Riding Your First 1,000 Miles: What I Wish I Knew

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The first 1,000 miles on a motorcycle are huge in the development of a rider. Some riders go on after those first 1,000 miles and further develop their skills. Others never progress beyond what they learn in those early miles—and actually increase their risk on the road. We’ll talk about that in a minute.

This week on MCrider, I want to share what I wish I had known during my first 1,000 miles as a new rider.

How I Got Started

I originally got my motorcycle license when I was 14 years old. Back then, no formal training was required. A police officer walked to the alleyway with me in Blytheville, Arkansas, told me to ride to one end of the alley, do a U-turn and ride back without putting my feet down, and to stop with my front tire on the painted line.

I did that and was ushered in to get my license. The whole process took about 30 minutes.

I don’t really count that experience as my true first 1,000 miles on the road. As an adult, I went back to the DMV to get my now-expired M endorsement back on my license. This time, I took the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) class, even though it was not required, and got my license for the second time.

Managing Fear as a New Rider

Most new riders fresh out of an MSF class still have a healthy dose of fear. Excessive fear isn’t a good thing, but a healthy dose of caution can actually serve a rider well. It keeps us from riding beyond our skill set, discourages unnecessary risks, and fosters respect for both the road and the motorcycle.

One of the first things I wish I had done during my first 1,000 miles was to ensure my confidence and riding skills grew together, in balance.

Falling Into a Routine

Anything we do regularly begins to settle into a routine. When I first got my license back, I rode after work and on weekends. I tried to control my riding environment to avoid the heavy traffic in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Later, around that 1,000-mile mark, I started commuting on my motorcycle. For a couple of years, commuting went fine—until one day it didn’t.

A car cut into my lane. I hit the brakes to avoid it, locked the front tire, and crashed.

Legally, you could say the car was at fault—or at least a contributing factor. But in reality, my own overconfidence and lack of skills training were bigger factors.

The Danger of Complacency

Somewhere around the 1,000-mile mark, if a rider hasn’t had any incidents, they start to think, “I’ve got this.” When that thought creeps in, a rider should be on high alert.

You can ride 1,000 miles and develop a mental calm, but your skills don’t necessarily grow with it. I was mentally calm but skill-wise, I was a rider waiting for the wrong car at the wrong time. It was only a matter of time and circumstance.

As I began commuting in heavier traffic and faster roads, my risk increased—but my skills didn’t.

In fact, my life-saving skills probably decreased during those first 1,000 miles.

Neglecting Critical Skills

In the MSF class, we practiced fundamentals like:

Emergency braking
Swerving
Brake and escape (an essential skill even if not officially in the MSF curriculum)

But I hadn’t practiced any of these since leaving the class—not once. Over 1,000 miles, I got better at starting and stopping, cornering at road speeds, and riding straight—but not at avoiding a crash.

I thought, “I’ve got this.” Then a car pulled in front of me. I locked the front tire and crashed. That harsh realization taught me I didn’t have it after all.

The Out-of-Balance Rider

A rider with road experience but no continued practice or training is one of the most dangerous riders on the road.

You’re either riding or you’re training to develop your skills—you aren’t doing both at once.

I’ve heard riders proudly say they’ve ridden X number of miles without a crash. The day before my crash, I would’ve said, “I’ve ridden 7,500 miles with no incidents.”

But that wasn’t due to skill. Time and circumstance simply hadn’t caught up with me yet.

As natural fear fades, we must replace it with an increase in skill or we become an out-of-balance rider: high confidence, low ability to avoid a crash.

The Need for Follow-Up Training

Riding to and from work does not develop the life-saving skills you need. Only training and practice do that.

The second thing I wish I’d known at the 1,000-mile mark: it was time for follow-up training or, at the very least, focused practice.

My Turning Point

After my crash, I totaled my motorcycle and broke my collarbone. During my recovery, I had time to think about what had happened and how I could avoid it in the future.

The answer was simple: training.

As soon as I got another motorcycle, I took the Basic Rider class again. Then I followed it up with:

An intermediate class
A Police Skills class
A track day
A Total Control class
A 2-day class in Oklahoma City

The Power of Practice

Oddly enough, it was just before becoming a riding instructor that my skills grew the most—by going to a parking lot and practicing on my own.

I didn’t spend hours. Just:

A few minutes here and there
30 minutes now and then
Working on fundamentals from the MCrider Field Guide

I believe the fastest way to grow as a rider is not an 8-hour session once a month but 15-minute sessions, 5 days a week:

5 minutes of emergency braking each session
10 minutes on something else—U-turns, cornering, swerving, or brake and escape

It’s not about the length of each practice session; it’s about the number of sessions per month.

Final Thoughts

Maybe you’re where I was. You took a new rider class and now have several thousand miles of crash-free riding under your belt. You might think that those crash-free miles are due to skill.

But if you haven’t practiced your crash avoidance skills in a controlled environment, you’re probably waiting for the right circumstance before your crash happens.

The best way to avoid that is to let your confidence and your skills grow together—through more in-person training and by building on that training with the tools offered here at MCrider.

Become a Member for immediate access to the MCrider Field Guide.

Below is some gear that I ride with on a daily basis…if you are in the need of good riding gear, the products below have worked well for me.

KLIM Jacket – https://www.MCrider.com/KLIM
Shoei Motorcycle Helmets – https://www.MCrider.com/Shoei
Windshirt/Jacket Liner – https://www.MCrider.com/Liner
Lee Park Sumo Gloves – https://www.MCrider.com/LeeParks

The best source for guiding your practice session is the MCrider Field Guide.
If you are not a Member join for immediate access to the forums and Field Guide

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