learning how to ride - lesson 8 highway riding

Chances are, if you are going to be riding any distance greater than the corner store, you will be riding on a highway at some point during your trip. The open road is one of the most satisfying roads to ride. Although highway riding is usually at speeds of 80-100+km which may frighten you at first, keep in mind that highway accidents account for only 12% of all accidents. This is because there are no intersections and traffic flows at the same pace in one direction.

Get out your local area road map and check out where the highway(s) are. You want one that has two lanes in each direction and for your first few highway runs a route with a lower speed limit such as 80km will be ideal. Your travel distance should be between 25-50km. Make sure you have sufficient fuel to make your entire trip.

The goal of this lesson is to get you used to higher speeds and traveling with others on a large multi-lane road (or highway). You also want to learn how to switch lanes, pass and be passed by others.

When you enter the highway on the on ramp, merge into right hand lane. Stay in the right lane for a while and let several cars pass you. Once you feel you are ready to pass traffic ahead of you, wait until you approach a vehicle moving slower than you as you do not want to challenge another car that is driving at a fast pace and try to race past them.

If your schedule warrants the time, when you arrive at the next town make a pit stop for something to eat and drink (no alcoholic beverages though) or just stop and look around the town. This will give you time to rest and refuel your bike as well as yourself. This is called 'touring' and is a fun activity to do when riding.