Mr Cholmondeley-Warner wrote:A fellow poster was trying out a new theory on me about corners over the weekend. He claimed it had revolutionised the experience of his associates. I found it hard to grasp, as it involved imagining something that could not be easily calculated / predicted, and it therefore sapped my concentration on the drive.
No need to name names, but could you try and explain the method?
One I can't get on with is 'thirds' . . .
Mr Cholmondeley-Warner wrote: So we need to be sure that our fancy methods or mnemonics actually resonate with the people we're imposing them on (and yes, it's an imposition; the associate is unlikely to have a counter-theory to propose instead), or be prepared to change to an alternative, rapidly.
Most of mine involve simplifying things
And you ought to see how I implement '123' training . . .
With bike training, the instructor can usually only tell what the trainee is seeing by how they respond (or not). Although the instructor can give feedback via the radio link (usually one-way), there's a risk of causing distraction and also a certain delay between 'comment heard-thought-reaction from the rider'.
So I invented a way of determining whether or not the trainee was reacting at '1' and '3'.
Simply, I ask the rider to travel at a - relatively - slow speed. Remember that this isn't teaching an 'advanced' technique, simply improving identification of key parts of a bend. Also, they need to be comfortable at riding with one hand on the bars.
Now the fun bit. I ask them to look well ahead and identify the first moment when a bend can be seen (I use certain sections of road which have longer straights then bends, and few side turnings), and look for the 'arrow head' to point the direction of the bend. They need to show me they've seen it, by raising their left arm up in the air and pointing left or right (over their head).
Now, having seen, acknowledged and identified the corner, they'd be a bit remiss not to do
something about it! While negotiating the bend (again, I've chosen the route carefully), as point '3' is identified, whether a second bend the same direction or one to the opposite direction) they raise their left arm again and point. That then determines, if they're using 'lines', how to set up for the next bend, with the entry position determining the exit line (apex etc, although I don't use that term) of the current bend.
If this stuff didn't work, I wouldn't use it