Thats a difficult question to answer as to giving things a limit when riding the bike,for sure there must be a limit at all times, much depends on conditions on the day and how you feel. Other factors are whether you are riding alone ,leading a group, tail end charlie, got the missus on the back seat.Im sure age does make a differance,but with age comes experiance but if your experiance is limited in the first place then it counts for nothing. There is no better factor in bike riding that getting out and riding the thing. I have found it invaluable to be out riding with other riders often faster than you who you can learn from, but understand the risks involved. This should be a slow process for every bend that you enter and exit at the correct speed is a lesson in survival
get it wrong only once and ,, well Ill not go down that road.
Do I as an older rider whey up the dangers more than a young rider , possibly I do,may be Ive seen more accidents than some of the younger ones and that will effect my judgement , I can tell you when you do make a mistake and go airbourne as I have done, it tells you you do not want to do it again , cause it bloody hurts and thats the best lesson of them all. I feel save and confident when riding fastish other wise i would'nt do it , but there is riding fast and racing thats when I draw the line (on the road) 4D

What's fast for one can be slow for another.
What's safe for one can be scary for another.

This is all affected by so many different factors other than road conditions. As Fordie said, experience counts for a lot, so does training. Despite the boring image associated with Institute of Advanced Motorcylists, it really can help you to go faster, safely; as i'm sure Rushjob and ANdyB would confirm. Also track based training like CSS, doing track days, and racing.

Off road experience is very good for throttle control, experienceing the bike bucking and sliding.

Despite the track being a safer environment, i feel happier on the road, probably because of the mileage i've done over the years, whereas i only average 1 or 2 track days a year.

I think i ride at a reasonable pace when conditions allow, but thats subjective as i've only ridden with a few of the local group a few times. Most of the time i'm out with the 'Alternative Tour de France crew' the same group who have ridden together on and off road for years, so we know and trust each other. Other than that a lot of my miles have been done on my own with despatching, thats not really a group pastime.

In answer to your original question i was a lot wilder when i was 18 on a bike and took a lot more risks, but wouldn't say i was actually much faster, madder yes. I can cope with someone being faster than me now, or passing me now, whereas it used to be red rag to a bull.

Having said all that i enjoy going fast, the mental buzz of a good long hard ride is something special ( i love a week hunting bends in France) but it's not worth killing yourself for, and as Glyn said you always want to see the kids again.

[Edited on 20-10-2005 by BDG]

That'll no doubt be because of all the bumps as you go across the grass again then will it ??
:P

I see God when I look at my bike, I'm the Devil when I get on it, and up to now the Holy Ghost has protected me.

Me - dog slow on the road, which annoys the hell out of me, I used to be fairly confident on the road, used to be good at reading unknown roads, but over the last year or two I hate leading on the road to the point where I just can't be bothered with road riding because I don't enjoy it, but stick me behind someone and I suddenly become smooooth????? :puzzled:

You just like looking at Lilys rear:lol:

....well there is that ;)

Slower than I was, for sure, but it is a psycholgical thing. It's down to experience pure and simple.

One of the things that has made me a lot slower on the road is having had a couple of lowsides on track - on both occasions I didn't know anything about it. There was no warning that the front was going to let go, it was just cranked right over with both tyres going grip, grip, grip, grip then suddenly I was sliding down the track on my arse watching my bike shower sparks back at me. On the track, on both ocassions, I just slid down the road, gently over a flat kerb and onto the grass, the only injury I sustained was a very small graze on the heel of my hand where my glove wore through. On the road, the chances of coming off without hitting something hard, or firing yourself through a hedge are remote. If you do come off, chances are it's gonna hurt big time. So trusting the front end is a big psychological barrier to me.

Having said all that, I still ride quickly on the road, I'm a little bit rustier than my riding mates because I haven't been able to get out as much this year and because for the last few rideouts I've been getting used to a completely different bike. Maybe it's because I haven't been out riding with them so much that I'm like Ali and a good few percent off the pace, but I am riding within my comfort levels rather than pushing beyond them for the sake of being macho.

Another thing, as I told Glyn on Sunday, one of the things that plays on my mind now, when I'm out riding in the middle of a group, is that I hope to God that I don't come round a corner one day and find that one of my mates in front of me has had a big one. I also get a apprehensive when I've put a lot of distance between me and the guy behind, when we slow down or pull over to wait for someone to catch up (especially if they've fallen a long way back) I always breath a big sigh of relief when I see their headlights in my mirrors. I know I should concentrate on my own ride and let everybody else be accountable for theirs, and it's only something I've started to think about recently. Who knows, maybe it's because my kids have both left home and I need to worry about somebody :lol::lol::lol:

I've also caught myself being cranked right over on a fast sweeper, and glancing down at the clocks to see them well into the 'go straight to jail' territory....hmmmm, makes you think!

smooth and brisk!!!:burn:

although I do have a red mist problem...
(more tame than I used to be though - but not much)

Les