New rider in NW Ohio... a hello.

[GreenGene]

Nice to find these forums. I'm a new motorcyclist in NW Ohio and glad to be here. I just recently went through the BRC course here and obtained my motorcycle license and have begun to ride my '81 Honda GL500 that I purchased in July of this year.

It has rained a LOT here, lately. So, it's nice that we now have nice a break and the weather is once again sunny! It gave me the opportunity to commute to work yesterday evening and back home this morning, finally. I now have 157 miles driven, so yes, I'm a very new rider.

It was a smooth ride into work yesterday and a smooth ride home this morning, almost. Within a mile from home, I was driving on a 35 mph road. Coming up to a red traffic light, I came to a full stop with my right turn signal on. I had just put my feet to the ground and was making a head check to turn right on the red light. A small silver sedan behind me evidently thought I should have just continuued through the light, honking her horn at me just as I started to proceed. The road that I turned onto is a 25 mph zone. So, I went 25 mph. The silver sedan turned right, proceeding behind me and rode so close to me that I couldn't see her bumper in my rear view mirrors. Now, people regularly speed in this 25 mph zone, going 40 or even faster. This is coming up on a school zone and I always go the speed limit here, even in my truck. The lady behind me continuued riding my rear end, so I started to slow down further, proceeding at about 15 mph until I went the one block to make my right turn into my neighborhood. I seriously thought about coming to a complete stop right in the middle of the road and walking up to the occupant behind me and just giving her a bunch of "What the F!"'s. But I remained steady and slow until I turned. I don't know if I reacted correctly, but I stayed cool, so I guess that is a plus. Other than that little incident, it was a great commute back and forth from work!

So far, this is the only semi bad experience I've had with others on the road. Should I have done anything different... I'm not sure, but willing to take advice into consideration.

[atonic]

Welcome to our little community.

[gryan]

Hi,
I'm also a new rider and I'm amazed how many cagers tailgate me. Old people, young people, soccer moms, everybody seems to be right on my tail even when within reason, I'm over the speed limit by 10 MPH or so.

Seems nobody want's to give a biker a break. I do what I was taught, leave more room in front just incase, but typically, some middeaged mom, rushing to gymnastics and plugging a new DVD in the player drops her SUV in my escape space.

I guess there's no real answer, just caution but had to mention I notice this all the time.

Be careful,
Gryan

[caeman]

Yo, Green, welcome to the forum.

What part of NW Ohio? I've been thinking about making a run up toward Great Lake St. Mary's at the end of September.

[heather]

Can we call you Mr. Greengenes?

Welcome! This is my favorite group of people. I hope you like them as much as I do. And as you can tell I'm the one that has the corny, cheesy, bad sense of humor.

[medford_mike]

Hey Green,
Welcome. I too am a new rider who is just starting out post BRC. I have yet to try and drive during normal traffic hours. I am trying to build up my hours by getting up nice and early on weekends to get some experience before the roads near me get busy. My general rule is that jerks are everywhere (in cars, on buses, commuter trains, and yes even motorcycles). For what it is worth the fact that you kept your cool seems to be a good indicator that you did the righ thing.

Good luck and stay safe.

[crankshaft]

Welcome to the board. There's a lot of good people here with excellent advice. Plus it's a lot of fun. So kick off your shoes and and sit back and enjoy

[MisterNixter]

Welcome aboard.

I think you did the right thing. If you had stopped and confronted her, nothing good would have been accomplished. If you had speeded up, she may have only gone faster. Better to obey the speed limit and get out of her way when it is safe to do so. In a crash between a bike and a cage, the bike always loses, right or wrong.

[Logan]

Both my bikes have supplemental rear lighting.

If someone is too close I:

1: Flash my brakelights without actually slowing.

2: Take my left hand, palm down & use my arm to make a definitive push down towards the ground (for extreme cases), while flashing my lights.

Generally works.