Making Your Way (Part 2 of 2)

What can this guy see?
Where can he go if something happens behind him?

OK, I last left you with my strategy which is - SCAN.

Set your mind
Categorize stimuli
Analyze movement
Navigate the situation

And here it is as best I can explain it, let me know what you think and maybe I can make it even more easy to understand. Keep in mind this isn't something for a beginning rider, but for someone that's been riding for a while and is ready to further increase their enjoyment and comfort while riding.


SET

Mental State – Expectations - Field of View

While SET typically is meant in regards to things that occur before an activity, this stage will be constantly used to maintain the proper baseline for the rest of the steps. SCAN was selected purposely because it should be used as it sounds…constantly.

Mental State - Even before I throw my leg over my bike I make sure I have set a mental state. It is one that allows me to be relaxed, yet ready. Internal distractions are the biggest issue we as riders need to address as we ride and if you do not have a mental calming procedure such as meditation or even just a simple way to shut of mental distracts you should develop one. This mental state will need to be constantly reset as we ride. If someone cuts me off I move past the incident immediately or I am at risk to what the internal distraction (being upset) can do to me externally. Immediate forgiveness is probably the most valuable skill a rider can develop and hone. Use it and you will be a much safer rider.

Expectations – Once again this starts before I even get on my bike. Some expectations should be set based upon your condition, both mentally and physically and then also the type of bike you will be riding. Beyond that you should expect roadway conditions based upon weather, or other signs such as construction equipment or even physical signs. Finally and most importantly is what you expect regarding other roadways users. There are three ways to view other users. First is that they cannot impede your path, second is that could impede your path and third is that they will impede your path. I’ll discuss further how to deal with these three states, but all other roadway users (note that I did not say vehicles) must be set in one of these categories. The better or more properly you set them in a category the calmer your rides will be.

Field of View – Our brains work as much as we tell them to work and in regards to motion, the brain works only as far ahead as we give it visual information. If you target a certain spot on a roadway you’ll find that it is hard and stressful to move past that spot until you change your vision. That is because brain is extremely efficient and only solves pathways as far along as you show. At walking speed the rate of vision change is not as important as it is when you are riding at let’s say 60 MPH, and most everyone understands that the further ahead you look the better you feel in regards to speed, but there is another benefit. The further ahead you look, the more you look through a turn and the wider you expand your vision the more you’ll actually be able to see other roadways users, things that are off of the sides of the roadway that could impede your path and the calmer you mind will be. The real key to looking out farther and wider is to slow down everything so that any unexpected motion will be easier to identify.


Categorize

Expected Motion - Potential Motion - Unexpected Motion – Non-Motion

With the proper mental state, expectations and vision set you’ll be able to begin to categorize what is actually happening on the roadway. In the set phase I defined three behaviors of other roadway users. (First is that they cannot impede your path, second is that could impede your path and third is that they will impede your path.) All three of these types in reality are expected behavior, so it may seem odd that I have 3 additional categories. That is because those are expected behavior and not expected motion, which are two different things. Motion itself does not mean conflict, so the key here is to quickly understand the motion and then only react to the motion that needs navigation, not to react to everything.

All of these expected behaviors could be expected motion, so as you get better at setting your expectations (That guy will pull out in front of me, that person will drift into my lane, …ect) the less you’ll have to deal with as a surprise.


Expected Motion - Very simply this is any motion that a rider would expect to see, things like cars moving alongside in traffic, cross traffic at and intersection and even vehicles not moving at a stop sign.

Potential Motion – Anything that could cause conflict such as a car stopped at an intersection which might move, kids standing at the side of the road or a truck heading directly towards you (that could potentially turn in front of you.)

Unexpected Motion – As you continue to use this strategy you’ll move many of the motions you see in this section to Expected Motion, but there will still remain motion you don’t expect. As an example, when I am on a freeway I do not expect to see fast side-to-side motion, if I do it triggers as a red flag. Things like people pulling out in front of me in an intersection or cutting across my path may have initially been in this group, but have since moved to my Expected Motions.

Non-Motion – This category is for things that are not in motion, nor would it ever be expected that they would be in motion, but because they exist in your pathway they provide for conflict. A tree trunk in the middle of the road or gravel is a perfect example.


Analyze

Change in Motion - Change in Position - Change of FOV

Once I have categorized motion I then analyze what it means to me as a rider. Most expected motion means that things are OK and even some unexpected motion will not affect me, but is observed to make sure it does not create motion that will. I watch for these three things when riding and then Navigate based upon my observations.

Change in Motion – When a roadway user changes their motion it affects other roadway users and could possibly create conflict for me, so any change in motion needs to be noted to see if it changes the categorization of motions.

Change in Position – As I ride on the roadway I note any change of position other users make and how my change of position changes their behavior. While motion itself may not change, position can sometimes change the category in which I placed another roadway user and I constantly analyze that categorization.

Change of FOV – While I set my Field of View first I must also analyze that I am maintaining a proper view based upon my motion, another roadway user or other items that may change my FOV alongside or on the roadway.

Navigate

Plan a path that avoids obvious conflict - Plan a path that allows for controlled conflict

Once I have categorized Motion I then analyze what I can do to either affect that motion or avoid that motion. Note that the further I set my Field of View the more time I’ll have to categorize and analyze, thus the less rushed things will be in regards to safety. The better I’ve gotten at the first three parts of SCAN the easier Navigate becomes, in fact over the past year any drastic Navigational change I’ve had to make has only come because I’ve short stepped one of the first three steps.

Plan a path that avoids obvious conflict – Basically I simply change my speed or direction in a way that avoids the conflict. This can include anything from a simple speed change, to a repositioning of myself so the other roadway users can more easily see more or at the more extreme I stop on the side of the road so that the situation either dissolves or moves away from me. Conflict can be another roadway user, the roadway itself or conditions. So, I apply my actions accordingly.

Plan a path that allows for controlled conflict – Sometimes I run into situations that cannot be avoided. If a truck drops a load of bottles on a crowded freeway moving at full speed I can’t simply stop as the danger from other roadway users hitting me from behind is high. So I then must do things that minimize how much conflict I must deal with, I’ll use speed positioning and my signals to help not only reduce my direct conflict but influence other roadway users as well. The same applies to a drastic change in roadway condition such as gravel and other such hazards.


As with any skill it is best to start using this strategy at low speed and then build up from there. To attempt to use this strategy at your normal full speed would create confusion and possibly anxiety. As you start to implement SCAN you’ll see how moving through each step is a constant process and the more time you spend at SET the less you’ll need elsewhere, in fact so mush that your Navigate phase will rarely have more than simple speed and position adjustments.

Ride Smart – Ride Safe!

Making Your Way (Part 1 of 2)

Does this look like a drive on your favorite freeway in rush hour?
Would you like a strategy that would work to get you through this or any situation quickly and safely?
See how I've applied lessons learned on the street and in places like this to decrease my anxiety and stress and increase my safety and enjoyment.


Safely Through The Crowd.

Way back when I started driving a car one of the first things I was taught was to keep looking ahead. Over the years I’ve heard variants of the same theme and most recently the best description of why I should do this came in my Total Control training. Lee goes into detail regarding how our minds work and why looking ahead and even expanding my vision would help to reduce anxiety and stress. All of this helped me to connect some dots and with a bit further research and application I had my own epiphany regarding vision and control.

As I get a bit older I am really beginning to view life as a puzzle and each experience I’ve had has been a piece that I’ve turned over. Some have fit into place very easily and others have been sitting on the side waiting to be places. If you’ve ever put together a puzzle there comes a point when a large group of pieces come together just from the simple placement of one or a few. Most recently, from riding on the road, training on the range, walking around a crowded convention hall and finally a few discussions online I had a large group of pieces come together and finally have a well to tell the story to others.

Warning Zen Zone Ahead

Motorcycling constantly reaffirms old and teaches me new lessons about life. When it comes to vision, the lesson is probably the biggest of them all. You see, looking ahead not only applies to riding on the road, but living your life as well. If you focus too closely on what right in front of your face you’ll miss what is going on around yourself and quite possibly opportunities in the future can drastically change as well. The further you look and plan ahead the better things will eventually turn out. But let me start at the beginning instead of skipping ahead to the lesson learned.

For more than half of my life I’ve worked directly in sales, from on the floor retail stuff to national direct and factory representative situations. In all of those positions the key to any successful sales came from preparation. In every single sales training I’ve ever taught or trained, what to do before beginning the sale, has always included. In the teachings of Dale Carnegie, probably the most famous sales trainer, I learned many things, but one lesson that applies here is this “First ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen? Then prepare to accept it. Then proceed to improve on the worst.” You see the mental state that you place yourself must be proper before you look at any situation and the same holds true on the street. If you have not set a state of mind first, when you do look at things your have no agenda and therefore no way to proceed until something happens. With a plan ahead of time, or as I just described, a state of mind, I can approach any situation prepared for the worst and therefore not stressed if the worst does happen and actually relaxed when the worst doesn’t happen.

While Total Control does address mental state, it does not break things down into a strategy. I don’t fault the curriculum for that because it is an advanced training program designed for riders who have been on the street for quite a while and does assume that these folks already have a strategy that they use and that works for them. The MSF curriculum that I teach also addresses “Are You Ready” in their training, but do not include Mental State in their prescribed SEE (Search, Evaluate, Execute) Street Strategy. Once again I don’t fault that curriculum because it obviously has millions of students that have benefited from its teachings. But that being said I do believe that after taking that training and before attending a TCARC a modified strategy can help to better handle the street and be more relaxed while doing so.

Over the last year I’ve spent a lot of time relaxing myself on the street and tracking exactly what I was doing that allowed me to have less and less issues or close calls. Over the past 6 months I found that literally nothing surprises me on the street and although I do get frustrated with the occasional stupid driver, I’m not in a dangerous or iffy situation because of that driver. Mostly because I apply a strategy that maximize both time and space whenever I drive or ride. I’ve also found the more I concentrate on the mental preparation of each situation then less stress and anxiety I have, and overall I’m a lot more relaxed and happy all the time. So. Let me share my approach and feel free to adapt it to what you use.

With my next post I'll introduce my advanced strategy for the street. I call it SCAN and as you'll see it is a comprehensive way to maintain your focus and safety as you move along the roadway.

Set your mind
Categorize stimuli
Analyze movement
Navigate the situation