Look where you want to go, go where you look?

[Horse]

The phrase "Where You Go is Where You Look - So Look Where You Want To Go" is fairly well known in rider training.

But however well-known it is, problems can come from the belief in it - or lack of belief - and the way it's interpreted and used.

Belief? How can it be necessary to 'believe' in a phrase? Often, riding a motorcycle is a life-threatening occupation - and the transition from 'safe' to 'scary' can happen in moments.

A sadly too common motorcycle crash involves rider encountering a tightening bend. However much the problems could have been eliminated or reduced by better foraward observation and planning prior to the corner, if the situation occurs then the rider has to take immediate action.

Sadly, 'fight or flight' type reactions then come in to play - and the rider is likely to tense up and stare at the opposite side of the road - which until very recently was their expected 'way out' of the corner.

Instead, the rider needs to turn their head and look as far around the - now tighter - corner as possible.

A couple of points about this action:
1. Having the 'escape' action pre-planned means reaction time, and likelyhood of panic, is reduced
2. The rider needs to turn their entire head - not just their eyes - and point their chin where they want to go to

Why have an 'escape' pre-planned? Because for every moment you spend not looking where you want - or need - to go, you'll be heading towards a crash. One second reaction time at 30mph is 44ft travelled without turning tighter . . .

Why 'point' your head? Because if you just turn your eyes, you'll revert to looking at the things that worry you. Try sitting with your head pointing straight ahead, then turn your eyes. Now hold that for as long as you might be riding through a long corner - it won't be comfortable for more than a few seconds, so you'll want to look back ahead.

So the 'belief' is knowing that a good head turn really does 'control' the bike (and during training sessions I can get a rider turning tighter just by moving where I stand and shout from!), and trusting in its use.

And the interpretation? You mustn't just 'look' - that's passive. Instead, look and choose! Choose where you want the bike to go, choose the bit of surface you want to go over - don't look at the poor road surface, look ar the good surface.

During a training session, I had a rider travelling in an oval, short straights with 45ft semi-circles at each end. The exercise was to develop some aspects of cornering. When he stopped so we could chat, I asked how he'd been steering the bike? With a bemused look, he admitted he didn't know! What he'd been doing was keeping relaxed, keeping the bike gently under power, and 'steering' by pointing his head where he wanted to go to, although - obviously - there's no direct connection between your gaze direction and what the bike does ...

What set me thinking about it all this? Ever watched a horse-drawn ploughing competition? Me neither, but I've seen them on TV! The winners - marked on the straightness of the furrows they plow - walk along, looking relaxed, gently guiding the plough - but looking well ahead, as far as possible. This is what my US colleagues in the Motorcycle Safety Foundation called 'Visual Directional Control

[Beancounter]

2. The rider needs to turn their entire head - not just their eyes - and point their chin where they want to go to

This was my biggest takeaway from my training session with you. I still repeat it to myself when out riding and have been trying to get my girlfriend to practice it when she’s out.

[Beancounter]

During a training session, I had a rider travelling in an oval, short straights with 45ft semi-circles at each end. The exercise was to develop some aspects of cornering. When he stopped so we could chat, I asked how he'd been steering the bike? With a bemused look, he admitted he didn't know! What he'd been doing was keeping relaxed, keeping the bike gently under power, and 'steering' by pointing his head where he wanted to go to, although - obviously - there's no direct connection between your gaze direction and what the bike does ...

Sorry, messed up the quoting from my post above. This ^^^ was eye-opening when we did it. Simple car park stuff that changed my riding completely. Frankly I wish you were still doing it Malc because I could use a refresher.

[The Spin Doctor]

Go where you look, look where you're going to crash.

It's difficult to pull your eyes away from a serious threat to health, no matter how much you tell yourself you should, head turn or not.

You have to know WHAT to look for first.

This is the key extension of 'go where you look'. Know where you want to aim the bike and you're far more likely to look there.

[Horse]

So it's worth repeating, with the typo:

And the interpretation? You mustn't just 'look' - that's passive. Instead, look and choose! Choose where you want the bike to go, choose the bit of surface you want to go over - don't look at the poor road surface, look ar the good surface.

[Horse]

2. The rider needs to turn their entire head - not just their eyes - and point their chin where they want to go to

This was my biggest takeaway from my training session with you. I still repeat it to myself when out riding and have been trying to get my girlfriend to practice it when she’s out.

I have/had a picture of Jamie Whitham to emphasise this

Similar to this:

[Horse]

During a training session, I had a rider travelling in an oval, short straights with 45ft semi-circles at each end. The exercise was to develop some aspects of cornering. When he stopped so we could chat, I asked how he'd been steering the bike? With a bemused look, he admitted he didn't know! What he'd been doing was keeping relaxed, keeping the bike gently under power, and 'steering' by pointing his head where he wanted to go to

Sorry, messed up the quoting from my post above. This ^^^ was eye-opening when we did it. Simple car park stuff that changed my riding completely. Frankly I wish you were still doing it Malc because I could use a refresher.

I used to quote you after that session, your parting comment that "I've realised that i can't just arrive at corners then sort them out, I need to plan them" or similar

AAMOI, the oval was a warm-up for second, far more fun, exercise. The oval was around two flower/tree beds. [NB the gabion wall wasn't there ]

20201230_091814.jpg (137.88 KiB) Viewed 1166 times

Trainees would ride anticlockwise. Here's the twist: across the row of (now blocked) parking bays, there would be a row of spaced apart cones forming 'gates'.

Instructor would stand with this view:

20201230_091921.jpg (247.3 KiB) Viewed 1166 times

As trainee approached, indicate with fingers (and shout) which gate to exit through. This simulated the information a rider might gather on the approach to a real blind bend.

Here's the second twist: the gates are not visible to the rider during their approach This simulated not just a blind bend, but one where the radius tightens.

Main coaching advice usually needed was:
- speed down early
- avoid temptation to turn in too soon, instead hold line until exit visible

[Beancounter]

During a training session, I had a rider travelling in an oval, short straights with 45ft semi-circles at each end. The exercise was to develop some aspects of cornering. When he stopped so we could chat, I asked how he'd been steering the bike? With a bemused look, he admitted he didn't know! What he'd been doing was keeping relaxed, keeping the bike gently under power, and 'steering' by pointing his head where he wanted to go to

Sorry, messed up the quoting from my post above. This ^^^ was eye-opening when we did it. Simple car park stuff that changed my riding completely. Frankly I wish you were still doing it Malc because I could use a refresher.

I used to quote you after that session, your parting comment that "I've realised that i can't just arrive at corners then sort them out, I need to plan them" or similar

AAMOI, the oval was a warm-up for second, far more fun, exercise. The oval was around two flower/tree beds. [NB the gabion wall wasn't there ]

20201230_091814.jpg

Trainees would ride anticlockwise. Here's the twist: across the row of (now blocked) parking bays, there would be a row of spaced apart cones forming 'gates'.

Instructor would stand with this view:

20201230_091921.jpg

As trainee approached, indicate with fingers (and shout) which gate to exit through. This simulated the information a rider might gather on the approach to a real blind bend.

Here's the second twist: the gates are not visible to the rider during their approach This simulated not just a blind bend, but one where the radius tightens.

Main coaching advice usually needed was:
- speed down early
- avoid temptation to turn in too soon, instead hold line until exit visible

Soon after I went on a ride with Count Steer (I think it was actually a trip to France with CS, Spin and Cousin Jack) and CS commented that it looked like I had had some tuition and he guessed it was from you.

I don't do much pleasure riding nowadays and haven't done for some time so I've de-skilled myself quite a bit, something I will hopefully sort out now that the girlfriend is riding.

[Horse]

Thank you for posting these comments, really appreciate it

[The Spin Doctor]

Main coaching advice usually needed was:
- speed down early
- avoid temptation to turn in too soon, instead hold line until exit visible

It's interesting that we came up with the same solution years before we knew each other...

...basically because it works!

[crust]

Many years ago I did a days hang gliding course in the South Downs. It took place in a dead end valley, we would take off, turn left and fly down the valley and land.
The whole vallley was grass except for a solitary tree/bush half way up the other side. The tree was never mentioned at all in the training/briefing. One by one we took off, gained height, turned left and flew down the valley to land in a field at the open end.

I say we, all apart from one guy who took off and flew directly across the valley and into the tree/bush. The instructor brought him back to the take off point, straightened the glider, gave him a brief chat, he seemed alright, so off we set, blokey took off, yup, straight across and into the tree.

Once again he was taken back to the top, given a sterner chat and another go, same result. So next time he was moved down the valley away from the tree. He took off, turned RIGHT towards the tree, bam, nailed it.

The only obvious source of danger, the only thing to avoid, he couldn't help it, he was so focused on the tree he couldn't get it out of his mind no matter what he tried.

He was sent home, there's only so many times you can straighten a glider.

[Horse]

... hang gliding

The only obvious source of danger, the only thing to avoid, he couldn't help it, he was so focused on the tree he couldn't get it out of his mind no matter what he tried.

We used to try and tie training into trainees' other interests.

One guy was keen on judo. "When you throw someone, where do they go?" He grinned "Where you look!"

[Scootabout]

I say we, all apart from one guy who took off and flew directly across the valley and into the tree/bush. The instructor brought him back to the take off point, straightened the glider, gave him a brief chat, he seemed alright, so off we set, blokey took off, yup, straight across and into the tree.

Once again he was taken back to the top, given a sterner chat and another go, same result. So next time he was moved down the valley away from the tree. He took off, turned RIGHT towards the tree, bam, nailed it.

The only obvious source of danger, the only thing to avoid, he couldn't help it, he was so focused on the tree he couldn't get it out of his mind no matter what he tried.

He was sent home, there's only so many times you can straighten a glider.

Reminds me of when I used to go canoeing on the river Dart. You need to avoid trees when canoeing, and there was a notorious one that we used to call the "magnetic tree". I can't remember if we were told specifically to avoid looking at it (or should that be, "look beyond it"?) but at least anyone who came a cropper could justifiably blame the current, which isn't (usually) a valid excuse in motorcycling.

[Horse]

One of my instructors was riding into work, in London, along an urban dual carriageway. He noticed an object in the road, made a mental note, then looked and aimed to pass it. On the centre island, a chap was waving at him, then pointing at the object. Again, he looked and planned to avoid it. As he neared, the guy got even more agitated and animated, waving and pointing.

So he thought that he ought to look at the object again, in case he'd missed something important.

It was a glasses case. ThunkThunk as his wheels went over it

[The Spin Doctor]

I did the same with a pedestrian in Italy... he ran straight out in front of me and stopped dead! I thought "if I swerve, there's a 50/50 chance that's the way he'll run. So I will aim at him and whichever way he turns, he'll run clear".

Great plan.

What I didn't expect was for his legs to move up and down but for him to run on the spot!

Fortunately, Plan B nearly worked - I hit the brakes and was doing about 1/2 a mph when I bumped into his leg.

[mangocrazy]

I remember doing a track day at Cadwell in the mid-90s on a YPVS-powered 'special' and catching my knee on the fairing moving around the bike going into the Gooseneck. When i looked up I was heading straight toward a nasty looking Armco barrier on the outside of the bend. I remember the phrase 'you go where you look' passing through my head and wrenching my head to look at the apex of the bend.

Disaster was averted and the track day continued...

[Bigyin]

We had a pupil recently who when he first started doing loops on the training pad managed a left hand circuit no problem gently in 1st gear on a little GN125 Suzuki and appeared to have listened to the "look where you want to go" input as he was tuning his head, look left steer left ....all good

Like Horse I also have a couple of racer pics i use as well as a short video of Jonny Rea with a clear visor on and camera facing him from inside the fairing clearly demonstrating what is needed as he goes through a twisty section of Magny Cours





All was going well till i put him onto right circuits which involve turning towards a building and sure enough he would ride straight at the building while turning his head right ....... took a couple of goes till i stood right in front of him as he turned, head went round to the right but then saw his eyes go left as far as they could to lock on the building ... and again he rode straight at the building

It was solved by me standing a little way past the end of the right turn and shouting "LOOK!!!" which would draw his eyeline away from the building. 2 or 3 times doing this and all good and onto the next thing. Its such a simple thing yet can be very difficult for people to get their heads round (so to speak) but can make such a difference to their riding

[Horse]

What I didn't include in the exercise description was the coaching methods: shout and point!

"Look at me Look at me LOOK AT ME"

Then, at the point you want the turn - point with both arms outstretched and "LOOK!" The more forceful and dramatic, the crisper their head movement and better the turn.

[Bigyin]

What I didn't include in the exercise description was the coaching methods: shout and point!

"Look at me Look at me LOOK AT ME"

Then, at the point you want the turn - point with both arms outstretched and "LOOK!" The more forceful and dramatic, the crisper their head movement and better the turn.

Its all Me Me Me with you

I do explain its not vanity, just trying to help them get where they need to be

[Horse]

What I didn't include in the exercise description was the coaching methods: shout and point!

"Look at me Look at me LOOK AT ME"

Then, at the point you want the turn - point with both arms outstretched and "LOOK!" The more forceful and dramatic, the crisper their head movement and better the turn.

Its all Me Me Me with you

I do explain its not vanity, just trying to help them get where they need to be

MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

And, for all of that type of training, radios and talking into someone's ear, is - literally - pointless. Shouting is directional and people respond to it.