Panic vs.practice

Many Olympians train their brains.  They watch themselves perform flawless routines in their minds eye over and over again. When they perform, they execute the routine they’ve  practiced both physically but mentally.  Motorcyclists must do the same thing when it comes to preparing their brains for danger.  If you want to be ready when an emergency happens rather than relying on your panic reflexes you’ll want to have pre-planned your actions for such an emergency.

Think about possible scenarios and then practice your reaction.  For example, you could run a scenario where  you pull out to pass when an oncoming vehicle appears in the lane you’re in.  Think through what your response could be if you’re directly beside the vehicle you’re passing.   What could you do if you’re at his back bumper?   Practice your response mentally and then practice physically  when you’re actually on the road passing when it’s safe of course.  Practicing passing when a car is coming would be a bad idea I’m thinking.  You can practice while you’re passing though, slowing down and getting behind, speeding up and passing depending on the scenario.

Panic reflexes are simply untrained responses and normally don’t end well.  Practiced responses on the other hand, give you a much better shot at staying upright and unscathed. You can always check out a class to help you prepare for these scenarios as well.  Our next Experienced Boot Camp for Your Bike  Class is Aug 21.  Click here to sign up or learn more.