How does one "Prepare for the unexpected"?

[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!!

[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!!

[Funkyfly]

yea yea yea - You've only got a dollars worth of concentration - Spend it wisely!!

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]

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.

[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:Me]

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.