Important Tip: If it makes you frown, get it to slow down

[Omarel]

I read something that I found very useful in the book "Ride Hard, Ride Smart" by Pat Hahn. I think it's one of the most informative tips in the book.

He says: "If it makes you frown, get it to slow down"

and he starts with a sad story of young motorcycle rider cruising down the road when he starts noticing a van sort of still but with its lights on down the freeway to the right, he was wondering what it was doing, and as he approached, it made a sudden u-turn in the middle of the freeway giving him no time to react.

What Hahn is saying is,

once you notice something that makes you squint, wonder, or draws your attention, that's when you need to slow down the situation then and there...

because the fact that you're wondering about something is a sign of something weird that could happen.

But what happens is that if you wonder but continue as usual, and then that weird thing happens, you now only have 2 seconds to react.

So instead, once you notice something that you're sort of paying attention to. What's that guy doing over there? What's this thing right there, etc, that's when you start to slow down.

Now you've just given yourself ample time to react because you caught it beforehand.

Instead of 2 seconds, you can give yourself say 10-15 seconds to decide what to do, slow down, get out of the way, etc.

I found this already very useful on the road immediately after reading it.

Hope this helps.

[csmith12]

Glad you got something out of the book. Need to finish it, only a little left to go. :\

Originally Posted by csmith12

As you ride, there is...
The past - stuff you have already physically passed
The present - what your currently on top of of AND the stuff you will physically pass in the next 5-10 seconds
The future - what you should be paying attention too

The "present" and "future" are relative to speed. Your future can come faster than someone else's perception of their present. - csmith

The info, in that book can keep you from getting a knot on your head so tall, you will need a ladder to comb your hair.

[lizardywizard]

That's a good one! I'll have to remember that.

On the bike I tend to find that listening to my instincts is the right thing to do... even when it makes no sense, my subconscious usually knows what's up.

[MrAtom]

Hey! Learning every day! Good info!

[JohnnyBravo]

That's a real good tip that folks miss a lot... Like ooooooh they are going really slow so when I fly by ill look even

[Toly]

Yes... Something similar happened to me some time back... wish I knew that rule back then:
https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=117271

[Omarel]

Originally Posted by Toly

Yes... Something similar happened to me some time back... wish I knew that rule back then:
https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=117271

Exactly! Thanks for sharing this story. Glad it ended well. Hope this helps others.

We should always be aware of that moment where you're in a daze wondering about something on the road.