Overanalysing your riding

[Pwalo]

So the trick is to ingrain the techniques by repetition, then stop thinking as much as possible, then things seem to be smooth and more enjoyable. Doesn't mean you have to switch your brain off, but if you find you're thinking with words or talking to yourself, it's a sure sign that you're rationalising and over-thinking things.

Agree completely. When everything is going well it's amazing how little analyzing of your technique you do, and how much more time you have to look at road conditions etc.

Like everything practice, confidence and experience play a big part. Overanalyzing can be a real trap away from the race track.

[badlieutenant]

like Nike say "just do it"

[Motu]

You guys should take up trials riding - it's about analising your riding every inch of the way.

[Pwalo]

You guys should take up trials riding - it's about analising your riding every inch of the way.

Bugger that. I enjoy riding and not analysing it. Oh, you're not taking the Michael now??

[Hitcher]

Surely riding a bike is first and foremost about enjoyment? While scaring yourself shitless is a great way of learning stuff about your bike, road conditions and yourself, surely it should be the exception rather than the norm? Know your limits and ride within them.

[aff-man]

When riding i try not to analyse what i'm doing because it tends to make me loose focus. But i do try and push a bit further evry corner etc etc etc. But when i hear of a new way of doing something i try it out while commuting to see what happens and how i/the bike feel. This is how i found out i get a bit unstable when hanging straight off the bike but when i swivel my body off the seat and forward to lean my shoulder into it everything is fine. To practice this i used one of my favorite local corners and did it a few times trying different things (kinda freaked out the first time cause the big dropped in a hell of a lot quicker than i was used to) and this is why i don't like trying stuff on rides cause i don't know what the road conditions are like

[Jackrat]

Over analyse??
Hell someone asks how many fingers I use to brake an I have to go for a ride to find out.I guess I found what works for me a while ago,now I ride without thinking about it much.I do test a new bike to see what it's going to do in certain situations, but that's about it.
I analyse the hell out of the other traffic but.

[DEATH_INC.]

I usta listen and try stuff lots,but not so much now.I'm still always keen to try a new technique though,at least if it sounds viable anyway.(for those who don't know me,it's all tried on the road ,I don't do tracks....)
I'm with hoon though,I always wanna know 'why?' when someone tells me something rather than just accept it.

[Posh Tourer :P]

Agree completely. When everything is going well it's amazing how little analyzing of your technique you do, and how much more time you have to look at road conditions etc.

Thats true, and its always the most fun time

If it doesnt happen like that, I want to know why, so I can get more into the swing of things in more situations etc...

[Skyryder]

I have always believed that if you have to think about what you are doing sooner or later you are going to bin. I have a pet theory that those that bin where there is no othe vehicle involved are thinking about what they are doing instead of just 'doing it.' They are too invloved with the theory than the physical mechanics of the manouvre.

The other day I went for ride over to Reefton and back. There are some bends in the Lewis pass that can be taken with speed relitively safely. These are long sweeping ones. I tried two different techniqes on cornering. The first I concentrated on the short line. This is a point about halfway or a little further than the actual visable distance of clear road ahead. In the short line you become aware of having to lean the bike in order to take the line you are 'aiming' for.

Taking the long line is aiming for the point of clear visable road as it come into view. With the long line you are so focused on the road that leaning the bike into the curve becomes natural and as a result you are not aware of 'having' to lean the bike in order to take your line. It's a techniqe that works because the focal length of the eye maintains the direction of the turn and the line you are aiming for.

Useing the long line makes for faster and safer cornering

Practice this and your body position will fall into place without you having to think about it.

Hope I have made this clear.

Skyryder

[2_SL0]

When I first got on the dirt I worked bloody hard to get things right. It paid off big time. But it took alot of practise. Now that I have switched to the road I feel Im learning all over again. I first tried reading online tips etc. But I ended up needing a check list to tick off every body position, braking, road position, gear, throttle control, Vissually scanning the oncoming traffic and road for problems. By the time I got to the bottom of the list in my head, I completely screwed the corner, was in the wrong gear, left my indicator on, forgot to check my mirrors, and my visor was foggin up.
Ive cut the list down, Im cruising along, concentrating on learning to watch the road and traffic carefully. Checking mirrors and being smooth in the corners, (not neccessary the perfect line, but the safe line)
You must learn to walk before you run.
Im at a wobbly crawl at the moment.
Though as my own tutor, I am very hard on myself.

Advice I have read in here has been excellent.

[Skyryder]

When I first got on the dirt I worked bloody hard to get things right. It paid off big time. But it took alot of practise. Now that I have switched to the road I feel Im learning all over again. I first tried reading online tips etc. But I ended up needing a check list to tick off every body position, braking, road position, gear, throttle control, Vissually scanning the oncoming traffic and road for problems. By the time I got to the bottom of the list in my head, I completely screwed the corner, was in the wrong gear, left my indicator on, forgot to check my mirrors, and my visor was foggin up.
Ive cut the list down, Im cruising along, concentrating on learning to watch the road and traffic carefully. Checking mirrors and being smooth in the corners, (not neccessary the perfect line, but the safe line)
You must learn to walk before you run.
Im at a wobbly crawl at the moment.
Though as my own tutor, I am very hard on myself.

Advice I have read in here has been excellent.

At the end of the day the best tutor is yourself. Only you know when you got it wrong and only you know when you got it right and what you did to get it right. That by the way is not anylising, it's knowing, two vastly different things.

Skyryder

[2_SL0]

Shuwaddy waddy huh?

:spudwhat:

I spent hours analying my dirt riding and correcting bad habits. But for the road I have found there are more important things for me to concentrate on. I wil analyse once I have come to grips with the basics of road riding safely.

[flipper]

With regard to racing I put a lot of effort into analysing what I am doing, particularly with regard to transitions/weight transfer, ie braking to turning, brake markers, braking efficiency, smoothness and planning where I want to be and when on the track. I'll spend a race meeting or practice working on one or two corners. And they are usually the fast ones (as a reasonably successful NZ racer once pointed out to me, everyone is slow on the slow corners, so work on the fast ones). I'll relive corners in my head before and afterwards looking for opportunities for improvement. If I get passed I like to know why and how I might have prevented it. I.e. How did I let him (or her on the odd occasion that Mitch is out there) outbrake me? or get inside me? get a better drive on the next straight than me? etc etc. When I pass someone, what worked, where were my advantages?. If I get into trouble, why?.

On the road other than reading the road surface & corners coming up, planning my lines through em and keeping an eagle eye on vehicles using a bit more than their fair share of the road, my riding technique is on autopilot. Any spare thought cycles are fully occupied scanning for cops.

If someone goes past me on the road hanging off thier bike I usually think thay are an idiot. Either they are going too slow to be hanging off in the first case or if they are going fast enough to justify hanging off they are asking to get bitten by a variable road surface catching them out, or an oncoming vehicle squeezing them off their line.

Not that I'm getting opinionated as I get older. (I was always like this).

[Bob]

I have always believed that if you have to think about what you are doing sooner or later you are going to bin. I have a pet theory that those that bin where there is no othe vehicle involved are thinking about what they are doing instead of just 'doing it.' They are too invloved with the theory than the physical mechanics of the manouvre.

The other day I went for ride over to Reefton and back. There are some bends in the Lewis pass that can be taken with speed relitively safely. These are long sweeping ones. I tried two different techniqes on cornering. The first I concentrated on the short line. This is a point about halfway or a little further than the actual visable distance of clear road ahead. In the short line you become aware of having to lean the bike in order to take the line you are 'aiming' for.

Taking the long line is aiming for the point of clear visable road as it come into view. With the long line you are so focused on the road that leaning the bike into the curve becomes natural and as a result you are not aware of 'having' to lean the bike in order to take your line. It's a techniqe that works because the focal length of the eye maintains the direction of the turn and the line you are aiming for.

Useing the long line makes for faster and safer cornering

Practice this and your body position will fall into place without you having to think about it.

Hope I have made this clear.

Skyryder

Or to put it another way - concentrate on where you are going not where you are! You - and the bike - will follow your eyes. This is why people see a hazard and have an accident... it is called "hazard fixation" - you see The Thing That Can Hurt You... you keep looking at The Thing That Can Hurt You... and the bike follows your eyes and HITS The Thing That Can Hurt You.

Wrench your gaze away and you'll get round The Thing more often that not.

By the "long line", I'm assuming you are referring to the Vanishing Point?

Of course, this assumes a clear road. With traffic around, your set of reference points changes and your scanning needs to take in both short and long views, as well as lights, wheel direction etc.

Erm, I think we've started overanalysing again...