Strokers Progress

[rchase]

Impressively bumpy track there csmith12. As well it's interesting watching #33's body position. Mine's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but the straight up and down he had going on looked kind of scary.

[csmith12]

#33 is Vet rider/racer Bill Bloom. At 80+ yrs young, he is very old school like that. It is kinda scary to ride behind him but he has been making it work for him for longer than I have been alive and I am 41 lol. He tells stories of racers running off into corn fields, while spectators try to figure out who it is and where they are going by watching the corn stalks moving. hahahahahahaha Working on Elvis's bikes and sooooo much other cool stuff. I could listen to him talk for hours. He recently lost his wife (who was always at the track with him), and he hasn't been to many races since. I hope all is well with him.

[rchase]

Different style or not he certainly was going pretty quick. You have to admire that. I hope that I'm still enjoying my passion at 80 years old.

[Stroker]

Hey Guys,

 

Some interesting developments.

 

1. I went on a trip to the beach and rode a Jet Ski.I was countersteering and leaning in the direction of the turn and wondering why i was going the wrong way.Only later did i realize i was not on a bike.

 

2. Crashed on the way to the place.A man in front of me crashed on a two lane road, at a blind left turn.He fell on the left lane but his bike slid to the right lane.I did fine on braking for a while and then the bike skid as i got to the dirt on the outside of the right lane.I let go of the bike to avoid going down the embankment.Leathers tore at the knee and some scrapes on it.Some damage to the bike fairing and a bent handlebar, gear lever. The dude at the showroom said the forks were bent as well.

 

3. I realized that i was not scared of crashing or cornering hard etc. but that my body might be a little fragile.I must have hit the deck at 60 mph or so, and my hip, knee and thumb hurt a week later.This is something to consider with my racing ambitions in motion.

 

4. I went over the crash in my head, and i felt my steering to avoid the other bike was ineffective.I braked as hard as the tire could endure [ I did not use the rear brake, it might have helped ] and am happy with that.But i felt there was target fixation and that i kinda froze on the bars/ did not steer quickly and effectively.

 

I have decided to work exclusively on the quick flick to the point of excluding all else for the time being.What do you say? I feel all this focus on other things may have lead to a weak foundation of ineffective steering. Please advice.

[Stroker]

CSmith, thanks for the advice.

 

1. The bikes are provided by the manufacturer and cannot be modified in any way.

 

2. I will certainly walk the track.

 

3. Will work on my fitness.

[YellowDuck]

Stroker, sorry to hear about your crash - that is always an unsettling experience. The risk of accidents like that are one of the main reasons I gave up street riding a few years ago. Glad to hear that you are pretty much okay though.

 

I doubt using the rear brake would have helped much. Unless you are very highly trained and skilled, using the rear in a panic situation is not terribly helpful. Better to concentrate on modulating the front as best you can. The rear end is so light under those conditions that the rear tire doesn't have much to offer in the way of braking traction anyway. More likely you lock it up and risk a highside crash.

 

From your description it does indeed sound like you froze up a bit and saw braking as your only option, when maybe steering around the trouble would have been more effective. Very easy mistake to make! It's a very natural reaction to rely on the brakes when an emergency situation arises, but I think it is possible to train ourselves to instinctively invoke other types of evasive action as well. It does take specific, deliberate training though.

[Stroker]

I practiced braking with a fair bit of focus earlier on.Today, as soon as i need to panic stop i apply the front brake just hard enough to keep the front tire on the verge of locking up.....i can hear that chirupping noise.

 

I guess it is my go to in emergencies as you pointed out.I shall develop my steering and have two things to fall upon.

[rchase]

Oh wow. I'm really sorry to hear about the crash!

 

I agree with YellowDuck when it comes to the rear brake. In a "panic" situation where you are quickly reacting to a situation the rear can easily lock and make the situation much worse. With all of the weight on the front wheel the brake in the rear is less effective than you think.

 

Look at the positives here though.

 

#1. You are all right.

#2. You faced a fear that you had.

#3. Your protective gear functioned as designed.

#4. You took knowledge away from the situation.

 

Target fixation is an evil beast that gets the best of everyone. I remember doing a track day where I was in a group following a coach learning the line of the track. As the speed came up someone in the group discovered that their tire pressure was way off and crashed. He of course was right behind the coach with another rider behind him who I was following. I was target fixated on the rider in front of me because I was following him. I suddenly realized he was following the sliding bike off of the surface of the track and because my attention was focused on him I was too. I snapped to my senses and turned the bike. Had we been going faster I might not have had time to react. I got a painless demonstration in target fixation.

 

I mentioned Target fixation because our eyes tend to focus on things that can do us harm. When your view is focused on that thing that you desperately want to avoid you tend to lose sight of the other options. The wide view drill that the school teaches is a great way to see all the options available. Practice wide view if you have a chance and you will be amazed at the opportunities it opens up in panic type situations.

[Stroker]

Thanks Robert.What exactly is the Wide View Drill? God....wish i could attend a school.

[rchase]

Here goes my explanation of Wide view. If anybody wants to enhance my description feel free. I just got back from watching my first ever Supercross race and I'm a little at a loss for words out of amazement at the riding skill and precision I witnessed. Well perhaps one word. WOW!

 

Wide view is focusing your field of view on as much as you can without allowing specific things to attract your attention. In the books there's a full section on wide view. You can practice this right where you are sitting. Look at what's in your field of view and try to notice everything you can without focusing on anything specifically. That's wide view (with a lot of steps skipped that are in the books). It takes a bit of effort as our attention tends to focus on things that grab out attention.

 

Wide view is really helpful because since you are looking at everything you can spot an "out" in an emergency situation. If you are focusing your attention on something that can do you harm you often won't see possible escape routes or other options. It's useful for a number of other things too. It helped me tremendously in passing. When I would come up behind another rider that was moving slower than I was my attention focused on the rider. Because my attention was fixed on the rider I often missed the large expanse of track I could have used to pass. Using wide view makes passing opportunities much more easy to spot.

[csmith12]

Here goes my explanation of Wide view. If anybody wants to enhance my description feel free. I just got back from watching my first ever Supercross race and I'm a little at a loss for words out of amazement at the riding skill and precision I witnessed. Well perhaps one word. WOW!

 

Wide view is focusing your field of view on as much as you can without allowing specific things to attract your attention. In the books there's a full section on wide view. You can practice this right where you are sitting. Look at what's in your field of view and try to notice everything you can without focusing on anything specifically. That's wide view (with a lot of steps skipped that are in the books). It takes a bit of effort as our attention tends to focus on things that grab out attention.

 

Wide view is really helpful because since you are looking at everything you can spot an "out" in an emergency situation. If you are focusing your attention on something that can do you harm you often won't see possible escape routes or other options. It's useful for a number of other things too. It helped me tremendously in passing. When I would come up behind another rider that was moving slower than I was my attention focused on the rider. Because my attention was fixed on the rider I often missed the large expanse of track I could have used to pass. Using wide view makes passing opportunities much more easy to spot.

 

I just finished my in depth research on this topic in preparation for things to come later....

 

Wide View is 2 major things;

1. Training the eyes to not create the effect of tunnel vision to the next point, by maintaining an increased FOV.

2. Training the brain to make "effective" use of the larger field of view by increasing the rider's "field of attention", without causing extra unneeded distractions.

 

It's kinda like putting yourself in radar mode. The radar emits from a single point (your reference point you're currently looking at), but stretches out to your entire FOV. From time to time there are blips on the radar; a car, another rider, a flagger, or a piece of debris on the tarmac and those are worthy of one's attention. Some blips require the rider to react, and others do not. The secret to wide view is to not take your eyes off the prize by shifting your eyes from point to point on the radar, but instead letting by looking at the picture as a whole. The real benefit of wide view is when one finally understands how to expand their field of attention and use it!

 

Chase is right... it's hard to do and can lead to mental fatigue when you first start to do it but gets easier with time. I also have found it can lead to information overload while in the dirt in the thick woods with narrow trails.

 

There is a large section on vision in the twist 2 book. It's very well worth the time to read, and then read again to connect some dots.

 

And.... Supercross is awesome!!!!

[rchase]

Great explanation. Much better than mine!

 

Not to get us out on a Tangent but the way those bikes jump so precisely and how the riders pivot the bike in mid air to prepare for the next turn is nothing beyond amazing. It was also really interesting to watch the "style" that riders had. During jumps some riders stood on the pegs while others remained closer to a seated position hovering just a bit over the seat.

 

Bringing it back on topic. The riders at the Supercross were obviously using wide view. In order to maintain spacing and keep from landing on one another during jumps they had to see the whole picture. Check out the the start of one of the races and look at how close these guys are to one another. Without wide view there would have been carnage.

 

[tmckeen]

I just got back from watching my first ever Supercross race and I'm a little at a loss for words out of amazement at the riding skill and precision I witnessed. Well perhaps one word. WOW!

 

So are you ready to add a dirt bike to your stable yet ?

[rchase]

Thinking strongly about it for sure.

[csmith12]

Dew et!!!!!