Concentration, Is it just me?

Ayrtonf7

Just a quick question for all the boards riders!

In my one on one lessons prior to my motorcycle test a lot of emphasis was put on reading the road. So things like watching cars at junctions, using telegraph poles to determine the severity of bends, road position, equalizing the dangers ... all that stuff! Obviously you have to be fairly tuned in to pick up on this stuff and even more tuned in to put the pieces together and make smart moves to ensure your safety.

The thing is I've noticed myself tuning out quite a bit in recent months. For example I might forget to move to the offside when coming up to a right hand turn junction. I get the feeling that its because I'm riding the same route every day and rarely have time to take the bike out on roads that are unfamiliar to me, so its all getting a bit stale! It feels like I'm falling into a state of false security or just getting to comfortable which I know is a bad thing.

Am I the only one that gets these lapses of concentration while I ride? Is it something that goes with experience? Does anybody have any advice?

goodlad

I think im more or less the same as you. I actively tried to learn reading hedge lines and poles etc... to help gauge bends and simply can never do it so i just take the bends slower. Works grand tbh...

I think other things like road positioning will become almost passive once you actively do it for an amount of time. If you are on routes you know then yeah i can see how it becomes stale and you dont take the line you should because your propably thinking you know this corner.... be grand!

But on unfamiliar roads you may tell yourself to go to the right for the upcoming left so you have better vision around the bend. But after a while you wont actively tell yourself to do that, you will just naturally move to the correct side for the upcoming unknown bend.

Max Headroom

You can overthink things too much sometimes...all that palava about looking at poles etc is not for me...how many times have you seen telegraph poles disapeer into a field..
I concentrate more on the actual road and the surface muck gravel oil etc....
I've learned to NEVER be near the center of the road on right handers on narrow country roads...had a mate loose his mirror when it hit a coach on a right hander....yeah, that close..:eek:

Wonda-Boy

It is totally natural for the mind to wander especially when riding familiar routes like commuting every day. I too am not for looking at poles or hedges I would rather look to the apex of the turn and see if its coming towards me (sharper) or going away from me.....another good tip (from reading bike mags from experts) is to actually talk to yourself what you are doing and what you see keeping your mind in check. It does work if not a little weird.....

curiousb

Try doing a 'commentary' during your ride. Narrate in your head everything you can see ahead, and this might help pull your focus back to the road.

frozenfrozen

not braking is a good way to force you to read ahead further than you already do, that guy has a lot of good videos on reading bends and positioning too if you haven't seen them already.

Max Headroom

curiousb wrote: »

Try doing a 'commentary' during your ride. Narrate in your head everything you can see ahead, and this might help pull your focus back to the road.

Mine would be something like this.."do de do..mm mm mmm dancin in the dark...mmm....wanker....m m mm....nice ass...mm..mm..mmm..

This is me trying for a stoppie...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnNYkRpzcz4

two wheels good

curiousb wrote: »

Try doing a 'commentary' during your ride. Narrate in your head everything you can see ahead, and this might help pull your focus back to the road.

Yes, good suggestion. A technique recommended on advanced rider courses too. But be brief - full sentences not required or the hazard will be upon you! I think any commentary would focus on the hazards but including position might be useful for you too.
Concentration can still be achieved when relaxed. Over-doing the effort will not help you "widen" your vision.
Realising you've been on auto-pilot on the commute is hardly unusual. Can you take a different route for a change? Is your gear warm enough?

arybvtcw0eolkf

Try a few gargles before you ride, settles the 'ol nerves

Max Headroom

Crew Late Popcorn wrote: »

Try a few gargles before you ride, settles the 'ol nerves

:eek:.....SERIOUSLY...

































Weed is better.....:D

peckerhead

...and ease off on the aul' weed! (JOKE, by the way...!) [Edit: post crossed with Max Headroom's...]

Seriously though, it's no surprise that something like 75% of road accidents happen at low speed and within a mile of the driver's home. Sure, a lot of that is down to simple statistical probability (100% of my outings start and end with the road I live on) — but it's also, IMHO, because people 'tune out' when driving a familiar route and that's when prangs happen. And a wee skid or a minor 'fender bender', for a car, is potentially a game-over scenario when you're on a bike.

Talking to yourself inside the helmet is a good tip; the style of commentary is up to yourself, really. I've had some of my best conversations this way! So is the idea of driving (esp. in traffic) as though you'd no brakes — standard procedure for me if there's any chance of ice, or particularly bad road surfaces. It forces you to read ahead more actively. Finally, if like me you're getting any way long in the tooth, then you have to be realistic and accept that your vision, your reflexes, your reaction times are all going to be reduced. Same goes for concentration. Ideally, this shold be compensated for by the benefits of experience — but it only takes one lapse for very bad sh1t to happen — even if it's 100% the other driver's fault. At 51, I'm far less inclined to take risks because I have a far keener awareness of what it would actually mean to connect with that tarmac whizzing by my ankles. I shudder when I think of some of the stupid things I did as a 20-year-old.... :eek: And I trust no-one. I assume all other road users to be at best careless idiots and at worst homicidal maniacs out to kill me. If I saw my own mum coming down the road towards me (in fact, especially if I saw my mum heading for me! ) I'd make sure I had plenty of space and an exit route...

Anyway — what was the question again?

Ayrtonf7

Cheers for the responses lads!

I do think that a lot of the signs riders look for when reading the road can be beneficial, but of course you shouldn't really be relying on them. Probably better to be focusing on the road instead of the line of trees ahead.

I've tried the commentary thing as well. I did it on every ride up to my full test, just to drill in the order of things (mirrors, indicate, shoulder check, move) but I haven't done it much since.

Unfortunately I've exhausted all my route options and with the wet weather I'm limited to one or two. But once the sun comes out I should be able to change things up again which will hopefully help! I also picked up some new textiles in Sept, still surprised at the difference being warm and comfortable makes.

The general consensus I'm getting though is that the lapse in concentration on regular routes is to be expected!

Hotblack Desiato

Your bike won't melt in the rain, and neither will you. You've a good chance of getting caught in the rain on a 'dry day' in this country so you might as well be used to it, a lot of fair weather riders (can't call them bikers tbh) panic and get caught out.

two wheels good

Ayrtonf7 wrote: »

Cheers for the responses lads!
I do think that a lot of the signs riders look for when reading the road can be beneficial, but of course you shouldn't really be relying on them. Probably better to be focusing on the road instead of the line of trees ahead.

The line of trees are just another information input; like the road sign, slurry on the road etc. You don't need to be focusing on them, just register it and respond to it as necessary.

Ayrtonf7 wrote: »

Cheers for the responses lads!
I've tried the commentary thing as well. I did it on every ride up to my full test, just to drill in the order of things (mirrors, indicate, shoulder check, move) but I haven't done it much since.

That's not the commentary we mean. It is, for example: "car approaching junction on left", "telegraph poles bearing left", "fresh slurry, possible tractor", "crossing railway line, sharp bends likely", "driver in parked car, brake lights gone off". "emerging car, driver not looking this way", "offside junction, postpone overtake".

Ayrtonf7 wrote: »

Unfortunately I've exhausted all my route options and with the wet weather I'm limited to one or two. But once the sun comes out I should be able to change things up again which will hopefully help! I also picked up some new textiles in Sept, still surprised at the difference being warm and comfortable makes.

Hard to concentrate when wet and cold. Hopefully some dry days are on the way to encourage a bit of weekend riding.

Ayrtonf7 wrote: »

The general consensus I'm getting though is that the lapse in concentration on regular routes is to be expected!

Err.. that sounds a bit complacent. Safety means trying to keep the lapses to a minimum esp. on a commute when drivers might be more careless/rushed.

Hotblack Desiato

Ayrtonf7 wrote: »

The general consensus I'm getting though is that the lapse in concentration on regular routes is to be expected!

Nope. Sadly for me, 90% of my riding these days is the daily commute, I don't find it boring though (often a lot more interesting than work) and a familiar route is no excuse to switch the brain off, there will always be a new hazard that wasn't there before and a driver doing something unexpected in a place and/or in a way that I'd not seen before.

Concentration is vital, if you get to the end of your ride and can't replay every bit in your mind you weren't concentrating hard enough.

goodlad

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Nope. Sadly for me, 90% of my riding these days is the daily commute, I don't find it boring though (often a lot more interesting than work) and a familiar route is no excuse to switch the brain off, there will always be a new hazard that wasn't there before and a driver doing something unexpected in a place and/or in a way that I'd not seen before.

Concentration is vital, if you get to the end of your ride and can't replay every bit in your mind you weren't concentrating hard enough.

If thats the case i have never ever concentrate hard enough.
Who the hell can replay every bit of a journey on a bike. Especially if out for a blast. Crazy thing to think people can do

prunudo

goodlad wrote: »

If thats the case i have never ever concentrate hard enough.
Who the hell can replay every bit of a journey on a bike. Especially if out for a blast. Crazy thing to think people can do

I agree, Id actually say that if your trying to remember and replay every single minute of your journey then you'll end up spending more time trying to remember than watching what's in front of you.

Max Headroom

TBH i think if you were asked to reply a ride (careful now !) to someone you could do it naturally..its called memory..:P...

Seriously, we do it without thinking about it, until we need to.....the main thing IMO is to try and predict the road ahead, you'll know where theres a gate to a field,a beauty spot, a conceled enterance etc....and always cover your brake on a blind bend...expect the unexpected.:pac:

Hotblack Desiato

jvan wrote: »

I agree, Id actually say that if your trying to remember and replay every single minute of your journey then you'll end up spending more time trying to remember than watching what's in front of you.

There's no 'trying to remember', it's just taking in all the relevant info at the time and thinking about what you do before you do it, not riding on autopilot.

Not hard to remember, over the previous half hour or so when you stop, anyway.

The odd time on my work route I found myself daydreaming and then I'd end up having gone through a couple of junctions with no conscious memory of what I did - I made a conscious effort since not to let that happen again and it works. On familiar roads it's too easy to become a bit complacent.

prunudo

"Concentration is vital, if you get to the end of your ride and can't replay every bit in your mind you weren't concentrating hard enough."

You're right, to a certain extent you should be able to recall your journey but it all depends how much detail you want to remember.
Are you trying to remember every colour/make/model of car, remembering how many pedestrians were walking by, did they have dogs, children, buggies.
Theres an awful lot of things you could take in, that's why I think it's madness to be able to say that you should be able to 'replay every bit'. As goodlad says, after a long sunday spin there's no hope I'd be able to replay every minute after being in the saddle for 8 hrs.

Hotblack Desiato

jvan wrote: »

Are you trying to remember every colour/make/model of car,

No :rolleyes:

remembering how many pedestrians were walking by, did they have dogs, children, buggies.

No but if someone nearly stepped into the road I'd notice that

Theres an awful lot of things you could take in, that's why I think it's madness to be able to say that you should be able to 'replay every bit'.

It's the decisions you made and why you made them.

goodlad

Pffft..... autopilot.... be grand ...