yep... kind of knew about it before accident.. I just proved that "theory" via "practice"
Let me someday!
Target Fixation (101)
- Thread starter self_moto
- Start date
yep... kind of knew about it before accident.. I just proved that "theory" via "practice"
Let me someday!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVE79XT8-Mg
Take a look at this video on countersteering. IMHO, the cause of your mishap is not target fixation but the lack of countersteering. Too bad your right hand is not in the camera view. IMHO, you tried to steer with your right to go left like a trike. When the bike does not go left, your survival panic reaction of a quick release of the steering caused the bike to appear to the camera to be hitting a bump.
Take a look at this video on countersteering. IMHO, the cause of your mishap is not target fixation but the lack of countersteering. Too bad your right hand is not in the camera view. IMHO, you tried to steer with your right to go left like a trike. When the bike does not go left, your survival panic reaction of a quick release of the steering caused the bike to appear to the camera to be hitting a bump.
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motomania2007
TC/MSF/CMSP/ Instructor
What I see and read in your description most is too narrow field of view. Too close and too short distance ahead.
If you are looking too short ahead everything needs urgent response, this drives up your anxiety, stiffness and will cause over-reaction and over-correction.
If you are looking too short and/or too narrow you are more likely to get surprised by something. The more surprised you are, the more likely you are to target fixate.
There is also something to be said about mid-turn correction technique.
I could go into detail about vision skills and mid-turn corrections but the simplest and most comprehensive way is to suggest you come take the IRC at Two Wheel Safety Training. They teach vision and cornering skills and drills to practice it.
The IRC is taught at Mission College and Newark training ranges.
An IRC is also a good chance to have someone observe you and correct your bad habits.
If you are looking too short ahead everything needs urgent response, this drives up your anxiety, stiffness and will cause over-reaction and over-correction.
If you are looking too short and/or too narrow you are more likely to get surprised by something. The more surprised you are, the more likely you are to target fixate.
There is also something to be said about mid-turn correction technique.
I could go into detail about vision skills and mid-turn corrections but the simplest and most comprehensive way is to suggest you come take the IRC at Two Wheel Safety Training. They teach vision and cornering skills and drills to practice it.
The IRC is taught at Mission College and Newark training ranges.
An IRC is also a good chance to have someone observe you and correct your bad habits.
ctwo
Merely Rhetorical
Hank, I had seen that video, but not this version with the commentary. It does appear there is an instinctual reaction to try and force the bars to turn away from the danger. Yes, I think I recall experiencing this and later blaming it on a fear of leaning. It's like the bike was resisting my attempts to make it turn, like a dream where reality is not working correctly... Of course we understand counter steering, but overcoming that instinctual reaction in the moment requires something lower level...
I've finished Alameda Sheriff motorcycle course back in october, do you think IRC will be beneficial after that one? Also what's the main difference between IRC and ARC?
Thanks
motomania2007
TC/MSF/CMSP/ Instructor
Short answer is yes, I think the IRC will be beneficial to you. Why? Because we don't teach the same things as the Sheriff's course and the overlap is good review and good to hear it from a different perspective as we all learn more the second time around.
Differences between the IRC and ARC:
ARC emphasizes throttle/suspension control and body position.
IRC's main lessons are better vision and cornering judgement. ARC covers this but not nearly as in-depth as the IRC does.
The ARC starts with the expectation that you already know and use vision well and cornering judgement pretty well and then adds to and refines those skills.
Since your biggest deficit at this point seems to be vision, the IRC would be the better next step for you.
Counter-steering is not second nature. Steering vs. turning is different for single track vehicles like bicycles and motorcycles vs. a car or a trike. Wilbur Wright is one of the first to talk about this in publications. He interviewed many of his bicycle customers and no one was aware that one pushes on the left handle bar forward to go left and pushes right to go right. People just assumed that they steer left to go left and steer right to go right. In Keith Code twist of the wrist video, he rigged a meter / needle on a bike to demonstrate this. Look for that video as well. Like Wilbur Wright's bicycle customers, it is ok to not know counter-steering as long as one is doing it. But to not know it and not do it can cause harm.
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Yeah, I understand your intentions but I know/knew what counter steering is
it's not like I was riding without any idea what I'm doing.. Hough's and Park's books having some insights on it as well (and I read/watched twist of the wrist as well), the best cue which I think is relax the opposite hand and steer with one hand pretty much. But I think when SR kicks in, it is hard to make the correct steering input because you're tighten up and basically fighting with yourself at this point, which cause tightening even more, at least that what my thought was after the crash
Yeah, I understand your intentions but I know/knew what counter steering is
It's one thing to know and sometimes another to get your body to go along with it. When I began riding, an acquaintance advised me to practice countersteering until it was "in my bones." That phrase continues to reverberate for me.
The more repetitions of any correct movement you have, the less thought that movement takes. At 4K miles, you still need to think about steering more than it may seem. See DataDan's post on countersteering and his advice for gaining repetitions. You cannot practice this skill too much. It is a life saving core skill.
Motomania2007 may be onto something with respect to vision. In the video, your head was somewhat turned into the corner and tilted up, as if you are looking farther down the road. In the first few seconds (up to the 5 second mark) your bike is visible in the lower right corner of the screen. We can only see as low as the triple clamp because your head is up. Compare that to late in the seventh second of the video, where we can now see the gas tank and both handlebars because your head swiveled closer to straight ahead and down.
As you noted yourself, your attention got pulled closer to you and off the roadway. It's a common SR; that thing we're about to hit becomes very interesting.
I agree with Motomania that by looking farther down the road, you give yourself much more time to react. This will remain important for your whole riding career, but is crucially so right now, while you are at the point of understanding countersteering but haven't yet had the tens of thousands of repetitions required to make it a nearly instinctual response.
A last thought; something that has been important to me through decades of riding and mountaineering: Don't worry about things that aren't happening. We all have a tendency to get concerned about things that are not happening but could. In any given corner, there are usually quite a few things we don't want to have happen and really only one thing that we do want to have happen. It's much more productive to stay focused on the desired outcome and the actions you know are likely to get that for you.
To make this concrete, consider the effect the bump had on you. Your path of travel was OK up until you hit the bump. You were looking into the turn and were on the gas. When you hit the bump, it didn't immediately alter your line, but your head did begin to swivel to the outside and down and then your line began to widen. What is interesting about this is the bump may have triggered this response, but it actually had no further relevance to you; it could no longer physically affect you or your bike. Had you been able to completely dismiss the bump and instead focus on where you wanted to go and correct use of the controls, you would have likely held your line.
This is easy to say, harder to do. But there is value in immediately dismissing things that have no relevance in the present or future. It helps you stick to your plan.
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Agree, also I've noticed few times with "kind-of" close calls, vision always made things simpler - i was able to get away from hazard/danger by looking through it (i.e. basically ignoring it and just focusing on task at hand)
Practicing that as well.. trying to "ignore" things which doesn't really matter right now, and for me it again goes down to vision - as long as I'm looking where I want to go everything works as a magic, no matter what's on the road (i.e. dirt/water) or hazards, once I start wondering about things on road, I don't feel comfortable.
Yeah, I blame bump
, but in reality I blame myself... bumps now kind of scare me (but consciously I understand that's not the problem, problem is in my head)Thank you for advices and super detailed break down!
philipviana
Apex Twin
Oh no! Hope you get better and back on the bike soon, self moto! I think lots of riders have made the same mistake. Good luck and nice job having the humility to post here and look for ways to improve.
fatigue
Minor hand exercise while riding helps with the reflexes. Every now and then you should open and close fist couple times so that it doesn't go numb. Do same thing with the toes.
When entering sketchy (street corners, close traffic situations) sections, it's good to cover all inputs. This way you can feather the brake, clutch etc. Your video shows that you grabbed the front brake, didn't had any fingers on the brake lever earlier.
Minor hand exercise while riding helps with the reflexes. Every now and then you should open and close fist couple times so that it doesn't go numb. Do same thing with the toes.
When entering sketchy (street corners, close traffic situations) sections, it's good to cover all inputs. This way you can feather the brake, clutch etc. Your video shows that you grabbed the front brake, didn't had any fingers on the brake lever earlier.
Thanks for advice about hand/foot exercise! As for controls - I've started working on it... but I'm not sure it would help in this situation, I think I grabbed front brake mostly because of the panic
I used to (and still is) cover brakes when approaching intersections and "known" left turn places.
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Whammy
Veteran of Road Racing
look ahead
Lots of great advice and I'm glad you had only a slight mishap.
As others have said and you yourself have admitted.
Look ahead the second you start your turn your head should be looking through the turn.
Its natural for one to turn where you look.
Shallower, tighter turns are more so the exception.
Hundreds of moons ago when I transitioned from karts to cars my coaches used to put a 4 inch piece of tape on my windshield. (just above my eye level)
When I hit the entry to the turns my eyes would move right up to the top of the tape and look ahead.
I don't know what kind of help a small piece of tape would do on a visor, but hell I might just try it and see.
One thing else to remember is to ride within your comfort zone.
I see lots of newer riders go out and try to do the motogp ride when they should just go and cruise the road.
It takes dozens if not more than dozens trips on roads before you can say you are familiar with it.
Even if you think you are familiar.. conditions always change.
Glad you are Ok!:ride
Lots of great advice and I'm glad you had only a slight mishap.
As others have said and you yourself have admitted.
Look ahead the second you start your turn your head should be looking through the turn.
Its natural for one to turn where you look.
Shallower, tighter turns are more so the exception.
Hundreds of moons ago when I transitioned from karts to cars my coaches used to put a 4 inch piece of tape on my windshield. (just above my eye level)
When I hit the entry to the turns my eyes would move right up to the top of the tape and look ahead.
I don't know what kind of help a small piece of tape would do on a visor, but hell I might just try it and see.
One thing else to remember is to ride within your comfort zone.
I see lots of newer riders go out and try to do the motogp ride when they should just go and cruise the road.
It takes dozens if not more than dozens trips on roads before you can say you are familiar with it.
Even if you think you are familiar.. conditions always change.
Glad you are Ok!:ride