Motorcycle Views

Riding on gravel roads can take you to lots of interesting places. Below, I've noted a few strategies I've employed to make riding on gravel fun.

1. Downshift and stay in at least one gear lower than you would normally. This allows for minor adjustments in your throttle to take over braking duties without the need to change gears. Staying smooth and fluid with your motions is appropriate for all riding, and is especially important when negotiating on dirt, gravel, and uneven roads.
   
   
2. Use your legs as shock absorbers by standing up on your pegs. You also get the added advantage of lowering the center of gravity to the pegs instead of your seat.
   
   
3. Avoid paddle walking. This throws the bike back and forth thereby undermining the benefits gained from centrifugal force established through forward motion.
   
   
4. Allow the bike to move under you. It wants to stay up and will if you stay on the throttle. The law of science that a body in motion tends to stay in motion definitely applies in this instance.
   
   
5. When going uphill lean a bit forward. This works best if you are standing on the pegs.
   
   
6. When going downhill, shift your weight towards the back.
   
   
7. Keep you heads and eyes up and look to where you want to go.
   
   
8. Experiment with body steering. Simply shifting your weight to your right peg will help you go right utilizing far more subtle adjustments to steering. The converse is true as well. Subtle, smooth adjustments in steering will feel more stable to you.
   
   
9. Practice these skills on a decent gravel road first. Then when you face a more challenging situation, you’ll have more confidence in your skills.
   
   
10. After a while, you’ll come to enjoy gravel roads and the places they can take you and your motorcycle. Even if you never purposely go down a gravel or dirt road, there are always those roads under construction! However, you’ll be ready to deal with them.