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Dear Dientes:

I have heard many times that a rider gets into an accident in his neighborhood when he "hops on the bike to go out to get a carton of milk from a store around the corner."

Not being an "experienced" rider, I cannot say for others, but I have formulated my own way of approaching riding and it seems to work fine for me. (Let me rephrase the last part. It should be more like, "...it seems to make me mentally prepared to ride with the highest level of alertness I can achieve.")

Fortunately, I don't have to ride to run an errand or to commute, I just ride for occasional thrills. And each ride is serious stuff for me. I'll come back unscathed or I won't. And I hate falling onto the ground even at really low speed because I know my bike will be damaged and my skin will be too. So I wear boots, leather pants, a sweater or thick shirt, a leather jacket, leather gloves, and of course, a full-face helmet. Oh, before I start putting these on, I wash my face and hands thoroughly with soap and hot water because I don't want to make the inside of the gloves or my helmet dirty or oily if I can avoid. (Hey, don't blame me for appearing cheap; they alone cost me about $700.)

Washing, drying off, shaving, and putting on every one of the above takes me at least good 15 minutes. But I don't complain. This rather ritual like phase I have decided to take every time I ride makes me ready mentally for the next session of riding which I take very, very seriously. If I don't want to go through this phase, I don't ride. If I feel a bit lazy, I don't get to ride. Pure and simple. With this rule, it follows that I will never "hop on my bike to go out to get a carton of milk from a store around the corner."

So, for me, being a little tense and nervous seems to make me alert enough so that I can avoid stupid mistakes. I am very apprehensive of myself being totally relaxed on bike. Do I ever get relaxed on bike? Sure, sometimes, but seldom in the kind of riding I like, going *** mph, passing cars on the San Francisco Bay Area's freeways when the traffic is moderate enough. (I don't ride on streets unless I have to.) Am I enjoying the experience, being tense and all? Apparently so, because I haven't given up this dangerous sport, yet.

As to "warming up," is loosening up good? Yes. But being relaxed? I don't know....

Julian