Chapter 6
We have carefully moved through each layer of the Hazard Hierarchy towards APE Flow State and here we are. The final chapter of Moto Instincts will summarize how the layers of information are properly applied while in the motorcycle Flow State.
Mentality Hazards
The way a motorcyclist thinks and acts is the bedrock of risk management potential. For those who cannot identify good habits, they will simply be at the mercy of chance as they progress through their motorcycle careers. In addition, those who have bad habits added to their Flow State will be creating hazardous situations regularly on top of being at the mercy of their environment. At the outset of this education program, 13 Deadly Risks of Riding may have been an overwhelming amount of information to try to absorb. Reinforcement supplied during various topic pages and concept reviews has surely made these golden rules start to sink in. With time, these ways of thinking and acting will start to operate under the conscious thought of the rider. At this point, they are more similar to guiding forces than they are to ideas or habits. Each Deadly Risk has an explicate purpose for maintaining control of the fluctuating danger around the rider. Risk will always be rising and falling while you are out on your motorcycle. For every Deadly Risk that is ignored by the motorcyclist, they are effectively riding around with a higher and higher baseline of risk that they encounter from every day motorcycle hazards. For those who heed the warnings laid out in Mentality Hazards, their baseline exposure to risk will always be on the low end of the spectrum due to the way they think and act. These riders are poised to maintain control of their safety by consistently acting in a way to reduce the risk, or exposure to the risk, posed by the hazards they encounter.
Operational Hazards
The way a rider handles their machine is a close second when talking about the ability to ride safely. Managing the traction and stability of a motorcycle is tricky for the new rider but is essential to avoid dumping the machine. On top of simple accidents, it takes considerable practice to exercise proper control of the motorcycle in adverse situations. Having only two wheels for stability, the process of mastering the machine in a physical sense can be quite the challenge for some individuals. Combining the lessons of physics with purposeful practice will always overcome the muscle memory learning curve. Not everyone learns at the same pace or in the same way so it is important to persevere until the lines between rider and motorcycle start to blur. The importance of becoming the machine is often understated and overlooked. An easy trap to fall victim to is to focus on “regular” riding once the motorcyclist is confident on public roadways. There is nothing wrong with regular riding if the aspiring motorcyclist does not allow the importance of muscle memory progression to drift to the wayside. Muscle memory develops by trying new manoeuvres or pushing existing muscle memory to new levels. Failure to do so results in stagnation. It is easy to get into a routine of riding where skills are not being challenged which stunts the growth of the physical skills that should always be progressing. In worst case scenarios, this will not be apparent until the rider has encountered an emergency situation and lacks the physical skills to navigate out of it. When the rider has become their motorcycle, the momentum, power systems, traction, and stability will be experienced directly by the nervous system of the rider. Being the ride, rather than being along for the ride, allows the rider to react with instinctual precision while unlocking as much attention as possible for the environment.
Passable Hazards
Once the rider has their mental and physical hazards in check, they will now be ready to start looking to the outside world. The most natural place to start is not with the other occupants of the roadway, but the way the motorcycle interacts with and progresses through its environment. The motorists that we share the road with do pose significant risk, but in order to consistently avoid them we must micromanage the motorcycle’s connection with pavement while learning to navigate our surroundings thoughtfully. There are several bonuses of focusing our efforts here. By paying attention to the roadway the rider will be introduced to lane positions and how those affect various aspects of risk management. The introduction of lane positions segways perfectly into Basic Ride Plans, blowing off the top of the risk management container. The options that the Ride Plan offers can and should be applied in purposeful ways for all hazards encountered. Getting the rider into this mindset early builds the habit of maintaining an open mind when perceiving and reacting to hazards. As with the other categories of hazards, eventually the planning and execution of Ride Plans start to become a subconscious process. When this is coupled with the ability to assert operational changes consistent with evasive manoeuvring, the rider will have achieved a strong grasp on managing Passable Hazards, as well as a Flow State that is capable of employing resourceful risk management on the fly.
Impassable Hazards
While it would be unwise for the rider to completely ignore Impassable Hazards until this point, they aren’t truly prepared to deal with the threats of vehicles until a solid baseline of mental and physical skills have been developed. The complex nature of interaction between rider and motorist runs deep. It would be impossible to manage the chaotic curve balls that traffic can throw without being completely prepared mentally and physically. All of the ideas presented in previous chapters are mobilized to deal with the most common and deadly of the the motorcycle hazards. Avoiding collisions with other vehicles takes the most foresight, the most muscle memory, and the deepest application of motorcycle positioning and navigation. Pulling from this skillset allows the rider to create the necessary risk management strategies to manage traffic. Focusing on the position between motorcycle and vehicle allows the rider to hone in on situations that pose more risk due to potential emergency situations. Identifying areas that the rider should avoid as well as areas that increase their ability to manage risk will set them up for success more often than not. One of the major hurdles regarding traffic is that there are dangerous situations that cannot be avoided, they can only be managed in real time. When these situations are added to Flow State, the rider is able to shift their broad focus onto the narrow details of their immediate surroundings so that they can read and react in the necessary manner. Allowing Peripheral Perception to bounce between traffic flow as a whole, to isolated positioning and telegraphs of specific vehicles, is when the strategies of dealing with Impassable Hazards will start to be absorbed by the rider’s Flow State.
APE Flow State
Eventually, the rider will notice that they are incorporating all forms of hazards into their Ride Plans, without much thought input on their part. The motorcyclist will ebb and flow with their environment. A song and dance that is initiated by hazards, and responded to by the subconscious risk management tools of the motorcyclist. APE Flow State is when the bliss of riding meets the safety of risk management. It is both a necessary goal and achievable feat that all motorcyclist can achieve; so long as you keep your eye on the prize. The rider will be so adept at reading and reacting to their environment that Hazard Analysis and Ride Plans will join Fluid Execution to be a function of the subconscious mind. It is the vision of Moto Instincts that all riders can reach this echelon of motorcycle prowess.
Following this chapter will be the final exam. Even after graduation from this course there is much work to be done by the student. There is a gap between having risk management knowledge and applying it purposefully to build positive habits over seasons. The only limiting factor, is time. The rider must spend the appropriate time for ideas to be committed across the nervous system as habits and fireable muscle memory. Complex neural pathways do not develop overnight. The rider must apply their knowledge to their experience patiently, remembering that Skill Bubble growth cannot be rushed.
Even in the latter stages of rider experience, nothing can grant you full protection from riding motorcycles aside from parking your bike forever. Despite this true fact, given the proper risk management tools early on in your riding career will greatly improve the chances of riding happily ever after. Freedom, exhilaration and danger all come as a package deal when you’re a two-wheeled warrior. Starting on the right foot has tweaked your chances towards positive motorcycle risk, and away from negative motorcycle risk. From here on out it is up to the individual how their story unfolds. Moto Instincts has presented the cause and effect regarding many aspects of motorcycle operation. Every rider chooses what they do or do not do. You know the hazards. You know the risks. How one chooses to ride is an individual choice. Some riders prefer more exhilaration, their adrenaline seeking tendencies tilting their riding to have more risky practices. On the flip side, riders who are more risk averse will be out more to enjoy the ride than to chase thrills. These two ends of the spectrum are represented in the term Risk Tolerance. Every rider will have a natural risk tolerance that predisposes them to a certain comfort level with risk.
High Risk Tolerance
Those who have high risk tolerance will expose themselves to more risk on average, in some cases recklessly. While it is generally safer to expose oneself to less risk, it doesn’t necessarily mean that exposing yourself to more risk will be your demise. What it does mean is that riders with high Risk Tolerance need to recognize that they likely have a Blindspot regarding risk. They will need to develop exceptional mental and physical risk management skills in order to counterbalance their risk tilted predisposition. These individuals must be extra mindful of the risk they expose themselves to, make it a top priority to understand specific risk management strategies and build Evasive Muscle Memory as soon as possible to carry out these strategies. They are the demographic of rider that will need this type of practice most. No matter how skilled the rider, the more risk they expose themself to, the more likely they will experience accidents, damage, injury, and death.
Low Risk Tolerance
On the other side of the spectrum, riders who are risk averse might be seen as safer but this is not always the case. Those who do not expose themselves to risk can have an underdeveloped risk management skillset that would be ideal in extreme circumstances. These underdeveloped skills can often be accompanied by nervous riders. Anxiety in the timid rider is what predisposes them to shy away from risk. These riders will be much less likely to experience high risk levels, but will be less likely to handle the situation with confidence when they do. For the rider who is risk averse, artificially creating situations that push their comfort levels is a great angle to overcome their aversion to risk without actually exposing themself to significant danger. It is not necessary to force oneself to ride in a more risky manner, but it is necessary to prepare oneself for risky situations. They are much less likely to manifest for the low risk tolerance rider, but the chance is there nonetheless.
All said and done, it is belief that every rider should be aware of the importance of APE Flow State the moment they begin riding. As a new rider, it can take years to notice common hazards and develop risk management strategies that should be there from day one. Here’s to making the world a safer place for motorcyclists worldwide. The dream is that all motorcyclists will develop such a keen sense of risk management that they will identify and manage risk subconsciously, effectively giving them:
MOTO INSTINCTS
A Message From The Creator
If you have made it this far, I cannot thank you enough for the interest in Moto Instincts. It has been quite the journey for me and I hope it has been a pleasurable learning experience for you. If it has, please let your friends know! If it hasn’t, please let me know so I can improve my program!
I set out to teach the “Golden Rules” that every rider should know. Oh how far the 13 Deadly Risks of Riding have come. I would have never guessed how big a simple idea could grow. Putting my riding technique under the microscope has allowed me to dissect and refine it. On my quest to make you all better riders, I have made myself a better rider as well to which I am extremely grateful. The inception and progression of Moto Instincts has been both a rewarding but gruelling process. If it had not been for the harsh Canadian winters, there is a chance I would have never stopped riding long enough to finish this course. I have finally arrived at my destination after three years of writing, research, development, and testing. I have poured blood, sweat and tears into this course. If I can save one motorcyclist’s life with the lessons within Moto Instincts, I will consider this course a wild success.
It’s been a slice. Until next time, stay vigilant, keep your eyes peeled for danger, always aim to eliminate, control or mitigate hazards, put a consistent effort into meshing with your machine, but most importantly: keep the shiny side up, look out for your fellow motorcyclist, and have fun. Go get that wind in your face.
