CONTROL the BAD and AUGMENT the GOOD.
“So, you’ve finished your introductory training in the single-engine, prop-driven plane which you have only ever flown in perfect weather with perhaps a slight breeze and the odd cumulus cloud drifting by maybe a hundred miles away?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. That means you know where all the controls are and the difference between the wings and the propeller.
Here’s the key to that F-16 sitting out on the flight line. Don’t look so worried. All the controls are in the same place — well, kind of. Just take it easy at first; you’ll get used to the power after a while. This is part of the Air Force’s new cost-cutting training program… We figure being checked out in a light civilian aircraft is good enough, and it’ll save us billions. Happy flying!”
Colonel Robert S. Mackie (army and biker’s trainer) opened one of his articles in the distant 2004 with an imaginary conversation at a training centre for fighter pilots.
As absurd as this conversation may sound, it is not too different from the persuasive pitch of some dealers when trying to convince new customers to buy their first bike, a 180 HP missile. In this way, several newborn bikers turn rapidly into subjects of accident chronicles.
Mr. Robert S. Mackie continues his inspirational article: “The truth about training is pretty apparent to those of us who’ve put in thousands of hours of blood, sweat, study, and pain to be good at what we do.
Shooters, pilots, navigators, whoever: we know risk when we see it, and we know how hard someone has to work to get real good at minimising risk and maximising results. Buying the biggest, baddest, tire-smoking, asphalt-eating machine your pay-check will allow is the dumbest thing you can do when it comes to bikes. And the idea that a bit of training on a little bike will stand you in good stead on a 185-mph machine is about as sensible as thinking that 40 hours in a Cessna 150 qualifies you to pilot a 747.”
When approaching new skills or new enterprises, the reduction of risks and the search for maximum results are critical considerations for any human: it does not matter the field, the gravity of the threat, or the beneficial effects of the results. Facing the new, we all want to control the BAD and augment the GOOD. One can go as far as saying that this balance is the whole texture of life, and with the years passing, we become (or at least we are presumed to become) expert and skilled in the art of keeping away the bad of risk and bringing home good results. We understand this vital act of balance in many forms, and motorcycling is a demanding teacher where minimising risk and maximising results are the game's rules.
Without the capacity to minimise risk, motorcycling is the realm of undiluted fear and, at the same time, of exceptional stupidity. Enough to look at the definition of Riding: “To sit on and control the movements of an animal or a vehicle.”
The full control of the vehicle and the ability to perform the intended actions and movements are the natural source of pleasure when riding. Moving without (or with partial) control raises the level of risk above acceptable levels. This includes risks from your vehicles, road and road conditions, and other road users. An impressive list when detailed in each point but an incomplete one: as in all activities, the single significant risk comes from the actor, in this case, the rider.
She or he is the protagonist of the decisions, the maker of choice, the one who ultimately controls the GOOD and the BAD by taking one action.
In facing situation, choice, alternative and decision, the element for the best possible one is TIME or the two aspects of time when deciding. One can require more time to select the proper action or be faster in choosing the right one: here is a simple example: the selection of a restaurant.
“Mr A is an occasional restaurant user who takes the time to read and interpret signs outside the name, type of cuisine, menus, decoration, clientele, etc. He may also move from one restaurant to another before making the choice.
Mrs B knows restaurants better, reads guides and articles on new chefs and establishments, and is passionate about food. She can take hints for a tasty choice. She may also analyse different restaurants, but her analysis is fluent and fast.”
Both may reach a good result, a good choice, but Mrs. B is faster, with a better use of time. This is what knowledge and training give: more time for the best decision by storing, in the brain of the learner, data and elements that make the choice faster and by eliminating part of the time pressure while deciding.
S.I.P.D.E. is an acronym that I like as much as I hate using acronyms from military slang. -Scan Identify Predict Execute- summarises the process of acting in a memorable way to control the BAD and augment the GOOD.
The three processes before decision and execution (Scan Identify Predict) are part of a system everybody consciously or unconsciously uses when deciding to marry Doris, joining the Foreign Legion, buying a car, or moving to Dubbo (NSW, Australia). Here, knowledge, education, experience, and training come into play: by knowing in advance part of the situation (theoretically or practically), by knowing the tools and the “what if?” for analysing and predicting the situation, by figuring the situation before it happens and by intuitive use of the “tools” effective in the situation.
Back to the bike and consider the feeling after the BAD — “If I had two more seconds… I would not have crashed… I would not have been there.” The more time I gain, the more time I have for reading the situation, the more I know, and the faster I can select the appropriate reaction.
Safety is a matter of knowledge, experience and time at disposal.
Time is never enough for the newly-born-biker: his vision is short, and everything comes to him unexpectedly. His attention is divided between controls, roads, traffic, signals, feelings, and millions of pieces of ever-changing information that are hard to process correctly.
Jon Taylor writes: “In the early stages of learning to ride this increasing Time-to-React happens instinctively with most, and is what may best be described as hesitation. The rider doesn’t have the experience to make quick decisions based on experience and, therefore, needs more time to react. The rider generally does this by being more cautious and reducing speed. As knowledge and experience grow, less time is needed for this decision-making process. But it’s still vitally important for the information on which this decision process is made to be accurate. After all, just one wrong decision can prove fatal ultimately.”
Robert S. Mackie continues: “Sure, I’ve heard it a gazillion times at the local watering hole: ‘Ride within your limits and the limits of your bike, and you’ll be fine’ Well, on the face of it, it’s pure crap.”
After all, experience is the worst teacher: it always gives the test first and the instruction afterwards. To maximise results, we need the knowledge to use as a reference to evaluate practice and build up valuable and usable experience. The amount of time spent on riding does not guarantee competence and knowledge, as going through life without time dedicated to learning will not increase our wisdom and capacity to reduce the BAD and augment the GOOD. We need to spend time to examine the experience and to learn from it.
“The unexamined life is not worth living”, and the process of self-examination never ends and is the entry door to acquiring knowledge. Without the capacity to honestly evaluate oneself, progress comes very slowly.
“What I can do” versus “What I pretend or would like to do” is a hard question and, as H.H. Dilthey often teaches, “Realistic self-evaluation is the balanced appraisal of the level of knowledge and a correct judgment of the mental and physical skills”.
Improving, maximising results, and augmenting the GOOD using the acquired knowledge is better done in small and measurable steps because, as K. Code told us, “It is impossible to modify several elements of riding in one go. On the contrary, it is beneficial to fix small objectives and to modify one simple action at a time, sampling the results. Complex activities such as riding result from smaller sub-actions: practice will make these smaller acts perfect, instinctive and linked together.”
