Return-Path: Date: Mon, 24 Jun 1996 16:53:31 -0400 From: Martyn Wheeler To: [TriDoD] Subject: Re: TestAndRCR The Lard of the Fries says (I hope to the list, with his alias I can't tell): >>-- Steve Garnier rides a little quicker than I am comfortable >>with, necessitating passes at speeds that with the right (wrong) wind >>conditions can cause a *major* headshake. He may have a small shaft, >>but he compensates well for it. ;-) >I guess experience and technique does make a difference after all, eh? Old age and senility will outrun middle age and self-preservation. :-) >To be honest, I would've been just as comfortable riding a quicker pace >than I ended up using. I had intended on riding a slower pace, but *felt* >that the riders in our group prefered an increased pace, particularly after >surveying many of the faces at certain brief stops. I saw only smiles. >Sorry about misinterpreting your wishes, Martyn. I guess I wasn't >listening when you mentioned the headshakes. Of course, my speedo could >be way off, but I never went above 65 mph in the straights. No, you didn't go much over 65 on the straights, but the *style* of the pace was such that it never slowed down for those who passed rolling roadblocks to catch up. I'd have liked a reduced pace at the front once there was enough room for others to move into, until everyone was around. That's really my only objection, other than I would have liked to go faster in the twisties. :-) Well, Jean and I had opportunity to rectify that... :-) :-) My preference on a "pace" ride, which this basically was (intended a compliment to all involved), is not to exceed 60 or so on the straights, and hang together more as a group while passing. I don't know how you rode the really twisty section, of course, but the calibre of the riders was such that spreading out would have been best. The Guzzi has a definite optimal cornering technique that demands the rider be committed (cue one-liner :-) ), and coming up on another bike mid-corner is readily survivable but *is* a pucker moment (*love* those linked brakes!). Actually, I've noticed this a lot. Comfort in a group sport ride depends a lot on cornering technique. Coming up on someone in or exiting a corner is not comfortable. No criticism implied, just an observation... Oh yeah, I suppose those frantic waves when you bypassed the centre of Shepherdstown was taken as a "OK, go ahead and turn left" rather than "For god's sake, man, the coffee's the *other* way!!!". ;-) >This brings up another point. Martyn, I've had a bias against fork/ >handlebar mounted windscreens for a *long* time, and you experienced the >reason why. You might not want this advice, but IMO, you should replace >that windscreen with something you can fasten to the frame. The frequency >of headshake occurrence plummets when you decouple the forces on the >windscreen from the steering control. I just won't ride that fast. It's not a bad thing for me to have an upper limit on speed. Anyway, even a *major* headshake is easily handled on the Callie if the rider is calm and relaxed. >>Some time I'll have time for a long version, or maybe it'll just have >>to be oral tradition at BS on Thursday. >Do you mean "BS on Wednesday" or has it been switched? DOH! Wednesday, of course... Martyn -------------sasmjw@unx.sas.com----(Martyn Wheeler)----DoD #293------------- SAS Institute, Inc: (919) 677-8000 ext.7954 H: (919) 677-0330 (Cary, NC) "I have a vision of a very calming place" -- single gun theory