Leave That Baggage Behind

You know how to take a trip on your Harley, right?  Make the hotel reservations, get the bike in good working order, study the maps, check the weather, and arrange the meeting time with your friends.  On the day you leave, you pack up the bike for the journey.  You get out the clothes, gloves, socks and underwear, and extra gear as necessary.  Now you're ready to go, right?  Well, maybe not, but it's not something that you might have forgotten to pack that you need to be aware of, but rather something that you might be bringing along that you would rather leave behind.  And that's any excess baggage.

There's something that very important to have in good shape before getting on your bike, and that's your mental attitude.  It's as (or more) important as having a well-maintained bike, and a good attitude and mental state helps you operate your bike more efficiently and keeps you in a better position to see risks, evaluate the situation and execute any maneuvers to get away from the risk (the SEE method).

So what's that excess mental baggage you don't need cluttering up your ride?  It can come from multiple sources:

	Stress - pressure from your job or at home.
	Fatigue - if you've been up late the night before, or not getting enough sleep lately.
	Anger - at something that's happened or other drivers on the road.
	Impairment - are you on medication?  Hung over from a great party the night before?  Coming down with a cold or fever?  Already had a few beers?
	Distraction - You may be thinking about that new chrome you're about to order, or what you're going to eat when you get to the destination.

All of these types of mental baggage involve different things, but they all have one thing in common:  they reduce your ability to operate your bike, and increase your risk on the road.  If your mind is occupied with some distraction, or is impaired with medication or alcohol, you may not be operating your bike with the skill necessary for safe riding.  Your reaction time is reduced, you may not be paying attention and miss a hazard, and you may engage in behavior (like tailgating or going too fast) that you normally would not.  If you know that you aren't in the right frame of mind, you need to consider not going on the trip, or getting off the road for a while or for the evening.

So pack your favorite Harley shirt, but do yourself and your fellow riders a favor and leave that mental baggage behind.

Ride safe,

John Henry