Old Fox

Sense and Sensibility

I don't consider my motorcycling to carry exceptional damaging potential to my life. Riskier than hammering away on my keyboard perhaps, but inherently dangerous, no. After all, the motorcycle is an inanimate object, a great bunch of engineering ideas cast/forged/machined in metal, until I choose to bring it to life, and then I am in charge.

The key here is ‘being in-charge’. Which is holding yourself, and solely your own self responsible for your own safety? True, the car/truck/bus driver who hit me, cut in from the wrong side or jumped a red-light and didn’t even have a valid license, was caught by the cops and prosecuted by the courts but nothing brings back my amputated limb, my dead friend or the weeks and months of pain and loss I endured after the accident. It wasn’t my fault….and yet I suffered the most. Because the onus of my own safety was on me and I failed myself in that.

Motorcycling is not just about skillfully riding the bike. You ride more within than without. Its one of the most cerebral of all activities in modern times. The riding skills only come into play once perception and assessment of a situation leads to a decision. The leading edge of riding lies in perception. That is ‘seeing with meaning’. You are headed down a two-lane road, at legal speed, sparse traffic, intersection coming up some 200 yards ahead. The light is green and has been so for some time. No traffic leading you into the crossing. Empty gap. Your fingers cover the front brake. You are an active participant in your surroundings. Some impatient moron, deciding the light has been green too long for non-existent traffic, runs the light across the intersection, straight into your path. You brake, survive, shake your head in disgust and move on because you were ready. Because you took it upon yourself to account for other’s errors. Because you ride knowing that it is not enough to mind just your own business on a motorcycle. To survive, you need to mind the business of everyone else as well. And this decision adds clarity and focus to your perception.
In time, you develop a higher sense unique to those regularly engaged in life-threatening situations. A sense that makes you aware of hazards that the average motorist does not even consider: worn and shiny manhole covers, cow-dung patches, on-coming tractor-trailer with iron girders it carries jutting six feet out on both sides, new and thick street paint that spells ‘stop’ but means ‘skid’, a gravely patch on the sharp left-hander where the street sweeper left a deposit. These are minor blips on the radar of a motorcyclist's consciousness. You are aware and ‘in-charge’. You don’t skid and fall and curse the municipality or the government. You skirt the hazard and ride on.

Traffic will always be a humungous mix of vehicles driven by people with a wide variety of skill and awareness levels, the majority being way below average. But if you manage to anticipate the unexpected or even the unintended, you avoid an accident. A disturbingly large number of motorcycle accidents are the result of some situational failure on the part of the rider. The incident might not be the rider’s fault at all, legally of technically, but usually he was not paying enough attention. He had not roped in that ‘higher-sense’ as his guiding light.

Make this ability to sense and look past the present, to stay a step ahead, an inseparable part of your riding gear. Make it your second nature. Of course, some fine day on a race-track you might decide upon the need to find all about traction and power-bands and lean angles…but that will purely be about skill, risk and exuberance. Meanwhile, keep that rider-radar perpetually switched on and revel in the inherent safeness of motorcycling.

Read it on Hard Torque: http://www.xbhp.com/hardtorque/?p=85

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Sunny

Hard Torque Approved

ken cool

Yeah. We HAVE to keep that radar perpetually on. We have to account for all those seemingly clear roads to clutter up suddenly from nowhere and create a mess. One moron can get your limb amputated. And we WILL also perpetually curse the Municipality and the Government for the appalling levels of civic road awareness. The biggest hurdle in our safety is actually the heterogenous levels of driving awareness due to a the lack of a "clean" universal licensing system.

But then let us not get into that. Let us get our radars on and ride for our lives!!

Though it can get Quite stressful at times.

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hitanshu

yaar, maja nahin aaya.

a. Its well known.
b. Most importantly - Sir, you set expectations WAY too high

Sorry boss!!

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niks_devil666

Ah ... just like my thoughts ,but wonderfully articulated !

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hellrider

I am totally in awe with those few lines out of a brilliantly talented and a very sound head indeed. The fact old fox rightly said that the majority of traffic belongs to a "below average" driving style is an advantage you have with respect to the situation that now you are in charge of the traffic and can manouver past between two cars or trucks or any damn vehicle while any other regular office goer on his bike would keep thinking the odds in this situation or practically keep blocking your path in my situation untill and unless i honk him away from that space that i was intented to go through.
I really dont understand why people get absent minded when thay are driving or rushing back home or the worries that are predominantly in their head are so much that it looks as if they are driving at zero awareness of what is coming from behind.
These kind of things potentially pose a great risk specially if you are a superbiker(Superbike owner).
Lastly I would repeat what Old Fox has said that " It is absolutely you who is incharge and fully responsible of yourself and your safety than somene else who caused the accident " so for this kind of situation never to arise we as individuals of this community should realize the responsibility and improve our these aspects in the future.

Old Fox

@Ken: This piece, written by a non-descript motorcyclist, is about adaptation. The author is painfully aware of the ENORMITY of issues involved that need sorting to make these thoughts redundant. Stressful...you bet. Mostly it takes the very 'charm' out of riding. Cannot get worse than that..can it?

@Hitanshu: Oh! Sarkar mayoos hui! maafee!!
On a serious note, there are times we all are guilty of failing to notice the mundane and don't act upon its instance. This is but a feeble attempt at making the that oft forgotten background come up and replace the foreground for a while. Boring - could be. Repetitive - maybe, though this depends upon the reader's level of experience. Necessary - I firmly believe so.

@niks & hellrider: Thanks. Yes, owning up your riding is imperative to getting better at it. And only better riding can ensure your survival in the urban 'wilderness' we ride in.

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Speed Pujari

^^ Million dollar quote I must say!..

Fox, I must thank you for bringing this topic in a creative way, and Sunny thanks for approving it!..

The level of confidence on others driving skills has to be equal/more than self driving confidence.

But I dont know why these kinda topics are always disliked/uninterestible by an average xbhpian .

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hyper

Loved reading through the topic. Beautiful usage of the English language and very good content too. Many topics on Hard Torque helps us transform ourselves into better bikers, makes us think about things that we never would have thought of, if not for xBHP. Thanks Old Fox for the invaluable post!!

shadez

@Old Fox: great work there again.
i second SP. thats spot on. happens everyday!!!
and guess what, it always feels like reading Chetan Bhagat books while going through your posts. its always 'aah... right said, thats what happens/i knew it/damn that feeling'... we(atleast i) can relate to most of them except on SBK stuffs. but hardly can one put it down in words the way you do. kudos and keep writing(typing)...

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