mistakes | Riding in the Zone

Blog Archives

How to Develop a Traction Sense

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Ken Condon — 6 Comments ↓

I’ve been thinking a lot about traction lately, partly because it is kinda scarce around my house with ice covering my driveway and walkways, making every step a leap of faith. The other reason I’ve been thinking about traction is…

Posted in All Things Motorcycle, Motorcycle Musings, Motorcycle Safety, Rider Education, Riding Technique & Tips Tagged with: mistakes, motorcycle, Motorcycle tips, strategy, technique, Track Days, traction

Proficiency Pledge

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Ken Condon — 2 Comments ↓

I included this pledge in the post about Tommy Aquino, but thought it was worth making it a standalone post. Earlier this past year, I included a pledge in one of my MCN columns to encourage readers to think about…

Posted in Motorcycle Safety, Rider Education Tagged with: attitude, mistakes, Motorcycle tips, riding, Safety, strategy, technique

How to Survive Hairpin Turns

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Ken Condon — 9 Comments ↓

The biggest problem riders have when dealing with hairpin turns is their anxiety about being able to make the turn. It’s a good idea to practice tight turns in a parking lot before you encounter challenging hairpin turns. Read more…

Posted in All Things Motorcycle, Motorcycle Musings, Motorcycle Safety, Riding Technique & Tips Tagged with: Braking, Cornering, crash, hairpin, mistakes, motorcycle, Motorcycle tips, Safety, strategy, technique

How to Save a Front Tire Slide

Posted on January 1, 2014 by Ken Condon — 19 Comments ↓

Is it possible to not crash when you experience a front tire slide? Maybe. Both of my recent track crashes were the result of a sliding front tire (both were caused by me asking too much of a cold front…

Posted in All Things Motorcycle, Motorcycle Safety, Riding Technique & Tips, Track Days, Track Days & Racing Tagged with: Braking, Cornering, crash, mistakes, motorcycle, Motorcycle tips, Safety, technique

Is Crashing Really that Bad?

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Ken Condon — 7 Comments ↓

Crashing a motorcycle sucks. No doubt about that. I’ve had my share of run-ins with gravity and it’s not fun. But, does crashing a motorcycle always mean carnage and a hospital visit? It depends. My crashes I’ve had only one…

Posted in All Things Motorcycle, Motorcycle Musings, Motorcycle Safety, Rider Education, Track Days & Racing Tagged with: crash, mistakes, motorcycle, Motorcycle tips, racing, Safety, strategy, Track Days

5 Bad Habits You Must Fix, NOW!

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Ken Condon — 7 Comments ↓

No matter how “good” a rider you are, it’s likely that you have at least a few bad habits and attitudes. Poor habits and dangerous perceptions can develop over time without us even knowing it. That is, until we experience…

Posted in All Things Motorcycle, Motorcycle Musings, Motorcycle Safety, Rider Education, Riding Technique & Tips Tagged with: Cornering, mistakes, Motorcycle tips, riding, Safety, strategy, technique, zone

Ask Me How I Know- Episode 2: Exposed

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Ken Condon — 1 Comment ↓

In our last episode, I told the tale of a young lad who needed to show off to his friends and just about pulverized himself against a line of trees. If you recall, that lad was me when I was…

Posted in All Things Motorcycle, Motorcycle Safety Tagged with: mistakes, motorcycle, Motorcycle tips

Ask Me How I Know- Epoisode 1: Tire Terror

Posted on December 1, 2013 by Ken Condon — No Comments ↓

I can imagine that a lot of fellow riders who know me may have a hard time imagining me screwing up. This is because unless you’ve actually seen me screw up, you’re left with a somewhat unreal impression of me…