BamaRider
Guy
Spatial awareness -is the mental skill that lets you judge distance, direction, position, and movement — both your own and everything around you.
The definition from ChatGP.
Losing any of the above is bad. If you find yourself having close calls, even a couple, stop and think. If you have to look down to step off the curb more than once, or if anything you did a few years ago, without thinking, now needs scrutiny, ask yourself why.
Probably the most important things a rider can have. The intangible that separates the accident-prone from the non. Now, at age 70, I think about what I used to take for granted and will use it as a gauge of how much longer I can ride safely.
I've been on 2 wheels for 57 years and have owned 14 different motorcycles, all street bikes. I received my first bike, a new 1969 Honda CL 70, for my 14th birthday that year. I know, not that many bikes for 57 years, but I tend to put a lot of miles on each one. In 1970, I rode a CB175 22,000 miles in 11 months. I was 15 years old. So far, I've logged 850,000 accident-free miles. I've never fallen off a motorcycle. Had some close calls, but not even one of them in 20 years or so. Going with the numbers (850,000 by 57= just short of 15,000 miles per year.) I live in a warm place and ride year-round. Some years did double the average; others, I'd come in at about 10.
In terms of riding, I have nothing left to do. But I still ride. There is nothing like being in the wind, and I still love riding the loops I once rode when I was a kid. Riding is why I retired 21 years ago; I wanted to do it unfettered. So in 2005, I took my fire department pension, and off I went. Most of my 850,00 miles have come in this 21-year window. Several mornings a week will find me on the NT 1100 "out for ride." I don't take the NT out for anything less than 100 miles, otherwise I ride one of the CBs.
I've made concessions over the last few years. I no longer ride at night, no longer in bad weather, no longer in the cold either. Sold, traded in, or gave away my heavy sport-touring bikes for the more versatile NT 1100, and on my last cross-country trip, I only rode 3-400 miles a day. I was off the road in my motel by 4 pm. I doubt I'll do another two-week ride. In our 70s, I don't want to be away from D that long, and I want to spend that time with her. She endured my long absences without complaint; I owe her. In years past, I'd take a 2-week fall ride, but this year we're going to Poland.
From where I sit, I have a few more years left, but the end is in view.
The definition from ChatGP.
- Positioning: Knowing where you are in a room without having to think about it.
- Distance judgment: Sensing how far away something is, whether you can reach it, or whether you’ll bump into it.
- Movement tracking: Predicting how objects or people will move through space (e.g., catching a ball, merging into traffic).
- Orientation: Understanding left/right, up/down, near/far, and how those shift as you move.
- Body awareness: Feeling the size, shape, and boundaries of your own body — crucial for balance, coordination, and safety.
Losing any of the above is bad. If you find yourself having close calls, even a couple, stop and think. If you have to look down to step off the curb more than once, or if anything you did a few years ago, without thinking, now needs scrutiny, ask yourself why.
Probably the most important things a rider can have. The intangible that separates the accident-prone from the non. Now, at age 70, I think about what I used to take for granted and will use it as a gauge of how much longer I can ride safely.
I've been on 2 wheels for 57 years and have owned 14 different motorcycles, all street bikes. I received my first bike, a new 1969 Honda CL 70, for my 14th birthday that year. I know, not that many bikes for 57 years, but I tend to put a lot of miles on each one. In 1970, I rode a CB175 22,000 miles in 11 months. I was 15 years old. So far, I've logged 850,000 accident-free miles. I've never fallen off a motorcycle. Had some close calls, but not even one of them in 20 years or so. Going with the numbers (850,000 by 57= just short of 15,000 miles per year.) I live in a warm place and ride year-round. Some years did double the average; others, I'd come in at about 10.
In terms of riding, I have nothing left to do. But I still ride. There is nothing like being in the wind, and I still love riding the loops I once rode when I was a kid. Riding is why I retired 21 years ago; I wanted to do it unfettered. So in 2005, I took my fire department pension, and off I went. Most of my 850,00 miles have come in this 21-year window. Several mornings a week will find me on the NT 1100 "out for ride." I don't take the NT out for anything less than 100 miles, otherwise I ride one of the CBs.
I've made concessions over the last few years. I no longer ride at night, no longer in bad weather, no longer in the cold either. Sold, traded in, or gave away my heavy sport-touring bikes for the more versatile NT 1100, and on my last cross-country trip, I only rode 3-400 miles a day. I was off the road in my motel by 4 pm. I doubt I'll do another two-week ride. In our 70s, I don't want to be away from D that long, and I want to spend that time with her. She endured my long absences without complaint; I owe her. In years past, I'd take a 2-week fall ride, but this year we're going to Poland.
From where I sit, I have a few more years left, but the end is in view.
