This is a busy time of year—cooking and baking, entertaining and being entertained, shopping and wrapping—and all that activity on top of the usual daily round is apt to cut into sleep time. Studies have shown that when we miss even an hour or two of sleep our driving is impaired. Lose four hours and it’s about the same as driving drunk. And if that’s true for cars, it’s also true for motorcycles.
It seems the body, when deprived of a good night’s sleep, tries to catch up with mini-naps that last just a few seconds. But a few seconds is enough to put you in the wrong lane or up the rear end of the vehicle ahead of you.
To avoid this danger, get at least seven hours of sleep a night. If you’re way low on sleep, take a nap before you drive or ride. Then go slowly and do something to keep alert—like singing to yourself. And remember to watch even more closely for the other people on the road—they’re apt to be short on sleep, too.
Yet, there’s no denying it: Unless you plan to ride exclusively around the Southern United States, you’ll face some chilly winters. And even before it...
