Pinched from Bike Points Riding Tips written by Steve Brouggy
Clubhouse Riding Tips
Riding Techniques : Confidence NZ
Steve Brouggy reckons the average garden variety rider lacks confidence - but there's help at hand.
The Australian Oxford Dictionary defines confidence as being: firm trust; a feeling of reliance or certainty; a feeling of self reliance; boldness. Brave words indeed when it comes to riding a motorcycle don't you think?
In my experience, the average garden-variety motorcycle rider rarely has a feeling of "firm trust" or "certainty" in their riding.
Interestingly I've often seen what appears to be "boldness" on display. At least I think it was boldness, but usually it turns out to be just plain old testosterone...
So rather than asking "what is confidence?" The question really becomes: "what creates confidence?" Do you find a particular riding situation that always makes you feel uncomfortable? Is there something that always grabs your attention when riding? Have you noticed an increasing feeling of trepidation when facing certain corners?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then you have a confidence problem. No, I don't mean that you don't know what to say when meeting girls for the first time... I mean that there is something happening while riding that you're not really sure of.
Riding a motorcycle is like any other activity. There are certain rules that govern it and these rules must be adhered to. The big difference between riding a motorcycle and another activity, like playing golf for example, is that you place yourself in a potentially life-threatening situation just about every time you get on the bike. This means that you (the conscious you) and your body (the thing you live in) are constantly having discussions about the relative safety of what you're doing.
Reason being, your body doesn't really care what you want to do, it has one purpose and, one purpose only, to stay alive. The more you threaten it, the more it will respond.
This concept is nothing new to those that have either attended schools or have read, seen or listened to any of Keith Code's A Twist of the Wrist series of tomes. Survival reactions (SRs) have been well noted in all of them, so the real question is not so much whether they exist or what effect they have, but rather, how do you overcome them?
Some of you will be familiar with my poor attempts at humour, and my liking for simple one-sentence explanations. During the day I bring to life what I like to call the "Brouggy philosophy of life number one" - if it's not conscious, you're not in control. Meaning, if you don't know you're doing something, then how do you fix it? The reality is, you can't.
You have no control until you first gain an awareness of what is taking place. The problem is that then we'd have to admit our faults and acknowledge our errors. This seems to be particularly difficult for some people. Unfortunately we often seem to think that some things should just come 'naturally.' Meaning that you 'just do it.' Riding a motorcycle seems to be one of those activities.
All that aside, to overcome a situation that is affecting your confidence, you need to follow the process. The first step to fixing a problem is recognising it. The second step is to find the information on how to fix the problem. The third step is to apply it and get an awareness on the result.
Most human beings don't like to know that they are doing something wrong. Even the most open-minded people have limits on how self-effacing they can be. We all like to think that we are okay. That's why sometimes you need another perspective other than your own.
I never cease to be amazed how riders perceive their riding vis-a-vis my viewpoint of them: it's impossible to be objective about yourself. You can't see yourself truly as others see you and sometimes their view is more accurate than your own.
My suggestion? If you're having a problem with something that seems to be getting worse, do something about it. Fess up and tell someone that you can trust and see what they have to say. What's that..? You don't have any friends! Okay, you can call me if you really must. Who knows, together we might just discover what the problem is.
Confidence problems don't get better by themselves. If nothing changes, nothing changes. As a matter of fact to do nothing, could be considered insane. A little strong you think? Try this on for size - the definition of insanity is "To repeat the same process and expect a different result". Call me... Call me now...
Good luck with your riding.
CONFIDENCE
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Originally Posted by deano
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