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Old January 26th, 2017, 10:13 AM   #112
SpeedCraft
ninjette.org newbie
 
Name: Warren
Location: Eagan, MN
Join Date: Jan 2017

Motorcycle(s): None currently

Posts: 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ducati999 View Post
I am unsure if you have ever ridden the Palmer Mass track but that is where I am referring to when discussing my problems but the same issues are present no matter where I ride, I just use Palmer because it is the track I ride the most and where I see the issues most clearly. I would encourage you to watch the video of my crash posted in the "So This Finally Happened" thread under "Ninjettes at Speed" Thread on this site. You can see me make all the reported mistakes and corrections in the laps leading up to my crash. Palmer has multiple large sweeping turns and I hit the "X" entering the large turns then I tend to "get lost" between the mark and the Apex, making multiple corrections to assure I am on the right line. Please let me know what you think should you (or anyone) watch the video.
Hey Ducati999,
I've never seen the Palmer track before your video, but my Mom was born and raised in Palmer, so maybe that counts? Anyway, there are others here who are way more qualified than I to comment on your video, but I'll just tell you what I think I see:

After writing this post, I realized I should add an apology for making it so long.

Overall, as you've already self assessed, it looks like you are riding on the edge of your comfort zone (your ability to process the information you're taking in). Indicators of this are:
  1. You ride a good line consistently in one area of the track (the T 11,12,13 complex that leads onto the front 'straight'). It's like this pretty quick, and rhythmic set of left - right - left turns, that perhaps does not allow your intellect the luxury of analyzing and interfering with what's happening; it must simply get out of the way and let your intuitive rider do its job.
  2. For reasonably sharp turns that your arrive at going fairly quickly (e.g. T4 & T9), if you make an error, it's usually a late turn-in, which could be caused by lack of confidence in the front end; perhaps because your intellect is stressing out over the hard braking and hogging all of your brain's processing power... so you have no resources left to actually feel what's going on.
  3. In the long sweepers, (which require a slow, gradual turn in), you seem to rush the turn in (either all at once, or by starting the turn-in properly and then after a few moments seemingly getting nervous; like you're thinking "wait, that's not enough" even though is was. In either case you end up with two or more adjustments to get back on line (in some cases back onto the line you had been on). Again, rushing turn-ins can be caused by stress, which can be the byproduct of an elevated sensation of speed, which is caused by using the wrong part/mode of the brain for the task.
You've got to use the right tool for the job; engine compression will eventually slow you down (unless you're on a 2-stroke), but the brakes will do it a lot more efficiently cuz that's what they are made for. You can use intellect to analyze your way around the track, but it's much more efficient to 'recognize' (pattern match) your way around the track using intuition.

Anyway, making the transition from analyze to recognize mode feels like a very slight or subtle shift (perhaps so subtle you won't even know how/why it happened... maybe like your friend @adouglas experienced at Palmer).

The best analogy I can think of for this shift/experience is viewing the hidden 3D pictures (autostereograms) that were in every mall in the early/mid 90s. If you intently focus on the surface of the image (the noise pattern), then that is all you will see. However, if you relax a little and let/make your eyes converge or diverge slightly (I cross my eyes just slightly and/or switch into holistic concentration mode) then you can lock into the pattern, and suddenly you take Mr. Toad's wild ride through Alice's looking glass and you're in a whole new 3D world. The moment of transition from seeing only the surface image to seeing the 3D image is like a small/quick 'Whoa' experience, which I think kind of parallels when things 'click' on track.

At first you may struggle with seeing the 3D image, with making the transition, or you may start the transition (start seeing beyond the surface), but then you lose it (like something pulls you back to 'reality'). However, once you do finally get 'locked in' you will realize that you can still see the original 'surface' pattern, but you can now see so much more, like the hidden 3D image(s). But that's not all, in this new processing mode, you can 'focus' on different parts of the 3D picture, or you can experience the picture as a whole, or you can experience everything; your surroundings, and the 3D picture. You can even move around and change your perspective somewhat and still retain 'the lock'. When you do switch back out of the 3D or holistic processing mode, it's another 'whoa' experience, and you're left wondering which of the perspectives (modes) is reality.

Switching processing modes when riding is similar. You focus, focus, focus on the process, the details, the speed, so much that it becomes noise that obscures what you really need to see & feel. You might get glimpses into the 'recognition' (or holistic concentration) mode (like when following someone you trust, or in a certain set of turns), but then you get yanked back into analysis (focused concentration) mode again. When you do finally lock into recognition mode, (which is a subtle change in feeling, but a monumental change in perception), then you realize that all those things you had been focusing on are still there (process, details, speed), but they are no longer distractions or attention black holes; you see them as pieces of a larger picture/puzzle. To me, seeing the 3D image is like getting a glimpse into how your intuition experiences riding; as a holistic, interconnected, and in context experience where the sensation of speed is significantly reduced.

So, your plan of slowing down a bit and focusing on technique is a good one IF, you do so as part of an overall plan to guide your brain into the correct functioning mode. Otherwise, you run the risk of getting stuck in a loop, where you slow down, get comfortable, then push a bit and encounter the same barrier you hit before.

Anyway, a driver I was coaching was in a similar situation (intellect trap); I had him try the following training techniques, which really seemed to help him 'see' that he did have an intuitive driver and that it can be trusted to do the right thing. That then enabled him to make the transition to driving using recognition and holistic concentration:
On a gently curving freeway or road, use your entire lane width to ride/drive a "racing" line (as you probably already do). However, as you approach the turn, mentally choose where you think the apex should be, but do not "force" the bike/car to go there. Instead, just let that part within you that does the actual physical control of your body (and therefore the bike/car) steer as it sees fit. Fight the temptation to "adjust" your line early in the turn and you may discover something very interesting.

When I do this (I always do this) I find that about 10-15% of the time I "pick" the wrong apex. However, about 95+% of those times, If I don't interfere with my intuitive driver, I end up on exactly the right line (one move of the wheel...perfect arc into the apex... perfect arc out to the edge of my lane). This is a very cool (also weird) feeling, driving past what you thought was the apex and still being on a perfect line (sort of humbles the old EGO)
Another thing to try when you get back on track, at a slower, more comfortable pace, is to do one of these:
  1. Navigate your way around the track... like you are a rally navigator. "Braking in 3, 2, 1... Turning in 3,2,1... acquiring apex target... acquiring exit target." I know is seems silly and counter intuitive "we're supposed to be trying to get away from thinking our way around the track, right" but intuition intruding on the actual riding process is like a bad habit. It's very hard to just stop a habit, but it's a lot easier to replace it with a better (less intrusive) version, and a version that intellect is good at. This way intellect is saying WHAT to do, WHEN to do it, and WHERE you're going next, but not HOW to do it... that's left up to intuition, as it should be. BTW, I mean speak (or even yell) the words in your helmet; don't just think it... at least not at first. Language for most people is a left-hemisphere (intellect) function, so make that part of your brain work harder by actually saying, not just thinking, the words.
  2. At the entry, apex, and exit of each corner, call out a number 1-3 (or 1-5 when you develop a higher resolution of feel) that represents how close to 'the limit' you feel. The point is not to be 'accurate' the point is that intellect LOVES measuring things, and classifying things, and comparing things... and it's really good at it. So why not make EVERYBODY happy by setting if off in a corner doing it's thing, while your intuition gets down to business on track. Again, actually 'call out' the numbers; don't just think them. BTW if 'monitoring' all three phases of the turn is too much to start with, then just call out a number at mid-turn.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ducati999 View Post
Some of you may laugh at what I am going to write in the next few lines but I believe it has helped me to get a better grasp of what I have been doing wrong and begin to "reprogram" my mind on what I should be doing--feel free to let me know what you think as my feelings don't get hurt easily and I like to know what other people think about my methods
I have been playing a motorcycle racing game on my Playstation and it has actually helped me practice several areas where I have had issues on the track. I had set lap times in the past running as fast as I could. I began to apply the things I have been taught by the people nice enough to coach me and I have bested every prior record! I know it is not the same as on the track but I have been setting and using reference points and roll on points for the throttle and this has helped build some mental muscle memory. Part of my problem is that trying to apply some of the things I have been taught while riding at speed had led to over thinking and more mistakes. Practicing what I know to be correct on the simulation has allowed me to practice without the distraction of having to ride at the same time (if that makes sense). I know this is just a small part and doing the same on the track will be different but I have begun to change the way I think about running around the track and that is a step in the right direction! We will see what (if any) effect it has had in just a few months!
Until the motorcycle game is equipped with two arms that do the following each time you crash; one smacks you in the head or fractures your collar bone while the other one removes $2,000 from your wallet, then it can't simulate the conditions that cause your intellect to become afraid, and therefore question/jump into the riding process, which ironically often causes the exact danger it's trying to avoid. It's the potential consequences that make riding both challenging and worthwhile.

That said, you do have a fantastic simulator mounted on top of your shoulders. I cannot overemphasize the value that I have received from both imagery and Race Walking training, so I strongly recommend them. But, whatever you are doing, do it with feeling; imagine what the rider in your game would be feeling. When using imagery training, focus as much or more on how things felt or how you want them to feel as you do on the 'visual' element.

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