Old Guy ADV Riding Tips

Around the Wheel with Bret Tkacs

OLD GUY ADV RIDING TIPS Guest: Murrae Haynes, a lifetime motorcyclist who is currently 74 years old. Episode Summary:Get ready to unlock the secrets of continuing your adventure riding journey as you age, with invaluable insights from our 74-year-old guest, Murrae. We promise to transform how you see and handle the unique challenges of maturing as a rider. Together, we examine the shifts in mindset, the importance of self-assessment and risk management, and why riding slower might be a wise decision. Discover how choosing the right bike, planning your route strategically, and conserving energy can enhance your riding experience. Murrae shares his personal experiences, offering practical advice on navigating your adventure riding in your golden years. Going beyond the basics, we dive deeper into the significance of energy conservation and continuous training for older riders. Expect to learn, grow and be inspired, whether you’re an experienced rider or just starting out. So come along, as we explore the thrilling world of adventure riding, no matter your age. Full Transcript:0:00:15 - Bret TkacsWelcome to Around the Wheel with Bret Tkacs. Today, my guest speaker is Murrae. Murrae is a 74-year-old rider, and so our chat today is old guy ADV riding tips. I'm 51, which by some definitions people would call an old guy, but in the adventure world I am top dead center of the bell curve, but Murrae is on the other side of it. So whether you are already in that same age bracket or approaching the same age bracket as Murrae, all of us are headed that direction. So this is a great talk, no matter what your age or who you are as a rider. So, Murrae, let's go ahead and jump into this and just talk about some of the concerns or some of the changes that are prominent in your thought and your mindset as a rider of your age.0:01:02 - Murrae HaynesSure, well I think the easiest thing is when I hit my early 60s - because I'm a rider coach and I do training a lot, I started just kind of by habit, going into some self-assessment. I think when you and I spoke the other day it started on the racetrack in terms of what are my skill sets, how are my reaction times, what do I need to do to be safe? And then that kind of bubbled over into the street and into ADV riding and everywhere else. So I would say the main concern maybe is self-assessment and risk management. How can I look at my risk offset and how, if any way, do I need to change it or tweak it to accommodate my age, to stay active in the sport?0:02:02 - Bret TkacsWe could spend all day, I think, talking about this one. So, Murrae, what Murrae is referring to is yesterday we had had a get together for all the Patreon supporters and we were discussing what sort of topics or what sort of videos they like to see on the podcast or the videos for 2023. And this one came up as a video and I thought it was a much better idea for podcasts because we can dive into the details, because once we've started talking about that on the meeting, I started scribbling down a bunch of notes and then I had one of the other riders that was on that meeting is also just approaching – he’s 72, I think now, and he came up with some ideas as well. And a couple of things that you brought up that we should bring forward in this conversation is we're talking about rider speed, how that made a difference. Thom brought up the greatest concerns that he seemed to notice amongst his riding buddies of similar age. There was way more concern about falling, especially falling with the motorcycle, and they're very concerned about being able to self-recover, to be able to pick up and recover that motorcycle. Are those kind of peak concerns for you, or do you have a different direction that you're coming from?0:03:12 - Murrae HaynesNo, I think the baseline for my concerns would be that exactly just wanting to avoid falling - an injury and being able to, as you say, recover the motorcycle,