Just Another Day! (Goodbye 2009)

Yup folks, that's the sun setting on the last day of 2009 in beautiful Arizona.

As things wind down I'll be in for the night as I simply don't do amateur drunk night, especially after 8 years ago when a kid killed himself by running a stop sign and driving into the side a police car with two officers completing the New Year's Eve shift. The blame game of course started after that pointing fingers at the person's party he had been at and the fact that he was under-age, but in the end he killed himself, injured two others and destroyed a lot of property. For me it was a signal to chill on these invented party nights and be able to start the next day off like any other. Happy and healthy!

So, as you think back on the year and possibly raise a glass to toast in 2010, please be well and be merry and start the new year with a positive look at things to come.

Lucky for me I've had an few interactions here just at the end of the year that has reminded me of how fragile life is and how to not let those with small minds derail me down the path of negativity and drama. For me I'll be spending tomorrow and every single day forward focused on the positive, I'll literally apply all the things I've learned while riding directly to my life. No more will I concentrate on gravel (or those people like gravel) to the point that it controls me in a negative way. From now on I'll avoid those who wear the Drama banner like a badge of courage and simply spend time with folks who want to be good to each other and with those that like me want to explore, learn and share.

I want to especially send out a Happy New Year to the riders who use and interact with each other on www.southwestrides.com. These folks are the best collective of riders I've ever met, and self manage the philosophies of solo and group riding that they themselves have developed and sustain. Over the years I have managed a good 20 website forums with millions of users and SWR is the easiest simply because of the devotion to purpose that the users have. So folks, give yourself a pat on the back for 5 solid years and be proud that you have made SWR the most respected, most active and most motorcycle focused website in Arizona. I can't wait for the next 5 years!

Well, that's it for me, I ended the year with 23 bird strikes and tomorrow the count goes back to zero. Maybe the TTF ride will start me off strike free??

See ya next year!

Your Input Is Requested!

As this year heads to an end and we all near 2010 there are some plans in the works for this blog.

As I have had the pleasure of riding across the US to new and exciting places and I've met with all sorts of people I've picked up quite a few stories, tidbits and interesting facts. In 2010 I plan to showcase some of the people, their experiences and the places I've visited as well, as well as a few new experiences along the way.

In any event I need a way to get even more feedback and I can't imagine a better way than directly from you, the readers. Therefore I would like to invite you to either post responses here on this blog at www.birdmanblog.com or for even more interaction I can be found at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Birdman/141788172971 on facebook.

With that I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and an awesome entire Holiday season, may you be healthy, happy and safe!

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

Zippy-Zap, Here and Back!

Just about 10 days ago a friends called and said, "Hey, you need to come to Lake Havasu and bring your camera. Well, since I had the ability to clear my schedule and I'd never been to Lake Havasu I decided what the heck, jumped on my bike and went this past Thursday for a one-night turn around trip.


I didn't get an early start on Thursday so I arrived in Havasu after lunch, but early enough to capture the action an the International Jet Sports Boating Association Finals. I fulfilled my photo duties and then sat and chatted a bit with the folks at Monster, JBL and Kawasaki.

It was actually cool to watch the races and even look at how some of the same riding techniques we use on motorcycle apply and benefitted the racers. I commented that it didn't seem that dangerous of a sport and got some odds looks, but heck, there was plenty of run-off.


While I was hoping for a cooler ride it didn't really happen and temps were into the triple digits, although I must admit that 103 is a lot better than 115. Since I was trying to get there in back in a timing manner I did not have a lot of time to take photos, but when I was on the final section of a road that would take me to I-10 (The Superslab) I saw a sign, you know the ones you just have to turn around to take a picture, just to show your friends? Well anyway, here is the photo, and now I will have to return to get the story. I just that that maybe I will not do it at night...

A Whole Lot of Activity!

Man, what a month! In the span of 30 days I've been to California twice, Las Vegas and traveled across the valley a good 20 times.

I've gained a lot more knowledge about Twitter, seen Pink in concert and even taught a female Marine how to be a better rider. It has been a rewarding month, but a very tiring one as well. Now I'm look to finally drop into more of a standard schedule, which means of course I'll probably pick up speed. One thing I've certainly learned is that just when you think you've found the perfect way to do something a new process or product will come along and change things up for ya!

First up was the most recent event in which I participated which was the Grand Opening of GOAZ in Scottsdale. If you haven't heard by now Bob Parsons of Go Daddy fame is getting into the motorcycle business and he is doing so by buying up property after property in Scottsdale. Currently he has opened locations in the old Hacienda Customs building and the old Hyundai dealership, but there is more to come! The event hosted Chris "Teach" McNeil an award winning stunter as the main attraction and also had a few other motorcycle riding displays including Tealdo Teal and myself showing off the Total Control Advanced Riding Clinic. It was very cool to work with Teach and getting kudos on riding from a guy that really takes things to the limit sort of made my month. It will be interesting to see how things progress as GOAZ, and certainly interesting that there has been no leveraging of the Go Daddy celebrities...

Before that event I was in Vegas at a party for Interbike that was hosted by Argon, Thule and Oakley. It was interesting to be in a crowd completely outside of anyone I know, that was until I ran into an editor from my journalism days that tied things all up nicely. Running the schedule that I've been running sort of showed itself in Vegas and was a nice reminder that we all get to our limits, regardless of who we are. No harm no foul, I just go to bed much earlier than I used to 10 to 20 years ago.

In the training realm I've graduated over 40 Marines now through Level 1 and 2 of the Total Control Advanced Riding Clinic. The process has made me master the curriculum at a level that would have taken months in a very short time. There is nothing like constant practice and proper re-enforcement of the incorrect and correct way of doing something to firmly train your muscle memory and brain to get the exact result you expect.




Now, on the funnier side of things I've got a new addition in the realm of hydration. I am an admitted bag and bottle freak, so my new military CamelBak (with USMC Digital Desert pattern) is no real surprise, but in the process of getting my new pack I was give a new water bottle. It came with a marketing piece that stated that some University did a study and with this bottle users drank 24% more water?!? Anyway, it was free and I tried it.

Well, I am addicted and it is kinda odd, once I realized what the bottle really is and the evil plan that makes me OK with drinking from it constantly.

Yes, the Camelbak Better Bottle is an Adult Sippy Cup!! And, I LOVE it!

So have fun, keep hydrated and I'll see ya on the road!

Boy Scouts and Riding (The fuel dilemma)

"Always be prepared" it is the motto of the Boy Scouts and also a very smart way to ride. With that I show you a coffee traveler from Starbucks?

Well, a little while ago a friend of mine told me about a cool way to be be able to carry fuel back to a bike, just in case you happen to run out somewhere. In the past I've run out of fuel before and the hardest part was always getting a container to use to get the fuel from the station to the vehicle. If you run out you don't need a lot and on a bike even a one-gallon container is hard to carry, so when I was shown this work around I ran out to get one for myself.

Here I give you the Starbucks' Emergency Fuel container! Follow along and you'll understand.

First you need to get a Coffee Traveler from Starbucks. If you get one with coffee it is useable, you'll just need to clean the bladder afterwards.

But, if you're like me and visit Starbucks quite often you can ask for any empty one, which not put together looks like this.



You'll see that the container holds 96 Fluid Ounces, just under a Gallon. Certainly enough to get you to a station, or you can even get two bladder, just in case.



When you look inside the cardboard you'll see the shiny bladder.



The bladder is held in place with 2 glue spots and the hole is held in place by the cardboard. It comes out rather easiliy, simply with a slight pull.




After getting the bladder out of the cardboard you'll want to remove the glue spots, the one at the bottom is very thin and the one at the top is more sticky. Both come off simply by using your fingers to get it off the bladder.



After that you are left with a bladder and a lid.



Roll the bladder up and screw on the lid and you have an emergency fuel bladder.



Now, I would not store fuel in this and I would make sure to protect the bladder from getting poked or torn wherever you carry it. Other than that it is perfectly suited for the need and fills the purpose very efficiently and effectively.

Have Fun!