How does one "Prepare for the unexpected"?

[Funkyfly]

Sounds like a contradiction in terms to me but apparently thats what i need to do when riding a bike.

PLease help me out here guys.

When i ride i find i can only "prepare" for a limited number of things.

I.e if im coming around a sweeper i prepare 1) for loose gravel by not riding at 100% of my ability, i also get ready to stand the bike up. i hunt the road for sings of recent road works and loose chip

2) at the same time im looking trying to look for oncoming traffic that maybe a danger. This gets pretty hard when theres a whole line of 10-20 cars.

3) Then i prepare for a mech failure buy covering the clutch and brake. my mind on edge waiting for the rear to lock up

4)on top of this im also trying to cover my rear end in case someone attempts rearends me.

along with just these 4 things i have to look thru the apex picking my line :blink:

Now i have read keith codes "twist of the wrist 2". And there was something in there that he mentioned that leads me to believe you cant "prepare" for everything, let alone the unexpected - do you guys remember reading it?

[duckman]

It's not as complicated as you might think. I have been following the "other" thread and can see both sides of the discussion.

I think it's rediculous to think that you can "prepared" for any event which might come your way, but, You can and should be in state of readiness at all times on a bike.

I think this just means being alert and taking all the usual precautions like:

Wear your gear (that means all of it)
Watch out for cars - They aren't looking for you
Keep your bike in good working order
Dont ride drunk, stoned, or angry

You know that sort of thing. Waddya think?? :done:

[Cajun]

The way i look at it, everything dukeman,

but don't put 100% in to corners, ever, if first time you rode them today maybe 70% if second or more time that day up to 90% but also have the little bit there to help get yourself out of trouble.

But then isn't this one of the things riding bikes the thrill of going around corners, that we don't know whats on other side, some of us might not say it is, but thats its most of times fun riding new roads.

or something like that

[Mongoose]

But then isn't this one of the things riding bikes the thrill of going around corners, that we don't know whats on other side, some of us might not say it is, but thats its most of times fun riding new roads.

or something like that

If you wanna do that, why not just ride on the wrong side of the road around blind corners? :laugh:

[Cajun]

blah you know what i mean, not that bad.

[Motoracer]

Well said Duckman and Bananaman

[Cajun]

hmmmm i might change that bannaman before it sticks

[6Chris6]

Sounds like a contradiction in terms to me but apparently thats what i need to do when riding a bike.

PLease help me out here guys.

When i ride i find i can only "prepare" for a limited number of things.

I.e if im coming around a sweeper i prepare 1) for loose gravel by not riding at 100% of my ability, i also get ready to stand the bike up. i hunt the road for sings of recent road works and loose chip

2) at the same time im looking trying to look for oncoming traffic that maybe a danger. This gets pretty hard when theres a whole line of 10-20 cars.

3) Then i prepare for a mech failure buy covering the clutch and brake. my mind on edge waiting for the rear to lock up

4)on top of this im also trying to cover my rear end in case someone attempts rearends me.

along with just these 4 things i have to look thru the apex picking my line :blink:

Now i have read keith codes "twist of the wrist 2". And there was something in there that he mentioned that leads me to believe you cant "prepare" for everything, let alone the unexpected - do you guys remember reading it?

Feck!!

Talk about takin the fun out of riding, shit, lets all sell all of our vehicles and work from home, preferably from under the table.

I do agree it's not a good idea to ride at 10-10ths, and in traffic i often have my thumb covering the horn and my fingers resting on the brakes.
But like you say you can't prepare for everything

[Mongoose]

blah you know what i mean, not that bad.

Oooops, a bit OTT you reckon, boredoom of nowt to do setting in.
:kick: me then, go on, dare ya

[Cajun]

Cajun :kick:moongoose

you dared me

you double dared me

[F5 Dave]

Haven’t read this ‘other’ thread, but safety studies (like the fabled Hurt report) have shown a large amount of riders freeze do nothing in an emergency situation.

Ok try these exercises.

What would happen if the person in front hit something, like an oncoming car?

Can you stop that quickly? When was the last time you practiced braking to a stop from 100 kph?

Where is the ‘escape’ route if the person behind you can’t stop in time? (this includes another bike). A while back I had to stop well-quick to avoid a turning car, a friend was beside me & another -riding my other bike- was closing too quickly. :eek: I could just see the insurance claim trying to explain that one! :whistle: but I had the bike in gear saw the problem & got out of the way.

What if someone pulls out in front of you?

What if that insecure load blows off the back of that ute?

What if every other driver on the road is an incompetent homicidal maniac?

[Mongoose]

Cajun :kick:moongoose

you dared me

you double dared me

:Oi: That was not a doube dare!!
Or maybe I should have been prepared for it :finger:

Back to the original question. You get you one of them there crystal ball thingies, that would be a great start :no: ?

[Cajun]

True mongoose

6Chris6 those are some good points, i noticed when i was riding in rush hour traffic in auckland the other week, my hands were always over the brakes, only had to use the horn once the whole week which i was amazed about (silly dumb orclander yuppy in his bmw, decided he couldn't see a bright yellow motorbike and leathers)


F5 dave i like that with all the bikes i have at home, i know how well they stop from 50 100 and 150km/h

and how fast they can go in the first 3 gears

I know about watching what is ahead of you had a truck tire blow out right in front of me and just about take my head off. My wife had a bit of rubber on the road flick up and hit her shoulder cause she moved so it didn't hit her head flicked up by a car by being aware


What if every other driver on the road is an incompetent homicidal maniac? I ride like everyone in a tin top is out to get me, and can't see me

[Funkyfly]

No one has yet mentioned what Keith Code noted in his book.

This is a great book that you should try REAL hard to get a copy of.

Hint - it has to do with money!

[Cajun]

I have a copy at home vol 1 and 2 but i am work at moment so can't quote what it says

[duckman]

No one has yet mentioned what Keith Code noted in his book.

This is a great book that you should try REAL hard to get a copy of.

Hint - it has to do with money!
yea yea yea - You've only got a dollars worth of concentration - Spend it wisely!! :rolleyes:

[Funkyfly]

I have a copy at home vol 1 and 2 but i am work at moment so can't quote what it says

Have a read of it tonight, its near the front from memory.

Relate that to trying to be prepare yourself for the unknown.

[F5 Dave]

Yeah what I was going to add also comes from Code's book, or at least from KnyRoberts senior. If you have moves practised then you can put them in the 'when I need to use them they will be there pile' as packets & grab them as required thus taking less of your attention away.

[duckman]

Yeah what I was going to add also comes from Code's book, or at least from KnyRoberts senior. If you have moves practised then you can put them in the 'when I need to use them they will be there pile' as packets & grab them as required thus taking less of your attention away.
Thats some very good advice Dave!! :yes:

[Funkyfly]

yea yea yea - You've only got a dollars worth of concentration - Spend it wisely!! :rolleyes:
:niceone:
I actually thought it was ten, but anyway yes, you only have so much concentration!

There is only so much you can do to "prepare" for what may be around the corner.

You need to choose what you spend your concentration money on.

you got $10 total, if you spend 5$ watching your rear for tailgaters and people failing to stop then it could be at the risk of missing the split seccond that car coming the other way crosses into your lane.

I ask the question again - Can you "prepare for the unexpected" thus avoiding ANY accident?

How do you spend your $10 worth of concentration?

This does relate to another thread that became a bit cluttered with other issues and questions.

[Funkyfly]

Yeah what I was going to add also comes from Code's book, or at least from KnyRoberts senior. If you have moves practised then you can put them in the 'when I need to use them they will be there pile' as packets & grab them as required thus taking less of your attention away.

A great idea yes, it can be a bit hard to pratice these moves though.

Thats why a rider training course at a track is worth the $$$$

Thanks Dave

[duckman]

:niceone:
I actually thought it was ten, but anyway yes, you only have so much concentration!

There is only so much you can do to "prepare" for what may be around the corner.

You need to choose what you spend your concentration money on.

you got $10 total, if you spend 5$ watching your rear for tailgaters and people failing to stop then it could be at the risk of missing the split seccond that car coming the other way crosses into your lane.

I ask the question again - Can you "prepare for the unexpected" thus avoiding ANY accident?

How do you spend your $10 worth of concentration?

This does relate to another thread that became a bit cluttered with other issues and questions.
I need to break your question into two halfs (sorry)....
Yes you can prepare for the unexpected,
No you can't avoid all accidents. :done:

[Mongoose]

Yeah what I was going to add also comes from Code's book, or at least from KnyRoberts senior. If you have moves practised then you can put them in the 'when I need to use them they will be there pile' as packets & grab them as required thus taking less of your attention away.

Believe it or not even practicing things while not "actually" doing them helps the brain. Was on a telly prog a while back that practicing in the minds eye does help the actual event.

[F5 Dave]

Yeah I often used to tell students when doing braking practise that they could practise at home or where-ever, take the feeling of the squeeze & sensing the almost lock up modulation control & practise in the brain. Traction varies, but the feeling of closed to lockup doesn’t.

Likewise, while riding you can play a ‘what happens if he pulls out?’ game in your mind so you are already preplanning a scenario. Well as long as it doesn’t distract you too much.

[Jackrat]

Suspect everything all the time ,trust nobody ever.
Exspecting the unexspected can only be appreciated after the fact,if your still alive but not supprised afterward,your getting it.

[Motu]

I guess this is a dig at me,that's cool,we've got people thinking and discussing.I was going to put this on the other thread,but a whole thread dedicated to my line of thinking is choice.

As a young fulla I taught myself to ride and drive,in that order,got my bike licence pretty early,but drove without a car licence until I decided to do the deed at 18 - smash,crash,it was exciting stuff.I read a couple of books about advanced driving (this was before defensive driving courses existed) and thought it sounded great,but like you are all pointing out - it's not really possible in the real world is it? Not to me.

I set out riding and driving around trying to cram as much information into my head as I possibly could - the cars in front,make,model,how many in it,who's the driver,what are they doing,parked cars,anyone in them,what are they doing,people between,cats,dogs,kids,what's up side roads,driveways,looking as far ahead as my eyes could see,looking back as far as I could see,reading every sign on the road,cram,cram,cram,push,push,push,force feeding my brain mega data.I could only keep this up for a couple of hundred meters,then I'd rest for a few kms,then cram it in again.

I did this for a few months,then stopped - my brain had been trained to gather data at an increased rate and now I could mentaly relax while my subconsious gathered and sorted for me.It's been decades since I did this,but I think it's still there to a certain degree - my wife is always amaized at what I see when driving - ''ok,so that farmers got his Iseki 65 bogged in the paddock and he's using the boom of the Komatso digger to pull it out,but no,I didn't see the Dodge Fargo tucked under the trees as we went by at 100kph,you're supposed to be driving,keep your eyes on the road!'' The roads I ride give me constrant stimulation,I seem to need it,on a gravel back road there is always something to look out for,this is important to me,it's not for you - that's ok by me,just be aware that you need to be aware - it's not impossible,just needs application.

Discuss - I'll be back later tonight - be sure to roast me well!

[Mongoose]

I guess this is a dig at me,that's cool,we've got people I set out riding and driving around trying to cram as much information into my head as I possibly could - the cars in front,make,model,how many in it,who's the driver,what are they doing,parked cars,anyone in them,what are they doing,people between,cats,dogs,kids,what's up side roads,driveways,looking as far ahead as my eyes could see,looking back as far as I could see,reading every sign on the road,cram,cram,cram,push,push,push,force feeding my brain mega data.I could only keep this up for a couple of hundred meters,then I'd rest for a few kms,then cram it in again.
Discuss - I'll be back later tonight - be sure to roast me well!

Yep, some advanced driving courses use this idea in as far as you have to give a verbal report on all you can see that MAY be a danger to you on the road. Instructor soon points out the things you missed, although driving and speaking out liud the dangers is hard to do if you have been driving defensively as you automatically tend to sort a lot of the crap out.

[FROSTY]

I think once you have been riding long enough a lot of stuff gets buried into your subconcious.I think it was explained that your ability to focus on stuff is like a pie. If you are having to focus on the important stuff like simply changing gears properly you have a much smaller chunk of the pie left to focus on dangers.
It becomes almost instinctive to watch that idiot reversing out his driveway. Button off on a blind corner or prebrake when you see brakelights come on half a k down the road.

[merv]

Riding on the road we do it for a bit of the adrenalin buzz, the "gee I got away with that" feeling etc. If we weren't risk takers to some degree we wouldn't ride bikes.

That said though I would say I would never ride any bike at 100% on the road because of that very likely surprise factor.

Racing of course people practice their lines lap after lap and get to know the track and then they ride flat out. However, they are taking a risk because when shit happens they have no out - but that's racing. You know the scenario one bike goes down and others pile into it from behind. Risks are only slightly minimised because everyone is supposed to be going the same way and protection is put out in many cases to try and lessen injuries i.e. so its not like hitting the French trees.

We don't want that happening on the road, mainly because you are mixing with heavy cages, opposing traffic, terrain e.g. steep dropoffs, loose gravel and all that stuff, plus the road may not be the same as the last time you went over it unlike what happens generally on a race track only a lap later (crashes in front of you aside).

Only you can decide what you are comfortable doing with respect to your own experience and abilities.

I have said on other threads if some fast prick passes you and you don't normally go that fast don't take off after the other person like some hero - you will lose.

Otherwise as above (Motu and others) all the advice of watching for telltale signs etc, and being prepared to react quickly and get to know your bike - how it handles if you have to hard brake, or it slides a little bit on gravel and how can you correct the slide etc. All comes from experience.

[merv]

Oh and did I say don't rely 100% on signs, they are often wrong. Believe what your own eyes are seeing. If you aren't happy with what you see, slow down.

[Paul in NZ]

Of course there is a bit of risk taking... Controlled, calculated risk taking...

However... Survival is not just about training.. It's about assessing the situation and going for the high percentage shot. The flashy shit wins races but not championships.

I don't conciously think about it now but I believe good street riding is about putting yourself into the best spot on the road to increase your chances. Always moving to the best spot, always considering always giving yourself the best chance.

The mechanics of that is what has been described so far...

Just a thought..

[Funkyfly]

I guess this is a dig at me,!
Na dude, i was just interested in others thoughts, we werent getting many fresh ideas or thoughts in the other thread



I set out riding and driving around trying to cram as much information into my head as I possibly could - the cars in front,make,model,how many in it,who's the driver,what are they doing,parked cars,anyone in them,what are they doing,people between,cats,dogs,kids,what's up side roads,driveways,looking as far ahead as my eyes could see,looking back as far as I could see,reading every sign on the road,cram,cram,cram,push,push,push,force feeding my brain mega data.
This is what they taught us on our defensive driving course a couple of years ago, certainly worth doing, does take a bit of enjoyment out of your riding but pays off.

[Posh Tourer :P]

I have been riding for 4 years or so, but after a few close calls, have become a lot like Motu and F5Dave, whenever I see a situation, I ask myself what would I do if x happened. I run through a series of possible solutions, and I know for a fact that this has helped me avoid more than a couple of accidents. A car pulled out on me, from a side road. Instinctive reaction is to brake immediately, but instead, I waited for a split second to see what he was doing and gassed it to swerve around in front of him. Missed him by inches, but I would have collected him severely if I had've braked. I think this was a result of adding to the 'when I need to use them they will be there pile' even while not riding - sitting in lectures and suchlike. I had added a variation to the possible responses just by thinking about it. Its like hanging off the bike for me. I prefer to ride upright, but I've practiced it so if I really get in the shit I might be able to use it.

As for covering the brakes, etc etc, I do it automatically, I throttle off without thinking when I see a car coming up fast from a side road or driveway... It all becomes subconscious very easily, and it's quite amazing how much you can do without thinking about it much....

[scumdog]

Never trust the fact that a driver on a side street has seen you just because he is looking in your direction, I've had at least one driver pull out on front of me while looking directly in my face (or so it seemed), I had to pull out alongside him (he was going in the same direction needless to say).
I bailed him up down the road and he was shaking, said he hadn't seen me until I was alongside him telling him to take it easy :blink:

Watch the front wheels of the side-street car for indication of stopping/not stopping/intended direction.

[Mongoose]

Watch the front wheels of the side-street car for indication of stopping/not stopping/intended direction.[/QUOTE]

Watch for reverse lights of parked ars, friont wheels turning outwards and starting to rotate.Just adding some more easy give away signs. :cool2:

[magnum]

assume all cage drivers are fuckwits[most are]and relax when riding :spudwave:

[Mongoose]

assume all cage drivers are fuckwits[most are]and relax when riding :spudwave:

Why stop at cage drivers, treat everything and/or anything on or near the road in the same manner! :niceone:

[F5 Dave]

Mr Scum, As far as the looking at you without seeing. One test I heard about was showing participants in an experiment quick blips to see what they noticed.

They noticed a motorcycle before they noticed a bicycle. They noticed a car before they noticed a motorcycle, They noticed a truck before they noticed a car. Size matters. But they noticed a Policeman mounted on his motorcycle before they noticed a truck.

People perceive things in the terms of how much danger they present. The fear factor of getting a ticket made the cop stand out, but a bicycle is fair game to pull out on as they wouldn’t cause a dent surely.

[Motu]

Good stuff PT,Dave and Merv have said some good things - I don't quite click with Kenny Roberts packets on the wall,but I sure know what he's talking about - every situation we conquer gets stored and we have a response to pull out of the hat - we learn by experiance,but we need to learn to put it to use.

As Merv says never ride at 100%,or anywhere near it,your first time on a new road is a reccy,go slow and learn the corners,come back and do it again - as a trials rider we always walk the sections before we ride them,so much of slow trials riding can be applied to other areas.It's all about clues and the better you know a road the more clues you gather - you saw the road was a bit rough in spots last time,that means it could be repaired sometime soon,you saw some white paint on the road a couple of weeks ago?,then you can be sure it will be cut up.

I don't think of these situations as unexpected,they sure as hell will happen,they are random events,maybe not this week,this year,but you can find them on the road no problem.

[750Y]

good question funkfly.
adopting the philosophy that a rider is responsible and should be prepared for anything is just a way of ensuring that you are in an optimal state of heightened awareness.
When You stand back & analyse something, Hindsight will probably always provide an alternative solution which would see the outcome change favourably.
I believe in the philosphy because i beleive it benefits the participants.
there are literally millions of clues available every ride we go on. experience & the right attitude allows us to identify & prioritise those signs & give ourselves the best chance at survival while persuing our inherently dangerous pastime. One things for sure, i would never mock a dead guy for making a mistake, that'd be taking an already righteous sounding philosophy and gloating in bad taste. i'd just try to learn from it to keep myself safe.

[Skyryder]

The unexpected is just that, unexpected. :Oi: And when it happens you may or may not get out of the situation. The simple act of riding down the road at fifty K's past a line of cars is in itself a hazardous situation. As you pass each and every car there will be that critical point where one of the cars may decide to cut out and do a u turn right at the time when you have no where to go. Most of the time the danger can be assessed simply by the cars position on the road. One other common scenario a car turning right and then suddenly changes its mind at the point you decide to pass on the left beliveing that it is safe to do so. There are idiot drivers out there and we all know that. And they do the unexpected and we all know that too.

Hell I can think of hundreds of everday riding situations where the brain detects a possible hazard, assess the hazzard, all your instincts and riding experiance tells you that your manouvre is safe, you commit, then the unexpected occurs. Being in the right place as Paul in NZ said is the best way to get out. But you can still be in the right place and still come to grief.

Bottom line you can do all the right things and some fuckwit does all the wrong things.

Skyryder

[Bob]

Apologies in advance if anyone else has covered what I'm about to say - there is an awful lot of info in this thead!

Someone did say about practicing for events that have not yet happened - great idea. Something to try out - when the road is quiet obviously, is practicing last moment direction changes. Use manhole covers in the road for this. Ride up to it and at the last moment, you aim to miss it (if that makes sense). You have seen it, so you know where it is - aim your eyes where you need to go and change direction as late as possible.

In real life, if you have this down to instinctive level, it'll come in really handy.

Just like practicing braking hard for emergency stops. If you know how hard you can brake - and reinforce 'squeezing' the lever, rather than grabbing - then you'll be able to haul on the anchors in an emergency.

This worked for me last night - had to haul on as hard as I can recall doing for a long time - but I still squeezed the lever. Bike tilted to the side (I didn't leave off the lever quite quickly enough), but I saved it 'crosser style! If I'd just banged on the brake, guessing I'd have been on the floor.

I did a couple of things the LAM used, which might give some ideas. It is broken down into two elements:

Avoiding inanimate objects - such as gravel, diesel etc (http://www.bobpickett.co.uk/bkit/avoidshuntinanimate.htm) and Animate objects - or animals to you and me! (http://www.bobpickett.co.uk/bkit/avoidshuntanimate.htm)

Hope it is useful - of course, now that a farmer is going to be forced (in the UK anyway) to make sure their gates close properly, hopefully less cattle will be roaming around!

[F5 Dave]

Another thing I thought of the other day we used to talk about was practising lifting your leg. No not if you are caught short whilst out walkies :bleh: , but lets say you’ve done everything to avoid it- but some car is about to twat you side on.

or similar scenario, you are about to clip the back of a car that has stopped & you were in dream land, or they pulled out infront of you & you can’t stop & can only swerve a bit.

Impact is impenitent. Try to save your leg by lifting it out of the way as much as poss. It is hard on a sportsbike, but you may get it high enough it gets pushed rather than squashed. Practise so at least the thought is there rather than you thinking about in hospital later.

[greenhorn]

For a newbie this is a cool thread. I'm learning alot reading this, especially good was Bob's link.
My 2 cents worth... I am the undoubtedly the most inexperienced rider on this forum, but this is for life in general not just bike riding.
Many "bad" things can be avoided simply by not panicing. My Dad's led a colorful life and literally escaped death on more than one occasion, and saved peoples lives on occasion too simply because he controls his panic. Panic at the right level means quicker reaction, too much panic means no reaction at all or the wrong reaction.
For me it was summed up in a previous comment, cant remember who it was, talked about a car pulling out in front. Instead of immediately braking, he paused for a split second to observe what the car was going to do and rode in front instead.
For me this is what i want to develop. The ability to think calm and rationally, act decisevely and quickly when the crap is about to explode all around you.
As a newbie i am trying to get used to the idea that this situation is likely to hit me so when it does i hopefully will panic at the right level.
The thinking goes something like, o.k here we are. Facing a horrendous accident, hospital maybe death. But what were you expecting? So react calmly and sensibly and give yourself the best chance of avoiding what you knew was bound to come along sooner or later anyway.
Not easy i guess.

[greenhorn]

Wow... guess i did a good job of killing off that thread :wacko:

[Mongoose]

Wow... guess i did a good job of killing off that thread :wacko:

Naa, the troops are just regathering, another attack will come :2guns:

[vifferman]

I have been riding for 4 years or so, but after a few close calls, have become a lot like Motu and F5Dave, whenever I see a situation, I ask myself what would I do if x happened. I run through a series of possible solutions, and I know for a fact that this has helped me avoid more than a couple of accidents. A car pulled out on me, from a side road. Instinctive reaction is to brake immediately, but instead, I waited for a split second to see what he was doing and gassed it to swerve around in front of him. Missed him by inches, but I would have collected him severely if I had've braked.From the sound of it, you were incredibly lucky, PT.
One of the things experience brings is the ability to very quickly analyse (if you're paying attention) what's likely to happen, based on observation of the details. However, sometimes the conclusion may be incorrect.
About a year ago, I was commuting to work, and encountered a car pulling out from the kerb, just after I rounded a corner. The car was covered in dew and the windows fogged up, so I assumed (correctly) the driver may not have seen me. So, I slowed down, and watched the car carefully to see what was going to happen next. The car slowed and pulled back into the kerb, so I assumed the driver had seen me, and pulled out to go past. He was actually pulling into the kerb to do a U-turn, as was his morning habit, and he hadn't rechecked his mirrors to see if the road was still clear (if indeed he'd checked them at all!) By this stage I was committed to going around him, and had no room to avoid his manouevre, as he was turning faster than I could swerve and/or brake.
In hindsight (a wonderful thing it is), I should've tootled him melodiously (if not vigorously) to ensure that he knew I was there, not assumed he could see me, and slowed right down until such time as I was sure I could pass safely.
Sometimes instincts and split-second decisions are right, and sometimes they're not. On a bike, you need to give yourself more time to make a safe decision, and the room to make the appropriate safe exit if necessary. I did neither, and paid for it.

Hell I can think of hundreds of everday riding situations where the brain detects a possible hazard, assess the hazzard, all your instincts and riding experiance tells you that your manouvre is safe, you commit, then the unexpected occurs. Being in the right place as Paul in NZ said is the best way to get out. But you can still be in the right place and still come to grief.

Bottom line you can do all the right things and some fuckwit does all the wrong things.EXACTLY. This is just such an example of not one but two fuckwits doing the wrong thing.:weep:

[rodgerd]

When i ride i find i can only "prepare" for a limited number of things.


That's the value in track, parking lot, or other controlled environment sessions. You can set things up to practise emergency braking, swerving, and the like, without risk to yourself or ayone else. Do it enough and it becomes instinctive, and that can be the difference between a near miss and a hit...



I.e if im coming around a sweeper i prepare 1) for loose gravel by not riding at 100% of my ability, i also get ready to stand the bike up.


Always leaving a margin for error on the open road is kind of critical. You can control your own actions, but not those of others. Even if you never make a mistake, you need room to allow others to without collectivng you.



Now i have read keith codes "twist of the wrist 2". And there was something in there that he mentioned that leads me to believe you cant "prepare" for everything, let alone the unexpected - do you guys remember reading it?

You can't prepare for everything at road speeds, because you never know if (eg) someone is going to swerve onto the wrong side of the road with too little time for you to react to it.