Fred Astaire

What in the world does he have to do with riding a motorcycle? Everything. A legendary dancer and choreographer. A motorcycle rider? I don’t know, but his view of dancing fits perfectly with riding a motorcycle. He said, “always look at your partner, not at your feet”.

On a motorcycle, the road ahead is your partner. Look at that picture…head up and eyes out. Thats how we should ride, looking at where we are going , not where we are at. The ‘where’ we are at is looking at your feet (front tire).

Looking ahead you see the road flow. You see obstacles, traffic, and are prepared for whatever the road throws at you. You and your partner (the road) work together. Now, here is where you have to be really at one with your motorcycle. Understanding all it’s controls. Throttle, clutch, brakes and handling. Fred Astaire didn’t get that good at dancing without practice. A lot of practice. 

Skills that you learned from the basic rider courses , track classes or one on one coaching sessions need to be practiced on a regular basis. Fred Astaire was light on his feet but totally in control and we need to be light on our controls to be in control. Learn the feel of everything. Go to a parking lot and play with the ‘Slow Race’ learn your Friction Zone, do some weaving, practice U-Turns (particularly on your not so strong side…usually the right) and practice quick stopping. Just get out there and practice.

And lastly… Ginger Rogers said it best…”I do everything he does backwards and in high heels” .

Our next post will all about counter steering. Everything we do feels backwards…good fun!

Ride safe, Ride far and Ride smart. Most of all RIDE.

I’ll see you on the road,

Paul