One or twice per season, I find any empty parking lot or road and do some practicing. Occasionally someone will see me and wonder what the hell I am doing. Anyway, yesterday my challenge was to weave in and out of passing lines on a straight road, to see how fast I could manage that maneuver and to monitor my actions (head and body position, lean angle, etc.). I also was practicing threshold braking.

My highest speed doing the passing line weave was 27 mph. That means I could weave in and out, lane to lane, at 27 mph without a tire touching one of the passing lines. I notice that I kept my head looking forward and down, watching the lines. It is so true that where you look is where you go. Looking up really quickly resulted in a much less precise weave.

I give myself a C+ for that speed. I should be able to do 30 mph, IMO.

Threshold braking was attempted as well, from 30 mph. I locked it up for a second, at about 10 mph until a stop. I put my left down when the big bike got a little squirrely in the final few feet of that stop. I also hurt my left wrist, apparently from not bracing properly with my weight going forward on it.

I tried again, at 30 mph. I did better that time. I got a little bit of a howl out the rear tire but it did not lock. No feet down that time.

First attempt = D

Second attempt = B

I am not trying to practice to be able to replicate these attempts in an emergency, but to know how the bike feels when putting it through these motions. More importantly, developing some muscle memory, especially for abrupt braking. We all know that the best laid plans go to waste in an emergency situation.