Rolling with it

[moto-rama]

This morning I recalled a riding philosophy I developed years ago when even the best bikes had wretched suspension components and scary tires.

That philosophy was to "roll with" the road and let the bike and the road work out their differences with just enough input to get the job done.

So instead of trying too hard , or horsing the bike around, to just let the bike flow with the contours of the road, and allowing your body to relax as much as possible and be in harmony with the rhythms and timing of the road itself.

I know this sounds a bit zen like or something, but sometimes I find that I am pushing the bike through turns and not at all in synch with the tempo of things as they develop.

If I stay mindful of where the next turning point will be and am adjusting my speed to make a smooth transition and basically taking care of the basic business of steering and using the gas, I often am unaware of those other elements that make riding so much more natural.

Compare riding to skiing or skateboarding and you see there are many things in common.

Back to this AM...
I started out a little awkward in the saddle and felt like I wasn't really riding all that well, at first I was blaming the road, my tires, my setup...

But it was me that wasn't in harmony with the bike, the road, the setup, all of it. And when I stopped arguing with myself, the bike and the road, it all felt just right.

 

[ThumperX]

Thank you! That's it. I noticed the other day I use my legs more than any other part of my body for the physical aspects of riding. I only grip the bars on account of my heated hand grips, but like sailing or flying, the surface is constantly changing and to micro manage the machine is impossible.

 

[GAJ]

You can learn a lot of this "flow" idea by riding on low friction surfaces, (dirt, goat trails, rain), where exaggerated inputs REALLY make bad things happen.

I remember a CLASS School I went to a million years ago and it drizzled all morning; I was bummed but the instructors were not.

They felt a perfect school would have some rain to help them teach being loose on the bike and improve control and "feedback awareness" that the bike gave.

It cleared up in the afternoon, so all in all, best of both worlds.

 

[littlebeast]

it's zen alright. and part of the philosophy of conquering yourself. it's why people who are really good at something are also the ones who make it look so easy.

great post :thumbup

 

[Blacknblue]

The sound of one tire lapping?

 

[Cheyenne]

Yup, I learned this by letting the car teach me, and once I got on a bike it was clear that the same applied.

In the car I also let the steering wheel flop around as it wants to without trying to hold it straight. My CRX had a lot of bump steer and it made a big difference to let the wheels do what they liked for the most part.