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Motorcycle Safety and Awareness
Welcome to think bike, the podcast about all things motorcycle and the voice of motorcycle safety and awareness in Alberta. Here's your host Liane Langlois.
Liane:Hey, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of think bike. This week, I am joined by Rob Rides. My friend Rob is here to talk to us about some countless adventures that he has had because from what I know, he's rarely not on a motorcycle, and there's probably some good lessons in there as well. So welcome to the show, Rob.
Rob:Thank you very much for having me. I'm looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish.
Liane:We'll get something accomplished. Don't know what it is yet, but we'll get there. We'll start with who is Rob and what got you into riding?
Rob:So I'm much like everyone else in the world. I work a regular job. I've got friends, all those lovely things. I'm just an addict, fully, fully a motorcycle addict. I'm looking for moments on my rides.
Rob:This is what keeps me addicted. I call them moments, and it's all been worth it. The cost, the time, the energy, my life. The moments settle apart on me that nothing else seems to reach. There's usually some natural vista, a moment in the ride where the weather is just right.
Rob:The view is something I've never seen before. I just take a deep breath, soak it all in. If I have a friend with me, they'll hear me muff muff damn it. They'll hear me softly mutter, my life does not suck today. And it's just that's that's what keeps me going.
Rob:I'm probably 25,000 kilometers a year plus the last five years.
Liane:That's crazy. I am on the decline as I get older for how many kilometers I get in a year, but so I've switched my mantra from, I gotta beat what I got last year to, it's about the quality, not the quantity and moments like you say.
Rob:Yes.
Liane:Yeah. I like the moments, the waterfall over there or the vistas that you come over riding the Icefields Parkway or whatever and it's just like yeah. That Golo. Yeah. It's one of my favorites too.
Liane:I know with the Attic to thing that also entails numerous amounts of motorcycles through the years. How many have you owned throughout your time? What's been your favorite?
Rob:So I'm I had to look this up when you asked earlier, so I had to look it up. I'm currently have number 44 in the garage.
Liane:Jesus.
Rob:Yeah. I said I'm an addict. Now there've been a lot of duplicates. I've had something like 12 KLR six fifties and 11 or so V stroms of different natures. My current favorite is probably my Honda Africa Twin.
Rob:It sees the least amount of miles out of any of my bikes because it's got big chunky tires on it, and I don't wanna waste them on the pavement.
Liane:Yeah. That's more for off roading, trail riding.
Rob:Off roading or bad gravel?
Liane:Yeah. Bad gravel, which I like to hit at high speeds on tires that shouldn't be because I'm like, oh, it's a gravel road. That surprises me. Here's a weird question. We have a slight height difference between you and I.
Liane:What's it like to sit on absolutely any bike in the world and be able to, you know, touch the ground to asking for the vertically challenged folks out there?
Rob:So I'm I'm a mere six foot seven. The challenge for me is I can touch the ground, but it doesn't mean my legs fit on the bike. So I have tanks and fairings and the last cruiser bike I sat on, the handlebars were hitting my knees.
Liane:Oh, yeah.
Rob:Yeah. So there's my options are probably far more limited than yours, and most of my bikes are customized. Suspension, seats, peg lowering, I have to, or I just can't get the mouse in.
Liane:Yeah. I'm a tippy toes and I'm okay with that. Or I pull up somewhere and flip up my visor and can somebody help back me up? You know? Which is fine, but I can fit on anything.
Rob:I almost would try. I would give you four inches of my height if I could.
Liane:Oh, we could like swap? Like you go down for, I go up for?
Rob:Yes. I would give that up easily. Oh,
Liane:that might be interesting. We should see if we can make that happen. There's gotta be something medical out there at that. Where are okay. So this is about adventures of yours.
Liane:So where are some of your most favorite places to ride?
Rob:So my current one that blows my mind, I don't like to go back to the same place more than once or twice. I've been to Moab, Utah 4 times and I'd go again tomorrow.
Liane:Why?
Rob:It is stunning. The first time I went, I went on my own, and I met up with a guy off of one of the websites I belonged to to ride with for two or three days while I was there. You the trail is called the White Rim Trail, and you can do it on anything dirt worthy, but you won't put your camera away. And it is a full day's ride from Moab. You will leave Moab at, you know, seven in the morning, and you won't get back till six or seven at night.
Rob:And the whole thing is it's like riding on Mars. And there's something about the place that just settles me. In fact, shortly after my dad passed two years ago, I threw my dirt bike in a rented truck. I drove down to Moab and I spent two week riding just to get it out.
Liane:That's a good way to clear your head. Yeah. I think that you and I are similar, like in our conversations leading up to this are similar in the sense of solo riding and like that's where you find the place to really center yourself again.
Rob:If you're on your own, you can stop where you wanna stop and spend as much time just breathing in that space as you need to. And some of the places I stop, people don't want to stop. I I like destroyed buildings. I like abandoned places. I like places where you're probably gonna get a flat tire if you're there too long.
Rob:Those are the places I like. I like not that many people around to.
Liane:What is then the scariest place you've ever ridden through?
Rob:So this winter I was riding in Mexico on my own. They say not to stay close to the border in Mexico, there's a reason for that. I only had a few days, so I was fairly close to the border and I was leaving Ensenada and I was going towards Mexicali. And it's a beautiful road, but you come up over the top of the hill, and it's a four lane divided highway with asphalt in the middle. And there's a bunch of Mexican police vehicles and police military vehicles, and there's a body in the middle of the road half covered with a tarp.
Rob:And he was not hit by a car. So Yeah. I love riding in Mexico, but Mexico can be sketchy.
Liane:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don't I don't think that that would be fun for me to see. But, I mean, I've I have seen unfortunately, I've seen one body under a blanket on a roadway in in Alberta after a collision, motorcycle collision.
Liane:Don't ever want to see that again, that's been engraved in my brain for ten years. But I won't go into the details of what faction of first responders that you're with, but those things aren't out of the norm for you and your presence, you probably presence, I mean, you're not a small dude. You probably Does that give you some level of comfort when you're riding through like some of the sketchier places that you tend to go to?
Rob:Absolutely. Like we said, I'm six foot seven and I'm not a lightweight and I'm big and I've got this big deep voice that I do use when I need to. Generally, if they're looking for someone to mess with, I'm not the guy. They're gonna pick somebody else. I also I I don't drink.
Rob:So most of the time, if you're gonna have a problem in those kinds of places, it's because you're at the bar at night, and that's where the problems start. By the time that starts, I'm asleep. And I get up in the morning and I leave at the sunrise.
Liane:Yeah. Same. Don't drink. Go to bed early. Stay away from all of that stuff.
Liane:Even when I'm running an event in BC, it's like, oh, Leanne's probably already in bed. Can't hop early and go do things and send people off on rides and, you know, I I like to live during the day. That's did my night living a long time ago. What would you say? I know Moab seems to have a special place for you if you've been there like four times.
Liane:Would you say that's the most memorable place or is there something that kind of beats it, but it doesn't have that draw for you to go back?
Rob:Thailand probably beats it.
Liane:Good lord. Where have you all been? K. Let's start with let's start with Thailand. What was that like?
Rob:So, I took a month because if you're gonna fly twenty four hours, you might as well enjoy your time. And what I tell people that wanna do a trip like this on a bike is save some time without the bike. Because there's things to see that you're paying to rent that machine, and the daily rate isn't cheap. So if you wanna go see temples, don't pay to park the bike. I did a week as a walking tourist, two weeks with a rented Bistrom six fifty, and then a week as a walking tourist.
Rob:Thailand is nothing short of stunning. You know, the look where you wanna go in the corners, you're looking over your shoulder to see where you want to go. I gave the bike back with bald tires and burn breaks, and I was happy, happy, happy.
Liane:I've seen some roads that come up on reels of weird places around the world that I'm just like, how do they do that? Or bridges, suspension bridges that people ride. Have you ever done that?
Rob:I'm afraid of heights. What? Yes.
Liane:But, like, you're six, seven.
Rob:Yep. It's just a piece of reality. I would still do it because I have a theory in that when I'm planning a new trip, if it doesn't scare me just a little, there's no point. So I would do the suspension bridge. My next trip is a my next big trip is a little bit freaky for me, but I'm still going.
Liane:Where?
Rob:Colombia.
Liane:Oh, jeez. Yeah. So hang out with the Coke lords.
Rob:Well, they're they're it's better now than it was.
Liane:What what was who was it? Chavez? Yeah. Yeah. Many different countries have you been to then?
Rob:I don't know. It's not a whole bunch. I've done across Canada now. I've done across The US. I've done a month solo in Mexico.
Rob:I did the month in Thailand. There's a few more in there. Just can't remember them.
Liane:So obviously North America and Mexico, you're on probably one of your own machines.
Rob:Yes.
Liane:Have you ever shipped your bike somewhere else or
Rob:always I find that because I'm not retired yet, in order to make the shipping worth it, you need to have the time.
Liane:Right.
Rob:And when you've when you're limited on time, you just rent a bike and take whatever you need to make it work for the time that you're there.
Liane:Are you taking your own bike down to Columbia?
Rob:No, I'll rent.
Liane:No, you'll rent. Yes. So going into Mexico, this question often comes up on social media here and there. We all know we can cross the border into The States. It's not a big deal.
Liane:We all kind of share the same similar type laws and whatever, but Mexico is probably a little different. Is there anything that people need to know special about crossing into Mexico outside of being careful?
Rob:Your insurance is invalid.
Liane:Oh, really?
Rob:Yes. So your Canadian insurance is good in Canada. It's good in The US. But as soon as you cross that border from Mexico, your insurance is not valid. So you need to get, insurance online.
Rob:And there's a bunch of places that sell it. It's not that expensive. Probably a week was a hundred bucks Canadian. And if you if you're going for longer, it actually gets cheaper. Your insurance isn't valid.
Rob:You need to stop at the border, and that's not obvious. The last time I went into Mexico, I already had the tourist the temporary tourist card from my last trip, and I just rode through with the local guys, and nobody stops you. You can just go straight through. So if you don't stop and get that that tourist card, when you get further down the road about two and a half, three hours, and you go through the first military checkpoint and they ask if you've got it, then you say, oh, I didn't stop. They say turn around, go back to the border.
Liane:Wow.
Rob:Yeah. So those two things you need. If you're going to go into Baja, Baja Mexico, you don't need to do the TVIP or the temporary import of your bike. If you're gonna go into Mainland Mexico, you need to do the TVIP, the temporary import of your bike. And when you leave, you need to check your bike out.
Rob:If you don't check your bike out, you won't get the deposit for your TVIP back and they will not let you bring another vehicle in ever.
Liane:Oh, interesting. So do you do that at the border?
Rob:So the TPIP is actually further down the line. Usually about forty, forty five minutes.
Liane:Right. Okay. So you go in and then you have to stop again.
Rob:Have to stop again.
Liane:Interesting. I haven't never crossed the border into Mexico. I fly in and sit on a beach, sit on a beach. The Columbia trip, like what kind of prep do you have to do for that? So you're renting a bike, but I'm sure insurance is different there too.
Liane:And what about licensing?
Rob:So Columbia, they're getting because it's safer, they're getting much bigger on their tourism because that's where the money comes from. The rental of the bike includes the insurance. It doesn't include the insurance on me. So my job has travel insurance. If I'm less than thirty days out of country, I may bump it up.
Rob:Colombia is gonna be a little bit of a wild card, so I may bump that up and get a little better insurance for that trip. Costs are I'm picking Colombia because the costs are pretty reasonable. Renting a bike is never cheap. But I look at, okay, what are what are food costs? What are lodging costs?
Rob:What are fuel costs? I look at all that stuff. The bike I consider is just a sunk cost. It's gonna cost me what it's gonna cost me to go see what I wanna see. The lodging stuff, that can add up really quick.
Rob:And I do so many trips that I feel that the less I spend without shorting myself of the experience, the sooner I can leave again and go see
Liane:something Yeah. Do you ever camp off your bike or do you hotel?
Rob:I'm too old for that. Yeah. I used to. I'm I'm approaching 50 now. I used to camp off the bike, but being a giant, finding a sleeping mat that works and a tent that works, and and then there's carrying all that junk on the bike and the weight and the I mean, in Mexico, I can get a hotel for $55.
Rob:It's Yeah.
Liane:It's not expensive. That's for sure. No. What are some of the, like, key kind of safety lessons that you have learned along the way, whether it's in different countries or just here right at home? Like, what are some key safety things that people should be knowledgeable about?
Rob:So at home, I focus just on being visible. And that's I don't wear high vis because I find it sun fades too fast. I visible to me is lane position and bike movement. You've seen the video of the bike that's just cruising along in a straight line, and it's can be hidden behind a pencil. Right?
Rob:If I think of cars got a chance to turn left in front me, I'll actually rock my bike a little side to side. I don't believe in looking at the driver of a car that I think is gonna pull up in front of me. I look at the front wheel because I'll see it move before I see them move. Just as diligent as I can on being visible and knowing what's around me so I have a place to go. Have you ever heard of a you heard of the break free, the light that's on the back of the helmet?
Liane:Yes. Yeah. It was Reaper on CJ did a thing with them in last year and that was my first time seeing that. It's really cool.
Rob:I've got one of those as well. Yeah. Unfortunately, when you've got too many bikes, it doesn't make sense to modify the bike. It makes sense to modify what you wear.
Liane:Yeah.
Rob:So I've got one of those, and it is phenomenal. I recommend it to everybody. It's not cheap, but it's great. I also have an airbag vest.
Liane:Yes.
Rob:Yeah. I mean, I'm pretty good on a bike. I'm damn good on a bike.
Liane:You you live on a bike.
Rob:Yeah. But we live in Edmonton.
Liane:Yeah. Where a pothole can eat you alive even at six, seven. Yeah.
Rob:Yeah. No. It's the drivers here are something else. For other countries, what I try and tell people that are new to riding in other countries, pay attention to what the local riders are doing. Mexico stop signs are merely a suggestion.
Liane:Oh, like Montreal.
Rob:Well, and like Edmonton, like speed limits, those are absolutely ignored in Mexico. They are ridiculous. Lane splitting in Mexico is expected. California, where lane splitting is actually legal, is phenomenal. I'm not doing that here.
Rob:No. It's a totally different beast. The most important like, in Mexico, when you come up behind a semi driver on the open highway, when it's safe for you to pass him, he'll put on his left turn signal. And right?
Liane:I no. But I've had that happen on the Icefields Parkway with the big tour buses. Yep. They'll see you behind. And the first time I was like, what are you doing?
Liane:You can't and I'm like, oh, it's for me. And I'm like, thank you. Thank you. I'll just whip past you. It's great.
Liane:It's great.
Rob:Great, but I don't trust them.
Liane:No. Well, you can't fully trust them, but it's like, okay. I have I have enough get up and go. I can get passed.
Rob:Right. Same. I don't have anything that's less than a thousand cc. Yeah. But, really, the main thing in those countries is watch what the locals are doing.
Rob:Every once in a while, you doing what the locals are doing will get you some attention from the police people with the flashing lights on their cars simply because they know that that bike doesn't belong in this country and that the giant on that bike doesn't belong in this country. Grant Johnson from Horizons Unlimited said it very well. Don't speak the language of the man with the gun. So if you're pulled over, you just I only speak English, so our conversation is limited to what they can say in English, and it's not a whole lot usually. And they usually just get frustrated and tell me to go away.
Liane:So even if you can speak Spanish just or Mexican Spanish Spanish. Don't?
Rob:Flub it if you can. Yeah. Yeah. If you can speak, make it sound like you can't.
Liane:Yeah.
Rob:Yeah. And I speak about five words of Spanish, so it's not hard for me.
Liane:I can, say hello. How are you? That is about it.
Rob:Yeah. Yeah. I I know how to ask for a beer, and I don't drink. So
Liane:Oh, everybody knows how to ask for a cerveza. Exactly. Yeah, me too. I don't drink either. Okay, I want to go back to lane splitting because that is always such a hot topic in Canada and especially in Alberta where a lot of people think that we should be able to lane split and or lane filter.
Liane:Now you have an interesting perspective because you belong to the first responder world as well as you're a motorcycle rider. And you say you wouldn't do it here. Tell me why and then I will pitch in my thoughts on that as well.
Rob:Okay. So my introduction to lane splitting was in California. And in California, the law is if a car hits a motorcycle that's lane splitting, the car is legally responsible unless they can prove that they're not. You're mostly lane splitting in California on the expressways, and it's between the HOV lane and the first lane. And that's half a lane wide.
Rob:It's more than big enough for a full size touring bike. You can lane split on the surface streets, but it's at a much slower pace and much safer. In all the years I've been in lane splitting in California, I've had one incident where someone did something stupid. It wasn't me. And it was when I got even with the Suburban, was gonna have a chat with them, and then I saw the individual driving and just, you know, I'm just wasting my breath.
Rob:Keep going. And here, I think that our roads are not built for it to start with. You can't find a smooth spot to start with. Our roads aren't built for it, and Alberta drivers seem to have something about having anybody anywhere near their space. I think the public education part would take a decade.
Rob:That's a lot of the problem.
Liane:I fully agree with you. I know that last year I was doing a different podcast. I was a guest on a different podcast and we had an individual from Moto Canada sit in on it because we're recording at the bike show in 2024. And this was the topic and the reason why I wanted the person from Moto Canada in. And that was the number one was the education would take, it would cost so much in education alone just to get people to understand that it's not a selfish thing.
Liane:There are some safety things for it but in Alberta it's, you're not getting in front of me, I'm not letting you in, I'm gonna cut you off so you can't get by me. And until we can get rid of the entitlement attitude of everybody, riders and drivers alike on this road, I can't see lane splitting or lane filtering being anything other than an increase in bad statistics.
Rob:I fully agree. And I love lane splitting. I think it's a blast and I love the time savings and the energy savings. I love all of that. But you're absolutely correct.
Rob:We're not going to be able to educate people fast enough to prevent fatalities.
Liane:I think we could start with filtering at red lights, but even still, I mean, I remember coming back from BC once, oh God, it's gotta be at least seventeen, eighteen years, nineteen years maybe, I don't know. And we were coming through, it was just we were at the point of just wanna get home so we hopped off secondary highways and we're getting through Red Deer to come up to, which I hate that highway anyway but you got to understand where we were at, it was just get home, there's nothing pretty anymore. And there was an accident around Red Deer and this was before they did all this new construction that makes it flow a lot better and everything was at a standstill. And we went down the shoulder at a very slow, very respectful speed, it's 30 plus degrees, we're in full gear because we're responsible riders and we're just creeping along the shoulder just to keep the bikes moving. Know, everybody else is sitting in their air conditioning and some guy pulls over onto the shoulder because he sees us coming.
Liane:Now I had my cruiser at that time and my friend was on a Bonneville and it just happened to be at a flat enough space on the ditch that we just went around him and kept So it worked because I could get around him on my bike, but we weren't doing it to get ahead. We were doing it because it is unsafe for us to be under a blistering sun in our full gear on hot motorcycles. We're going to cause more of a problem, but nobody understands that. And so that's where the education comes in. And I will step off my soapbox now.
Rob:I would love to see every car driver in Alberta required to ride five years on a motorcycle before they can drive a car.
Liane:I would go with just having motorcycle education and the driver education course and having it mandatory and not getting a driver's license out of a crackerjack box.
Rob:I want to see them ride a motorcycle in Edmonton traffic. I think it'll change the way they drive.
Liane:I think they could just go on the QE too and
Rob:Was on that highway yesterday.
Liane:We're on that highway a lot. Yeah. Yeah. So you know what? I think that's a good place to like both of us hop off our soapbox.
Liane:We could probably sit and talk about this forever and I've watched the listener account go down. Just kidding. I know there's a lot of really great responsible people and it's it's good to talk about these topics, especially the hot topics like lane splitting and lane filtering. And if we don't start the conversation, we will never get there, but it's gonna be a long time and people need to have some patience. So Rob, thank you so much for joining me on this episode.
Liane:I know we're gonna have you back in a few weeks to talk about some other interesting topic that I given where you've written and helping me dispel some myths. And we will save that as a no spoilers. But thank you for your time today.
Rob:Thank you for having me.
Liane:Alright, everybody. Stay tuned for the mixed bag. On today's mail bag, we have a question slash comment slash anxiety reducing, thing for Sarah and Wetaskiwin. She said she's a fairly new rider and worried about riding in the rain and wondering if it's safe. So we're just gonna do some quick tips for everybody out there who might be new to riding and the rain because we get a lot of it here or hope to.
Liane:Choose the right gear. So a good rain suit will make all the difference along with waterproof boots and gloves. Not to mention the full face helmet, just make sure it has what's called a pin lock in it. It's an anti fogging mechanism that just lays on the inside of your visor. If you don't have one, talk to your local shop.
Liane:They'll be able to outfit your full face helmet with that. If you don't have waterproof boots or gloves, that's okay. You're just, you're gonna get a little wet and the and your hands might get a little cold. Your feet might get a little cold. Be creative.
Liane:Plastic bags in your boots work as well. Ride smoother and smarter. Be easy on your brakes, your throttle, and cornering. Give yourself more time. Be wary of intersections and other road surprises.
Liane:There's so many hazards when wet like oil on the roads. Those painted lines are like black ice when they're wet for us. That's that reflective paint. Manhole covers, tar snakes, and drivers who are not paying attention to you because they're paying attention to the rain and what's going on around them. And find a dry line.
Liane:Believe it or not, you like, as the rain stops, you are gonna find a dry line somewhere in your lane and you have that entire lane to use for the safest, spot for you to be in. And that's our show for today. To make sure that you don't miss out on any of our upcoming podcasts or listen to previous ones, make sure you click on subscribe or follow wherever you get yours. If there's a topic you'd like us to cover or a guest you think would be great on the show or even a question for the mailbag, let us know. You can connect with us on all the socials.
Liane:Email us at info@ab-amss.org or reach out through the website at a b dash amss dot org. Thanks for listening to Think Bike. From us, always remember to ride smart, ride safe, and think bike. See you out on the road.