Sound advice and motorcycle wisdom from a rider with a few miles under his belt.
Motorcycle Safety Myths at Intersections That Get Riders Hurt Motorcycle crashes at intersections are some of the most common — and most misunderstood — accidents riders face. Many of these crashes don’t happen because riders were speeding or riding aggressively. They happen because riders trusted safety beliefs that feel correct but fail in real traffic…
Why Skilled Riders Sometimes Struggle When It Matters Most I spent several years evaluating riders during their motorcycle skills tests. And here’s what always surprised me: sometimes the most capable riders in the class struggled the most when it came time for the test. They knew the techniques.They practiced the drills.They understood what to do.…
The 3 Types of Riders You Meet in Every Motorcycle Class In every class I have ever taught, there are generally three types of riders. One is frozen with fear, one thinks they already know it all, and one comes ready to learn. And here’s the truth — only one of them usually leaves a…
How Much More Dangerous Is It to Ride a Motorcycle vs. Driving a Car? This week on MCrider, we’re taking a close look at the numbers — how car safety has improved dramatically since 1975, what has (and hasn’t) changed for motorcycles, and what you can do to reduce your personal risk on two wheels.…
Why Riders Are Hanging Up Their Helmets – and How to Stay on the Road The U.S. median age of motorcycle owners is now around 50 — a sharp jump from the mid-20s back in the early 1980s. Today, 39% of riders are between 51 and 69 years old. As riders get older, many begin…
A Tragic Crash and a New Direction for MCrider A regular viewer of MCrider sent me a news article a few months ago that has completely shifted the way I think about this channel and its direction. I call it a “shift,” but in truth this message has been at the heart of what I’ve…
This week on MCrider, I want to do something totally different. I want to discourage some of you from riding a motorcycle. “You Can Do Anything You Set Your Mind To…” You’ve heard this phrase before. A well-meaning person will say it to encourage someone struggling through a challenge. And I get it. I truly…
On January 28, 1986, the world watched in horror as the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart just 73 seconds after launch, killing all seven astronauts aboard. The cause? A small rubber O-ring that failed in the cold morning air. Here’s the part that’s hard to swallow: NASA engineers knew there were problems with those O-rings.…
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…
This week on MCrider, I thought we’d do something a little different. Most of the time, we focus on what riders should do on a motorcycle. But this week, we’re flipping that around and taking a look at riders who are either doing the totally wrong thing—or caught in some very unfortunate situations. There are…