A couple quick errands
by rider on Jan.22, 2009, under General
Wow, has it really been three days since I got out and rode last?
Yeah, I guess it has. 
It’s cool here today - below 30 this morning, in the low 50s now. I needed to go mail a package and do some light grocery getting. The choice: take the nice, warm cage, or crank up the Road King.
Yeah, like it was really a choice.
While doing the ride, I was reflecting a bit on an ongoing debate on one of the forums I frequent: At a stop, left foot down, right foot down or both? I wasn’t trying to make a conscious decision to execute one of the options, but rather just making a mental note after coming to a stop of what I had done.
The answer? It varies. The terrain, traffic and environment all play a role in determining how the stop ended up. On the side streets, where the road is level and clean, and the stops were short, I always stopped with the left foot down, and the right on the floorboard.
On larger streets (where there tends to be more, er, “stuff” in the middle of the lane, it varied. Generally, if I was in the left third of the lane, I’d put the left foot down and keep the right up (and out of the “stuff”). Conversely, in the right third of the lane, I’d put the right foot down and keep the left up.
Getting oil or anti-freeze on your boot can make for an unpleasant surprise when next you step down.
If a stop was longer (say, a long traffic light), I would find that the other foot would end up on the ground as well (unless there was some reason to keep it up).
One item remains universal - as soon as the bike starts moving forward, both feet come up to the boards immediately. No foot dragging allowed.
Matt
