New Year’s Resolutions – Development my a Pre Ride Ritual
As we approach the beginning of a new year, it is tradition for many to adopt a new set of resolutions and/or personal goals. You know the ones we work on for a few weeks than abandon. Just kidding. Some of us keep after them for a few months even. But many times they are just that. Short term goals which never aren’t to stick.
As I thought about this over the last couple of weeks, I’d like to make a recommendation. Recently, I took a short online course on motorcycle performance and training. (I won’t bore you with the details of the specific course. Some of you likely have taken it. However, if you’re interested in the course, which I thought was amazing reach out to me at one of the breakfasts. I know Don Stevens has taken it as well.)
In this course it outlined a process and procedure that many individuals use prior to getting on their motorcycle each time they ride. It’s called a “Pre Ride Ritual.” The pre ride ritual is something you physically do to turn your brain on before you get on your motorcycle. A trigger to focus in on the task at hand before you pull away every time. We all know riding a motorcycle requires constant and continual focus on the task at hand, as well as focusing on those outside elements around you. One momentary lapse could be catastrophic.
I love this thought process, and through the process of taking the course, you are encouraged, and even required to develop and implement a pre-ride ritual for yourself. Something you will use and do every single time before you take off on your bike to make sure you are mentally focused.
Valentino Rossi crouches beside his GP bike prior to racing. Not because he loves his foot pegs, but because he is performing his pre ride ritual. My point is, we are participating in an adrenaline rushing, fascinating and fast moving, and sometimes dangerous hobby and
past time. It’s in our best interest to ensure prior to getting on our motorcycle every time, as well as performing our walk-through on our motorcycle including checking our tire pressures and a safety check, that we develop a pre-ride ritual to assist us in preparing mentally to
operate our respective machines.
I’ll be striving to do this as a goal in the future. To mentally click on my brain prior to zipping off on my motorcycle. I hope you all will consider something similar as we continually strive to be safer, more educated, more skilled, and overall better riders whether that be a
personal goal or a club goal.
Happy New Years to you all and I look forward to warmer weather in the coming months.