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And my right ankle is fused so I very rarely use rear brake
I will update this thread when that time comes
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Yeah like others have said, ride slower and remove the dangerous stuff while you work on it. Go to the vet track or trails with no jumps, or tape a picture of some old man's balls on your front fender if you need to.
Here's a few tips I've seen work
Straighten your back
Go about 75% speed, preferably on a track with no jumps or big ruts
As soon as you exit a corner focus on the entry to the next one corner or major obstacle
Have someone watch you and flag you down as soon as they catch you doing it
Do this for about 15 minutes at a time, each time increasing your speed a little bit
If that still doesn't work,
Stand through the whole track
Put black tape on the top and bottom thirds of your goggle lens (use an old set of goggles) and go back to 75% or less speed.
Good luck and keep working on it.
I had a bad habit of riding my ex girlfriend's twin sister years ago. I fixed that by marrying her.
Some people like the thrill of jumping 100 foot jumps and falling from 40 feet in the sky...some guys like to go fast across desert theyve never seen. (Reality of desert racing is that unless you are a top level pro, you will seldom be wide open across the desert).
If he was my buddy, I'd get a big ol' dildo from the toy store and use a self-tapper to mount it on his front fender.
Then tell him: "You can look ahead, or you can stare at a dick all day. Your choice pal."
Had a lot of time to think...walked that track section since and i really didn't have much time to spot her and recognize that she was going so slow...it was a bad and unlucky incident...i cant blame her...just this past weekend i observed 2 guys...good riders, in the expert group, doing the exact same thing she was doing...wheels on the ground, trail riding that section, apparently oblivious to how fast someone was likely to come up behind them...
Took some videos of guys jumping thst section , will post them here..
Ok this is that section side on...its very fast and flat trajectory...i hit this section the same as these guys...
Imagine popping up,over that second jump and there is someone going snails pace in the middle ofvthe track...
I should have seen her, but my opportunity was when i was airborne over the preceding jump, instead I was looking straight where my front wheel was gonna land..
Anyway...in another week and a , i can get back to shearing and back to riding...i am very lucky to get out of a crash off that jump, at that speed with just a broken wrist..
Been watching a lot of riding technique videos lately..really like the Doug Dubach ones.
Its Easter this weekend and our track is open Saturday and monday. Getting ready to do a lot of riding at a greatly reduced pace whilst concentrating on techniqe...above all...looking up and forward ...
Its going to be interesting!
Come to the conclusion after a lot of thinking, that this crash was as much about my lack of experience at riding ride parks as it was about looking at the ground too much .
Ive always been a racer...pretty much just only ridden on my own private tracks I once had, or at the races. When you are racing , you dont really concern yourself with the possibility of running into the back of a massively slower rider..generally speaking, unless you are winning the race, anyone in front of you is likely as fast or faster than you..Generally speaking, in a race , everyone is riding as fast as they can everywhere on the track and nobody is going 100% then backing off to a walking pace right in the middle of the track , at the absolute fastest section of the track and over blind obstacles.????
Ive been at the track every weekend since my crash to help with watering and monitoring the riders...like a free floating flagger..thats what we have at our track, usually 3 people spread out watching for accidents or for riders being stupid or riding in the wrong group...I also made a 12v flashing warning light with a long distance portable remote control to cover that section of track...unfortunately had to use it twice the weekend b4 last..
What Ive noticed is several close calls at precisely the same point where I struck the slower rder...the section is so fast and Ive seen a lot of good riders trail ride through it, seemingly unaware of how fast other riders are coming up behind them....
I really want changes made to that section but budgetary and time constaints are in the way of that at this time..
Sure hope we dont see another bad one there b4 the changes get made...
TO stay ofF the rear brake and get better foot placement I determine to never use my rear brake whilst i am on the track unless there iS an emergency need . I put the pEdal as high as it will go and don't touch it . Heck, i am willing to remove it on practice days if need be.
Pit Row
I'm starting to feel more thankful that I had my dad to force me to do stuff like this when I was a kid. It takes time to reinforce good habits and I'm starting to see just how helpful it was doing circles in the backyard for an hour until my dad told me to to turn around and go the other way lol
I think you are right about me tending to have a course memorized so that looking ahead isnt as high a priority as it should be.
When I think about it...I have always been an absolute sucker for following blown out berms right off the track..
Someone else said, racing makes you look up to set up a pass...when I think about it, I usually ride better when I race because I am always watching the rider in front of me, which means Im looking up.
I guess I just haven't done enough riding or racing in recent years, actually been battling quite a bit to get myself into a position where I get to rack up a lot of seat time...I was just getting there when this happened ??
I once had a small property with a good sized turn track and a big supercross track.. sold the prooerty in 2008
Will have myself organised for Saturday with a written list of things I need to do when I'm on the bike..I will tape the list to my crossbar pad!
Once Im back working, Im gonna buy a gopro and video all my riding and watch it so that I might see for myself what Im doing and where Im actually looking
Look up "Foundation Training" on YouTube. 12 minute exercise video that really helps with learning how to move this way, which keeps your back from hurting.
Well, I will find out pretty soon if I have the mental strength to break this habit..
I will sneak out for a very reserved ride next weekend.
Still....im enjoying helping with watering and overwatch ....I love to be here at the track..even if I can't ride...
Your jump wasn’t blind ?
Switching between bikes could be contributing to you not feeling comfortable too.
Ive seen a lot of good riders since the incident, doing the exact same thing she was doing. They obviously dont like that jump, but they aren't thinking about just how fast someone is likely to be coming up on them....they belong riding in the expert group....they just trail ride that jump though and that can be very dangerous.
In time that whole section will be changed to slow it down...its all about dirt availability, time and of course money
Id personally recommend setting a reminder (possibly on your phone) and intention for that day to focus only on looking ahead and nothing else. Don't worry about going fast/clearing jumps or whatever else you're thought process is, nor worry about long motos. One thought and one thought only.
And I've seen posted already but I have a mate who has duct tape on his bar pad saying "Look ahead, knees tight, elbows up, loose arms". Since you look down a lot you will see you're bar pad and get a reminder. Put notes of what you need to focus on, it works for him... he smokes me! haha
And lastly, after 2 years of scouring this forum I've decided to finally post... so hi everyone haha! hopefully my post is still valid besides being a first time poster...
Edit: Join date shows 4/20/2019 (blaze up) but I just made my account today... I've actually been on this forum for 2 years plus haha!
Kieran
Ive been planning to do exactly what you said, put notes on my crossbar pad...just bummed out that the fractures in my wrist are still so visible on the xray after 6 weeks...doctor said it would break again easily so I need to give it another 6 weeks he said..
Its something I should have done years ago really..
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