RIDER SKILLS: Four Lessons for Control and Confidence in Gravel
Adventure Rider Radio – Motorcycle Podcast
Adventure Rider Radio | Adventure Motorcycling
4.9 • 960 Ratings
🗓️ 23 January 2026
⏱️ 82 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Gravel riding makes many motorcycle riders uneasy — not because the bike is out of control, but because it doesn’t behave the way pavement has trained us to expect. The front wanders, the bars move, braking distances grow, and the instinct is to hold on tight and slow down — usually making things worse. On this episode of Rider Skills, we break gravel riding down into four clear lessons: how to let the bike move without panicking; how throttle, braking, and electronics change traction on loose surfaces; how to read gravel roads and choose lines intentionally; and why braking and cornering with limited traction is not only possible, but fun.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just talking about riding in gravel is enough to make some riders weak in the knees. |
| 0:06.0 | Not so much because the bike is out of control at that point, but because it doesn't behave |
| 0:10.0 | the way that pavement has trained us to expect it to. |
| 0:13.5 | It doesn't feel like it does on pavement. |
| 0:16.3 | The front end wanders, the bars move, breaking distances grow, and the instinct that most riders have at that point |
| 0:22.1 | is to hold on tight and slow the bike down, usually making things worse. What feels like instability |
| 0:28.6 | is often the bike doing exactly what it needs to do to find traction on a loose surface. On this |
| 0:34.6 | episode of rider skills, we're breaking gravel riding down into four clear lessons. |
| 0:39.2 | How to let the bike move without panicking, how throttle braking and electronics change traction |
| 0:43.6 | on loose surfaces, how to read gravel roads and choose lines intentionally, and how breaking |
| 0:49.0 | and cornering when traction is limited is not only possible but fun. I'm Jim Martin. This is Adventure Rider Radio. Stay with us. We get a good one for you. Hi, I'm Sam Manicum. St. Simon. Simon Pavey. How to get better of. Jocelyn Snell. Johnny Bowman. Simon Thomas. Lisa Jolvitz. Jimi Lewis. Alpsis. Graham Jarvis. Presbyge. Nick Sanders Justin Venn Tiffany Coates Brett Tux Trent Tux Clinton Smote and you're listening to Adventure Rider Radio Radio and green chili and green chili adventure gear offers American Made Heavy Duty Luggageduty luggage systems for all types of motorcycles. |
| 1:29.9 | You can turn any dry bag into luggage using their strapping system. |
| 1:33.0 | And of course, Green Chili Adventure Gear is tested in extreme weather and terrain to withstand the abuse. |
| 1:37.6 | That adventure riding gives it tough, reliable gear, greenchillyadv.com. |
| 1:42.8 | Experience riders choose the cycle pump tire inflator made by Best Rest products for one reason |
| 1:47.6 | because they can count on it when they pull that out of their panier no matter what. |
| 1:51.2 | They're so tough, they're warrantied for life. |
| 1:53.4 | Bestrest has loads of other motor specific products like the hex wrench, which is a combination |
| 1:57.4 | tire iron slash wrench, and they're known for their top quality tire plugs and patch kits. |
| 2:02.5 | More at cyclepump.com. |
| 2:06.8 | Rider Skills is an exclusive program we developed here at Adventure Rider Radio, |
| 2:10.5 | designed to give you tools that can improve your riding skills both on and off road. |
... |
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