Top five tips for a safe ride at Easter

1: Check your pressures
You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again, but ensuring your tyres are inflated to pressures most suited to your circumstance is the single most important thing you can do to improve your chances of staying upright this Easter. If you’re packing up and going away this long weekend, be aware of how much weight you’re adding to the bike and if and by how much you’ll need to adjust your pressures. Keep it in mind, too, if you plan on doing lots of dirt road riding you will need to adjust your pressures accordingly. If there’s a big weight difference, ensure your suspension’s preload is suitable and, while you’re down there, tension your chain correctly and make a note to lube it when you get to your destination while it’s still warm.

2: Gear up
It goes without saying, but don’t be tempted to make the most of the dying embers of summer and head over to your mate’s barbecue in your joggers and a t-shirt. Your other half doesn’t want to spend their weekend in a hospital, nor the rest of the week wiping your bum. The same goes for your pillion. Always ensure the person on the back is wearing the same level of protection as you are.

3: Be patient
A four-day weekend means roads filled with drivers in unfamiliar situations. That guy’s never towed a boat before, but he’s giving it a go. It’s the maiden voyage for that woman and her family’s brand-new caravan and old mate over there can’t actually see out of his rear window because of instead of taking the trailer, he opted to cram the car full of tents, eskies, fishing rods and pushbikes instead. But be patient because frustration leads to bad choices, and bad choices often results in either a hefty speeding fine — the country will be crawling with cops — a unnecessary repair bill, or worse.  

4: People watch
Don’t just watch the vehicles that are around you on the road: keep an eye on the behaviours of the people driving them and you’ll soon learn to recognise the signs of intentions often well before the input reaches the vehicle. The driver leaning forward to get a wider view of their rear-view mirror on a multi-lane road is the lazy way to check a blind spot and generally means the vehicle is about to change lanes. A hand lifted towards the car’s indicator stem most certainly means it’s on the move, too, and it’s probably time for you to either speed up or slow down and get out of there.    

5: Turn your blinker off
In a world where we’re constantly trying to get other road users to notice us, the last thing we want to do is give them the wrong message when they do see us. Imagine you’ve turned left onto an 80km/h road which you’re travelling down, unaware that your indicator is still flashing. Up ahead, in a side street on your left is a Kia Carnival wanting to turn right and head back in the direction you’ve come from. The driver has seen you, noticed that you’re turning left — probably into the street it’s pulling out of — so accelerates straight out into your path and creates a South Korean-built brick wall for you to slam into. In built-up areas, it’s a good idea to get into the habit of thumbing your indicator switch twice to make sure it’s off.