BEING IN SHAPE TO RIDE
Gary Province (Thanks Gary!)

 This article was inspired by a MSF pamphlet. I hope you find it useful. Being in shape to ride has many meanings. It can mean physically. Free of drugs and alcohol. In shape to ride for the physical stresses or the the mental requirements. How are your skills and are you really ready to ride. We are going to address this topic over the next few lines.
Riding a motorcycle is far more demanding than driving a car. You have to be in good physical and mental condition to ride safely. Four things keep motorcyclists from being in shape to ride safely: Skills, fatigue alcohol and drugs.

SKILLS

 Each of us has a different skill level. Only you can judge what that is. If your riding skills are weak then it is up to you to take an ERC or MRC:RSS class to improve your skills to the minimum levels. Remember you are the person most responsible for your own safety. Improve your skills and ride within your limits.

FATIGUE

 Riding a motorcycle is much more tiring than driving a car. When you plan a long trip, keep in mind that you'll tire much sooner than you would in a car. Since it takes about 3 times as many activities to ride a motorcycle than to drive a car, you must recognize that fatigue can affect your control of the cycle. Here are some things you can do to keep from getting to tired:
*PROTECT YOURSELF FROM THE ELEMENTS. Wind, cold, and rain make you tire quickly. Dress warmly. A windshield is worth its cost if you plan to do a lot of long distance riding.

 *LIMIT YOUR DISTANCE. Experienced riders seldom try to ride more than about six hours per day.

 *TAKE FREQUENT BREAKS. Stop, and get off the cycle. No one should go more than 2 hours without pulling over, stopping, getting off the bike, and walking around.

ALCOHOL

 Drinking and riding can be fatal. Studies show that 40 to 45% of all riders killed in motorcycle accidents had been drinking. Only one third of these had been intoxicated. The rest had just enough alcohol to impair their judgement and riding skills. As you will see it does not take much to do that.

LOSING CONTROL

 Alcohol sneaks up on you. Unlike most beverages and foods, alcohol doesn't have to be digested. Within minutes, it's absorbed into your blood stream and passed to your brain. It quickly slows down your physical and mental reactions. But you don't realize this. Though you may perform poorly, the alcohol makes you feel like you are riding better and better. Small quantities of alcohol impairs your ability to:

· RIDE AND SCAN THE ROAD FOR HAZARDS AT THE SAME TIME;

· PERCEIVE MOVING OBJECTS;

· SEE CLEARLY AT NIGHT;

· REACT QUICKLY;

· COORDINATE EYE, HAND, AND FOOT MOVEMENTS;

· MAINTAIN BALANCE WHILE MANEUVERING;

MAKE GOOD DECISIONS.

CONSEQUENCES

 Each year about 2500 motorcyclists are killed and about 50,000 are seriously injured in alcohol related accidents. In addition to the risk of injury and the resulting medical bills, repairs to the motorcycle are expensive. Riders often have to pay stiff penalties, for it’s against the law to ride a bike while intoxicated.

DRUGS

 Almost any drug puts cyclists at risk. Many over the counter, prescription, and illegal drugs have side affects like alcohol's, which affect all the skills you need to ride safely. Tranquilizers and barbiturates, which are depressants, act like alcohol within your bloodstream. Even cold tablets and allergy pills can make you feel weak, dizzy and affect your vision, coordination and judgement.
Marijuana decreases your ability to see at night and recover from headlight glare. Marijuana users can't react as fast or operate a bike as well as usual. One final word about drugs; they should never be mixed with one another or alcohol. Their combined affects can be dangerous.