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Old April 3rd, 2017, 10:47 AM   #1
Misti
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Bad habits?

What are your worst riding habits?
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Old April 3rd, 2017, 11:42 AM   #2
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Holding myself up with my arms leaning on the handle bars.

Lazy
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Old April 3rd, 2017, 11:44 AM   #3
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Getting lazy and not consistently gripping with my legs like I should.
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Old April 3rd, 2017, 11:51 AM   #4
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agreed laziness that make end up working harder in the end.
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Old April 3rd, 2017, 12:26 PM   #5
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Occasionally letting adrenaline get the best of me and outriding my vision. I try not to, but I'm pretty sure it happens once in a while.
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Old April 3rd, 2017, 12:38 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Misti View Post
What are your worst riding habits?
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Old April 3rd, 2017, 12:53 PM   #7
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That's your worst habit?

It actually looks in pretty good condition. What does your best Habit look like?
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Old April 3rd, 2017, 01:39 PM   #8
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Being lazy and relying on my mirrors instead of doing a head check before changing lanes.
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Old April 3rd, 2017, 02:32 PM   #9
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These are all track-oriented:

Early roll-off/coasting/engine braking to slow down instead of actually using the brakes as aggressively as I should. (By-product of a lifetime of driving as economically as possible.)

Lazy steering instead of a positive flick and drive to the apex.

Too gentle/timid with the throttle. (Fear of high side...)
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Old April 3rd, 2017, 02:33 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by csmith12 View Post
Getting lazy and not consistently gripping with my legs like I should.
That's what she (he) said.

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Old April 3rd, 2017, 02:51 PM   #11
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Lmao. Guilty as charged.
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Old April 3rd, 2017, 07:11 PM   #12
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Old April 4th, 2017, 11:18 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by allanoue View Post
Holding myself up with my arms leaning on the handle bars.

Lazy
Quote:
Originally Posted by csmith12 View Post
Getting lazy and not consistently gripping with my legs like I should.
Quote:
Originally Posted by taz View Post
agreed laziness that make end up working harder in the end.
Common theme here!!

So besides making you have to work harder and maybe getting tired more easily, what potential outcomes can stem from gripping the handlebars too tightly or not remaining relaxed as you obviously know you should?
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Old April 4th, 2017, 11:31 AM   #14
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Well when I first started going the the track I gripped the handle bars so much that I would have blister on my hands by the end of the day, yup I was really bad to start off with. Then once I was tired, be running even worse lines, braking spots and back on the gas to late just because your to wore out.
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Old April 4th, 2017, 12:10 PM   #15
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I still have to consciously tell myself "relax" as I enter turns if they're going the be the 45 degree lean type. Otherwise I tend to revert to tense mode.
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Old April 4th, 2017, 01:14 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Misti View Post
Common theme here!!

So besides making you have to work harder and maybe getting tired more easily, what potential outcomes can stem from gripping the handlebars too tightly or not remaining relaxed as you obviously know you should?
Unintended control inputs, e.g. ineffective steering.

The bike is smarter than I am. My primary job is to get out of its way and let it do its thing.
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Old April 6th, 2017, 11:30 AM   #17
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I still have to consciously tell myself "relax" as I enter turns if they're going the be the 45 degree lean type. Otherwise I tend to revert to tense mode.
Reminding yourself to relax will help but is there anything you think you can to do prevent the tendency to want to tighten up and be stiff on the bars? Why are you getting tense in the first place?

Quote:
Originally Posted by adouglas View Post
Unintended control inputs, e.g. ineffective steering.

The bike is smarter than I am. My primary job is to get out of its way and let it do its thing.
Yes. Exactly. Being tense on the bars can cause a lot of riding issues- being relaxed and letting the bike do it's thing is the ideal situation.

What kinds of things cause a rider to tense up in the first place?
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Old April 6th, 2017, 11:48 AM   #18
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Quote:
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Reminding yourself to relax will help but is there anything you think you can to do prevent the tendency to want to tighten up and be stiff on the bars? Why are you getting tense in the first place?
I'm not getting tense, but rather I remind my self to stay relaxed. It's often when I haven't ridden twisties for a while, and find myself on the Dragon, for example. Some of those hairpin turns with rocky cliffs just off the road can trigger some tenseness if you let them.
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Old April 6th, 2017, 12:16 PM   #19
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I'm not getting tense, but rather I remind my self to stay relaxed. It's often when I haven't ridden twisties for a while, and find myself on the Dragon, for example. Some of those hairpin turns with rocky cliffs just off the road can trigger some tenseness if you let them.
Good vision skills and setting a great entry speed will help greatly with that issue, been there, done that, it's a visual sr. Tough to stay consistent but I feel where you are coming from.

Actually, it's subtly more than that too. What do you think is the major issue if you unwillingly let your eyes wander?
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Old April 6th, 2017, 12:23 PM   #20
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Actually, it's subtly more than that too. What do you think is the major issue if you unwillingly let your eyes wander?
True story:

I rear-ended a car once because I got distracted by an attractive Wesleyan coed walking down the street in Middletown, Connecticut.

Hey, whaddaya want? I was 17. I hadn't learned how to think with the big head instead of the small one.

41 years later, I still remember what she looked like.

She was really cute.
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Old April 6th, 2017, 07:31 PM   #21
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41 years later, I still remember what she looked like.

She was really cute.
♫ ♫

Elle .. Is for the way you looked at me...
Oh.. Is for the only one I see...
Vee.. Is very-very extraordinary ...
Ee.. is even more than anyone that you adore ... ♫ ♫


My bad habit (frequently) is overtaking a car and if I found out that he / she is on the phone I will give the death stare and not paying attention to the road.

Trying my best to avoid this thou
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Old April 7th, 2017, 03:30 PM   #22
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Reminding yourself to relax will help but is there anything you think you can to do prevent the tendency to want to tighten up and be stiff on the bars? Why are you getting tense in the first place?
In a track situation, physical tension is a reflection of mental tension, and mental tension is a byproduct of inefficient sensory information processing. That is, there is too much information coming in for you to deal with it via analysis/thinking, so you must change modes and process the information via recognition/feel. Failure to make the processing switch will result in an elevated sensation of speed, along with it's corresponding mental and physical stresses.

Details about the sensation of speed can be found here:
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Old April 12th, 2017, 01:35 PM   #23
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Going from a kawasaki which can live on the rev limiter to a Ducati that eats its internals when it sees the rev limiter....i need to not do that this year.
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Old April 12th, 2017, 02:41 PM   #24
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Going from a kawasaki which can live on the rev limiter to a Ducati that eats its internals when it sees the rev limiter....i need to not do that this year.


Glad to hear you got the new engine in and running!
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Old April 13th, 2017, 10:34 AM   #25
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In a track situation, physical tension is a reflection of mental tension, and mental tension is a byproduct of inefficient sensory information processing. That is, there is too much information coming in for you to deal with it via analysis/thinking, so you must change modes and process the information via recognition/feel. Failure to make the processing switch will result in an elevated sensation of speed, along with it's corresponding mental and physical stresses.

Details about the sensation of speed can be found here:
Yes, how you process visual information corresponds to how you physically react on the bike. In other words, you are only as good as your visual skills.

So what kinds of visual mistakes do people make that can cause their brains to feel sensory overload and result in physical tension?
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Old April 17th, 2017, 03:38 PM   #26
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Yes, how you process visual information corresponds to how you physically react on the bike. In other words, you are only as good as your visual skills.

So what kinds of visual mistakes do people make that can cause their brains to feel sensory overload and result in physical tension?
There are, of course the errors of not knowing where and/or when to use visual reference points, but I think that the biggest ‘visual’ mistake that track-riders/racers make is spending too much time with their attention exclusively focused on their visual reference points, which causes them to essentially ignore everything in between. This approach produces a massive imbalance between the amount of visual vs. other sensory information that is available in any given moment and locks the brain into a slow (serial) processing mode.

Think of it this way:
  • Musical notes without rests is not music; it’s noise, which can be stressful to listen to.
  • Riding without mental rests between visual reference points is not riding; it’s a robotic game of high-speed connect the dots that produces mental noise, sensory overload, and mental/physical stress.
Visual Learning Mode
For sure, focusing a great deal of your attention on reference points is necessary when you are first learning to ride on a track, or when you are learning a new track, because you are essentially mentally stitching together a simple 2D map for navigating the track. While learning mode is very effective for visual programming, it takes almost all of your attention, so it leaves you essentially blind to your other sensations (forces, lean angle, traction), which makes you more of a passenger than a rider. Also, when processing information in this mode, your brain has very limited bandwidth, so if you try to go too fast, too soon, you WILL experience sensory overload, an elevated sensation of speed, and mental stress, all of which produces physical tension.

Since visual learning mode has very limited bandwidth, it’s critical that as soon as you have your 2D map of the track established in your mind, you STOP learning it… don’t make the mistake of forcing yourself to stay in ‘learning mode’ lap after lap, or you will be, and will stay, slow. If you do try to go fast in learning mode, you will be far more likely to go bouncing down the road because you will not be able to feel what’s going on where the rubber meets the road. Instead, switch to execution mode.

Execution Mode

First, by saying you need to switch to Execution mode I’m not saying that after you have established the ‘track map’ in your mind you don’t use your visual reference points. Instead, you use them at a lower intensity and duration… you observe them rather than focusing on them, and you don’t force your attention to immediately switch from one to the next. Instead, you take a visual ‘rest’ and replace the ‘focus’ with a moment of holistic awareness, which provides you with a snapshot of what your other senses are experiencing. Repeatedly switching from visual focus to holistic awareness as you ride around the track establishes a mental rhythm, and this rhythm is where the speed and the art of riding hides, and it’s the gateway to the Zone.

So, how do I do this holistic thingy you crazy SOB? Well, at some point (at few laps or a few hundred laps… depends on the rider), the repetition of riding from visual reference point to visual reference point will create an underlying, full-sensory, 4D model of the track along with its corresponding rhythm track (it’s happening even if you’re consciously blind to it). This track model contains information about where you should be, and what you should be seeing, feeling, hearing, etc. at every point around the track. Your pre-conscious mind can determine if your performance, at any point around the track, is OK or in need of adjustment by comparing your track model against what you are actually experiencing. This comparison process is extremely efficient because most of the comparison ‘work’ happens just under the level of conscious attention; only involving your conscious attention if a significant ‘mismatch’ is detected. The efficiency of this type of sensory processing can actually cause a reduction in the sensation of speed (even to the point of slow motion perception) and its corresponding stresses.

Switching to ‘Execution’ mode from ‘Learning’ mode may require a leap of faith, but intellectually understanding the processes, their relationships, and their limitations can make it easier to relax into using a rhythmic balance of visual reference points and the sensations in between.

Anyway, I hope this makes sense and/or helps.
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