precaution, use every safety device and piece of protective gear at his disposal, obey all traffic laws and still get hit by some jackass on their **** cellphone.
Improvements in safety technology are great, but still, the best advice for anyone who rides?...