Interesting experience leads to interesting thought

[MSTRS:Me]

You dont have to commute 30km across auckland at rush hour twice a day

And glad of it, too.
Just making the point that daily close calls is not a solid base for a long riding career. And all you can change is yourself...

[puddytat]

A lot of Folk never practice the art of hard out braking 'till theyre confronted with a dangerous situation....the only other place you can safely try it is the track, where you'll also get used to the bike movin' under you under hard braking & also get an idea of just how sticky those rubber things are...dunno why people dont take an opportunity to get out there.
Unfortuanately for me, my lack of self control meant that after a bit of racing I found that I was hitting corners way quicker than I would've previously, plus my mates are a stupid as me & I could see that at some point , sooner rather than later, the shit was going to hit something.....
So the road bikes for sale.
But I got a track bike instead.
Good skills Dude. The Track definitely helps in making you able to handle the jandle,to react "instinctively" & intuiatively when one of those moments is unfolding in front of you

[carbonhed]

I suppose it's a case of great riding making up for some epically bad driving.

Been there and done similar in my yoof of course but these days I know that every suprise and every sudden change of plan is because I failed to see the problem developing.

[Mom]

It DIDN'T rattle me.

Consider going to have a blood test to make sure your adrenal gland is functioning properly is my advice. It is normal to get some physical reaction to situations that potentially could cause you to get hurt. Slight/enormous elevation in heart rate at the very least. I am actually serious here btw.

Having said that, you have probably travelled many kilometres round a track and got yourself in many interesting situations that most road riders wont have, with out having some good kilometres under their belt too. You have that instinctive reaction to preserve your skin when things start turning to shite. You wont be easily rattled by what would send some into a panic ridden tail spin. You know what happens to your bike under extreme situations, and you counter it, or ignore it. I would say though to get through what you described would surely have given your body a bit of a natural rush.

Yes young, yes operating on the bombproof belief that most young men seem to have (some never lose it) but human all the same.

[Drew]

A lot of Folk never practice the art of hard out braking 'till theyre confronted with a dangerous situation....the only other place you can safely try it is the track, where you'll also get used to the bike movin' under you under hard braking & also get an idea of just how sticky those rubber things are...dunno why people dont take an opportunity to get out there.

Dunno about this "practice" caper aye. Grabbing wads of front brake in controlled/self induced conditions just doesn't seem that productive to me.

Having a certain amount of grip at one place, does not mean you have the same amount someplace else. Even if the surfaces look the same.

Of course I'm not saying get a bike and learn to ride from a stand still on the road, but once the basics are solid I see little need for riding around car parks any more.

[Pedrostt500]

Alot of riders and myself included get caught out by object fixation, we have all been there and brought the Tee shirt, your track days have taght you many skills, a key one is not to get fixated by an object, ie the tailgate of the ute, it has also taught you how to make desisions in the heat of a moment, ie find the gap, many of us would have either binned into the ute or got bitten by the curb, resulting in an ambulance ride, yes your track days may let you take some risks that you would not have taken with out the exsperience, but the skills you have gained are well worth every cent spent.
When I find that I have got myself a little beyond where I am comfortable, and give myself a we scare, I consider these moments as warnings from the Black Top God, that next time he will take a sacrfice in my blood.

[sugilite:Me]

And I wasn't in the racing mindset as I was just basically commuting.

Or is it because I have had so many saves without a major bin (touches wood again) that I cannot truely appreciate the situation I was in???

I think at the time, it was more a case of not fully being in road riding mindset that caused the technically skillfull display of riding

To me, "basically commuting" can be at times akin to war time aerial dog fights, it's the one you didn't see that gets you.
The racetrack is a lovely non variable environment (mostly). The road has many, many ugly variables to contend with.

And experiencing of a fair few saves myself, I did eventually discover there is no place quite like a hospital bed to truly make you appreciate the position your in.

Unfortuanately for me, my lack of self control meant that after a bit of racing I found that I was hitting corners way quicker than I would've previously, plus my mates are a stupid as me & I could see that at some point , sooner rather than later, the shit was going to hit something.....
So the road bikes for sale.
But I got a track bike instead.
:

I was just the same I was a race track refugee for many years before returning to the road.

[beyond]

Hey buddy

You don't need to ride track to feel like that. Your are not being blase about road riding... it's just that you have probably had so many close calls, expect them all the time and instinctively know what to do when the chips are down as a result.

This has the effect of a close call being just another part of a commute or a ride. I've not done track, but have had heaps of close calls on the road (not my fault) I expect the worst, are semi prepared at all times for the worst and just seem to know the right thing to do at the right time.

Sure, I've had some incidents resulting in going down and offroad a couple of times but through it all I'm exactly like you... no adrenaline rush when having a real close call that would have had me bogging myself years ago, just a quick sigh... that was close and don't worry about it at all. It's just like it was a normal part of the ride. It doesn't mean you don't care and are not careful.

That's from a bugga that rides a 250kg (wet) musclebike and has gone past 52 years. I think the more you ride and the more experience you have under the belt, this will probably happen with anyone.

[Conquiztador]

Years ago I raced solo speedway. You only turn left and do it riding sideways. Somehow I have this inbuilt thing that makes me think left corners on dirt roads are to be taken sideways. My left foot comes off the footpeg and I countersteer and go sideways. Until I remember that I am on a road bike with road tyres and compared to a speedway bike she handles like sheit on the dirt. But I still try...

[StoneY]

have done exactly the same thing on the road.
never been on a track so i guess it comes down to time in the saddle.

or perhaps as we get older we get dumber, to the point where we forget to freak on the close calls.

Amen

I never been on a track yet other then mx ones as a kid
But I too have lived through the hair raising moments we bring on ourselves

Point here is road aint track- the cages do weird shit

[discotex]

Sounds fairly normal to me.

I find that time dilates a lot more for me now in a "panic" situation having done a few hundred laps around Taupo.

It's purely a matter of raising your skill level to a point that your survival reactions (e.g. mainly to panic) don't kick in to the same extent.

The danger is when you start to believe that because you're not getting the massive adrenaline hit that it's somehow "safer" than it was before.

[beyond]

The danger is when you start to believe that because you're not getting the massive adrenaline hit that it's somehow "safer" that it was before.

Exactly. The road is never "safer"

[aff-man]

Hey buddy

You don't need to ride track to feel like that. Your are not being blase about road riding... it's just that you have probably had so many close calls, expect them all the time and instinctively know what to do when the chips are down as a result.

This has the effect of a close call being just another part of a commute or a ride. I've not done track, but have had heaps of close calls on the road (not my fault) I expect the worst, are semi prepared at all times for the worst and just seem to know the right thing to do at the right time.

Sure, I've had some incidents resulting in going down and offroad a couple of times but through it all I'm exactly like you... no adrenaline rush when having a real close call that would have had me bogging myself years ago, just a quick sigh... that was close and don't worry about it at all. It's just like it was a normal part of the ride. It doesn't mean you don't care and are not careful.

That's from a bugga that rides a 250kg (wet) musclebike and has gone past 52 years. I think the more you ride and the more experience you have under the belt, this will probably happen with anyone.

Ahhh yes that makes sense I mean some of the saves are instinctual and I have no recolection of how I got myself out of that situation. But this was clear calm and collected. Even when the bike was going sideways with the rear heading skywards...

And yes I know how heavy your bike is.... boomer dropped it on me pinning me between it and a very unforgiving trailer if you recall...

[Dargor]

You should definantly buy the red one.

oh wait what were we talking about.