Mental pr3eperation for a meeting./road riding

[FROSTY]

Doug and i have been trying to work out why it takes me so long to get up to pace on the track on a raceday.
Theres the clear--Oh ya just an old bugger theory
For certain Ineed to improve my overall fitness
One thing Im trying is not riding a road bike to work the week before a meeting.
we're thinking I'm mentally conditioning myself to ride in a restrained way and that my mind is having problems adjusting to reacting at higher speeds
Any other ideas ??

[Motoracer]

You have to figure out what drives you to push hard. Before each race, like a day or 2 or even a week prior to a race meet, do that and lock it in your memory till it's race day. Then you'll be sweet.

Ideally we really should be going nuts in practice on the day prior, ride at 110% of our ability, crash a bike or 2, then tone ourselves down to perform at a constant and reliable 95% of our ability for the race day. Sadly we can't do it like they do in MotoGP so it does take a bit of time to get up to speed during racing...

[Yarg]

Try visualising a fast start / or fast first laps. kenny roberts did similar stuff a fews ago on corners / situations he was having difficulty with & it worked for him. Cut his laps down. :ride:

[Motu]

I'm not a competitive person (yeah,right) and if someone is pushing hard on my rear wheel I'm liable to think ''oh,he's in a hurry'',and pull over to let him through.I have to turn my easygoing nature around and get mean - so I would listen to heavy metal music (Deep Purple's Highway Star was a favorite) on the morning of a race day as I packed my gear.I found it helped,I need to be angry,to have a mission.That's why I like trials so much,the only person to compete against is myself.

[surfchick]

Doug and i have been trying to work out why it takes me so long to get up to pace on the track on a raceday.
Theres the clear--Oh ya just an old bugger theory
For certain Ineed to improve my overall fitness
One thing Im trying is not riding a road bike to work the week before a meeting.
we're thinking I'm mentally conditioning myself to ride in a restrained way and that my mind is having problems adjusting to reacting at higher speeds
Any other ideas ??


Hey frosty this might help out-for competition surfing there's a key thing you need to know so you can perform at peak in a short time frame on demand no matter what the condititions-and to get the best of what ever physical condition you are in. you need to identify what "mind-state" you perform best at. (this is a coaching technique taught by NZ's top free diver ANTS @ SNZ).

Think back to the fastest time you put in on a track. identify whether it was in a race or on the test day. The thing you need to remember is how "amped" you were. Each athlete hits peak focus at a different place on the "amp" scale. some people consistently perform best when they are maxing out with agression- and part of their mental preperation is getting pumped to compete. these people can use heavy music, warm up in groups etc. others need to key-down, to focus quietly, use mental visualisation- and their warm-ups often need to be somewhere quiet away from the noise of the contest site. I always perform best at the lower-mid range of the "amp" scale- which means i tend to like to get away from the distractions and really mentally focus.

after identifying the "mind-state" you were in when you put in consistently fast times on any track, you should aim to re-create this mental space EACH TIME you compete. make your lead in routines consistent- reducing the variables that might affect your performance...from memory watching you guys prepare at puke the other day it's almost total chaos-but certainly this wouldn't help alot of competitors/riders FOCUS. i was thinkin i don't know how you guys do it!! but bloody awesome it was to watch. good to meet you the other day by the way

[White trash]

Listen to Rage aginst the machine on the way to the track and give yourself a couple of good, hard slaps across the face when you arrive.

Works for me.

Seems to freak the competition out a little too. :devil2:

[surfchick]

Listen to Rage aginst the machine on the way to the track and give yourself a couple of good, hard slaps across the face when you arrive.

Works for me.

Seems to freak the competition out a little too. :devil2:

haha :laugh: you'd probably be a good surfer... on the bigger days...

[John]

sacrifice a few babies to your god of choice, pop a few wheelies - kill a few sets of tires, that would do it for me. Dont know about you..

I always used music before a rugby game, either music that you DONT like or something incredibly loud and distorted.. always did the trick, even though it ment a few red cards lol.

[Pwalo]

Do a Barry Sheene mate. Drink, smoke smelly french cigarettes, and shag everything in sight. Even if you don't win you don't care.

Seriously though the points made in the previous posts are all pretty good (not too sure about my fellow Wellingtonian). If you were a professional rider you could practice, practice, practice. But you're not, so you can't, so just relax and take it easy.

Actually it seems as if Mr Sheene may have been right all along.

[FROSTY]

Thanks surfchic--sounds like me and you--or whoever it is running these training courses need to talk--A lot.
You have to a fair degree hit it on the head for me .
i seem to thrive on chaos -but Everything I have been lead to believe indicates i shouldn't -I should be calm and totally relaxed.
The interesting thing for me is that generally when I feel like Im totally flying-really hauling in a good lap time -totally outa control--I do shit lap times.
When I feel like Im cruising thinking well ahead-thinking about where to pass the guy in front --then I seem to lay down fast laps.
Its sort of contrary to my nature so perhaps I have to find a way to harness my personality and make it all work.

[Coldkiwi]

Frosty - the answer is pure and simple. Practice more!

Wake up later in the morning and ride your bike in as fast as you can to get there on time (you DO have a boss that'd get angry don't ya?)

[riffer]

Well mate you're gonna get some good practice tonight since it's 20 to nine now and you have to be at the airport at nine to fly down here...

Have you left your computer on, or am I gonna be standing at the airport feeling like a spare prick at a wedding :msn-wink:

As for calmer riding being faster, I reckon that's the trick. The more you charge the more likely it is that you are actually accellerating and decellerating in excess.

When you are calmer you tend to carry more speed into the corner and get on the power faster. At least that's what the books say...

I'd settle for losing that "Oh shit I'm going too fast into this corner" feeling I get occasionally... especially as I've never actually lowsided going around a corner from leaning it over too far.

Good luck with the lap times buddy. See you at 10.00 :yes:

[surfchick]

Thanks surfchic--sounds like me and you--or whoever it is running these training courses need to talk--A lot.
You have to a fair degree hit it on the head for me .
i seem to thrive on chaos -but Everything I have been lead to believe indicates i shouldn't -I should be calm and totally relaxed.
The interesting thing for me is that generally when I feel like Im totally flying-really hauling in a good lap time -totally outa control--I do shit lap times.
When I feel like Im cruising thinking well ahead-thinking about where to pass the guy in front --then I seem to lay down fast laps.
Its sort of contrary to my nature so perhaps I have to find a way to harness my personality and make it all work.

The graph Ants sketched out was one of the most usefull things i'd come across- i just wish i'd been aware of it 2 years prior when i was competing in europe. in contests where people's ability is close it's mental discipline that's will seperate those who progress- and a bit a luck. it really needs drawing on paper.

i couldn't quite pick up from your reply whether you recorded your fastest laps when you were "mentally pumped" or in a cooler/calmer state. if you're around at the spanner evening I'll catch you for a chat. from the last part of what you wrote it sounds like you perform better when you're focused on strategy-"heady" ... gaad it'd be easier to do dis' in person!!

[Hoon]

Yeah I found that mental prep plays a big part in my performance on the day. It starts the day before - I try to get as much done then as possible and make sure I don't put off any little jobs til later like "putting the battery in when I get to the track" and stuff like that. Keeps my mind clear to concentrate on the task ahead instead of stressing over or possibly forgetting trivial stuff.

The night before I'll read my track notes, Keith Code books and write out a list of goals I want to achieve on race day, not just stuff like 1:09s lap times but also "sort turn 3 line", "enter turn 1 at 12Krpm", "keep throttle wide open on turn 10" etc. This keeps me focused during the day on making improvements instead of getting lax and having it in written form is handier to look at instead of coming off the track shagged out trying recall some mental list.

The morning of the race I'll try to walk the track with my notes and I'll study them more when I get back to the pits.

And last but not least, just before I go out on track I'll crank up my mp3 walkman which I load up with all my fav thrash songs to get me amping and pumped up before I jump on the bike!!

Everyone is different though and by no means am I claiming this is the only way. I see heaps of guys who just roll out of their van, piss around all day then promptly kick my arse. This is just what works for me.

[Motu]

I knew a speedway rider who was the opposite - in those days they raced every sat night at the Springs and then sunday at Kihikihi.During the week the bike would be stripped and various parts worked on,but he would never put it together.He put it in the van in bits and built it at the track,he said it kept him occupied and steadied his nerves.

I'm at my best as cold hard and calculating on the bike...in the pits the air is I don't give a damn,nothing special is happening....

[That Guy]

Not sure about the road bike part - I've wondered if that is a help or a hinderance riding during the week before race weekend too. Some top racers won't go near road bikes; but others do so I guess it's something you have to work out for youself.

For me I like to have everything organised so I can just chill out on race day and be relaxed....in fact I know I'm prepared when I feel like having a nap. Dunno why. I like to turn up to the dummy grid early 'cause being late winds me up. Just the kind of anal geek I am I guess. I do know that in practice I try to keep going faster until I overshoot at least one apex so I know I am getting my brain up to speed before the race.

However others (like you Frosty by the sound of it) like a bit of chaos on the morning which might not be a bad thing - you don't get the chance to think about the race 'casue you're too busy getting the gear box/fork springs/whatever in, so you don't get the chance to psych yourself out - suddenly you're on the line and the flag drops and you beat everyone to the first corner anyway 'cause they were all over analysing things too much.

Think about other sports you may have played - what was best? For me I also used to play a lot of rugby and again I played best when I was well prepared and could think quietly in the corner. Others would arrive late; scream around trying to find gear, have Megadeath screaming out of their walkman; and then play a blinder.

Something you have to work out for youself.

[JohnBoy]

my best advice is to relax... i/ we have been known to have a few quites before an event (trackday or otherwise), this normally has me quite relaxed the morning after a good semi intoxicated sleep. however riding fast hung over is not cool.... i learnt that one the hard way :puke:

[bugjuice]

could always try what boxers do when they're in training - no sex or sexual activity for a month or so prior to a match. Builds up your boy-mones.. gets you all moody n tense, then you let it rip out there on the track. Might not be for everyone, but I've noticed my riding style differs slightly from being a tad deprived compared to havin me wicked way :yeah:

[TwoSeven]

[QUOTE=FROSTY]Doug and i have been trying to work out why it takes me QUOTE]

You dont say if its the first couple of laps giving you grief, or the first race of the day - or just the odd race here and there.

If its the former, then perhaps getting a good set of tire warmers and pre-heating the tires properly often helps (need the kind that does soft compound as well).

But for the other, i'd say it comes down to fitness followed by mental conditioning (you cant have the latter without the former).

Back in my pushbike enthusasm days, i'd knock off a 50 mile ride in about an hour without sitting down on the bike - wouldnt even be breathing heavy at the end. Mind you, training involved finding a small european country and riding round it - nothing like a 3000 mile ride to get the blood circulating properly.

What it does tho is condition all the muscles in the body to work the way you want them to, that and the long hours means that riding becomes so second nature, you aint aware your on the machine - its no different from running or walking. Just about every professional sport does this, so its not unique for motorcycles.

So for a 25 min motorcycle race, i'd say you should be able to do 1 pressup every 3 secs for 25 mins and 1 squat (lower body) every 3 secs for 25 mins for the actual physical side - also you should be able to spend 10 hours on the track and not feel tired the next day (or even at the end of the day). So kind of means you also need to work on heart and lungs too. Ever wonder why so many racers own pushbikes.

Once you take away any need to focus on the physical side by getting fit, you just need to work on the mental side. Its not agression that you want - no point in trying to psych yourself up like that - you'll go backwards because the adrenalin will take the finesse out of your muscles and kill your concentration. You just need to break the focus and remove the nerves - thats what the hooaahh thing is soildiers and sports folk do is for.

Next you need to visualise the circuit, individual corners, tactics etc. I do that quite often, but especially so for the 2 hours before an important ride (while sipping water). Thats pre-conditioning responses - again, means you dont have to think about things when its important. If you get too relaxed with the visualisation you can get entrenched in it and not be able to snap out - again it makes you lethargic and can make you slow down.

What you want to do is change your attitude. Its fairly easy - just stand on one leg, stick your finger in your ear and hop around calling yourself a silly name (I sing the wombling song - or the lil teapot song). It changes your mental attidue to a positive one from a lethargic one (works great for pre-interview/dating nerves as well). - Dont believe me on this - watch the motogp riders routines (rossi does a little prayer to the bike). It also gets rid of the focus stare that some people get stuck in when they do the visualisation thing - that can also slow you down. If you still dont believe me - give it a go now - at least everyone else in the room will enjoy it :)

Once you are happy and not so nervous then you can get on the bike and ride it quick. Also helps if you have somone prep it for you and get it off the center stand. If you really want to be fussy, have someone take it up on to the grid for you so you just need to get on it.


Just my thoughts.