Riding with fatigue

**Squeak the Rat** · 3rd January 2007, 11:48

I've been a bit short on the sleep for the last, oh, 3 months or so. So, I went for some blats over the holiday period and thought I'd share some personal observations of my ride to help highlight the issue with tiredness:

The tiredness helped me relax, which helped get a groove on. I took some corners really nicely and at a reasonable pace and had a few zen moments.

At other times I was having to concentrated hard, and despite feeling like I was going reasonably fast things weren't coming together and I was actually going really slooooow.

Not a major so far......

I made a number of very very poor overtaking descions that could have easily gone wrong (and very nearly did). Despite telling myself off for it, I'd then proceed to balls up the next overtaking manouever. It looks ok I'd tell myself, then pull out and realise I need to nail it 100% to scrape past.

On reflection my decision making was seriously affected, especially quick decisions. And so was concentration and coordination - if an emergency situation had occured I'm sure it would have only been luck if I'd stayed upright. So the bikes in the garage for another couple of weeks until I score some more zzzz's.

My conclusion? Even though you are aware that you are fatigued and make allowances for it, it can still affect your judgement and riding. Dangerous, very dangerous.....

**Meekey_Mouse** · 3rd January 2007, 12:01

Yikes, Hope you get some

soon!! It's amazing how it can change your thought process eh!

Keep it rubber side down

Jas

**Disco Dan** · 3rd January 2007, 12:08

woah scary stuff!

...had a minty moment on my return from the busa party... ...going around a roundabout in albany and zoned out for a split second. suddenly swerved to miss the kurb in front of me! carried on home with the visor open a crack...

Ride safe folks......

**scumdog** · 3rd January 2007, 12:13

Wait to you get tired enough for the hallucinations to start - now that IS scary

!

But yeah, suggest you stack a shitload of zzzz's before you next go riding.

**Ixion** · 3rd January 2007, 12:24

Yeah, been there, not nice at all. bad enough when you "see" white women rushing across the road in front of you, and cows coming out of factory driveways. Worse when you realise there was nothing there.

**BarBender** · 3rd January 2007, 13:50

Quite common this time of year for people not to be well rested...even when its supposed to be a holiday!

Hummidity and increase in temp in the evenings causing lack of sleep + long hours exposed in the sun can both bugger you up and cause dehydration which can sometimes be mistaken for tiredness.

Big meals slow down the metabolism as well.

Drink lots of H2O and snack on foods that are low on the Glycemic Index so you have more energy over the course of the day.

And sleep during the day when you can.

**Hitcher** · 3rd January 2007, 14:03

When you're tired make sure you give yourself at least an extra half a second gap to the vehicle in front and keep your eyes up and moving, least you get hypnotised by the back of the vehicle immediately in front.

Flipping your visor up for an invigorating blast of cool air also helps.

**Disco Dan** · 3rd January 2007, 14:04

yeah not all things are easily solved.....

These magic beans help me though!

**bikemike** · 3rd January 2007, 14:19

Double whammy if you have a sprog and aren't sleeping as well, means you feel treble the responsibility to stay alive (self, partner and sproglet) and, you are tired which makes it harder.

I have taken to a short siesta, anytime in the afternoon. Works a treat

However, sans employ at the moment, so easier for me than most.

So to all those parents out there, sleep is essential, don't ride without it.

As an aside, just a couple of hours ago I saw a person driving in Christchurch with a bed and mattress apparently balanced on the roof of a Honda Civic or similar -- with driver's right arm out of the window holding the whole thing steady. At least when he works out he's too tired to think straight, he can pull over for some rays and some zeds

**thehollowmen** · 3rd January 2007, 14:33

When I did lots of commuting on the bike after work, if I felt tired I just pulled over, rolled up my jacket and fell asleep on the bike.

About 20 minutes usually works great :-)

**gijoe1313** · 3rd January 2007, 21:17

Crikey, sounds all too familiar - like DiscoDan, when I rode back from the Busa's party, I was doing fine until I hit just before Manukau - same reason, zoned out, when I "came to" I thought I was going to rear end a flatbed truck, squeezed on the brakes...and realised it was only a trick of the light that was making me "see" things when I regained compos mentis

Shook my head and did that dog shiver shake and all was well again ... will not do that again, and will just grab more zzz's (didn't help when Colapop and Co. was throwing cans at my tent to stop me disturbing everybody else!

)

**bluninja** · 3rd January 2007, 21:44

Interesting one this.....here's a link that shows evidence that people having lss then 6 hours sleep can have the same reactions as somebody over the drink drive limit. So if you wouldn't drink and ride why would you ride when overtired or sleep deprived.

I think the first post in this thread supports the last part of the article that suggests that lack of sleep affects decision making and risk judgement.

When tired power napping is a good way to get a brief return to 'normality'; take a break, have a strong coffee and then nap. The caffeine will take 10-15 minutes to really get working so you have a rest and wake up to the full effects of a legal stimulant....guess you could also use red bull for the same effect.

**buellbabe** · 4th January 2007, 06:36

Jeez I can relate to this! I have only been back in the saddle for a couple of weeks (due to a broken ankle incident... No NOT bike related) and I rode from Akld to Taupo on New Years eve to take in day 2 of the racing then from there went up to Tauranga to spend the night eating drinking and telling stories...
Well I know that I am not 100% physically recovered from my accident and on the ride home the following day that fact hit home. Was feeling totally drained and nearly fucked up a couple of corners...

Boy was I glad to get home and assume the horizontal position on the sofa!