I had a little reminder on Saturday and how much automated responses can help you on your ride. I have noted that below, but first wanted to share my observations on how my automated response was taught. SO first a little definition.
What I mean by automated responses is the way you react to something. The body has plenty. Pain when burnt or cut, blinking when the eyes are blown with air etc.. these are involuntary, we generally don't have control over them.
What I am talking about here are the voluntary reactions that are learned and become better applied with repetition to the point where they just occur without your brain having to process the input to react. This is because the brain has done so over and over to a point..well.. where it is automatic basically.
Many of these types of responses can be found many different sports, but in motorcycling and they go a long way in keeping you on two. These learned responses become part of your skill set as a rider. They will not alone keep you on two, but will help in certain situations. Good skills and good judgment are the combined with a touch of luck to really be the safest rider possible. This thread inspired me to write this and I recommend the read if you are a newer rider.
Good speed/Bad Speed (judgment of the ride)
http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=274229
In my opinion most of these skills (automated responses) are best learned on the dirt. Some are natural and others are not and have to be practiced to be obtained. It amazing how integral the body is in riding, but that is even more extreme in the dirt where body positions are multiplied to the extreme.
All movements are for one of two reasons. Balance or traction.
On a road bike we have a few positions that we become familiar with. More if you take it to the track. If you ever watch a MX race you see the riders moving a lot trying to do two things.. balance the bike (Body, bike weight and power) and enhance traction buy moving the body to optimum position to get the bikes power to the ground or to get the most braking force to the ground. They really end up becoming one in the same, but there not..
The other part of balance is reacting to the terrain and its input back, which changes quickly and can cause huge disruptions in your intentions. All of this is very important to optimize the speed over various obstacles. Also involved in the equation is the throttle (power), which also provides input into the balance and traction. Not sure that all makes sense, but there is a ton going on when riding a dirt bike... almost constantly.
There is a ton going on a MotoGP bike or a street bike when pushed to the limits on the track as well, but the motions are minimized and it is hard to see and can be just as hard to master. Specifically because they are done at high speed for the most part and the danger factor has increased immensely for mistakes.
The bottom line here is the dirt bike is an awesome tool to enhance your skill set and it can be done with small bikes in non threatening track conditions as well. In fact for street, dirt bike crossover skills are some of the best automated responses to chase to add to your skill set. King Kenny Roberts used the small bikes to train the elite GP stars and now American Supercamp and Rich Oliver both offer schools for this training. We also see top AFM stars go out and play on the small bikes too. This is even better than the schools because they get to repeat it often enough to really get the added skill set down. Practice makes near perfect.
Now my little application from this weekend's ride. I was out on the tard and heading home after a full day of fun. I had noted a lot of slick spots and a few areas where rocks or other debris were on the road.. all successfully traversed during the day. I was on Page Mill about 1/2 way down from skyline heading into a left turn that was shaded. (Maybe 35mph) I had the leg out because I was riding just a bit aggressively and when I flicked it in the front slid out and my foot now skimmed the road with a quickly increasing load and bam.. I was going again in my chosen direction without as much as a heightened heart beat or my brain going OH SHIT. This all took place in less than a second..
First to explain the automated response that got me back in control.
The problem: front end washing
The response: pick up the gas to transfer the weight to the back wheel and unload the front. The unique thing is I did this without even thinking about it.. my brain noted to transfer of weight to my foot and the wheel slide and turned the throttle for me without waiting for me to say to it. Remember.. the whole thing was less than a second.
Why.. because of years of the same action on dirt bikes and later on the road race track this response has become automated. My brain does it for me because I have done it so many times.
My heart rate stayed un affected because I had little time to react and the reaction corrected the problem and I was already thinking about the right turn that followed.
If I had not spent a lot of time in the dirt I doubt it would have had the same outcome. The number of times that this has ever happened on the street has been so infrequent that I could have never learned to make that response automatically and trying to tuck the front on the street for practice is :loco both in terms of potential injury and the $$$ to repair mistakes.
Some of the other automated responses that dirt biking has engrained in me have helped out thru the years as well. Balance of the body and proper application of power are your tools to survive, but they have to come from practice to be automated. Yes.. you can get lucky and that may help in the future, but in the dirt I got to do them over and over and yes... over and occasionally over the bars when done incorrectly. :teeth
If you are serious about increasing your skill set dirt bikes are really a great way to do it and you don't have to be flying over double jumps, bashing berms or surfing the whoops. A simple oval on the dirt can be an awesome teacher and go miles in making you aware of what you need to do to stay on two.. and the price is small usually for not staying on two. Plus with a friend or 10 this can be an absolute hoot!arty
Do you guys have other examples you want to share??
I have a few more... but will hold for now.. cause this is a long ass post!
Ride smart today...! and Ride again tomorrow.
:smoking
What I mean by automated responses is the way you react to something. The body has plenty. Pain when burnt or cut, blinking when the eyes are blown with air etc.. these are involuntary, we generally don't have control over them.
What I am talking about here are the voluntary reactions that are learned and become better applied with repetition to the point where they just occur without your brain having to process the input to react. This is because the brain has done so over and over to a point..well.. where it is automatic basically.
Many of these types of responses can be found many different sports, but in motorcycling and they go a long way in keeping you on two. These learned responses become part of your skill set as a rider. They will not alone keep you on two, but will help in certain situations. Good skills and good judgment are the combined with a touch of luck to really be the safest rider possible. This thread inspired me to write this and I recommend the read if you are a newer rider.
Good speed/Bad Speed (judgment of the ride)
http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=274229
In my opinion most of these skills (automated responses) are best learned on the dirt. Some are natural and others are not and have to be practiced to be obtained. It amazing how integral the body is in riding, but that is even more extreme in the dirt where body positions are multiplied to the extreme.
All movements are for one of two reasons. Balance or traction.
On a road bike we have a few positions that we become familiar with. More if you take it to the track. If you ever watch a MX race you see the riders moving a lot trying to do two things.. balance the bike (Body, bike weight and power) and enhance traction buy moving the body to optimum position to get the bikes power to the ground or to get the most braking force to the ground. They really end up becoming one in the same, but there not..
The other part of balance is reacting to the terrain and its input back, which changes quickly and can cause huge disruptions in your intentions. All of this is very important to optimize the speed over various obstacles. Also involved in the equation is the throttle (power), which also provides input into the balance and traction. Not sure that all makes sense, but there is a ton going on when riding a dirt bike... almost constantly.
There is a ton going on a MotoGP bike or a street bike when pushed to the limits on the track as well, but the motions are minimized and it is hard to see and can be just as hard to master. Specifically because they are done at high speed for the most part and the danger factor has increased immensely for mistakes.
The bottom line here is the dirt bike is an awesome tool to enhance your skill set and it can be done with small bikes in non threatening track conditions as well. In fact for street, dirt bike crossover skills are some of the best automated responses to chase to add to your skill set. King Kenny Roberts used the small bikes to train the elite GP stars and now American Supercamp and Rich Oliver both offer schools for this training. We also see top AFM stars go out and play on the small bikes too. This is even better than the schools because they get to repeat it often enough to really get the added skill set down. Practice makes near perfect.
Now my little application from this weekend's ride. I was out on the tard and heading home after a full day of fun. I had noted a lot of slick spots and a few areas where rocks or other debris were on the road.. all successfully traversed during the day. I was on Page Mill about 1/2 way down from skyline heading into a left turn that was shaded. (Maybe 35mph) I had the leg out because I was riding just a bit aggressively and when I flicked it in the front slid out and my foot now skimmed the road with a quickly increasing load and bam.. I was going again in my chosen direction without as much as a heightened heart beat or my brain going OH SHIT. This all took place in less than a second..
First to explain the automated response that got me back in control.
The problem: front end washing
The response: pick up the gas to transfer the weight to the back wheel and unload the front. The unique thing is I did this without even thinking about it.. my brain noted to transfer of weight to my foot and the wheel slide and turned the throttle for me without waiting for me to say to it. Remember.. the whole thing was less than a second.
Why.. because of years of the same action on dirt bikes and later on the road race track this response has become automated. My brain does it for me because I have done it so many times.
My heart rate stayed un affected because I had little time to react and the reaction corrected the problem and I was already thinking about the right turn that followed.
If I had not spent a lot of time in the dirt I doubt it would have had the same outcome. The number of times that this has ever happened on the street has been so infrequent that I could have never learned to make that response automatically and trying to tuck the front on the street for practice is :loco both in terms of potential injury and the $$$ to repair mistakes.
Some of the other automated responses that dirt biking has engrained in me have helped out thru the years as well. Balance of the body and proper application of power are your tools to survive, but they have to come from practice to be automated. Yes.. you can get lucky and that may help in the future, but in the dirt I got to do them over and over and yes... over and occasionally over the bars when done incorrectly. :teeth
If you are serious about increasing your skill set dirt bikes are really a great way to do it and you don't have to be flying over double jumps, bashing berms or surfing the whoops. A simple oval on the dirt can be an awesome teacher and go miles in making you aware of what you need to do to stay on two.. and the price is small usually for not staying on two. Plus with a friend or 10 this can be an absolute hoot!
artyDo you guys have other examples you want to share??
I have a few more... but will hold for now.. cause this is a long ass post!
Ride smart today...! and Ride again tomorrow.
:smoking
