If any of you are in Utah you've probably heard of Squaw Peak Rd. up Provo Canyon. It's a narrow road with 15 or so switchbacks in about 4 miles of road. The area has had several car/bike/motorcycle/skateboarding accidents and a few casualties. Of course I was ignorant of the danger until I had myself a little crash up there earlier this week. I'm very lucky to be alive and miraculously (mostly) unscathed.
I had successfully navigated the road a few times before. To me the road represented pure awesome and a place relatively close to home where I could satisfy my need (actually a want) to hang off the bike.
The cause of the crash was target fixation. The reason I target fixated comprises several elements and will be described later.
I was banking left on one of the many pinheads on my way down from the scenic overlook at the top, which is gorgeous BTW. I was leaned over farther than I had ever leaned before (important) and noticed in my peripheral vision that I was starting to run out of road. Instead of focusing my attention on my line I panicked and took a quick glance at the side of the road (Something I had previously told myself not to do HUNDREDS of times). At that point fear took over and I fixated on the gravel just past the edge of the road. My body automatically straightened up the bike and off the edge we went.
Here's why I think I target fixated:
1) Riding at the limit of my ability. As mentioned I distinctly remember thinking that I had never been leaned over so far before. It was quite exhilarating but when I became aware that I was running out of road I looked to see if I was going to have enough road instead of getting my head pointed inward and increasing lean angle. I was probably subconsciously afraid that if I were to increase lean angle that I would slide out. In retrospect I'm fully confident that the machine was capable of much more.
It is now my opinion that no street riding should be done that exceeds 80% of a person's riding ability. Target fixation is a natural product of fear which is very controllable when riding below one's ability.
2) Riding downhill out of gear. I had learned at the MSF basic course that this is a bad idea (Keith Code says so too).... and it is. By riding downhill out of gear more attention is diverted to braking and less attention is available for proper cornering. It's definitely worth noting that I wouldn't have been riding at the limit of my ability if the bike had been in gear as I would have been going several MPH slower.
3) Failure to pay attention to "red flags", or "close calls". Before the crash I had run wide of my line on the previous two turns and I remember thinking to myself, "Slow down dude you're getting ahead of yourself here". If I had physically stopped the bike after the first close call I would have had a chance to relax and think instead of panicking and reacting through the next turn... resulting in a wreck. I believe it would be good practice to physically stop, dismount, and take time to think every time one experiences a close call (obviously only if it's safe to do so)
How do you avoid target fixation? I'm interested to know what you guys have to say, obviously just telling yourself not to do it is not enough.
Remember, when riding a motorcycle, discretion is the better part of valor. ;D
I had successfully navigated the road a few times before. To me the road represented pure awesome and a place relatively close to home where I could satisfy my need (actually a want) to hang off the bike.
The cause of the crash was target fixation. The reason I target fixated comprises several elements and will be described later.
I was banking left on one of the many pinheads on my way down from the scenic overlook at the top, which is gorgeous BTW. I was leaned over farther than I had ever leaned before (important) and noticed in my peripheral vision that I was starting to run out of road. Instead of focusing my attention on my line I panicked and took a quick glance at the side of the road (Something I had previously told myself not to do HUNDREDS of times). At that point fear took over and I fixated on the gravel just past the edge of the road. My body automatically straightened up the bike and off the edge we went.
Here's why I think I target fixated:
1) Riding at the limit of my ability. As mentioned I distinctly remember thinking that I had never been leaned over so far before. It was quite exhilarating but when I became aware that I was running out of road I looked to see if I was going to have enough road instead of getting my head pointed inward and increasing lean angle. I was probably subconsciously afraid that if I were to increase lean angle that I would slide out. In retrospect I'm fully confident that the machine was capable of much more.
It is now my opinion that no street riding should be done that exceeds 80% of a person's riding ability. Target fixation is a natural product of fear which is very controllable when riding below one's ability.
2) Riding downhill out of gear. I had learned at the MSF basic course that this is a bad idea (Keith Code says so too).... and it is. By riding downhill out of gear more attention is diverted to braking and less attention is available for proper cornering. It's definitely worth noting that I wouldn't have been riding at the limit of my ability if the bike had been in gear as I would have been going several MPH slower.
3) Failure to pay attention to "red flags", or "close calls". Before the crash I had run wide of my line on the previous two turns and I remember thinking to myself, "Slow down dude you're getting ahead of yourself here". If I had physically stopped the bike after the first close call I would have had a chance to relax and think instead of panicking and reacting through the next turn... resulting in a wreck. I believe it would be good practice to physically stop, dismount, and take time to think every time one experiences a close call (obviously only if it's safe to do so)
How do you avoid target fixation? I'm interested to know what you guys have to say, obviously just telling yourself not to do it is not enough.
Remember, when riding a motorcycle, discretion is the better part of valor. ;D
