I went out the other day to one of my favorite roads, and was mentally in excellent condition. I felt great, but hit a corner with some gravel, felt the back get a little squirley, and lost my nerve. I starting noticing every little thing on the road, and took the rest of that road like a granny on a unicycle. I did hit another area, and was able to get back into the mood, but the first half of the trip really pissed me off. Does that ever happen to you guys? I find myself wondering how much gravel is enough to spill me. One could never expect to ride on pristine roads all the time, but I think I am letting my imagination get the best of me sometimes.

 

If I ever felt uneasy or felt like my head wasn't in it, I'd usually call it a day and head home. When you notice you're not riding with your full potential of concentration, bad **** happens shortly after.

 

Yup, been there done that well kind of. Mine wasn't gravel it was moss (the road had been closed all winter it was early spring last year). You would have thought it was my first time on a bike on my way back down!

 

nah bro you're not alone. that has happened to me as well. its just a mental thing . because we all know just a lil bit of gravel can make us go down. so when what is always on the back of our minds comes to real then it reminds us of how easy it could be to go down. its just how we deal with it after. you're right we cant have the best roads all the time but we can try our best to watch out, not ride beyond our limits and just have fun. because if we are always too worried about gravel or etc we cant enjoy the ride. atleast you were able to get back into the rythm. just think of it like when you 1st started to ride, and when you 1st snapped the throttle fully open in 1st gear. its a scary feeling but you get used to it . im not sure if this will make snese to you or anyone else but i tired lol

 

thats what happened to me, and thats what caused me to spill...i lost my confidence, and in that loss of confidence, lost my concentration...ended up not focusing around the wrong corner

i agree...if at all possible, head home if your minds not in it

 

ive noticed lately that ive been paying maybe too much attention to the road and whats on it, and not enough attention to what is inhead of me. no close calls or anything, just find myself concentrating too much on what i should look for...just have to break that mood to avoid cluttering the mind.

 

Does'nt matter how long you've been riding, if your back end goes then it can effect the way that you ride. The trick is not to feel embarrassed, and to remember how you rode before the hiccup. Everyone has been there at some point so the only advice that I can give which I feel puts it all into perspective is ," its not if, but when you fall off". Now I've been on bikes maybe 20 odd years and have only come off once, but have had plenty of mishaps through not paying attention, like watching the girls and not the road, and vise versa for ladies, or showing off and something goes wrong, maybe the next time that you go out and slip on a piece of gravel then your reflexs will be different, the main thing is to enjoy yourriding.

 

Damn. We've all had that it seems.

I know that if I'm in the wrong frame of mind I may as well go home. It seems to happen more as we get older too :-/

I wonder if they have drugs for it you know... when you need to let rip on a twisty road but can't get into the mood.

 

Here we call it "Sphincter Pucker", happens to all of us at some point. Its an earlier morning reminder call, lets you know that your not Superman. I think that it's a good thing, lets you refocus, its natures way of telling you your a cocky bastard.

 

I used to get it during the initial drop while scuba diving in deep cold murky water (really quite freaky), and I'd wait til I hit bottom and then relax for a minute while my eyes adjusted and I got used to the cold. Maybe on the bike you should just pull over in a nice quiet spot and check out the scenery and relax. Maybe the reason why you ride is because you enjoy the 'alone time' and not the speed. Maybe you are just realizing that riding fast on public roads can be dangerous and that you need a track day soon.