aargee

A few days ago, myself & Praful were discussing generally about motorcycling & reflexes. That very conversation made me think, probably I'm getting old & that's probably the reason I try to remain over cautious at all the time. That made me to take a pause, think about, how I started off & where I'm at present & most importantly, where I'd be heading to

Well, there's something that provoked me to write this & to learn; it is from the xBhp magazine vol 1 issue 3. Let me quote...

^^^ was Sunilg's words

Now why am I bringing all this? The first discussion (or first para) & Sunilg's words are a perfect match. Most of us, as we grow or get responsibilities, tend to remain over cautious (or probably scared in Sunilg's words), be it with ride or drive. We can attribute over several reasons such as experience, maturity, control & not so young & boiling blood etc.

Its quite true that the young blood (or boiling or whatever) is quick enough to analyze things & take precautions. Which means, the reaction time is quick, no thinking, just reacting to the situation, which could be the reflex. As we grow old, this reaction turns into response. Response is where, one thinks with so many if clauses & then finally decides, which means, not so quick decision.

To illustrate an example, the guy in the front severs to left from the right most lane...the reactive mind immediately instructs us severing to left. But a responsive mind, watches immediately the left mirror for any vehicle in the rear left, then to right mirror for rear right, tries looking ahead of the person in the front & then takes a decision. This is exactly what I'm calling over cautious. But, the strongest point remains - CAUTIOUS, closely matching to the word "SCARED".

Is it true that as we grow old we tend to remain very cautious? Is it due to age or experience or both? OR is it the fear factor as we feel? Does that mean, we'll all give up motorcycling after a certain point in time & only people who can overcome this fear factor will continue motorcycling? OR people who want to switch over to driving, but cannot afford, will forcefully continue motorcycling? I'm as confused

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sunilg

General biking discussion approved.

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abhimanyu31

Interesting topic, rarely discussed... in my view there are 2 parts to the whole issue... age and experience... with age you are SUPPOSE to garner experience... however that is seldom true as most people do not give much thought to their riding skills let alone analyze each ride... what Praful is going through is a analysis, evaluation and conclusion process that each ride should end with... it helps people become better riders.... so the question is how many people are aware of their limitations and want to work at becoming better riders... for example you may have an inherent talent but you will only hone your skills through experience (regardless of age)... being cautious is a part of the experience you have garnered through the years of riding... you know and have seen the consequences of mistakes.... its like a fresh hot shot fighter pilot who has inherent talent vs. a experienced fighter pilot (much, much older than the fresh jock) with thousands of hours of flying to hone his skills... in a dogfight who would you bet on? (I certainly know who I would bet on) ...... and as far as becoming so frightened that I would want to leave riding, only a physical handicap could stop me from doing so, not a metal one...

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sundarvignesh

Hi!
I personally dont feel that age has got anything to do with being cautious.
I believe that being cautious is more of a characteristic trait. The best way to react to a situation on road is to anticipate a situation.....the more experience you gain the better the anticipation, which means good decisions...
Im a person for whom safety is top priority no matter where im riding. And i ve been mocked by my friends for being too cautious..... but whats wrong in being too cautious......
Although my experience on road isnt much, but this is my point of view....

n_aditya

Having young blood flowing in my veins did not make me cautious. I used to ride rash and mostly without a lid (college days). Yes, reflexes were sharp but that alone did not save my butt from a nasty crash. It was luck.

Sometimes sharp reflexes and the ability to quickly respond to a situation can lead to a crash... something known as survival reactions.

With age, i drive/ride more sensibly and safely, and experience has taught me my limits. My reflexes although are not that sharp as it was a decade back has been balanced with defensive riding instead of aggressive riding. Survival reactions are lesser as experience helps one to steer away from the impending crash. One anticipates trouble better with experience

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aargee

^^^ is the question for which I'm seeking one primary or most importantly a logical & reasonable scientific explanation.

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Patience pays...The Vulture's virtue is patience and the bird always get it's food - Wise man saying

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abhimanyu31

^^^ The answer to this is "if you don't use it, you will loose it".... meaning with age you will have to work harder to maintain that edge (or reflexes as being put over here),.... it is not necessary that you will loose the edge with age... that can only happen if you don't keep working on them... scientifically, the mind and body loose their edge when they are not constantly honed (regardless of age, but becomes more pronounced with age)...

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aargee

No!!! Even if it is put to use, there's some factor, call it experience, maturity or I don't know, something that matters. So do all oldies ride slow? The answer is again NO!!! I personally know few old guys who can & are able to cruise in speeds excess of 120 Kmph. That's why I'm confused & trying to seek a "scientific" explanation with sufficient proof.

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Patience pays...The Vulture's virtue is patience and the bird always get it's food - Wise man saying

This is not a bakery. I don't sugar coat anything. If you ask for my opinion...then that's what you'll get. Don't be mad when it's not what you want to hear

sherry_unicornlover

Well very nice thread i must say.

Now lets look at it in this way:-
Starting:-All you are exited about is riding it and having fun. Thats it. No worries of any crash, no logical decisions but pure fun
After some time: You start loving your Machine. Now you have a healthy relationship with your Bike and most of the time you are concerned about how well maintained it is. Even a slight scratch is a big heart break for you.
Lateron:- You become more responsible. You realise that there are people waiting for you back home. You start observing every move on the road. And hence you become cautious. And being cautious means more worries and more worries means you become more calculative.

So it all boils down to the experience. And Experience teaches you all the risks of the road. And you eventually learn the ways to ignore or save yourself from all the risks which we encounter on daily basis.

Hence, as we grow old, we become more sensible. And we start to Care.

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adarsh1398

well aargee,I started riding my dad's scooter some 12 yrs ago,although my actual riding began when i came to chennai 2 years ago. but i will tell my experience starting from the first day...i was "SCARED" means actually scared,,keeping balance,changing gears,controlling the clutch (I never rode any non geared except my bicycle)...my next phase of motorcycling came when I was in kota,Rajasthan. I used to ride my friends Honda Dio..and there was that "young blood factor"...i hardly used RVM or even indicator,for that matter...it was, as now i understand, total "INSANITY"...THen away from wheels for 3 years,,,back in saddle here,in chennai...now here came the responsibility. it was here I faced lot of traffic, bus drivers playing NFS Underground on road, Bike riders engaging in road rage,autos n taxis act as they are playing crazy taxi...what you are feeling aargee we all feel more or less. lemme tell you todays incident. I went to potheri by chennai bypass (porur-potheri) and i felt iwas overcautious (or scared,whtever you want to think),but then again we act like this bacause of experience (my own opinion). i dont think that age plays much of a factor,health may be. you can see schumacher still racing at the age of 42 years. may be at higher ages you may attribute this to age but as of now it is because of sense,experience and responsibilities.

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