Home | FAQ | Program | Staff | Safety Articles | Clearinghouse | Forms | Region F

A Body in Motion
By John Del Santo

 There are enough laws written to fill a million courthouses: “Don’t do this. Don’t ride there. Don’t do that….” But there are certain laws that a good rider knows should never be violated. These laws are: Friction, momentum, Centrifugal Force, and Gravity. A rider won’t get a ticket for breaking these laws, but they will end up in a ditch.

Friction, or traction, is the one that keeps you stuck to the road. The first step in maintaining traction is a good set of tires with proper inflation. If the pressure is too low or high, the tire will start to lose traction. A bike with poor traction will start to go sideways in a curve, take longer to stop, and tend to swerve during a hard braking maneuver. Sounds like some kind of a carnival ride, doesn’t it?

When you’re approaching a curve, is your speed low enough coming in? How far can you see into the curve? Is there gravel on the road of a stopped car just around the bend? Is there some dope coming toward you, passing or hanging over the yellow line? Does the curve get tighter halfway through? Is it an older road that is not banked, or worse yet, banked the wrong way? Hit your brakes in there, and it’s adios traction and hello centrifugal force! If you need to brake hard in a curve, you need to brake through it in a straight line. If you must brake hard, and your rear wheel locks up, LEAVE IT LOCKED! If you release a skidding rear tire, you will create a severe change of balance, which will cause a sudden loss of control, and a high-side crash. This will flip you off the bike, and wherever you land, your bike will land there a moment later.

When on slippery roads, anything that changes the smooth flow of your forward momentum can cause the bike to head off in a direction you did not intend. Easy acceleration and smooth steering are necessary here.

Braking is negative acceleration, and acceleration is the square of your velocity. If you double your speed, you’ll need almost four times the distance to stop. Triple your speed, and you’ll need almost NINE TIMES the braking distance. Following distance is like money; you’ll never have too much, but if you have a little less than you need, you’re in trouble.

Isaac Newton said it first, “Gravity Sucks!” Respect the laws of Physics, and you will go a long way toward keeping the shiny side up.