Chronic bad riding habit

PJRAUS
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3/11/2019 1:07am
You are probably right there, but I am absolutely loathe to give up my roost 3 ..especially after it just saved me from a bare minimum of a severely grazed shoulder, but more likely a shoulder and or collarbone break..


Patrick461
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3/11/2019 4:35am
Well buddy. You definitely are not slow,it’s incredible you fast that fast staring at your cross bar! But I saw your head move when you turned around to look at the guy behind you so you neck works!
6
usp4u
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3/11/2019 7:44am
I had the same issue.

For me it was like the visor was encouraging me to look down.

Remove the visor from your helmet and ride a full day without it. The "opening up" of your field of view encourages you to recognize this "new found" vision.


Then put the visor back on because you look like a dork.
4

The Shop

752dad
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Hartland, MI US
3/11/2019 9:36am
Dana from Wide Open MX showed us this trick:
2 strips of electrical tape across the top of your goggle lens. Head down problem solved.

KC
10
brocster
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3/11/2019 9:45am
snape99 wrote:
I took at least a year of riding 3 days a week to get my feet position right ( ball of foot ). Now I’m concentrating...
I took at least a year of riding 3 days a week to get my feet position right ( ball of foot ).
Now I’m concentrating on weighting pegs thru corners , and standing up as much as possible on track.
Do you ride on the balls of your feet the whole time and just move your foot forward to shift and brake? I can’t grasp the concept after 30 years of riding on my arches. Front side of heel to backside of peg. I do move to the balls when in whoops though. Balls = toes just over the front side of the peg.
TheLsho
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3/11/2019 10:08am
752dad wrote:
Dana from Wide Open MX showed us this trick:
2 strips of electrical tape across the top of your goggle lens. Head down problem solved.

KC
Came in here to say this.
3/11/2019 10:13am
The reactions on here are hilarious. A LOT of people ride this way. Head down entering and exiting corners and head down for too long when spotting landings. I'd say it's the most common and hardest habit to break. So much speed to be unlocked if you can master it, feels slower though.
1
barnett468
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3/11/2019 10:34am
"Amazingly the girl rode it out, never fell and wasnt hurt.
So the moral to this story....look up and live dickhead!
When I get back on the bike, Ive gotta slow down and concentrate on eliminating this habit."

should read:

Thank God I didn't injure that little girl with my incredible stupidity, and it would have haunted me for the rest of my life if I had caused her a permanent injury.
So the moral of the story is, don't ride like an idiot like I do and pay attention to others that may be around so you don't hurt anyone with your incompetence.
When I get back on a bike, I've gotta ride where nobody else is unless I can learn to pay attention to my surroundings.

.
14
themrtoad
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3/11/2019 11:27am
I used to ride just like that. Never found a cure for it
PJRAUS
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3/11/2019 11:31am
barnett468 wrote:
"Amazingly the girl rode it out, never fell and wasnt hurt. So the moral to this story....look up and live dickhead! When I get back on...
"Amazingly the girl rode it out, never fell and wasnt hurt.
So the moral to this story....look up and live dickhead!
When I get back on the bike, Ive gotta slow down and concentrate on eliminating this habit."

should read:

Thank God I didn't injure that little girl with my incredible stupidity, and it would have haunted me for the rest of my life if I had caused her a permanent injury.
So the moral of the story is, don't ride like an idiot like I do and pay attention to others that may be around so you don't hurt anyone with your incompetence.
When I get back on a bike, I've gotta ride where nobody else is unless I can learn to pay attention to my surroundings.

.
Yeah...ok mate...a bit harsh though.
While I believe the accident was my fault, she was riding in the expert group, and trail riding, wheels down in the middle of the track. Every other rider on the track was jumping through that section.
Its self regulating in a way...the novice group ,on average, mostly dont jump the first double, and none jump the next one.
If the track operator spots someone significantly faster than the others in the novice group and nailing those 2 big jumps, he waves them down and gets them to ride only in the expert group.
I often go out in the novice group for a warm up, ride their pace and keep it wheels down.

He initially didnt see her doing what she was doing because he was out on the track cutting laps with us and was immediately on the scene after the incident.
When I came back from town after getting my cast on, he told me that he saw her out there again, in the expert group, doing the same thing again, riding wheeils down in the middle of that section with guys jumping past her.
He said he pulled her up and asked her to ride in the novice group only and she got all angry at him..

We both did the wrong thing, but it was me that ran into her, so Im to blame.
Ive been riding and racing for nearly 40 years and never had an incident like this.
I just never expected to see someone riding that slow in the middle of the track, in that particular spot and because i cant seem to look far enough foward, I just didn't see her not jumping.
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PJRAUS
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3/11/2019 11:35am
752dad wrote:
Dana from Wide Open MX showed us this trick:
2 strips of electrical tape across the top of your goggle lens. Head down problem solved.

KC
TheLsho wrote:
Came in here to say this.
I like this idea, and I'll give it a try. Ive been getting lots of good advice, so thanks to all who are genuinely trying to help!
4
3/11/2019 11:48am
My bad habit is I ride on the back brake, so much so, I can’t touch the disc. This is due to riding on my arches. Once the weather clears up, I’m gonna practice riding on my toes.
PJRAUS
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3/11/2019 11:49am
More good advice, thanks , I will give this a try.
When I get out on the track I always seem to forget that I was planning on working on some area of my riding and instead just try to go fast as I can doing the same old things.
Its like I'm still 16 when I put my helmet on...I mean I always ride careful, keep it in my comfort zone, its just that I become like a happy go lucky kid that just wants to ride, rather than a thinking adult, out there to work on my technique..
It really is bizarre...its like all my thoughts and plans for the day are instantly forgotten..maybe its because Im only just getting used to this whole ride park scene...
Prior to us having this ride park in our area, not even open a year yet, my riding was mostly on race days, or more or less riding by myself on my own private track that I used to have, or other private tracks..
barnett468
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3/11/2019 11:53am
barnett468 wrote:
"Amazingly the girl rode it out, never fell and wasnt hurt. So the moral to this story....look up and live dickhead! When I get back on...
"Amazingly the girl rode it out, never fell and wasnt hurt.
So the moral to this story....look up and live dickhead!
When I get back on the bike, Ive gotta slow down and concentrate on eliminating this habit."

should read:

Thank God I didn't injure that little girl with my incredible stupidity, and it would have haunted me for the rest of my life if I had caused her a permanent injury.
So the moral of the story is, don't ride like an idiot like I do and pay attention to others that may be around so you don't hurt anyone with your incompetence.
When I get back on a bike, I've gotta ride where nobody else is unless I can learn to pay attention to my surroundings.

.
PJRAUS wrote:
Yeah...ok mate...a bit harsh though. While I believe the accident was my fault, she was riding in the expert group, and trail riding, wheels down in...
Yeah...ok mate...a bit harsh though.
While I believe the accident was my fault, she was riding in the expert group, and trail riding, wheels down in the middle of the track. Every other rider on the track was jumping through that section.
Its self regulating in a way...the novice group ,on average, mostly dont jump the first double, and none jump the next one.
If the track operator spots someone significantly faster than the others in the novice group and nailing those 2 big jumps, he waves them down and gets them to ride only in the expert group.
I often go out in the novice group for a warm up, ride their pace and keep it wheels down.

He initially didnt see her doing what she was doing because he was out on the track cutting laps with us and was immediately on the scene after the incident.
When I came back from town after getting my cast on, he told me that he saw her out there again, in the expert group, doing the same thing again, riding wheeils down in the middle of that section with guys jumping past her.
He said he pulled her up and asked her to ride in the novice group only and she got all angry at him..

We both did the wrong thing, but it was me that ran into her, so Im to blame.
Ive been riding and racing for nearly 40 years and never had an incident like this.
I just never expected to see someone riding that slow in the middle of the track, in that particular spot and because i cant seem to look far enough foward, I just didn't see her not jumping.
Yeah, unfortunately any skill level rider may be going significantly slower on the track than similar skill level riders for whatever reason. Sometimes they may suddenly have a mechanical issue or whatever and there isn't a good place to get off the track etc. I have seen this scenario countless times so I pay close attention to what is ahead, and I have seen first hand the aftermath of someone landing on top of someone else off a big jump as well as other collisions on an MX track. First rule of operating any powered tool or vehicle is safety. We only get one life as far as we know.

Sr_Vet_Rider
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3/11/2019 12:13pm
barnett468 wrote:
"Amazingly the girl rode it out, never fell and wasnt hurt. So the moral to this story....look up and live dickhead! When I get back on...
"Amazingly the girl rode it out, never fell and wasnt hurt.
So the moral to this story....look up and live dickhead!
When I get back on the bike, Ive gotta slow down and concentrate on eliminating this habit."

should read:

Thank God I didn't injure that little girl with my incredible stupidity, and it would have haunted me for the rest of my life if I had caused her a permanent injury.
So the moral of the story is, don't ride like an idiot like I do and pay attention to others that may be around so you don't hurt anyone with your incompetence.
When I get back on a bike, I've gotta ride where nobody else is unless I can learn to pay attention to my surroundings.

.
Kind of an unnecessary post, don’t you think ?

He stated it was an Expert practice and with so many jumps being blind take offs, your logic is “out the window”.
9
wildbill
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3/11/2019 12:26pm
Desert riding is s great cure for your condition. Flying along at mach 6 pinned is conducive to looking WAY ahead for obstacles that you'll soon be upon.
3
barnett468
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3/11/2019 1:02pm
barnett468 wrote:
"Amazingly the girl rode it out, never fell and wasnt hurt. So the moral to this story....look up and live dickhead! When I get back on...
"Amazingly the girl rode it out, never fell and wasnt hurt.
So the moral to this story....look up and live dickhead!
When I get back on the bike, Ive gotta slow down and concentrate on eliminating this habit."

should read:

Thank God I didn't injure that little girl with my incredible stupidity, and it would have haunted me for the rest of my life if I had caused her a permanent injury.
So the moral of the story is, don't ride like an idiot like I do and pay attention to others that may be around so you don't hurt anyone with your incompetence.
When I get back on a bike, I've gotta ride where nobody else is unless I can learn to pay attention to my surroundings.

.
Kind of an unnecessary post, don’t you think ? He stated it was an Expert practice and with so many jumps being blind take offs, your...
Kind of an unnecessary post, don’t you think ?

He stated it was an Expert practice and with so many jumps being blind take offs, your logic is “out the window”.
My "logic" is right on the money.
7
PJRAUS
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3/11/2019 1:30pm
wildbill wrote:
Desert riding is s great cure for your condition. Flying along at mach 6 pinned is conducive to looking WAY ahead for obstacles that you'll soon...
Desert riding is s great cure for your condition. Flying along at mach 6 pinned is conducive to looking WAY ahead for obstacles that you'll soon be upon.
I figure that you are absolutely correct about that, but frankly the thought of riding flat out over unknown terrain terrifies me!
Ive always wondered how the guys that race the Finke desert race...especially in the dust. Absolute balls of steel!
And when Curt Caselli lost his life in that type of event....I mean he was one of the best...
Its not for me...not ever!
Camp332
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3/11/2019 1:42pm
Sounds like you're on your way to fixing the problem now. Admitting your problem, and owning it is step 1 bro!
2
mooch
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3/11/2019 2:17pm
Just my 2 cents...actually following Ryan Hughes instruction.... If you are riding on the balls of your feet, and with unlocked hips, I don’t see how...
Just my 2 cents...actually following Ryan Hughes instruction....

If you are riding on the balls of your feet, and with unlocked hips, I don’t see how it wouldn’t force the head up...
Possibly you can explain the unlocked hips thing...I've never had a grasp on what that is.
Adam43
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3/11/2019 3:38pm Edited Date/Time 3/11/2019 3:39pm
You have an extremely rearward riding position. I used to see this more often with older guys that may have rode during the twin-shock era.

It used to be what you had to do to survive with wimpy forks.

In your video, your head is almost never over the bar, even while cornering. You will wash the front a lot as a result, particularly in tighter turns. You are still trying to ride aggressively, which is good, but being so far back it creates kind of a hunched and downward-looking position.

Tilt your visor up higher. Practice riding at 70% speed. Keep your head over the crossbar pad at all times. You can let your body row back as needed but the head must always be forward. Slide your crotch up on the tank in tighter turns.
PJRAUS
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3/11/2019 3:41pm
Adam43 wrote:
You have an extremely rearward riding position. I used to see this more often with older guys that may have rode during the twin-shock era. It...
You have an extremely rearward riding position. I used to see this more often with older guys that may have rode during the twin-shock era.

It used to be what you had to do to survive with wimpy forks.

In your video, your head is almost never over the bar, even while cornering. You will wash the front a lot as a result, particularly in tighter turns. You are still trying to ride aggressively, which is good, but being so far back it creates kind of a hunched and downward-looking position.

Tilt your visor up higher. Practice riding at 70% speed. Keep your head over the crossbar pad at all times. You can let your body row back as needed but the head must always be forward. Slide your crotch up on the tank in tighter turns.
Thanks nan...and yes I am from the twin shock era..started on a 1977 honda 125 Elsinore, then got a 1980 RM 100
Sierra Ranger
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3/11/2019 3:46pm
One of the worst things about this sport is the way beginner kids are put out on the track with fast experts and pros. I can't think of any other sport that has such a bone-headed tradition- international apparently. (And I have heard all the arguments from track owners about why they can't separate or have flaggers on practice days- basic stuff any normal youth sport would insist on).
2
PJRAUS
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3/11/2019 4:34pm
One of the worst things about this sport is the way beginner kids are put out on the track with fast experts and pros. I can't...
One of the worst things about this sport is the way beginner kids are put out on the track with fast experts and pros. I can't think of any other sport that has such a bone-headed tradition- international apparently. (And I have heard all the arguments from track owners about why they can't separate or have flaggers on practice days- basic stuff any normal youth sport would insist on).
In this case she was neither a kid nor a beginner. She is an experienced enduro ride and an adult.
I watched her ride a few laps later on, she was riding in the novice group then and she was faster than all of them.
She has very good corner speed and is a confident rider, but she was trail riding, wheels totally on the ground through that jump section, which in the novice group is fine, trouble was she was going out in the exoert group and doing the same thing.
A flagger would have made no indifference, she hadn't crashed or had any problem, she was just slowing right down in that section and I had nailed it so that I could downside the longest jump on the track.
Because my bad habit is to spot my landings on big jumps too much, I didn't see that she had slowed way down
PJRAUS
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3/11/2019 4:39pm
One of the worst things about this sport is the way beginner kids are put out on the track with fast experts and pros. I can't...
One of the worst things about this sport is the way beginner kids are put out on the track with fast experts and pros. I can't think of any other sport that has such a bone-headed tradition- international apparently. (And I have heard all the arguments from track owners about why they can't separate or have flaggers on practice days- basic stuff any normal youth sport would insist on).
Oh and at this track, adults are separated into 2 groups , expert and novice, its up to the riders to decide..but if someone makes the wrong choice the figure it out for themselves pretty quick or the get waved down and asked to switch groups.
Kids are in 2 separate groups, peewees and kids play bikes, their parents are allowed to ride aroud behind them on their own full sized bikes if the wish and the other group is 65 and 85 motocrossers
neverwas
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3/11/2019 4:42pm
I used to do the same thing until I went to the Suzuki school at Carlsbad, Mark Blackwell put a piece of tape on the front fender and told me if and when you see the tape,look up! It worked.I never look down unless I'm on my trials bike.
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1
PJRAUS
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3/11/2019 5:04pm


If anyone's interested, someone posted a pretty good go pro riding this track.
The guy is on a 125 and seems a pretty good rider and obviously looks up more than I do??
This video is from b4 Christmas and the jump where the incident happened is different now.
The up ramp is now built up maybe 18 inches or 2 foot higher but still has the same flat angle of trajectory.
The landing area used to be fairly flat before dipping over the downhill side.
This guy is doing what we were pretty much all doing, landing in the middle to far edge of the plateau and kind of bouncing off that over to the down side. I can guarantee you hes doing this in 6th

now that landing area has been built up 2 or 3 feet and is a lot longer from front to back but is very rounded on both sides.
So now it has more of a pronounced bike hiding dip between the take off and the landing.
Its a safe jump, doesnt matter where you land, its not gonna be a problem, its just that if you wanna make it all the way over to the downside, where this rider kind of bounces to after landing, you have to be fully tapped.

The problem is that you have to go so fast to downside it that you come up on people not doing that very, very fast, the way the jump is now, fast as this guy is going, he would be in danger of being struck from behind by someone downsiding it, or at least side swiped.
In this incident, the other rider was not jumping at all, she was keeping her wheels on the ground all the way from the upface of the step up double to up and over the next jump and more or less in the middle of the track.
When I came over that jump and saw her there,It was the scariest moment of my life, I should have seen what she was doing while I was in the air over the step up double, but I was looking at the ground where I was going to land it, which is how I fucked this up..
Im pretty sure this jump will b changed now, ironically the track operator and I were standing on this jump after xmas while he was changing it and we discussed what dangers might be there, given that its a ride park and has to cater for all abilities.
It was me that said that its just going to be so fast that someone is going to run into someone riding slow...never dreamed it would be me!
We might have to find the extra dirt to build a bunch of obstacles along there to slow it right down
1
PJRAUS
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3/11/2019 5:07pm
neverwas wrote:
I used to do the same thing until I went to the Suzuki school at Carlsbad, Mark Blackwell put a piece of tape on the front...
I used to do the same thing until I went to the Suzuki school at Carlsbad, Mark Blackwell put a piece of tape on the front fender and told me if and when you see the tape,look up! It worked.I never look down unless I'm on my trials bike.
Thanks mate! Another good idea!

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