Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Do you pay attention when you ride? Or do you daydream?

I find I'm Hyper aware when I ride. In fact on 'interesting' roads I
tend to slow down as there's too much to look at.

I try to stay focused, when I was younger focus was never a problem I was usually moving with pace and it demanded it or I was nervous and it likewise demanded it. Now that I am older and more seasoned I find it actually harder as I ride slower and am have a little more experience. I guess what I I am saying is I need to pay better attention now than I did when I was say 35!!!!!

pchast wrote:I find I'm Hyper aware when I ride. In fact on 'interesting' roads I
tend to slow down as there's too much to look at.

Interesting, I was going to say the same thing but call it "day dreaming" .... lol.

But I guess for me, a interesting road is what some would call a long boring straight one into the prairies. The interesting thing I find with those types of roads is the relaxation of riding with the blue sky, farm fields, and no one around for miles but nature. Quite zen like.

But in the city, I'm all business as in Houston I find myself not trusting any driver. In fact, they drive so poorly here with consideration to others I'm getting a little paranoid over them as very few use signals to change multiple lanes; run through red lights (that have been red for several seconds) they don't look where they are going (cell phones) and will rush each other to the "front of the line" at a stop light... it's quite dangerous riding or driving really and you really need to pay attention at all times.

Mike

Twisty mountain roads require focus the whole time. No daydreaming, no music.
Roads I ride out in the prairie are dirt and gravel. Best focus or find yourself thrown off in the deep & soft patch.

I mostly pay attention. When I find myself losing focus, it's usually because of fatigue. I'll pull over and take a break with a juice and a snack and then I'm ok again.

Very focused; I don't listen to music, don't hum to myself. If I find my mind wandering too often, it means I need a break.

One of the things I really love about riding is it pretty much forces you to pay attention. It's almost like meditation for me; you naturally clear your head of any problems you have and just think about the immediate; the road condition, the vehicles around you, the weather. I don't think about the past or the future. Or well, the only future I think about is around 12 seconds ahead or within line of sight . And like everyone else says, if you're starting to lose focus, it's time for a snack and a stretch.

Depends on road type, weather, etc. There are a lot of quiet 2 lane roads where I'm at with very little traffic going through farmland with excellent visibility. Times like that I'll let my mind wander a little. In urban areas or highways it's another ball of wax. Also in a few more weeks it'll be mating season for deer here in PA, had one close encounter in the sticks when I wasn't paying attention (riding with forested terrain on both sides), so that's when it's time for extra care.

Day dream in this city and you may as well write your obit before going for that ride...