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Old January 6th, 2017, 07:52 PM   #1
SpeedCraft
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A Racer's Brain

Hi, I'm new to the Ninjette forums (first post). I found the site following a thread that came up when I was googling for longitudinal tire force graphs. My background is mainly in car racing, but I used to ride quit a bit in my youth, including attending the Cal Super bike School a couple of times back in the day at Laguna Seca.

Anyway, I saw the type of discussions you all have here in the Riding Skills forum, and thought I'd post links to some information that you might find interesting or useful.

I've spent that last 30 years thinking about why I was fast in a race car, why so many other driver were slow, and why the slower drivers made very little or no progress regardless how how much track time or coaching they got.

My thoughts, opinions, research, etc. has been compiled into what I call SpeedCraft. and I've put the information (free, with no ads) on my website www.intuitivespeed.com

Much of the information on my site should be applicable to bikes because the mental processes should be pretty similar between drivers & riders.

Anyway, some of the topics that are covered (in excruciating detail) are:

Info about the learning process:
Types of knowledge
Learning Stages
Learning strategies for Racers

Info about Mental skills:
Reducing the Sensation of Speed
Confidence for Racers
Concentration for Racers
Staying in the Zone
Memory for Racers

Training techniques:
Imagery Training for Racers
Race Walking (described for cars, but easily adapted to bikes)

Thanks,
Warren Chamberlain
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Old January 6th, 2017, 07:57 PM   #2
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Welcome Warren! Nice first post!
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Old January 6th, 2017, 08:03 PM   #3
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Thanks csmith12.
"The Corner Whisperer" Damn I wish I'd thought of that!! 8-)
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Old January 6th, 2017, 08:22 PM   #4
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Old January 6th, 2017, 11:15 PM   #5
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This post is huge on the mental side of the sport, a side I tend to be inconsistent in. One thing I would like to add is the addition of mindfulness meditation training. That said I haven't finished reading everything yet so don't hate me if it's already covered.
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Old January 7th, 2017, 06:00 AM   #6
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Welcome, thank you for all the information.
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Old January 7th, 2017, 08:50 AM   #7
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I've spent that last 30 years thinking about why I was fast in a race car, why so many other driver were slow, and why the slower drivers made very little or no progress regardless how how much track time or coaching they got.
I would describe this phenomena as a "modern world" problem. We live at a time where there exist some professions, hobbies and pass-times that require very special ability skill-sets that can't be taught, you either have them from birth or you don't.

I've flown jet aircraft since 1990, at this point I've logged more than 20,000 hours of flight time. Flying is all I've done for my entire adult lifetime.

And in this life spent in the cockpits of various aircraft I've encountered the same thing you describe: I've found myself flying with "that guy" who is obviously very intelligent, highly motivated, ambitious, he studies hard and knows the aircraft and all the rules and regulations, BUT (and it's a huge "but") he flies like he just can't feel the aircraft or assess the aircraft's energy state or judge its momentum or successfully plan how to use that energy/momentum. This type doesn't (or can't) even taxi the aircraft smoothly on the ground.
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Old January 7th, 2017, 12:35 PM   #8
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Thanks CaliGrrl and snot

Hi Sirref; check out the Imagery Training and Race Walking links. Race walking is essentially a moving visualization, or moving meditation technique.

Hi greg737,
I get what you’re saying, but I must disagree somewhat. I don’t want to make this a long post because my thoughts on the subject are already covered on my website here, but for sure, on track there has been, and always will be, a pecking order.

There will be the 3-5% who perform at a magical elite level (as though they are channeling some unworldly understand & skill). There will be the 3-5% who just don’t get it, and likely never will for whatever reason (attitude problem, inability to feel instead of analyze, etc.) There will be the 5-10% who are the fast guys/gals (who perform with impressive worldly understand & skill). But what about the rest; many of whom get stuck at learning plateaus, get frustrated, and quit? Trying to help this middle group (Advanced Beginners, Competent, and Proficient performers) keep moving up the learning spiral and enjoy their racing again is why I created SpeedCraft.

Here is a real world example that some in this middle group (even the lower-middle group) are not lost causes. When I put my site up in August 2016, a racer from Texas contacted me. He had been racing an SCCA Spec Racer for two seasons (a class where the cars are tightly regulated so the driver is the key ingredient for speed). He had done a private training day with a world-famous driving secrets coach/author, and a private coaching day with a World Champion 125cc shifter kart driver. Both of these netted some improvement, but near the end of his second season of racing he had progressed very little during the season and was still 4.5+/- seconds off the pace.

Over a six week period we exchanged 30+/- emails, talked on the phone for an hour once, and he went to an indoor kart track a couple of times to try some training techniques I’d given him for increasing his sensitivity to energy flow, tire loads, traction and the forces acting on the car/kart. He went to his next race (the last race of his season) and took 3 seconds off of his best time, while also showing profound improvements in consistency. Most importantly, racing went from being a source of disappointment and confusion for him to being an energizing, exciting, and rewarding experience.

His main problem was that he had been trying to think/analyze his way around the track instead of letting ‘himself’ (what I call his intuitive driver) do the actual driving. With the SpeedCraft information, he came to realize what was happening, and through great effort on his part, he changed the way he thought about driving, and how he processed information when driving. I believe this wrong part/process in the brain being used for a job it’s not suited to is one of the major limiting factors for many of the people in the ‘middle group’. Our society is very intellect/logic heavy, but the actual act of driving/riding is an intuitive process. When intellect inserts itself into what must be an intuitive process, the perception of speed increases, sensitivity goes away, lap times go up or don’t improve, and the potential for bad things happening escalates.
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Old January 7th, 2017, 01:46 PM   #9
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You're right, this subject is a very deeply rooted, complex one. And, yes, I understand your approach, you have a product to sell.
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Old January 7th, 2017, 07:12 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by greg737 View Post
And, yes, I understand your approach, you have a product to sell.
I'm not sure I understand that statement, but I have no 'product', I'm not selling anything, and I coached, the driver from Texas for free.

I research and write the information because I'm fascinated by the mental processes of racing. I share the information because I love the sport and I hate to see people struggle needlessly. Also, I'm not claiming I'm 'right' about anything; what I write is true for me (and apparently at least partially true for the driver from Texas); others can decide if it resonates for them.

Anyway, everything on my website is free, and worth every penny.
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Old January 7th, 2017, 08:12 PM   #11
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@SpeedCraft

I haven't read all of your site, yet, but I'm sure I will. I know in my own case, the limiting factor to picking up the pace is between my ears. Thanks for sharing your notes and thoughts!
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Old January 9th, 2017, 04:19 PM   #12
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Sweet first post!!!
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Old January 19th, 2017, 10:53 AM   #13
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Good stuff. I look forward to reading through it when I get a chance

Thanks!!
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Old January 19th, 2017, 11:52 AM   #14
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Originally Posted by greg737 View Post
I would describe this phenomena as a "modern world" problem. We live at a time where there exist some professions, hobbies and pass-times that require very special ability skill-sets that can't be taught, you either have them from birth or you don't.
I disagree that this is a "modern world" problem. I'd argue that the inability to adapt or learn a new skill has been with the species throughout our shared course of evolution.

It's just that now you can afford not to be able to pick up a skill because it's a hobby. Whereas historically if you couldn't pick up a skill, like hunting or agriculture, you starved.
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Old January 20th, 2017, 01:46 PM   #15
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Thanks Z1R rider and JohnnyBravo!

Misti, I know there is a lot of stuff to read through on my site., but if you ever do have the time, I would be very interested in hearing your feedback.

BTW, Keith Code's TOTW probably saved my life back in the early 80s. I had never ridden before, so I did the only logical thing and bought a clapped out 900cc Kawi. Took it up into the hills above Silicon Valley and scared the crap out of myself (almost became a hood ornament for a Volvo). I putted home, parked it, probably changed my underwear, and drove to the motorcycle store to buy a copy. Ahhh counter steering, that's why the damn thing wouldn't turn!

Hi Panda, I agree that the requirement for adapting to new circumstances and learning new skills is not a "modern world" problem. However, to me the skill we are talking about is very specialized; requiring a balance of intuition/instinct (which does the actual vehicle control) and intellect/analysis (which manages the whole process, navigates, evaluates performance etc.). To me, the 'modern world' element of the problem is that at our current state of evolution, many societies have adopted an overwhelming bias toward Rational, Logical, Analytical (left hemisphere) brain function/use. I feel this ingrained bias is so strong that many rider cannot connect with their intuitive rider (or mistrust it so they won't give it control), which results in a rider who feels constantly overwhelmed as they try to 'think' their way around the track.
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Old January 20th, 2017, 08:35 PM   #16
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I disagree that this is a "modern world" problem. I'd argue that the inability to adapt or learn a new skill has been with the species throughout our shared course of evolution.
You were trying to disagree with me, but you ended up agreeing with me...

It seems that you may have stopped reading (or at least comprehending what you were reading) when you got to the words "modern world" problem.

If you carefully read my original post (all the way through this time) you'll see that what I meant by "modern world" problem is the same as what you (seem) to be saying when you reference the fact that "inability to adapt or learn a new skill" has plagued humanity for a long time.

The only point where we (most likely) differ in our thinking is with regard to historical perspective. My historical perspective reaches back across the whole of human evolution (several million years) while most people think (or believe) in a much more limited timeframe.
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Old January 23rd, 2017, 11:30 AM   #17
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Originally Posted by SpeedCraft View Post
Thanks Z1R rider and JohnnyBravo!

Misti, I know there is a lot of stuff to read through on my site., but if you ever do have the time, I would be very interested in hearing your feedback.

BTW, Keith Code's TOTW probably saved my life back in the early 80s. I had never ridden before, so I did the only logical thing and bought a clapped out 900cc Kawi. Took it up into the hills above Silicon Valley and scared the crap out of myself (almost became a hood ornament for a Volvo). I putted home, parked it, probably changed my underwear, and drove to the motorcycle store to buy a copy. Ahhh counter steering, that's why the damn thing wouldn't turn!
I'll see what I can do! And you're not the only one that says that TOTW has probably saved your life. It's kinda like the manual of motorcycling, there is a lot of good info in there. And yes, counter-steering.....we run our students through a counter-steering exercise as one of the very first things we do at the schools. It's amazing how many riders we come across, even ones that have been riding for 20, 30 sen 40+ years that don't actually consciously know how to counter-steer. When we ask them to show us how they make the bike go right they are just not sure. How can you effectively steer quickly in an emergency situation if you aren't 100% sure how you steer a bike. Pretty important stuff right there

Thanks for the story and glad you didn't end up a hood ornament on a volvo!
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Old January 27th, 2017, 09:47 AM   #18
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Been trying out racewalking, a bit tricky to remember to do but it'll be second nature soon. It seems interesting. I'm combining it with my dirt bike training and am seeing some effect in how I handle the back end kicking out on exits but it hasn't quite kicked in yet

As a visualization technique it seems amazing since it's constantly accessible
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Old January 28th, 2017, 10:57 AM   #19
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Originally Posted by Sirref View Post
Been trying out racewalking, a bit tricky to remember to do but it'll be second nature soon. It seems interesting. I'm combining it with my dirt bike training and am seeing some effect in how I handle the back end kicking out on exits but it hasn't quite kicked in yet

As a visualization technique it seems amazing since it's constantly accessible
I'm glad to hear you're giving racewalking a try! And it will 'kick in'; open mind - open throttle

Since I wrote the article for drivers, I just wanted to share a couple of tweaks for riders.
Instead of 'turning the wheel' I would slightly drop, and push forward, my inside shoulder to simulate counter steering and leaning into the turn.

I would try to keep my right hand empty, and in a loose fist. Then, to simulate braking, I would tense my first two fingers (pressing the finger tips into the meat of my palm with the appropriate pressure for the braking I was simulating). Throttle simulation is, of course, a totw.

I would bring all of those pieces together for a corner; so tension on the fingers as I approach the turn (along with flicks of the wrist, as needed, for downshifts), reducing brake pressure as I counter-steer to tip in (trail braking), and then rolling my wrist to accelerate out of the turn (complete with simulated slips, drifts, or spin-ups).

The last adjustment is in the power-on/exit, phase of the turn. A car rolls side to side on it's suspension, so when accelerating out of a turn, the centripetal force transfers load into the outside rear tire (your outside leg when racewalking). Not so on a bike, so when you 'get on the gas' while racewalk simulating a motorcycle, your inside (not outside) hip/thigh/knee (suspension) would absorb the load and transfer it to your rear tire (inside edge/back half of your foot).
These movements can all be exaggerated or flamboyant (even accompanied by sound effects) if you are alone, or they can all be VERY subtle if you are in public. The training effect is the same.

Hey, no one at the grocer store last knight knew that I was riding the shopping kart around; grabbing that metal basket thingy with my fingers to slow down, tipping it into the frozen food isle, and twisting the handle to drift the basket out of the turn and accelerated down the the Lean Cuisine section.

Anyway, hopefully that makes sense; if not let me know and I'll do my best to clarify.
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Old January 29th, 2017, 02:11 PM   #20
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Your site looks awesome. Thanks for taking the time to make it and post about it here.

I'm a particularly left brained person in an already left-brain-oriented society. I've noticed that riding my bikes is one of the few times where that part of my mind largely switches off and I become more grounded in the sensations of my body and the stimulus of my senses. I know I need to be in that state to ride smooth & safe. I'm not a fast-rider, but I think I can learn a bit from you
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