Advice: Space, the final frontier

Space, the final frontier

What is the difference between a straight section of road and a corner? Okay, wise guy... apart from the obvious fact that a corner changes direction and a straight doesn't. Maybe I should re-word the question... Why do you feel more in control on the straight than in the corner? Why do you feel less rushed on the straight? Why do you make more errors on corners than on straights? Why is it faster corners are easier to ride than slower corners? Why is it I always ask so many questions..?

Have you ever been out on a road you're not familiar with and had the nastiest of surprises as the corner you are entering proceeds to tighten up on you the further you get into it? That would have to be one of the most uncomfortable experiences I think anyone can have while riding. What happens? Your whole body tightens up doesn't it? Your arms lock into position. You roll off the throttle. You begin to look at the outside of the turn (where you think you might end up).

You suddenly seem to have accelerated, yet you know you're going slower than you were a second ago. You put the brakes on in a panic and the bike starts to go wider. The bike just doesn't want to go around the corner any more and you feel like you have less and less chances of survival the further into this nightmare you go.

For those of you familiar with Keith Code's work, you know that you have just experience several or all of the seven survival reactions listed in "A Twist of the Wrist II." What are those reactions? You'll have to buy the book to get the full information, but you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the above scenario is a bad one. A bad one that all of us at some time or another have experienced.

The real question here is, what caused you to feel threatened? What was it that made you react like you did? One word... "space". Space is the be-all and end-all of rider comfort. The more you have, the better you feel. The less rushed you are, the less errors you make. A straight is easier than a corner because you have more space. A fast corner feels more comfortable than a slow one because you have more space if you make an error. On the other hand, the less space you have the more rushed you are. The tighter the corner the easier it seems to make errors. Okay, I know we've all experienced this, but what does space really give you?

Surprise, surprise - another one word answer... "time". Space equals time. Time equals space. If you have more of one, you have more of the other. The reason you feel more comfortable on straights and faster corners is because you have more time to respond.

If you were to make an error in judgement and you found yourself needing to make an adjustment, you feel you have more time to make that adjustment. In a tighter corner however, you spend much less time in it and therefore you have less time to make the same decisions you have to make in the faster corner. Space equals time. Time equals space.

Your basic control sequence for riding a corner doesn't change from corner to corner, yet your application of it, or the amount of force used in each step in the sequence, will. In each and every corner you have to make the same decisions. Is my speed right for the turn? Am I in the right location as I enter the turn? Do I have enough traction? Am I leaned over enough/too much? Etc.

So... what can you do about it? Not much really. A tighter turn is a tighter turn and by its very nature will force you to make the same decisions quicker. But, by being aware of it, perhaps you can decide on how to prepare earlier and make the most out of the time and space available to you in each and every cornering situation.

Good luck with your riding.

Steve Brouggy is the owner of the

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