The zone!

[bogan]

You're implying that if someone doesn't agree with what you wrote, the topic is too deep for them, they haven't experienced "the zone" and they aren't passionate about motorcycles.

I haven't ever experienced "the zone" like you describe, but I don't think my experience of motorcycling is lacking. I suspect I experience things differently and/or think about/describe them differently to how you do.

the zone is just a very, very nice place! in such a zone nobody would think of judging others on what they have or have not done, all is merely observation.

I think he is more impyling that the topic is very difficult to describe to others, and it is not a product of passion about motorcycling, but the cause in many cases.

[bones135]

Well for me gaving returned to the biking scene after a looong absence & on a completely differant bike "the zone" is getting everything right.

I have the Tairua hill reasonably close to home & going over them before a lngish ride i can tell whether its all good or not so good.

The bends etc lets me test my abilities each time i travel them & somedays it all goes sweet as, other times i just dont feel comfortable.

I ride at my own pace & no one elses, if im with a few others & im slower than them they will wait till i catch up, doesnt happen that often,lol

The way i look at it each & every one of us should stick within our capabilitys & not try to impress others with how fast we can go or how much we can cut a corner. Thats one thing i see a lot of on these roads.

Anyhoo thats my 2 cents worth so have fun & be careful is what i say.

[Grubber]

I have never heard such a load of egotistical clap trap in all my life.
THE ZONE!!!! oooooo jeez thats spooky.You either have a good day or a bad day. ZONE???? Give me a break!

[bogan]

I have never heard such a load of egotistical clap trap in all my life.
THE ZONE!!!! oooooo jeez thats spooky.You either have a good day or a bad day. ZONE???? Give me a break!

how long you been riding for? Its the type of thing you cant really explain to someone who hasn't experienced it.

[Swoop]

You either have a good day ...

So, when you are hitting every corner exactly right, everything is "flowing" nicely, awareness is unbelievable... etc, etc, you only have "a good day"?

[vifferman]

"The Zone" occurs when you are so immersed in what you are doing that the left hemisphere of your brain (the "rational" part) stops yammering away, gives up and stops trying to control things. This can happen when engaged in all sorts of activities, from sports through music and art, when you find you are no longer consciously thinking about things (the words stop!) and it just seems to happen magically, by itself.
This is in part due to the left hemisphere being primarily responsible for language and rational thinking, and usually dominant in most people, so it's constantly beavering away, and the thoughts that you have seem to be always full of words, rather than just being abstract, images, or whatever. Because the left hemisphere's doing this so much of the time, it can seem like you're on auto-pilot when you're doing something and there seems to be no connection between that and your conscious mind. It's also usually accompanied by a rather blissful feeling, and often you find that you can be thinking about completely different things to what you're doing, or even thinking about what you're doing, but it seems like you're doing it "from outside yourself", almost like you're an observer and your body's not under your control.

Motorcycling is a prime candidate for this, because once you've spent a lot of time repeating things, learning, improving, etc., you get to the point where the pattersn are all there and you don't need to occupy your brain thinking about it, so your left hemisphere "buts out" or goes into standby as far as riding the bike is concerned.

I've had it happen too, when doing stained glass work, when skiing some perfect linked turns (feels just like stringing together some perfect corners on the bike!), playing guitar, laying tiles, painting, and even mowing the lawn (!) when being shut away from the world, inside the ear muffs, I can disconnect from a very familiar activity.

One of the best experiences I've had of "being in the zone" was after doing some exercises from a book called "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain". I've never been particularly good at art, but once I managed to train/trick my brain into letting the right hemisphere be in charge, I drew some very nice and accurate drawings. It was like being someone else!

Must get it out and re-train my brain...

[Grubber]

been riding for 30 plus years dude. Raced rallied and rolled. Last time i heard the ZONE mentioned was in a kids movie called "The Monster House". Haven't been watching too much tele by any chance?

[Grubber]

"The Zone" occurs when you are so immersed in what you are doing that the left hemisphere of your brain (the "rational" part) stops yammering away, gives up and stops trying to control things. This can happen when engaged in all sorts of activities, from sports through music and art, when you find you are no longer consciously thinking about things (the words stop!) and it just seems to happen magically, by itself.
This is in part due to the left hemisphere being primarily responsible for language and rational thinking, and usually dominant in most people, so it's constantly beavering away, and the thoughts that you have seem to be always full of words, rather than just being abstract, images, or whatever. Because the left hemisphere's doing this so much of the time, it can seem like you're on auto-pilot when you're doing something and there seems to be no connection between that and your conscious mind. It's also usually accompanied by a rather blissful feeling, and often you find that you can be thinking about completely different things to what you're doing, or even thinking about what you're doing, but it seems like you're doing it "from outside yourself", almost like you're an observer and your body's not under your control.

Motorcycling is a prime candidate for this, because once you've spent a lot of time repeating things, learning, improving, etc., you get to the point where the pattersn are all there and you don't need to occupy your brain thinking about it, so your left hemisphere "buts out" or goes into standby as far as riding the bike is concerned.

I've had it happen too, when doing stained glass work, when skiing some perfect linked turns (feels just like stringing together some perfect corners on the bike!), playing guitar, laying tiles, painting, and even mowing the lawn (!) when being shut away from the world, inside the ear muffs, I can disconnect from a very familiar activity.

One of the best experiences I've had of "being in the zone" was after doing some exercises from a book called "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain". I've never been particularly good at art, but once I managed to train/trick my brain into letting the right hemisphere be in charge, I drew some very nice and accurate drawings. It was like being someone else!

Must get it out and re-train my brain...

Which tells me you don't multi task too well.

[bogan]

been riding for 30 plus years dude. Raced rallied and rolled. Last time i heard the ZONE mentioned was in a kids movie called "The Monster House". Haven't been watching too much tele by any chance?

yeh probly do watch too much tele, but dont hear the zone mentioned. I reckon its pretty much similar to meditation, only you are doing something, instead of just sitting there, so its easier to attain.

[MSTRS:Me]

Vifferman...trust you to describe it in 'technical' terms and destroy the magic!!
Still, whatever one calls it and however it happens, it is clear that some people are incapable of experiencing it and therefore must deny it's existence. And that's a sad thing.

[vifferman]

Which tells me you don't multi task too well.

Well, you'd be wrong. (You're probably thinking of my wife, so I may need to give you a beating )
I am perfectly able to do three or four things at once, while carrying on a conversation (as long as one of them isn't using the cellphone while driving )

Vifferman...trust you to describe it in 'technical' terms and destroy the magic!!

Not at all!
Anyone who's experienced the zone - whatever they were doing - knows how magical it is!

[Grubber]

Incapable??? Don't think so! Just don't go sensationalizing it with a word called the ZONE. Jeez get over yaselves guys and stop tryin to emulate Valentino Rossi. A good day riding when everything just clicks is a day when ya got ya shit together basically. A day when ya had a good nights sleep and all alert. A ZONE is an area of land or place with restrictions.

[Katman]

This is in part due to the left hemisphere being primarily responsible for language and rational thinking, and usually dominant in most people, so it's constantly beavering away, and the thoughts that you have seem to be always full of words, rather than just being abstract, images, or whatever.

Personally, I'd rather share the road with people who employ rational thinking, thanks all the same.

[Bronson]

Incapable??? Don't think so! Just don't go sensationalizing it with a word called the ZONE. Jeez get over yaselves guys and stop tryin to emulate Valentino Rossi. A good day riding when everything just clicks is a day when ya got ya shit together basically. A day when ya had a good nights sleep and all alert. A ZONE is an area of land or place with restrictions.

Exactly. "ya got ya shit together"

[bogan]

Exactly. "ya got ya shit together"

tis more than that though, its a lack of conscious thought and effort, everything just happens and everything just is. Ive had days where ive got my shit together, but its not the zone, maybe you guys have not experienced it, or do not do so in the same way as others, that does not mean such a thing does not exist.