BACKROADS • JULY 2021
Page 39
The Law Office of Paul Gargiulo, P.C. presents
Welcome to the Jungle - The Art of Learning to Ride Skillfully A column dedicated to your riding survival
EFFORTLESS But I love to watch that woman dance Yeah, I love to watch that woman dance Eagles Effortless adjective • /ef-ert-les/ Done so well that it seems not to need much mental or physical energy Requiring or involving no effort displaying no signs of effort; easy: Ex: Her riding looks effortless. Although I probably saw it first, I was not the first nor will I be the last rider to comment on how smooth, precise, and sinuous my wife Shira is on a sweet and curvy open road. Okay, she is lacking a bit in the slow speed and parking lot maneuvers, but on the backroads, she rides with aplomb. Always a joy to watch and follow. A few years back, during the lunch break at CLASS at Virginia International Raceway, two instructors came looking for Shira – they had half a dozen Group B riders behind them. At that time Shira was wearing her blue and yellow Aerostich Roadcrafter suit – for a time her colors, as it were. Asking for her by name, I could see her cringe as they came up. She thought, “Oh God, what did I do?” Nothing… Two of Reg Pridmore’s instructors, some of the best on the planet, told their group to, if they could not find a coach, follow this woman… she makes no mistakes. Shira was incredibly humbled. I was as proud as could be. There are other women I know who can ride like this. Kristen (Okay, she does ride like a girl…duh!), Helene, Sandy, Lisa, Lauren… Girls kick ass. They are lighter, more nimble, and,…ooops, braver than us XY guys. Or, is it just, they are more in tune with themselves. Satori. Zen. I wrote about this a year ago when Shira piloted her Honda 919 through a flock of deer, needling through the group in a precise and surgeon-like direction. Satori is the mental state of being totally in tune with exactly what you are doing. In this case, riding motorcycles. This thought came flittering across the gray matter on a late afternoon jaunt. The day had started cold, clammy, and wet, but a strong afternoon high front pushed the clouds east and the brilliant sun was now painting the hills and forests of northwest New Jersey. “We should go for a ride,” said herself. “We’d be fools not to,” was my reply and I rolled out her Honda and my new Z900RS. I followed Shira’s lead north, along County Road 519, and while I seemed to have to work at everything this day, Shira was the epitome of smooth; flowing through the turns with seemingly effortless efficiency. It was fun to watch. Seeing how she was dancing with the bike this day made me aware that I was seeming to have to work a bit harder just to stay up with her. We all have days
we are better than others, but when you consciously have to work at being smoother you most likely won’t be. Reg, AMA Champion and Riding instructor extraordinaire, has a Recurrency Checklist. I have one above my desk and one above the shelf where I place my helmet after each ride. Twelve-Points on riding that hopefully, over time, become part of your day-to-day riding without the need to consciously ponder on them while riding. Things like demanding concentration and becoming “distraction-proof.” Add on to this the idea of making a plan and relaxing to let the bike do its thing. Panic control, body steering, and -the key – to be smooth at all times. Like I said - I have good days, not-so-good days and, on occasion, spectacular days. Some days I am like Pee-Wee Herman – on rare occasions Mark Marquez (Okay, not really – but it’s my mind so we’ll let it lay, shall we?) Riding effortlessly takes determination and the ability to strive to get and be a better rider without letting it take over your mind and defeat its own purpose. Work at smoothness. Work at preciseness. Always strive to be a better rider and one day it will effortless too. ,
