You're riding through an unfamiliar city looking for the friend you're supposed to meet at his home so you can ride together. You met him at several rallies and he's invited you to see some of the scenic roads in his part of the country that he's been raving about whenever you're together. You plug his address into your GPS, but it can't find it. You know you should have taken the time to download the update last week.

You pull into a convenience store and purchase a local map. Back at your bike you learn that his street isn't on that map either. Although it was printed just last year, it seems to be out of date, too. Municipalities continue to build new roads and highways are bypassed around cities. Maps, both paper and electronic always struggle with keeping up with our changing landscape.

Can you imagine flying an airplane and suddenly finding a new transmission tower or a skyscraper directly in your flight path? Not knowing where a street is when on the ground is one thing, but finding an unknown obstacle as you are descending for a landing is something else. That's why aeronautical maps are marked with "Effective form --/--/---- to --/--/----" notices. In fact these maps cycle every 56 days in print form and their electronic versions every 28 days..

Aeronautical maps aren't the only things that have a limited useful life. Professional certifications, product coupons and even products themselves have expiration dates. Insurance policies and business contracts need to be renewed regularly. So do mental and physical skill sets and that includes our riding skills.Aeronautical maps aren't the only things that have a limited useful life. Professional certifications, product coupons and even products themselves have expiration dates. Insurance policies and business contracts need to be renewed regularly. So do mental and physical skill sets and that includes our riding skills.

We need to refresh our motorcycling skills on a regular basis or they can become stale. Worse yet, bad habits tend to slip into our riding style and those habits could inhibit our ability to get out of a difficult situation. We need to be ready to act quickly and correctly when faced with the unexpected. Our mental and physical competence can become diminished over time and decrease our ability to handle even common problems on the road.

We need to place an expiration date on our riding capabilities and consciously work to keep them at the highest possible level.There are numerous courses we can use to accomplish this goal. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation offers an Advanced Rider Course and an Ultimate Bike Bonding Rider Course to help us improve our skills. Both represent a day well spent in becoming a better rider and are fun to boot.

Track days are another means of getting better. Offered by many race tracks, these classes are not about racing; rather they focus on street riding skills. Tracks provide a good riding surface in a closed environment that allows riders to perfect their skills, especially cornering. Because many riders lose control of their motorcycles in curves, this is a great way to fine tune cornering skills so we don't become a statistic ourselves.

Just like aeronautical maps, we need to update our riding proficiency to better deal with the changing conditions we face as we ride. We've got to keep learning because we can never know too much about riding. That way our skills will be effective whenever we need them regardless of the situation or the date.

Ride Smart! Ride Safe!