Master Class It's all in the mind Last time we looked at practical skills for improving your riding. Now it’s time for the mind games.
Words by JEREMY BOWDLER , illustrations by KATRINA MARQUET If you’re reading this then you are probably a scooter rider already, or well on the way to becoming one, and so you understand how brakes work and what the throttle does. And you’ve probably been riding long enough to know how to go around a corner, so I won’t even begin to insult your intelligence by getting down to the real basics. Of course, as we pointed out in the last issue, all of us can benefit from practising the physical skills and advanced courses are the best place to do this, even if it just means having someone watch what you are doing and making comments about it. But as I said, you ride and you know that stuff - otherwise you wouldn’t be here.
What I want to talk about is the other side of the coin, the mental processes of riding because riding well (as opposed to just riding) is all in your head.
At this level, attitude is all. Yet the word attitude comprises a host of other things. It is what you want to achieve, how you want to achieve it, your concentration span, your frame of mind, your visual acuity, your powers of observation and a whole lot more. All of these have far more bearing on the way you handle a corner than any ability to use a brake lever or a throttle.
Positioning
Firstly, have a look at where you ride on the road. Let’s split a road into three zones, the left-hand wheel-track of a car, the centre of the lane and the right-hand wheel-track of a car. Where do you spend most of your time? Do you stick to one line at all times, or do you modify your position relative to other road users? What about obstacles?
Perhaps the optimal lane positioning is in the right-hand wheel-track, for several reasons. Firstly, it places you closer to the centre of the road, which increases your visibility (both in terms of seeing and of being seen) and, more importantly, it gives you more choice of emergency manoeuvre than if you are placed to the left. Secondly, if you ride in a wheel-track, chances are that other vehicles will have kept that bit of road cleaner than the middle (the tyres will scrub the surface, and there is less likelihood of oil, diesel, etc on the bitumen itself).
There are, of course, times when this is not the preferred positioning, such as when there is oncoming traffic, when it makes sense to drift across to the left to allow more room between you and the oncoming vehicle before resuming progress in the right-hand wheel-track. Another instance is approaching a crest. Drifting across to the left reduces the possibility of coming to grief meeting a car overtaking on the blind crest, or someone pulling a U-turn just out of sight, or any other unforeseen problem. Similarly, it makes sense to exit a corner in the inside (left-hand) wheel-track for the same reasons, but also because, in general, a left-hand corner is followed by a righthander and vice versa and exiting on the inside gives you the best chance of getting the next bend right (even if in the case of a right/left combination you will need to reposition once you’ve left the right-hander).
Following a vehicle too closely reduces your field of vision to the front. Drop back a little and you’ll not only see more, but you’ll also be in a better position if you have to brake suddenly.
Unfortunately the ideal road positioning is often impossible to achieve due to road irregularities, and that means you have to make a decision about where you want to be, based on where you are at the time. This usually involves a compromise, and experienced riders slow down to compensate. Scanning the road ahead to work out where you should be and scanning the road immediately around you to work out where you have to be is a skill that comes with practice, but it is a skill that is vital to your survival. It changes every second you ride and you have to be able to come to terms with the fact that roads can have different surfaces and different cambers; there can be potholes and bumps; diesel and water; or even a couch in the middle of the road, as one bike tester discovered to his peril. Look, learn and ride accordingly.
By far the most important part of positioning revolves around the other traffic. To be safe, and to give yourself a buffer zone sufficient to allow you to avoid incidents, you have not only to watch out for what is under your wheels, but also for what is around you, which leads to the notorious blind spot.
Most car drivers do not have their wing mirrors positioned correctly, and this can lead to blind spots, where the driver simply cannot see you. The dark shaded area above represents the view from the rear vision mirror. The light shaded areas are covered by the wing mirrors, assuming the driver uses them. The two coloured scooters shold be visible. The grey ones are dicing with death. Make sure you are in a position to be seen by the car in front. If not, move until you can see the whites of their eyes in the mirrors..
There are a couple of tactics that can help. Firstly, avoid blind spots. Hang back a bit to give yourself room and remember that drivers use the rear vision mirror far more than they use the wing mirrors. The worst case scenario is sitting just aft of the outside brake lights waiting for a chance to overtake. The driver just isn’t going to know you are there. Secondly, try as far as possible to travel at a speed slightly different to that of the surrounding traffic. Remember that can be slightly slower as well as slightly faster - otherwise you can make yourself a target for speed cameras.
The idea behind this is that drivers are more likely to notice you if they are forced to overtake or if you are moving forwards relative to their field of vision. It also means you are unlikely to sit in their blind spot for too long.
Speaking of blind spots, how well adjusted are your mirrors? Will they pick up a car nosing alongside you? Or are you just going to change lanes into a front threequarter panel? Can’t have the pot calling the kettle black, can we?
Observation
Comparing the field of vision for the two riders above, it is clear that the rider on the left has more vision around the corner. It may not seem like much, but imagine a car doing a U-turn in the red triangle...
Similar to the right-hand corner illustrated on the opposite page, correct positioning – in this case to the right of the lane – will offer better vision of what is to come.
There are many other visual clues to guide you through a corner, whether they are advisory speed signs, telegraph poles, the tree line, etc. All of these help your brain to unravel what kind of corner it is, if you are receptive to them. For instance, if the point where the road disappears from view keeps receding, then the corner is opening out and it’s time to get on the gas. If, on the other hand, it gets closer and closer, then the corner is tightening up (ie, has a decreasing radius) and it’s time to be careful (if it’s not too late).
Other visual clues are everywhere, should you choose to pay attention. A classic urban example is a row of empty garbage bins. What does this tell you? You’re probably going to come up behind a slow-moving garbage truck. It has only just gone past where you are now because no one has had time to get their bin in...
Another important observational tool is watching the painted lines in the middle of the road. Are they smooth? Or are they undulating or choppy. They give a great early warning about the surface of the road ahead. Undulating lines mean an undulating road, choppy lines mean a choppy road surface that will test suspension and tyres.
Crap on the road (in the literal sense) means that there may be a herd of cows or a mob of sheep up ahead, or, at the very least, a slow-moving tractor. Cars coming the other way with windscreen wipers on or raindrops means it might be time to stop to change into wet weather gear. There are many, many visual clues to help you. Remember, the road doesn’t change, it’s up to you to read it - and that’s the key to riding better.
How you look is also important, perhaps even more important than what you look at. It is one of the most common mistakes to look at the road too close in front of you, instead of lifting your eyes to take in more. It sounds an incredibly simple thing, just to lift your head and to look up, but it is incredibly difficult to do, yet it is perhaps the easiest way to become safer.
Most experts recommend scanning the road, looking from the horizon to the road surface, from side to side and checking your mirrors. If you can get into a routine of scanning your surroundings so that it becomes instinctive, like the quick head check before you start off, everything suddenly becomes a whole lot easier.
You need to keep your eyes up to see where the road goes so you can make decisions about how to handle it, but you also need to keep an eye on the road surface near your wheels to take into account any potholes, etc. That is why scanning is important; it also prevents you from staring at one thing too long and developing target fixation.
Target fixation is a very important part of riding. It is a general rule that, on a scooter, you will go where you look. That is why it is so important to keep your eyes level and looking as far ahead as you can. If you get it right, your scooter will follow your eyes almost automatically and your speed will increase to keep pace with your eyes. On the other hand, if you look at the pothole, you’ll hit it. Scanning breaks the connection and allows you to look somewhere you want to go: ie, either side of the pothole (or car, or other obstacle). It is as simple as looking further ahead, and it will help you identify problems before they become threats, and well before they finally become incidents.
Of course, no matter how well you know the road ahead, if you can’t see it, it’s not safe. Never ride out of sight. Just because you know there’s an open sweeping exit around the blind stone wall doesn’t mean that a semi hasn’t jack-knifed just out of sight.
Concentration
Finally, let’s look at concentration, perhaps the strongest weapon in your armoury. You already know that you have to concentrate to ride properly, and to ride fast and to ride safely. The problem is that no one can concentrate for too long at a stretch. There are many things that affect concentration, and we’ll look into these in more detail in the next issue.
So, if we can’t concentrate all the time, what do we do? Stay alert is the answer, ready to switch into full concentration mode when necessary. If you can position yourself correctly, and keep your eyes up, you have given yourself a headstart in identifying and dealing with problems on the road, and that means you may not have to dip into your pool of concentration to keep you out of danger, but you can use it to allow yourself to ride faster because you are already safer.
Which brings us to riding in the rain. Inexplicably, some people find themselves riding faster in the rain than they do in the dry (or at any rate faster than they thought possible). In reality, it is not inexplicable at all. What is happening is that they are concentrating on their riding, rather than all of the other things that flood your mind when you are riding on a nice, sunny day. This concentration, though tiring, brings smoothness and smoothness brings speed.
It’s the power of thought, and that is the thing that makes you better. And safe.
Next time…
So far we have covered some of the practical skills that can make you a better rider, as well as some of the mental disciplines that will make you a safer rider. Next issue, we’ll be considering your secret weapon: the scooterist’s sixth sense. And how to get it.
Back to school
If you thought that organised learning stops with your licence test, then there is a whole world of possibilities about to unfold.
There are advanced riding courses aplenty on offer. While it is true that most will have been developed out of motorcycle riding courses, there is no reason why the lessons involved may not be applied to scooters and there are specialist advanced scooter courses being developed.
Advanced rider training can be split into two general groups: skills-based training and attitudinal training. The former involves such things as going around corners, braking, body positioning and more, while the latter concentrates on identifying issues before they become incidents.
Both are valuable. The first makes you a better rider, the second makes you safer. And so they tend to go hand in hand for the complete scooterist.
HART (Honda Australia Roadcraft Training) now offers a level 6 and 7 scooter course at its St Ives facility (02 9144 5725) but there are many other training organisations. Ask your friendly scooter dealer for more info. As published in TW SCOOTER MAGAZINE - 31/05/2005
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