Motorcycle Mama
Tips to Help You Overcome Your Fears

Mission: To unite women who ride or want to learn to ride motorcycles for recreation, education, mutual support, recognition, and to promote a positive image of women motorcyclists.

Happy New Year! Perhaps one of your resolutions is to have less fear on your motorcycle. You may have had an accident, having trouble turning corners, or you are afraid of locking your front wheel every time you break. Mama is going to share some tips to help you overcome your fears!

Having too much confidence in yourself on a motorcycle may be a problem because you may ride below your capabilities. Too much fear is bad for your technique and too little is dangerous. When you start forgetting that you are a student, no matter how much experience you have, you may forget how to become a better rider and how to keep track of your bad habits as well as how to handle them in a bad situation or a danger zone. When you are afraid you may have the fear that you are not allowed to make mistakes. The truth is that learning takes time, and you WILL make mistakes.

My biggest fear that I have yet overcome is going through a corner at too high a speed. During this scenario, your brain is busy determining the speed, the right gear, planning the line the corner, checking the surface of the road, evaluating the traffic situation, and trying to look ahead as much as possible. The faster you ride, the faster your brain has to think, and that’s when fear automatically sets in. The remedy: ride slower towards the corner!

Make sure to practice the skills you have learned over and over again, and eventually you will be more prepared and more confident in your mind when the time comes. You will be more relaxed as well.

Tips:

*Make sure to watch your body language.
*Watch your hands; don’t let them tighten on the handlebars, hold them loosely.
*Watch your breathing, let it be steady and deep.
*Watch where you are looking.
     Don’t fixate on one point, make sure to have a broad view.

Often when you are afraid of corners, you tend to concentrate on speed or how much you lean. Concentrate on the line you want to take, the point you want to lean in, and being steady on the throttle. After awhile you will be more prepared to enter any corner.

Maybe you are afraid of leaning your bike during a turn. Try standing on your pegs to keep yourself in an upright position while pushing the motorcycle away from you. It will feel more natural. Don’t concentrate on how much you lean, but on where you look and how you use your shoulders and hips, as well as how steady you keep your speed.

When it comes to the fear of braking, especially hard braking, the solution is practice, practice, practice! The best place for that is in a parking lot. If you are riding on the road and suddenly have to brake in a panic, pull the clutch and stay off the rear brake! Exposing yourself to hard braking in controlled circumstances will help you rid your fear during any situation and is also a life saving capability.

Maybe you are afraid of getting back on a bike after an accident. The best advice I can give to you is to get back on as soon as possible! The longer you wait the harder it will be on you. Take time to adjust, but also take the time to overcome your insecurities. Learn something from your accident. In the future you will know what to do under similar circumstances. The fact is that we all need to make adjustments and learn to be better riders, no matter how long we have been riding to help avoid future accidents. Instead of seeing your accident as a flaw, try to see it as a learning experience.

Some of us feel less comfortable riding on a wet surface or one that is covered by debris. Just remember the basics, and try to be steady on the throttle. Keep a loose grip on the handlebars, brake evenly, and ride gentile lines. Your motorcycle should get the opportunity to find its own way, and you only hinder your bike when you tighten on the handlebars.

While riding in the dark you may be blinded by lights. Look ahead as far as possible. You will have to learn a habit of not looking directly into them. The positive side to riding in the dark is that you can spot oncoming vehicles before they come around the corner.

No matter what your fear is, realize that in every situation you can make a difference, and you can always learn from it! "Fear is a man’s best friend".John Cagle Peace..Love.and Roadtrips Motorcycle Mama
Christine Weaver
Cweaver731@gmail.com

Do you know a lady rider who would like to be featured monthly in my article as biker babe of the month? If so, submit a photo and a brief description about yourself and your bike. Each month someone will randomly be selected to go in the article and be on the biker babe wall of fame! Email submissions to Cweaver731@gmail.com  Make sure to include name and city and year/ make/model of bike if including bike in photo