Learning From Experts

With almost anything in life, there's an initial learning curve and continued education thereafter. With more experience on the road than when I first started 5 years ago, I can say that I feel more confident riding on the street than ever. But everyday I'm riding there's a continual training of my reflexes. According to Behavioral Psychology, T. Wheatley and D. M. Wegner of Harvard University, Automaticity is the idea that "automatic thoughts and behaviors are ones that occur efficiently, without the need for conscious guidance or monitoring." Essentially, upon first learning to ride a motorcycle one must continually keep in mind when to pull the clutch in and how smoothly to accelerate after shifting gears, but as time passes the movements start to occur unconsciously.

We often wonder how Kobe Bryant of NBA is able to make countless 3-point consecutive shots, Tiger Woods of Gold win successive PGA Tournaments, Raphael Nadal of Tennis win 9 Grand Slam titles, and Valentino Rossi of MotoGP rank top 3 in seasons from 1997-2010.

These experts of their respective fields have a talent, the ability to master Automaticity. They are able to continually stay at the top because they are able to unconsciously let their minds handle the busy work, while they focus on learning new techniques. From watching the MotoGP series, many motorcyclists are inspired to take their motorcycles to the track and work towards mastering a lap. These professionals are able to so smoothly take turns while hitting the apex and staying on the driving lines. Simply by watching these experts and taking note of how they approach turns one could easily improve ones riding skills. Lap times are indicative of performance and are a great way of tracking progress. A Lap Timer such as the one shown below is available for commercial purchase:

It shouldn't be expected to match these professional records, but by attempting to increase the lap time a motorcyclist can work towards progress. Learning from experts, applies to any practice - with persistence you will get better.