Stayin' Safe: The Art and Science of Riding Really Well [Hardcover]

Lawrence Grodsky (Author), Pete Tamblyn (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 2008

Larry Grodsky devoted his life to motorcycle safety. Through the riding courses he taught and his "Stayin' Safe" columns in Rider magazine (from 1988 until his untimely death in 2006), he helped thousands of motorcyclists improve their skills and their ability to ride really well. This collection of Grodsky's columns reveals his ability to illuminate complex and sometimes highly technical subjects with an entertaining and personal style, spiced with his trademark wry wit and keen observations of human behavior. A master teacher, Grodsky was constantly learning from his students, always striving to find the best way to lead riders towards the mastery of their two-wheeled vehicles. Many of his columns focus on helping riders develop specific skills (complete with practice exercises), while others deal with the riding environment and riders' mental processes. Although it is packed with information useful to both novice and experienced motorcyclists, this book is not structured as a how-to guide to motorcycle proficiency. Rather, it is a collection of thoughtful essays to be read and savored individually. Readers will be rewarded by the beautifully written stories of a great motorcycle riding instructor who has left his mark on a generation of grateful riders.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

A master teacher, Larry Grodsky devoted his life to motorcycle safety. Through the riding courses he taught and his "Stayin' Safe" columns in Rider magazine, he helped thousands of motorcyclists improve their skills and their ability to ride really well. This collection of Grodsky's columns reveals his ability to illuminate complex and sometimes highly technical subjects with an entertaining and personal style, spiced with his trademark wry wit and keen observations of human behavior. Many of his columns focus on helping riders develop specific skills (complete with practice exercises), while others deal with the riding environment and riders' mental processes. Readers will be rewarded by the beautifully written stories of a great motorcycle riding instructor who has left his mark on a generation of grateful riders.

About the Author

Larry Grodsky's passion for motorcycling began in college and eventually led him to become a MSF instructor and the Safety Editor with Rider magazine, for whom he wrote more than 200 monthly columns.  He eventually founded his own teaching program, Stayin' Safe, which uses road rides (rather than training ranges) to better learn the riding skills needed in real life situations.

Pete Tamblyn is an instructor with Larry Grodsky's Stayin' Safe Motorcycle Training.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Whitehorse Press; First Edition edition (June 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1884313728
• ISBN-13: 978-1884313721
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #855,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not great, May 23, 2008

By 

Larry Newman (Erie Canalside, North Tonawanda, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stayin' Safe: The Art and Science of Riding Really Well (Hardcover)

Compared with David Hough's book, or the MSF 2nd edition, this comes off poorly. The writing style is dense and cutesey. The advice, if you can wade through the prose, is valuable, but is presented [ with illustrations] much better elsewhere.
One can only hope that Larry's Stayin' Safe Motorcycle training course is where he really shone - this book is intended as a memorial, but would have been more effective to have some of the course details thrown in.
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June '08 - I'm used to being wrong, occasionally --- but this time I was way off base !

It was when I gave the other two above mentioned books to a friend who is a new rider. I was left with Larry's book, and started reading it, by default, reluctantly.

The guy has really grown on me...the humor, the admission that he is not the world's greatest rider, his being another Larry, and sadly, hitting a deer - all of which we share, except that I walked, o.k., hobbled, away from the incident, and he did not.

Now, having replaced the gifted books in my library, I turn to Larry's collection of his columns for the humanity that leaps off the page, and the advice that just may let me get through another ride...safely.

Lots more stars...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great information not found elsewhere, November 24, 2008

By 

J. Eder (Bartlesville, OK USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stayin' Safe: The Art and Science of Riding Really Well (Hardcover)

The late Lawrence Grodsky wrote for magazines about motorcycles and safety. His book contains information not found elsewhere, including the Motorcycle Safety Foundation publications. His style is extremely readable, and easily understood. He did not avoid the potential safety issues, but rather brought them to light for examination. Most chapters contain introductions by his friends from the cycling world, which are valuable in their own right. It is unfortunate that we lost Larry, who gave so much and had much more to give. I highly recommend this book to those who might be considering biking, as well as greatly experienced riders.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great compilation of information, August 1, 2008

By 

B. Bates (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Stayin' Safe: The Art and Science of Riding Really Well (Hardcover)

It was a great loss when Larry left us. This book is a reprint of his magazine articles, and great reference for riding safe. Any safe motorcyclist should have this book on their shelf along with "Proficient Motorcycling".