The Palm Beach Knights Newsletter

The Knights Table

Monthly Newsletter January 2014

Greetings from your President Will

RIDING MOTORCYCLES ON GRAVEL: THE REAL ROAD LESS TRAVELED (for good reasons).

In spite of the fact that I live on a dirt road, I tend to shy away from gravel roads when riding. Most times my least favorite part of any ride is getting to the end of my own street. Since I have had some bad experiences on dirt/gravel roads, I've come to the conclusion that it’s worth learning to be comfortable navigating a motorcycle on one.

I have a history with gravel roads and motorcycles. I was riding tail gunner one day on a long ride when I was unexpectedly introduced to the delight of navigating this distinct surface. Seems the road captain followed his GPS instead of his eyes. To make a long story short (you welcome) I ended up horizontal lounging in a pile of rocks and sand. Thankfully it was mostly my pride that was damage with just a few scratches and scrapes on Helga and me, although I did hit me head on a big freakin rock (no that was not meant to be funny). Here I mistakenly thought I had grown comfortable on dirt/gravel, even with an eight hundred plus pound Valkyrie. Yep, I was wrong again…..I seem to get that a lot lately.

What follows are a few pointers that I've picked up over the years living and riding on gravel/dirt roads, planned or not.

Note: If you're looking for tips on how to flat-foot through gravel corners going 40 miles per hour, this article will be disappointing. Like most things, to be successful you need to keep things simple. Dirt roads are no exception. Being simple is my specialty…wait I think that came out wrong.

Mostly there are only three rules I keep in mind when riding gravel:

Read the Road

This is probably the single most significant thing you can do to raise your confidence on gravel/dirt. Simply put, you're looking for parts of the road where the gravel has been pushed clear and you can ride on the hard-packed dirt underneath. Now you have to be careful, appearances can be deceiving. I’ve had the occasion of riding over a hole that just had very loose sand in it….see dirt can be exciting. Most frequently these will be in the shallow of the road. What's a shallow? Good question. Over time, paths get made in the road where a car's tires push the gravel out to the sides of the road. On my road the biggest ruts are made by garbage truck, mail truck, and of course the road grader. Oy! These are shallows. They suck!! They will grab your tire and pull you down to meet with them face to face.

What you really want to look for is hard pack dirt surface - like clay. As you're ability to read the road and spot shallows increases, you're confidence on gravel/dirt roads will grow ten-fold. That’s when it really becomes dangerous. Nothing is more dangerous than being OVER confident on these unique roads. Even after all these years of riding on my own road, it takes all my concentration to do it.

Easy on Everything

Why do gravel roads make bikers nervous? For the same reason bikers get nervous when they get caught in the rain. Less traction. Well Duh!!

With less traction you want to go easy on everything including turning, braking, accelerating, and your overall speed. You have to find the best speed for that road. Too slow or too fast and you got problems. Sudden movements require more traction to execute. If you try a sudden movement on a surface with less traction, like gravel, the bike is probably going to lose traction and not do what you want. You then get to have a different perspective….horizontal.

I know this may sound a bit obvious, but don't jerk the handlebars to make a sudden turn. Also, in the famous words of Douglas Adams (he’s an author…look it up) “Don’t panic”

easy on the brakes to slow down. Don't roll your throttle back like your blasting off the line (unless you're trying to throw gravel out from behind you and smack your buddy in the head). Moderate your speed and go easy on everything.

The motorcycle knows best.

If "Reading the Road" is the single best thing you can do to raise your confidence on gravel/dirt, than "Realizing that your motorcycle knows best" is the single best way to increase your enjoyment of riding a gravel/dirt road(if there is any I haven’t found it). Your motorcycle is going to wiggle on a gravel/dirt road. It's going to feel like its sliding and slipping all over the place. Your front tire is going to feel like it’s having a seizure. Let it. Your bike knows best. I know this is hard to do when it’s actually happening, but if you relax it will almost always come out OK. Awareness that your motorcycle is going to do this will help you form a suitable behavior. The very natural tendency for most riders is to try and control every movement on gravel - don't. Just relax, keep a firm grip on the handlebars, and a light touch when controlling the motorcycle. Don't try to control every movement of the bike, not that you could stop it if you wanted to, but try to allow the bike to move under you. Students repeat after me, the law of science states that a body in motion tends to stay in motion. This definitely applies in this instance. Besides the dam thing weighs 800+ pounds!! Keep your head up and your focus on where you are trying to go. The bike will wiggle its way to where you want. This instruction probably takes the most getting used to, especially for those of you with heftier bikes.

Summary

However you may view gravel/dirt roads - whether as a white-knuckle experience from hell or an opportunity to find some cool new unexplored place – learning how to do it correctly can save you skin and your bike. Just sayin….

KNIGHTS please make sure to welcome our new sponsor

My family had the pleasure of eating there the other night and had a great time. Food was excellent!!!

they are located at

801 Village Blvd Suite 309

561-697-2855

Make sure to tell them that you are with The Palm Beach Knights MRC

we need to support our sponsors!!

ONLY LIMITED ROOMS LEFT AT SPECIAL PRICE

It's not too early to book for our trip to

Leesburg April 25th

MUST RESERVE BEFORE APRIL 4TH.

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS

1810 SOUTH HWY 27

CLERMONT, FL

Call say you are with the Palm Beach Knights.1-352-243-7878

KING $85 + TAX

DOUBLE $93 + TAX

30 MINUTES FROM LEESBURG

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THE ORGANIZER AND OFFICERS WORK HARD TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A FUN SAFE RIDE. WHILE WE WELCOME SUGGESTIONS, WE WON'T CHANGE RIDES THE WEEK OF THAT RIDE.
I'M SURE THAT THEY WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ANY IDEAS FOR A FUTURE EVENT.

While we try to mix up our rides as much as possible, it's highly unlikely that I'm going to please everyone all the time. I hope everyone has been enjoying the rides that have been on our schedule so far. I am always looking for feedback and new ideas. Your participation is what makes this club great.

MEMBERS GETTING OLDER!!

Keith Baldwin January 7th

We have been having some really awesome rides TIMES:

Breakfast/flea market/ lake ride CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER

Well sometimes it happens that the weather dictates our lives.

This ride will happen at a later date.

Lozano's Mexican Restaurant-Immokalee - January 12th

This was a great ride to a pretty good restaurant. After a nice break at one of the Knights favorite stops "John Stretch Park" , we made good time getting there.

We took a very back road route home. Everyone had a great time. It was nice to see Ram back with us. We even got to see some Deer on the road!!

Tom Casella

"Great day Great Destination Great ride I love riding with our club we have the best people everybody leaves their attitudes at home and just enjoys the camaraderie. Thanks Knight for another enjoyable day"

UPDATED- Wild Turkey Tavern, Avon Park - January 19th

What a perfect day this turned out to be. The weather was a little cold in the morning, but not so cold that anyone was very uncomfortable. I wore my leather chaps which not only makes me look sexy as Hell, but kept me nice and warm.

paul manna

"Great ride,we even made it home for halftime....great food,great company,great ride!!!"

This was our new Road Captain Slick's first lead. Steve took us down some great back roads and we eventually ended up at the Sebring dinner. Food was great! The ride back was warmer and just outstanding.

Ride The South Florida Fair-

Wow talk about missing out!! While I had every intention of joining the Knights for this, my stomach had other plans. Thanks Slick for hosting and leading this event.

I heard tell that Echoes ate enough to put the entire fair in the black for the year. The list of his accomplishment is:

1. A giant Pork Chop

2. Fried Oysters

3. a Bigggg Ice Tea

4. Frogs Legs

5.Soft Shell Crab

6.A Krispy Cream Bacon Cheese Burger

7. Rootbeer Float

8.Elephant Ear Funnel Cake

9. Extra large Coffee

10. and of course Bacon on a stick

Holy #$%@ I would have paid money just to see that!!

Slick

"Fun night. I have a love/hate thing going on with fair food- Ugggggggggggggg"

8th Annual Dania Beach Vintage Motorcycle Show

This is always a great show. You don't get the chance often to see so many Vintage Bikes. We had a great group with us. Greenies even got his initials painted on his bike, which he immediately hated. We had great weather and the ride on 95 was made a lot easier by RC and TG having communication systems. After the event we headed back with a stop at an unknown bar where we had a really surprisingly good lunch. This event gets bigger every year.