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Safety Tip of the Week
Head Check
No I don't mean going to the shrink. If you own a motorcycle you
don't need to go to a shrink. As the old cliché says anyway.
I'm talking about the life saving kind. Most motorcycles these
days have very good mirrors. But like cars there are blind spots. Nothing
will ever replace the good old head check for keeping you out of
trouble.
What is a head check? It is probably the simplest and yet most
valuable skill you can learn on a motorcycle. Before changing
lanes, merging, crowding an on ramp or any number of instances
where you need to own your little piece of real estate, you simply
snap your head back and let your eyes take a picture. All it takes
is a micro second. The eyes are so fast, they see trillions
of things every day that if not important, your brain never even
processes. Don’t confuse this part of the equation with
reaction times which are one half to a full second in some people.
In fact, the goal of the head check is to give you information so
you don’t begin the next motor skills process; such as pulling into
the path of a car that you didn’t know was there!
I emphasize, a head check is simply a whole head snap back glance.
No need for a long casual search for danger coming from behind.
Remember the motorcycle will go where you look and you need to be
looking forward. If the danger is there, you will see it and you
just continue on your path and delay your lane change. You won’t
need the two seconds that gets preached about so much. Many times
the next reaction your body will experience in the next two seconds
is chills down your back while you process, if you hadn’t done the
head check you would have been in a crash.
To be sure there is no misunderstanding; the head check doesn’t
replace the mirror check. The process is mirror check, head check,
live to ride another day.
Road Captains
New Sheriff in
town
Starting today we have a new Head Road
Captain, Bob Bloom. Please make sure he gets all the sign in
sheets and contact him to make any changes in rides such as leads,
sweeps, times and locations. You may contact him at headroadcaptain@ancientcityhog.com.
Bob, please start checking your new email.
HOG Stuff
Ride 365
2018 is over. Its
time to get that mileage documented for next years contest. Lets
show the other chapters in Florida who rides!
SMART - Smart
Motorcycle And Riding Technique
This is the FDOT
funded class taught by police and sheriff motor officers. It is a
similar format to some of the commercially taught classes that
begin with Ride Like A … I think this is actually better and
it is free, well paid for by tax dollars. Nothing is free. More
instructors, more room, more cones, more personal hands on
instructions. Gainesville Police got their funding again and will
begin classes again in January. I will be leading a ride to one on
January 19. Watch the calendar and future newsletters for details.
Monthly Meeting
Meeting for will be Saturday, January
12 ,2019 at the VFW-6184 US 1 South, St. Augustine. Please join us
for coffee at 9:00 a.m. and the meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. A
short ride to River Grille in Ormond Beach will follow.
.
Renew Your Membership
Dues for year-$20
They
are $20 and this is probably the best bargain I get all year.
Up and Coming
Monthly Meeting - VFW 6182 US 1 South,
St. Augustine Crescent City January 12, 2019
Join us for coffee at
9:00 and the meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. A short lunch ride to
River Grill in Ormond Beach will follow.
Marc will lead and Merle will sweep.
Caribbean
Jacks- Daytona Beach January 13, 2019
Meet at the Racetrac at SR 207 and
I-95 at 9:30 a.m...KSU at 10:00 a.m.
Bob will lead and Alan
will sweep.
SMART Class Ride -
Gainsville January 19, 2019
Meet at the Kangaroo Station at SR 13 and SR 207
at 5:00 a.m. KSU @ 5:30
Ride to Gainesville for SMART Class. Terry will lead and Alan will
sweep. The class is free but you must be registered at http://www.gainesvillepd.org/Virtual-Front-Desk/SMART-Motorcycle-Safety-Course
Backwoods Smokehouse -
Interlachen January 19,2019
Meet at the Racetrac at SR 207 and
I-95 at 9:30 a.m...KSU at 10:00 a.m.
Fred will lead and Lyle
will sweep
Rosy's Mexican Cantina -
Jacksonville January 26, 2019
Meet at the Racetrac at SR 16 and I-95
at 9:30 a.m...KSU at 10:00 a.m.
Charles will lead and Lyle
will sweep
Tid Bits
Thanks
This is a two part
thank you.
First I want to thank all the riders who prayed for
Debora and me and dedicating the ride Saturday January 5, to my
mother. I can't tell you how much this meant to me. There are no
words to express it except thank you and God bless you all.
Also thanks to Marc and Bob for making this ride happen.
I understand it was a great ride typical of our chapter and road
captains; to use Bob's words," turning a 30 minute ride into a
90 minute adventure. Three Bananas is always a fun destination as
proven by the two other HOG chapters who showed up on the same day.
Where on earth did you park?
I also want to welcome the new member who showed upon
the ride, I look forward to welcoming you personally. I understand
there were some guests on the ride, hopefully they had enough fun
and will join the family.
Inspiration
“Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a
life.” — Robin Sharma
You need to get out there and try new things to
live a fulfilling life. If you remain stagnant, your life will be
wasted.
.
Please
Share - Send us stories and member info to share with your Chapter
Friends and then see it here! Just shoot it via email
to: director@ancientcityhog.com
Come Out and Join Us On Our Rides...Hope To See
You Soon... Terry
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