Today was one of those days when I planned a five mile round trip to get a bite to eat and stop at the store but turned into a fifty mile ride.
I awoke today late as I have been from watching the news and movies on up to two in the morning. I knew I felt depressed. After all I am staying home as much as I can because of Covid-19. So, as I traveled I started feeling better.
Let me set the scene. It is a medium hot summer day. The sun is bright and I do feel the heat but with the rush of wind when riding, air mixes in for a perfect riding environment.
At first it is Light to Light in city riding. Not much exciting except at one stop light the car in the lane next to me didn't realize the car ahead had stopped and even though the light had been green for some time, the car ahead of that one was not moving and the car she was about to run into was not lighting up it's brake lights. And there was that alarming sound of skidding to a stop rubber. Not a soothing sound when on two wheels.
Soon the stretches of city road became longer and after a few miles gave way to long stretches of open farmland roads.
From experience I have found that for the enjoyment of a ride on these back-roads that it is better to take a not so logical path. To ride in the opposite direction to connect quicker to the main back-roads.
This is the land of "back in the days roads" where each small town had it's own Telephone Company and there are back-roads with the names of the towns they connected to.
So riding North when logically I want South is the way I connected to an eastern heading road and came upon a road heading back south. Then turning on a road named "East Road" and East I went.
As I traveled I came upon many bends in the roads. I had decided to visit the next county over and a town called Snelling California.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snelling,_California I like visiting Snelling because on hot Summer days, like this one, the cool of the Merced River mixes in with the dry summer heat from the open dry grass lands, offering a refreshing ride experience and plus it's a lovely small town away from the City. Too bad "Buds Place" is closed down but the General Store offered a cold beverage.
On the way I was thinking of a book I read once called Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and how simple stories relating to the ride become words of wisdom.
On this ride I thought about how some people may look at taking curves. I remember my training in the CHP Motorcycle riding classes.
They said Push on the handlebar in the direction you want to go. So push the handlebar right (turning the front tire left) to go right. This seemed wrong after all we turn the tires in the direction we want our car to go so why not be turning our front tire in the direction we want to go when we are in Curves on a Scooter/Motorcycle?
It is called Counter-steering. It is my experience that handling curvy roads is much more enjoyable if I am not trying to lean and turn the tire in the direction I want to go. I site over-steering and being out of position on curves. Sometimes dangerously.
I find pushing the wheel in the opposite direction to the direction I want to go (Counter-steering) and then also leaning a bit as I do is much better.
According to an article I am referencing here
https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/what-is-countersteering If you want to have a hot debate among motorcyclists, you talk about oil preferences or countersteering. I think it’s a hot topic because it’s not well understood.
So what is your point of view?
Any issues on pushing on the steering in the direction you want to go?
I'm thinking a lot of inexperienced riders do not even know what counter-steering is. A discussion may help.
By the way I am not depressed after my ride.Mission accomplished!
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