| Deadly Risks of Riding | Arrive Alive Mindsets |
| Dressing For The Ride | Dress For The Slide |
| Inattention To The Surroundings | Pay Attention To React Instinctively |
| Riding With An Unfit Mental State | Ride With Mental Clarity |
| Operating Without A Ride Plan | If You Fail To Plan, You Plan To Fail |
Basic Ride Plans
Basic Ride Plans
A Ride Plan is the path you plan for your tires to follow while riding your motorcycle. It’s about where your tires will go—not the body of the bike.
The most basic Ride Plan is on a flat, straight road with no hazards. From a stop, as you start moving, look ahead and trace a line with your eyes in the direction you want to travel. If you can see 5 seconds ahead along that line, you’ve created your first Ride Plan.As you ride, use your peripheral vision to stay on that path while keeping your central vision slightly ahead of it. This makes staying on course feel natural. If the road gets tricky, shift more of your focus directly to the path.
Adapting the Ride Plan
On smooth roads with no hazards, you don’t need to change much. But when hazards show up—like potholes, gravel, or bad pavement—you’ll need to adapt.
You can change your Ride Plan by adjusting things like:
- Speed
- Direction or lane position
- How much you lean
- Body position
- Acceleration or braking
- Where you’re looking
A big advantage of motorcycles is their small size, so you can often avoid hazards by shifting your position within the lane.
Hazards and Priorities
As you gain experience, you’ll learn how to spot and deal with different hazards. Here’s a simple breakdown:
- Passable Hazards = things like potholes or gravel you can ride around or over.
- Impassable Hazards = things like traffic, animals, or blocked roads. These need immediate attention.
- Unavoidable Hazards = things you can’t avoid, like low visibility or weather. Use long-term planning for these.
Important: Always prioritize Impassable Hazards (like moving cars) over Passable Hazards (like pavement cracks). Don’t fixate on avoiding a pothole and miss a car changing lanes next to you.