Riding a motorcycle has been described as the ultimate experience providing complete freedom of the road. While riding is certainly a full body experience involving every sense as we ride, we may not have complete freedom on the road. There are probably a few rules we must obey so our ride isn't interrupted by the long arm of the law or the laws of nature reaching out to grab us.

Riding is also a learning experience. The more you ride the more things you learn. Avoid the trap of believing that you've ridden for so long that there's nothing left to learn. If you're still learning as you ride, your best day of riding is still ahead of you. You can look forward to even better rides and more fun ahead.

"If you're still learning as you ride, your best day of riding is still ahead of you."

Learn from everything you do and learn from others. Make your riding a continuous learning experience. Evaluate yourself. How did you handle that situation this morning? What could you have done differently to have either responded more confidently or avoided it altogether?

Be willing to admit there is more for you to learn and be confident that you can learn it. An Experienced Rider Course may be just the place to expand your thinking and enhance your skills.

I've heard bikers say, "I've been riding for (insert your favorite large number here) years without a course and I don't need one now." Or they say, "I've never crashes in all the years I've been riding." They may be right or they may just be afraid that someone will find out that with all that experience they still don't know it all. Acknowledging that you can always learn more says you are continuing to grow and nurture your riding skills.

I've heard another experienced rider say she wouldn't take her bike to a rider course. She values her bike too much to take the chance of dropping it during a course. Perhaps she feels it is better to drop it on the road? Here is a rider who realizes she can learn more but is afraid to take advantage of a great learning opportunity. Rarely does anyone drop their bike during and ERC. And you're never required to do anything you're not comfortable doing.

I guess we have a couple of choices. We can maintain the continuous learning mindset as we ride. Or we can profess to know everything and admit that our best day of riding is already behind us. We can believe our skills are as good as they'll ever get or we can keep growing as we ride. The choice is ours. Just remember, when you're green you grow; when you're ripe you rot.

Ride Smart! Ride Safe!