RIDE AND REWIND S1:E1

One of the silliest things you can do on a bike besides be a reckless hoon >ᴗ<

…..is FUEL your adrenaline with your LEVEL of EMOTIONS or EGO. If your karma is anything like mine. You’ll see. AND. Perhaps experience - the warning SIGNS pretty quickly. But at the same token. This is where experience and MOTO EDUCATION go hand in hand.

I remember first REVIEWING my ride, what has now come to be, ‘Weather the Storm’ (S1:E1) - with both awe and dispiritedness. There were MOMENTS in this journey where I felt a sense of CONNECTION and FLOW with my BIKE and RIDE. And THEN. Times. Where it was the complete opposite. Most of this was because of the PERCEPTUAL discomfort and INEXPERIENCE of riding at particular SPEEDS, roads, AND weather CONDITIONS.

What I intentionally cut from the video not too long after TRANSITIONING into the fog and rain were a few moments of error in response to fear and uncertainty. And in that fear and uncertainty. The SITUATION could have easily TUNRED into an unforgettable and INCORRIGIBLE moment.

LIFE is full of decisions and micro-decisions. When you’re on a BIKE - these MOMENTS are much more EVIDENT and REAL. Had I continued to lift the visor and delayed myself that MILLISECOND longer, I LIKELY would have panicked coming closer to the curve of the road vs the speed I was travelling for MY KNOWN capability - AND - may have pushed down on the handlebar JUST that little bit harder...OR...I could have SQUEEZED the BRKAES instead of deaccelerating, leading to a different CHAIN of REACTIONS. This realisation took a little to SHAKE OFF – but you can visibly see where I regained COMPOSURE around 8:44 mins in.

……the pervasive RUMINATION about the TIRES possibly SLIPPING from the amount of WATER on the ROAD…my level of riding COMPETENCY in this UNFAMILIAR environment and ROAD conditions…my DECISION to let go of the handlebar for a little too long…the discomfort of HIGH SPEED vehicles traveling a little TOO CLOSE for comfort…like a swarm of INCESSANT BEES - these UNHELPFUL thought PATTERNS severely impeded my CONSCIOUS FOCUS and CONFIDENCE on the bike.

Life is IRONIC. Riding a MOTORCYCLE has helped me better understand myself, my own capabilities, and limits. It has made me toy willingly and unwillingly with the Angel of Death. And Look. Riding does not have to necessarily be risky, especially if you have adequate training, knowledge, and experience of motorcycles and the physiology of riding. HOWEVER. Life and life factors are variable - particularly when you are talking about HIGH SPEEDS, unpredictable weather, traffic, road and environmental hazards AS WELL AS bike and USER error.

"Look at everything. Stare at nothing”.

Target fixation is something that can certainly come into play when your ANXIETY LEVELS are high and EXPERIENCE LOW. Pre-occupation with a thought, emotion, memory, or DISTRACTION from sensory information AND OR external factors can QUCIKLY turn from NOTHING into SOMETHING. Especially if you FIXATE on this. I’ve heard a few MANTRAS over my riding journey and have to say that ‘look at everything – stare at nothing’, for me, resonates the best. That continuous sweeping-like motion of your eyes can better help stimulate the eye-to-mind connection and provide greater insight and reaction to external situations. THOUGH this is not always the case. SOMETIMES you will need to focus on key points for DIRECTION - such as looking through a CORNER.

To read more about target fixation view Road Sense Australia or watch CanyonChasers here.