Intro and question about Turns/Cornering

[MomOnBike]

RE: Leaning at speed.

I like the barrel racing analogy.

I will add that the advice I got (often and with much emphasis) is that your bike/horse/skateboard/etc. WILL go where your nose is pointing.

One other thing. Turning, like everything else, yields to practice. Go to an empty parking lot and ride tight circles around the light poles, and whatever else you find there. Find out where your tolerances are, then push them. Then speed up. (/violin teacher)

[witeowl]

About your fear of falling...

I first learned to lean into fast turns when I was a child on the back of a motorcycle. My natural instinct, of course, was to sit bolt upright. The person giving me a ride stopped immediately and explaned it this way to me: If you're sitting upright, your weight is actually forcing the bike closer to the ground, which actually makes it more likely the bike will "drop". As he showed me with his hands, there are two options (you've really got to use your imagination here):

With leaning:
./ ...<-person
/ .... <-bike

Without leaning:
. I .. <-person
-- ... <-bike

That got my attention enough to get me to always lean with the bike into a fast turn, whether the bike has a motor or not!

[Kalidurga]

That's a great explanation. Diagrams are always helpful

But, as you lean, also remember to put your weight on the outside foot. That makes a huge difference. Once I learned to do that (who'm I kidding? I'm still in the process of learning it), I felt much more comfortable leaning my body.

[OakLeaf]

Countersteering is easier to visualize on a vehicle with wider tires. It's most pronounced on a loose surface, like flat-tracking.



(Click on the image for a full-sized view.)

[lo123]

Thanks everyone. The barrel racing analogy makes sense to me.. I used to ride horses, so that's probably a good place to start with relearning leans. I just had a steroid shot in my hip, so I haven't had a chance to get back onto the bike, but I'm thinking early tomorrow morning I'll give it a go.