First skill to go?

[Misti]

When you take a break from riding what do you think is the first skill to go? What riding technique do you lose the quickest when you don't ride as often as you like?

Misti

[Falcor]

I think confidence in max lean angle would go first. Otherwise everything else should be like well, riding a bike

[bkh2]

For street riders, I would think that road sense and overall bike sense would go first.

[choneofakind]

Braking. I always forget how much brake I can use when I ride for the first time after finals in the spring. After braking, I lose slow speed maneuver skills.

[Lychee]

full lock turns

[rojoracing53]

The skill to not go over double the limit.

[backinthesaddleagain]

smooth inputs

[adouglas]

Staying loose.

Which is another way of saying the same things already mentioned above.

[csmith12]

My patience.... hahahahahahaha

[tooblekain]

It varies for everyone

So the best answer--all learned skills

[CycleCam303]

Originally Posted by rojoracing53

The skill to not go over double the limit.

Word.

It takes awhile for the jitters and relax its the street mentality to kick in

[KawiKid860]

I'll find out and let you guys know this spring, since college in north-eastern WA is forcing me to out my bike up I just did my first track day and gained a ton of confidence through corners too lol, bummer.

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by KawiKid860

I'll find out and let you guys know this spring, since college in north-eastern WA is forcing me to out my bike up I just did my first track day and gained a ton of confidence through corners too lol, bummer.

Welcome to my world. It blows.

Sell the 500 and buy a bicycle, it makes the separation easier to live with.

[Sirref]

low speed ability. I highly doubt I'll ever be capable at motogymkhana and it shows when I take a week or two off from riding.

other than that the ability to go slow in general. the throttle is even more tempting to pin when I haven't done it in a while

[KawiKid860]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

Welcome to my world. It blows.

Sell the 500 and buy a bicycle, it makes the separation easier to live with.

I don't think I'll ever get rid of my 500 lol, too attached. I'd totally bring a bike to college but I don't think I'll have any place to put it!

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by KawiKid860

I don't think I'll have any place to put it!

Talk to your room mate ahead of time. There's space in your room if you're both okay with it. There's also some schools that let you rent out a parking spot in the basement of your dorm building, etc etc.

Both of mine live in my room, along with my trainer. But I also have an on-campus trainer. The last two years, the roadie has lived in my dorm room under my bed

[Whiskey]

Long range observation, spotting the idiot half way down the road rather than 4-5 seconds away, or that patch of gravel in the bend until I'm closer to it than I'd like.

Takes a day or so to come back if I've been off for a few weeks.

[allanoue]

Originally Posted by Falcor

I think confidence in max lean angle would go first. Otherwise everything else should be like well, riding a bike

[nightrider]

The first thing that always goes is reflex and quick reaction time. That is a skill that is only honed with consistent and constant repetition.

[CC Cowboy]

Not peeing yourself from full thottle acceleration.

[Misti]

Originally Posted by tooblekain

It varies for everyone

So the best answer--all learned skills

For sure it can vary with the individual. It's interesting though, I asked this question on another forum and almost everyone said perception of speed.

Is there a procedure to follow if getting back on a bike after a break? Are there things you guys do in order to get rid of the cobwebs and kind of retrain yourself?

[alex.s]

if it's been awhile i have to go slow at first. really reacquaint myself with the bike. every bike is different even the same bike is different one month to the next. traction, different roads, the weight of the bike and the belly of the rider take a few laps to get into feeling. once you have a good sense of self again, you can focus better on whats around you. you can see faster. things don't seem as fast because you aren't struggling to keep up with the input you're receiving. you can focus on what's important, instead of focusing on why it doesn't look or feel like how you mis-remembered it.

its goofy i know, but one thing that helps me get back into that mental state when i get on track after a break is to sing a song in my head in hot pit... it clears my head and i know its time to focus. maybe its like rossi picking a wedge. its for sure goofy to write it. but it always puts me at ease.

[Misti]

Originally Posted by alex.s

if it's been awhile i have to go slow at first. really reacquaint myself with the bike. every bike is different even the same bike is different one month to the next. traction, different roads, the weight of the bike and the belly of the rider take a few laps to get into feeling. once you have a good sense of self again, you can focus better on whats around you. you can see faster. things don't seem as fast because you aren't struggling to keep up with the input you're receiving. you can focus on what's important, instead of focusing on why it doesn't look or feel like how you mis-remembered it.

its goofy i know, but one thing that helps me get back into that mental state when i get on track after a break is to sing a song in my head in hot pit... it clears my head and i know its time to focus. maybe its like rossi picking a wedge. its for sure goofy to write it. but it always puts me at ease.

I had a student this summer at the Ridge who got all flustered and stressed out because he was thinking about too many things at once and couldn't chill out. I told him to do one lap where he thought about every single detail and then to do the rest of the session without thinking about anything. He came in with the biggest smile I think I've ever seen in a student (and I see lots and he said, "It's going to sound crazy but I SANG I'm a little teapot!!"

You are definitely not the only one to use singing as a method to help! Why would singing help anyway? What's the benefit of singing while riding?

[csmith12]

[alex.s]

im a little teapot... cute. :P singing is simply the gag that fills the mouth of my incessant inner voice.

[allanoue]

I think singing helps to get your slow conscious thinking, which is not good at multitasking, out of the way of subconscious thought, which does incredible amounts of multitasking.

Edit: Only works if you know your tasks well.

[Misti]

Originally Posted by alex.s

im a little teapot... cute. :P singing is simply the gag that fills the mouth of my incessant inner voice.

hahaha totally.

[Sirref]

Originally Posted by Misti

I had a student this summer at the Ridge who got all flustered and stressed out because he was thinking about too many things at once and couldn't chill out. I told him to do one lap where he thought about every single detail and then to do the rest of the session without thinking about anything. He came in with the biggest smile I think I've ever seen in a student (and I see lots and he said, "It's going to sound crazy but I SANG I'm a little teapot!!"

You are definitely not the only one to use singing as a method to help! Why would singing help anyway? What's the benefit of singing while riding?

funny I have the opposite problem, I find it challenging to think of anything while riding as my mind tends to go blank and my body just does what it needs to do (unless I'm on a really straight stretch of road then I'll lay down some beats for the boredom)

which is the ideal? actively thinking more or thinking less and letting your body just do it's thing while your mind observes and yells at you for mistakes later

[alex.s]

autopilot; the fast and easy way to a crash

[Sirref]

except I'm fully awake and aware of what I'm doing, I'm just not thinking

kinda hard to explain, it happens whenever I do things that require a lot of multitasking or such my mind just goes blank but I'm fully aware of what I'm doing and can alter it except without words of any form running around in my head. It's actually a large reason why I ride to chase after that feeling, and it's definitely not autopilot

[Thorgrim]

Originally Posted by Sirref

low speed ability. I highly doubt I'll ever be capable at motogymkhana and it shows when I take a week or two off from riding.

other than that the ability to go slow in general. the throttle is even more tempting to pin when I haven't done it in a while

After almost 30 years off two wheels, I agree. I still struggle with low speed maneuvering. I'm also switching from mostly dirt to all street, and don't know how much bearing that has on the issue but I suspect a lot. I find street bikes a lot harder to ride slow than dirt bikes. My instinct still is to gas it and spin the tail to the outside of the turn, which isn't working for me on the street. Damned sticky modern street tires don't like to spin.

[Kokosun]

For me ... it was braking. Normal braking wasn't a problem, but it took me a while to get comfortable with hard braking again. This is the area that I also find challenging when I'm on a new bike - coming to grips with the different braking performance. Whenever I ride a new bike, I always spend a few minutes testing out the braking limits once the tyres are up to temp.

[Misti]

Originally Posted by Sirref

except I'm fully awake and aware of what I'm doing, I'm just not thinking

kinda hard to explain, it happens whenever I do things that require a lot of multitasking or such my mind just goes blank but I'm fully aware of what I'm doing and can alter it except without words of any form running around in my head. It's actually a large reason why I ride to chase after that feeling, and it's definitely not autopilot

I think I get it. I know that the reason why I ride is because I feel calm and relaxed. Normally my brain is going a mile a minute and I'm thinking about 18 things at once and I can't focus on anything and I start one job and move to the next etc. Riding (because it requires absolute focus) allows me to relax my brain and feel calm. Seems strange that you could feel calm while racing or riding at such a high pace but it is because I'm totally focussed on one thing and one thing only. I can't think about anything else. This doesn't mean that I don't work through certain aspects of my riding. I might think about my upcoming reference point or remind myself to look ahead or plan a pass or decide to block a line. But the majority of the technique happens without conscience thought.

I think if you put the time in before hand, with practicing one thing at a time and working to improve your riding, then you can have rides and times when your body just DOES and you just RIDE.

Not sure if that made any sense at all...

[Sirref]

Originally Posted by Misti

I think I get it. I know that the reason why I ride is because I feel calm and relaxed. Normally my brain is going a mile a minute and I'm thinking about 18 things at once and I can't focus on anything and I start one job and move to the next etc. Riding (because it requires absolute focus) allows me to relax my brain and feel calm. Seems strange that you could feel calm while racing or riding at such a high pace but it is because I'm totally focussed on one thing and one thing only. I can't think about anything else. This doesn't mean that I don't work through certain aspects of my riding. I might think about my upcoming reference point or remind myself to look ahead or plan a pass or decide to block a line. But the majority of the technique happens without conscience thought.

I think if you put the time in before hand, with practicing one thing at a time and working to improve your riding, then you can have rides and times when your body just DOES and you just RIDE.

Not sure if that made any sense at all...

it made perfect sense, you explained exactly what I feel in your own way. The major difference between the two of us in this respect is that you have worked out and concentrated on more areas of your riding than I have so your subconscious technique is better than mine...at least I would hope so

[Misti]

Originally Posted by Sirref

it made perfect sense, you explained exactly what I feel in your own way. The major difference between the two of us in this respect is that you have worked out and concentrated on more areas of your riding than I have so your subconscious technique is better than mine...at least I would hope so

[Dragone]

Originally Posted by KawiKid860

I don't think I'll ever get rid of my 500 lol, too attached. I'd totally bring a bike to college but I don't think I'll have any place to put it!

The 500 is a good ride.

Would have to say that everytime back on any ride, I pay attention to balance and get comfortable again with that bike.

[Felipe the Ant]

Originally Posted by adouglas

Staying loose.

Which is another way of saying the same things already mentioned above.

This, I find I start to lose my abs/core whatever you call it muscles and rest on the bars a lot more. Long rides start hurting my back again too

[csmith12]

I think this is a hard question to answer because I think the subconscious skills would be the first to degrade.

After my patience goes, next would be consistency.

[KawiKid860]

Haven't been riding every day like I used to since it's colder and usually not as nice up here, and I really have no reason to living on campus. I noticed at first my low speed skills were a little off after not riding for a while, and I think my perception of speed went a little bit too. I was totally used to the power of my CBR before, but after not being on it as often it feels quicker now lol.

[Thorgrim]

Originally Posted by Misti

I think I get it. I know that the reason why I ride is because I feel calm and relaxed. Normally my brain is going a mile a minute and I'm thinking about 18 things at once and I can't focus on anything and I start one job and move to the next etc. Riding (because it requires absolute focus) allows me to relax my brain and feel calm. Seems strange that you could feel calm while racing or riding at such a high pace but it is because I'm totally focussed on one thing and one thing only. I can't think about anything else. This doesn't mean that I don't work through certain aspects of my riding. I might think about my upcoming reference point or remind myself to look ahead or plan a pass or decide to block a line. But the majority of the technique happens without conscience thought.

I think if you put the time in before hand, with practicing one thing at a time and working to improve your riding, then you can have rides and times when your body just DOES and you just RIDE.

Not sure if that made any sense at all...

Sure does. Now and then I take a ride and I don't think about the bike at all - not which gear I'm in or at what RPMs, not which lane position, just grooving as I go about my business here and there, checking mirrors and horizon, just riding. Traffic is traffic, and it's getting to be fairly predictable. My goal is to make every ride like that, or nearly so at least.

NB - I think I finally understand how police know who they should pull over. More and more I can spot a goofball before they they commit a goof. It isn't perfect, but it helps.