When the physical gets mental

[moto-rama]

Now that I haven't been killed since 1952, I've accumulated a lifetime of physical riding skills, along with a list of chronic conditions. So I need to depend on my brain a little more than I did than when I was 24.

I think that over time, our physical abilities are not so much degraded as they are "mellowed". So as we mellow, our other more metaphysical skills have to assume some of the work.

The one I rely on, and have for a long time:

'Anticipation' , which is the ability to know in advance what is likely to be ahead or happening next.
This is an amazingly portable ability, too, that applies to many scenarios.

Some examples:

"Reading traffic", "profiling drivers by make model etc.", see situations developing before it's too late to avoid

"Seeing the road ahead", knowing where gravel is likely to gather, water, rocks, and the potential for wildlife surprises or vehicles in your lane, all before you even get to the next corner.

"Spidey sense", having a pretty good idea that there might be a traffic LEO over the next or that the neighborhood, town or village you riding through is best appreciated by not stopping, or that those headlights in your mirrors might mean trouble.

Anticipation gives you the time to consider your options, and your next move. How do we develop this ability? Be aware when you're actually riding, file and review events in your mental diary as you experience them. Practice using it, just like anything else.

 

[budman]

Good subject.

Standing by to hear more for others because one thing I know is when it comes to riding motorcycles I am definitely mental.

 

[moto-rama]

Good subject.

Standing by to hear more for others because one thing I know is when it comes to riding motorcycles I am definitely mental.

I'd like to think I anticipated the lack of replies here.

Maybe if I had titled it something like "If you're reading this you're a <Insert vulgar slur>

 

[budman]

A bummer in too many ways.

As I said.. I am mental about the ride. I try to think things through, but there are always variables that cannot be always be anticipated in the moment.

You can anticipate them before a ride.. and even during the ride, but the gravel, rock or whatever demands an immediate response that I need to do something about that changes the equation to mental muscle memory to address.

Writing this I am thinking about hitting a small rock on HWY 58 that caused a flat tire to show up and it was not until the bike went fully sideways that I knew there was an issue and boy was there!!

Not the same as the traffic anticipation of course... getting into what humans do is hugely beneficial to being a good and successful rider. Like you Jim.. I am still kicking some fun times on two wheels after a long long time. Closing in on 60 years. Hard to believe.

 

[Das MotorRad]

I like to practice staying present in the 'now'. Keeping my mind focused on the road in front of me and imagining the ideal line (and alternatives should they be needed) keeps my flow going

 

[moto-rama]

A bummer in too many ways.

As I said.. I am mental about the ride. I try to think things through, but there are always variables that cannot be always be anticipated in the moment.

You can anticipate them before a ride.. and even during the ride, but the gravel, rock or whatever demands an immediate response that I need to do something about that changes the equation to mental muscle memory to address.

Writing this I am thinking about hitting a small rock on HWY 58 that caused a flat tire to show up and it was not until the bike went fully sideways that I knew there was an issue and boy was there!!

Not the same as the traffic anticipation of course... getting into what humans do is hugely beneficial to being a good and successful rider. Like you Jim.. I am still kicking some fun times on two wheels after a long long time. Closing in on 60 years. Hard to believe.

I've become a big fan of TPMS notifications. Thinking of all the flats I have had over the years, I've been lucky only one was a front tire, where I easily could've been buzzard food.

There do seem to be "Levels" of anticipation.

Wide ones; like "I have a creepy feeling about riding today." So you take it to heart, and take the car, or just stay home.

Generalities while underway, like "I'm going to slow down now, just because." then around the next bend is an LEO pointng at radar gun.

Specifics. "That tractor trailor looks like it might be driven by an idiot." then it starts fishtailing across 4 lanes!

Of course there are those anticipations like: "This is an ideal time to ride to Fort Bragg, then tomorrow AM I can ride to Leggett!"

 

[budman]

I am a big believer of listening to your gut for sure!

 

[tzrider]

There do seem to be "Levels" of anticipation.

Wide ones; like "I have a creepy feeling about riding today." So you take it to heart, and take the car, or just stay home.

I'd agree with most of this and could name examples of similar nagging feelings to slow down that preceded encountering hazards I couldn't have foreseen. I never bought into the above when I was learning to ride, however. Having made the decision to commute or travel by motorcycle, it seemed best to figure out how to set other emotions or feelings aside and just ride the motorcycle. In these situations, deciding not to ride home if I'd had a lousy day at work would be highly inconvenient at least. When I was coaching, deciding not to ride because "I wasn't feeling it" would be disqualifying.

If there is a way to describe how to manage attention, it really comes down to prioritization and a choice to focus. Prioritization is simply the recognition that there is a hierarchy of importance to what one thinks about or puts attention on while riding, starting with the riding environment, then on operating the bike in a manner that doesn't trigger survival reactions that would lead to small errors. Learning to recognize small mistakes when they are inconsequential leads to being able to adjust one's riding before things get out of hand.

One practical way to do this was to give myself a drill for something to focus on while riding. One time it might be throttle control, another it might be keeping a wide view, making one steering input per turn, or whatever. If I knew what the correct or ideal riding behavior looked like, I would focus on getting it right and if I made small mistakes, adjust my riding so I could perform the skill without errors.

Beyond practicing correct actions, the approach aided in getting my attention on my riding, instead of the universe of non-riding thoughts in my head. It always led to riding better and usually made me feel better in general.

 

[ThinkFast]

I’m all about the mental/cognitive aspects of motorcycling (and truth be told, life in general). Ergo, ThinkFast was my racing team name and my forum handle here.
Anyway, the brain as prediction machine turns out to have some solid neuroscience research behind it. This thread reminded me of an article I read within the last 12 months in which the author’s premise was that when you net it all down, really all our brain does is predict what’s going to happen in the next 10 seconds.

I googled around to see if I could find it - didn’t. But there’s plenty out there now about this - apparently it’s the new cognitive science principle.

I found an article that seems like it’s pretty grounded in real research, if not a bit more ‘woo’ than I like. But pretty good. Long.
Here’s a snippet that I think summarizes it well:

In predictive processing, the brain's primary job is not to process incoming information. It is to predict incoming information and then only process the bits it got wrong. This is why the brain can run the most sophisticated perceptual system in the known universe on just 20 watts of power. It only computes what it needs to: the errors.

Source article: https://neurosity.co/guides/predictive-processing-brain-prediction-machine

 

[budman]

That looks like an interesting read.

Will check it out.

 

[speedcraft]

I’m all about the mental/cognitive aspects of motorcycling (and truth be told, life in general). Ergo, ThinkFast was my racing team name and my forum handle here.
Anyway, the brain as prediction machine turns out to have some solid neuroscience research behind it. This thread reminded me of an article I read within the last 12 months in which the author’s premise was that when you net it all down, really all our brain does is predict what’s going to happen in the next 10 seconds.

I googled around to see if I could find it - didn’t. But there’s plenty out there now about this - apparently it’s the new cognitive science principle.

I found an article that seems like it’s pretty grounded in real research, if not a bit more ‘woo’ than I like. But pretty good. Long.
Here’s a snippet that I think summarizes it well:

Source article: https://neurosity.co/guides/predictive-processing-brain-prediction-machine

For the past 40+ years I've actually been heading down the same cognitive road from mostly a car racing perspective (with several years of bike riding experience). I was one of the fastest formula ford drivers in North America (five of my peers went on to race CART IndyCars). I ran out of money, but a mental kick start from Keith Code's books, and some 'altered consciousness state' experiences I had when racing gave me a peak into the black box that is driving/riding. I followed that path to it's logical end (or perhaps that's origin), by creating a framework for understanding the mental and physical elements of driving/riding as a complex adaptive system that is built on elements of Intention Cascades, Prediction Processing, Multi-Scale Resilience, Ecological Dynamics, etc.

I call this framework "The Integrated Racer" TIR, and while it's written from a car racer's perspective, I would say that 90-100% of it applies to bikes as well. The mental is all the same, and the vehicle is just the conduit between intention and action (tire work requests, energy flow, load, slip/drift angles, 'rotation' they are all the same)... just arguably bikes require more 'resolution' from the rider than cars do from the driver, unless the car is being driven at its absolute limit.

I created TIR as a project of self-discovery, so I share it freely. It consists of a PDF document that, in the first two sections, provides an overview of the framework. Then it goes linearly into more and more detail based on driver/rider development level (Novice --> Master). There is also a corresponding, interactive, Obsidian Vault website that contains 126 interconnected notes covering every concept, symptom, and training method in the framework, and the interconnected relationships between them.

One caveat, everything in TIR comes from my driving/riding experience, but I did use AI in three main ways:

• I used it to research topics; for example I would say "this element of driving feels like this to me, and I believe I'm using these cognitive, consciousness, etc. elements to accomplish this... does that make sense and is there any applicable science to support or refute this?".
• I used AI to 'ghost write' the text because my writing style tends to wander and become inconsistent. However, I reviewed EVERY word in the TIR project multiple times, so it says what I experienced and what I intend it to.
• I did not have the skill set do create the illustrations on my one (nor the budget to get them done professionally), so I had to make do with AI generated images. But again, they do communicate what I'm trying to convey.

Anyway, If you'd like to take a look, you can access the website from the link below, and from the landing page, you can download the PDF file. I would recommend getting the PDF and reading the first two sections to get an overview the the TIR framework, and you can explore more of the PDF, or the online resource based on your interests.

The Integrated Racer

Thanks for your time,
Warren

 

[moto-rama]

It's been 30 years since I worked as a regional rep for VW-Audi AG, then Porsche. The absolute best part of those jobs being the new model year launches and having Nürburgring mostly to ourselves for days at a time.
I think the years of MC riding has given me a better connection to things like timing , traction and the ability to size up what is in front of me.
I will say this, whenever I see a 4 door GTI or a Panamera, I can't bear to look.
Sacrilege!

 

[SFMCjohn]

For the past 40+ years I've actually been heading down the same cognitive road from mostly a car racing perspective (with several years of bike riding experience). I was one of the fastest formula ford drivers in North America (five of my peers went on to race CART IndyCars). I ran out of money, but a mental kick start from Keith Code's books, and some 'altered consciousness state' experiences I had when racing gave me a peak into the black box that is driving/riding. I followed that path to it's logical end (or perhaps that's origin), by creating a framework for understanding the mental and physical elements of driving/riding as a complex adaptive system that is built on elements of Intention Cascades, Prediction Processing, Multi-Scale Resilience, Ecological Dynamics, etc.

I call this framework "The Integrated Racer" TIR, and while it's written from a car racer's perspective, I would say that 90-100% of it applies to bikes as well. The mental is all the same, and the vehicle is just the conduit between intention and action (tire work requests, energy flow, load, slip/drift angles, 'rotation' they are all the same)... just arguably bikes require more 'resolution' from the rider than cars do from the driver, unless the car is being driven at its absolute limit.

I created TIR as a project of self-discovery, so I share it freely. It consists of a PDF document that, in the first two sections, provides an overview of the framework. Then it goes linearly into more and more detail based on driver/rider development level (Novice --> Master). There is also a corresponding, interactive, Obsidian Vault website that contains 126 interconnected notes covering every concept, symptom, and training method in the framework, and the interconnected relationships between them.

One caveat, everything in TIR comes from my driving/riding experience, but I did use AI in three main ways:

• I used it to research topics; for example I would say "this element of driving feels like this to me, and I believe I'm using these cognitive, consciousness, etc. elements to accomplish this... does that make sense and is there any applicable science to support or refute this?".
• I used AI to 'ghost write' the text because my writing style tends to wander and become inconsistent. However, I reviewed EVERY word in the TIR project multiple times, so it says what I experienced and what I intend it to.
• I did not have the skill set do create the illustrations on my one (nor the budget to get them done professionally), so I had to make do with AI generated images. But again, they do communicate what I'm trying to convey.

Anyway, If you'd like to take a look, you can access the website from the link below, and from the landing page, you can download the PDF file. I would recommend getting the PDF and reading the first two sections to get an overview the the TIR framework, and you can explore more of the PDF, or the online resource based on your interests.

The Integrated Racer

Thanks for your time,
Warren

well, there’s a first post for the ages … welcome to BARF!

my go-faster daze are behind me, but I still have an interest in my own little project of self-discovery, and I find that sitting on a motorcycle continues to help me try to enter the time-dilation zone—which was maybe the “anticipation” point in the first post in this thread?

guess the idea is that sitting in a race car or on a motorcycle helps one enter and experience the present moment in a way that may be conducive to self-discovery—“altered consciousness states” and all that? idk …anyway, fun to think about.

 

[ThinkFast]

For the past 40+ years I've actually been heading down the same cognitive road from mostly a car racing perspective (with several years of bike riding experience). I was one of the fastest formula ford drivers in North America (five of my peers went on to race CART IndyCars). I ran out of money, but a mental kick start from Keith Code's books, and some 'altered consciousness state' experiences I had when racing gave me a peak into the black box that is driving/riding. I followed that path to it's logical end (or perhaps that's origin), by creating a framework for understanding the mental and physical elements of driving/riding as a complex adaptive system that is built on elements of Intention Cascades, Prediction Processing, Multi-Scale Resilience, Ecological Dynamics, etc.

I call this framework "The Integrated Racer" TIR, and while it's written from a car racer's perspective, I would say that 90-100% of it applies to bikes as well. The mental is all the same, and the vehicle is just the conduit between intention and action (tire work requests, energy flow, load, slip/drift angles, 'rotation' they are all the same)... just arguably bikes require more 'resolution' from the rider than cars do from the driver, unless the car is being driven at its absolute limit.

I created TIR as a project of self-discovery, so I share it freely. It consists of a PDF document that, in the first two sections, provides an overview of the framework. Then it goes linearly into more and more detail based on driver/rider development level (Novice --> Master). There is also a corresponding, interactive, Obsidian Vault website that contains 126 interconnected notes covering every concept, symptom, and training method in the framework, and the interconnected relationships between them.

One caveat, everything in TIR comes from my driving/riding experience, but I did use AI in three main ways:

• I used it to research topics; for example I would say "this element of driving feels like this to me, and I believe I'm using these cognitive, consciousness, etc. elements to accomplish this... does that make sense and is there any applicable science to support or refute this?".
• I used AI to 'ghost write' the text because my writing style tends to wander and become inconsistent. However, I reviewed EVERY word in the TIR project multiple times, so it says what I experienced and what I intend it to.
• I did not have the skill set do create the illustrations on my one (nor the budget to get them done professionally), so I had to make do with AI generated images. But again, they do communicate what I'm trying to convey.

Anyway, If you'd like to take a look, you can access the website from the link below, and from the landing page, you can download the PDF file. I would recommend getting the PDF and reading the first two sections to get an overview the the TIR framework, and you can explore more of the PDF, or the online resource based on your interests.

The Integrated Racer

Thanks for your time,
Warren

A lot of what your model talks about is referenced or alluded to in this NIH article - have you seen it?

The Racer's Mind—How Core Perceptual-Cognitive Expertise Is Reflected in Deliberate Practice Procedures in Professional Motorsport

When people ask me about my roadracing days and what it was like/did I ever get scared/how fast do I go - the usual sort of stuff - I usually tell them it’s one of the most cognitively demanding things I’ve ever done - like chess at 100mph. That NIH article actually references chess as it talks about patterns and how experts/masters have a lot more to draw on than beginners. Seat time, seat time, seat time.

Where do you live? While it will be fun to kick this around here on the forum, the complexity of it all makes me really want to talk about it over a beer with you some time. I’ in SF Bay Area/North Bay.