Phd Research Into Sensory Aspects Of Riding In London

[Bingowings]

Hi all,

A few of you have met me but for the benefit of those that haven't, I'll briefly introduce myself. I'm a 3rd year PhD at Royal Holloway University of London and I've been working with riders of all persuasions over the last year and a half in London (and continue to) as part of my research into cycling in London.

One of the the things I'm keen to know a little more about are the sensory experiences of trials riding in particular. By this I mean what do you as riders see, hear, feel when you're doing tricks and gap jumps and the like? Being more of a boring old xc mtber/road racing type of person, I'd really appreciate your first hand insights into the experiences of actually doing trials.

If any of you have any thoughts about this I'd be grateful if you could write me a paragraph in reply (or email it to me at j.spinney@rhul.ac.uk) talking me through a trick or jump blow by blow, highlighting things like what you are and aren't focused on, what the feeling of balance is like in your body, and also how different bikes or equipment have enabled you to do more or less.

I hope thats vaguely clear (any questions or clarifications please ask), and thanks in advance for your help!

Justin

[Synergy]

i wont send you an email anymore. (not from london)

Edited January 12, 2006 by Synergy

[Davetrials]

London riders specificly.

Edited January 13, 2006 by Davetrials

[Bingowings]

Londer riders specificly.

No you don't have to be riding in London specifically, but the filming I've done and the riders I have talked to have all been in London because thats where I'm based. If you're from elsewhere but have some insights that you think might help me out in my research it would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Justin

[Ash-Kennard]

Pretty much everything your worried about goes totally, as in work stresses or gf problems, when you are lining up all your concentration and thoughts are totally focused. Even when someone tries to talk to you, you only really register it when you are finishing or are finished. The only real thing that can distract you is if you are touched. If someone is going to be in the way you just get worried and try to pull back.

sorry if this doesn't really help. and I'm sure it varies from person to person.

EDIT: im probably riding london on 5th feb

Edited January 12, 2006 by ash-kennard

[Krisboats]

I don't seem to be able to visually see much thats going on around me but i can hear it all perfectly, its like my ears have to listen out just in case anything does happen. My vision is fully locked on what i'm about to do and my mind is almost completely blank. Its like all my senses are loads higher than normal but they're all doing different things. And the balance isn't really something i notice, i mean when you've been riding for long enough your balance is already really good so it just seems normal for you to be able to sit on a wall on your back wheel ready to jump.

And if things don't go as planned, like if you land akwardly, i seem as though my brain is working twice as fast as normal. I seem to be able to think "oh shit, move that way more" almost before i've landed. On this subject i also find it is much easier to avoid things when i'm riding.. like me reaction times are much higher. i have managed to dodge several things hitting my head (like footballs) and the other week i managed to move my head around hitting a metal bar whilst i was in the middle of a gap, i was actually dodging it as i was flying through the air.

There's also the increased knowledge of how to move your body. I can perfectly blance things and stay upright in the most unusual positions when i'm not on the bike so i guess that riding has helped increase my contriol and senses in everyday life as well. Which helps for being able to perfectly balance a pint of beer on my knee when i'm sitting down without spilling it everywhere, i can even wiggle my foot around without it falling.

I also find that i can play computer games better after i've been riding. I'm much faster and more accurate when compared to if i havn't been riding. I love the feeling of being like this, I reckon its the closest i will ever get to being superhuman!

[Bingowings]

Cheers Krisboats, that's really useful and just the kind of thing I'm looking for. By way of follow up, do you think you could reduce a gap jump or other trick to words in a blow by blow account, talking through all the little adjustments you must do even though you might not be aware of them? A tall order but I'd be grateful for even an attempt at it.

Many thanks,

Justin

ps, if you can encourage anyone else to share such insights it'd be much appreciated.

[Krisboats]

well seeing as you asked so nicely i would be more than happy to do it for you. What exactly do you mean by "blow by blow" account though? do you want every little detail of doing a gap? or do you want it simple in a list?

[Brian Bleech]

i am off riding over the weekend, i will try a think more about what i am experiencing/feeling/thinking about when doing moves and try and get something down for you at the start of next week.

this all sounds very interesting

mike

Edit: i am agreeing with krisboats its is like i become a higher version of myself, with better awareness, quicker reactions and better balanced. because i am quite clumsy off a bike.

and i have become better at compueter games too like i am getting into the same 'zone' and when riding my bike. My housemates says my fingers just go nuts when playiny Tony Hawk (THUG2) and got got a 3.5million combo the other night and missed a 4+million because of greed.

Edited January 13, 2006 by leedstrials

[Bingowings]

well seeing as you asked so nicely i would be more than happy to do it for you. What exactly do you mean by "blow by blow" account though? do you want every little detail of doing a gap? or do you want it simple in a list?

Cheers Kris(?) and Mike. Yeah pretty every little detail I guess. Its like if you freeze framed something and you could kind of 'see' all the little adjustments your body makes without you knowing but from your point of view rather than someone just looking who only sees the end result. Does that make any sense at all? I doubt it but give it your best shots, its got to be better than mine, my sense of balance and stuff is sh**e and I couldn't ride trials to save my life, but I love to watch! Probably explains why I'm not so good on the PS2 as well...

[Ash-Kennard]

I'm going to go out this weekend and try and remember to think about what i'm doing, i'll record it on here for you on monday.

unless I die

[Krisboats]

Right okay then here goes.

Theres a wall in front of me, with a fairly large drop on the other side and another wall on the other side of the drop that i'm planning on gapping to. I take a run up and bunnyhop at the first wall, this is where all the irrelevant things start to lose their focus. I pull really hard and then mangae to bunny hop onto the wall, Now my eyes are looking at the wall where my rear tyre is now on. As soon as I can see that my tyre is on the wall i lift my head and seek out the landing point on the next wall. I genuinely cannot see anything around me other than the two walls and the though i try not to look i can also see the gap, I think this is where the excitement comes from and a sudden rush of adrenalin as i subconciously realise its make or break time. Even if i wanted to i don't think i could look around at all the things going on around me. But i can hear them all, from lorries to cars to peoples footsteps, I reckon i could most likely hear a ninja trying to sneak up on me.

As i look at the other gap i quickly compose myself again and get myself into a comfortable position with a couple of little jumps so that my back tyre is bouncing on the wall, this also means that my tyre isn't obstructed or stuck so i won't fly forwards when i go to do the gap. I'm now fully concentrating on the landing area. I lower my self and thrust myself forwards, instinctively and without thinking about it i release the brake start to jump forwards and kick the pedals. this all happens without me really thinking about it and happens so fast it might as well be all at the same time.

The take off point is when i'm going to find out whether or not i'm going to make it i can tell in the air how i need to shift my body weight and despite it happening really fast in actual time i feel like i have all the time in the universe to pull the bike upwards and bend my knees, i then look out for that landing area again because its been knocked out of my sight when i jumped so violently I can ever really recall what exactly my head does at this point but i just know i have to find that landing area again. my head points in its general direction and my vison becomes crystal clear as i see it again and i start to stretch my legs forwards and try to place the rear wheel pretty much exactly on the landing area.

If i havn't put enough power into the kick on the pedals i have to corect it now. This is where i push the bars right out in front of me to get just that little bit closer to where i should be and i have to try and move my shoulders in line with the bike as well so i don't land akwardly and get a puncture.

As the wheel touches the other side of the gap i have to feel it land and at that exact moment i have to start to bend my knees to soak up some of the force of me landing. I don't really see where i'm landing now because i look up and try to concentrate all my enegry on staying on the wall, I have to shift my bodyweight forwards so i don't slip back into the gap and if my tyre isn't seated properly on the wall i have to jump up a little bit so i can get the wheel onto the top of the wall my centre of mass begins to move forwards.

As soon as my body weight gets central over the bike i can stand up and at this point i'm free. For i have just made the gap and have escaped the certain injury that i would have got if i had fallen in the gap. All the real world starts to come back to me now, i need it to so i don't mees up when i'm coming back into it. I'm more relaxed now as well and dropping off this wall back down to the pavement is going to be so smooth, I can hear whether or not people are going to be coming around me by their footsteps and i cna see all the things in front of me with pin sharp clarity and i look down at the floor ready to falll down onto it. Another bounce on my back wheel and i kick the pedals again and fall back into the real world.

There you go, i hope that was what you were looking for. i could make my own trials novel with this stuff, how boring would a book be really! I also have a picture that pretty much sums it up with how the world loks to me when i'm ridingso i'll stick that up for you to better understand it.

Edited January 13, 2006 by Krisboats

[Steve-A]

I'd say whats other people have said is pretty accurate.

Only thing I'd like to add is that no matter how scared I am about a move, once I pass that point of no return (when you just gotta do the move) I'm suddenly so calm. Even if things go wrong, everything almost seems slow motion and like its not a big deal.

Perparing for a line a million things rush through my mind about what might happen; what I have got to do, but when I actually step on those pedals, its just a case of clearing my mind and going by instinct.

Edited to make sence.

[Jez]

I'd say whats other people have said is pretty accurate.

Onl;y thing i'd like to add is that no matter how scared i am about a move once i pass that popint of no return when you just gotta do the move, i'm suddenly so calm, even if things go wrong, everythnig alsmot seems slowmotion and like its not a big deal.

Perparing foir al ine am illino things rush thruogh my mind aboiut what might happen, what i have got to do, but when i actually step on those pedals, its just a case of clearing my mind and going by instinct.

I'd just like to add that I can usually tell whether a gap/drop/whatever is going is going to work for me before my back tyre has even left the floor/object. Quite often I'll start to dip the front as I'm attempting a gap, and just as the pedal kick happens I think 'f**k', because my balance is a tiny bit off, which I know will be magnified loads by the time I'm halfway across the gap. This will force me to make corrections before I hit the other side, which may affect my balance the other way (back/forward as opposed to side to side)...which might affect how far I'm going to travel...which will affect whether I make the gap or not. But yeah, once I'm on the back wheel pretty much everything but the obstacle and my back tyre ceases to exist to me until the front wheel lands again. It's like when you're watching TV, even from a distance you feel like the TV is filling your eyesight after a few minutes - your peripheral vision seems to cease working.

The other thing is that SO much of it is subconscious - the only things that I actively think about are a) where my back wheel needs to be and correctional hops. Everything else is just completely subconscious, which is why it takes me forever to learn techniques, I need to spend forever concentrating on them to get them into my muscle memory before I even attempt anything 'big' with said technique.

[Ash-Kennard]

Onl;y thing i'd like to add is that no matter how scared i am about a move once i pass that popint of no return when you just gotta do the move, i'm suddenly so calm, even if things go wrong, everythnig alsmot seems slowmotion and like its not a big deal.

Perparing foir al ine am illino things rush thruogh my mind aboiut what might happen, what i have got to do, but when i actually step on those pedals, its just a case of clearing my mind and going by instinct.

a good point but that was damn hard to read.

[sUm]

I find that as I get "in the zone" and start to feel comfortable on my bike, I begin to focus less on my body and bike as two seperate entites but rather as one. I know this type of thing has been said before but most people seem to feel as though the bike becomes "part of them". Personally though, I tend to feel as though I am an extension of my bike. The basics of each move becomes routine and almost seems to be completely controlled by my subconscious mind, while my attention is really focused upon making sure the bike lands smoothly.

Looking back on what I've just said, it looks as though a stoner wrote it. I'm basically trying to explain how I feel as though my bike and my body feel like a single entity, and that the majority of my conscious mind seems to be focused only on the intricacies of each move.

[Bingowings]

Amazing!

Thank you everybody and especially Krisboats, that is just the kind of thing I'm looking for. I'm writing a chapter for a book with the broad theme of cycling and some or all of this stuff will make it in for sure. Don't expect to see it in Waterstones though; its a smelly old academic book with a small print run and will be found probably only in University libraries. Still, your insights will be published - as long as thats ok with you guys that is? In fact, I may ask for the full quality version of your photo Krisboats and your permission to reproduce it too as I really like the way you've manipulated it to give an impression of what you 'see' as it were. Unfortunately no one gets any money for any of this (me neither) but at least we can try and educate people about what riding should be all about rather than them thinking we all wear dayglo sashes and hug trees!

Many thanks again and keep the accounts coming if you can be arsed - the more the better!

Justin

[Krisboats]

I'm glad it was all of some use to you. And yes, you can feel completely free to use that picture should you want to, add me to msn (krisboats@hotmail.com) or e-mail me at that address and i will send you the picture. I don't know if there's a dramataic increase in quality with the file i have here but it won't have the trials-forum logo in the corner.

There is just one thing i will ask. If it does get published and everything and it doesn't take like 6 years to get finished, would you be able to take a picture or scan the book and show us how it turned out? That would be pretty cool .

So come on people I'm sure there's going to be little things we've missed that you can contribute with. Get your opinions rolling in!

[Ash-Kennard]

what riding should be all about rather than them thinking we all wear dayglo sashes and hug trees!

or hugging pro's if you are that cock from new members

congratulations to krisboats though, some great information produced.

[Bingowings]

No problem on the book front. With such a small print run each copy costs a fortune but I believe I get a copy for my trouble so I'll scan the chapter and put it on the forum or provide a weblink, or I can photocopy the chapter and post it to you. Don't hold your breath though it'll take the best part of the year to see it published I would think!

Thanks once again for all your help,

Justin

[Simpson]

Say youve had the worse day you can just pick up your bike and go out with some solid riders who will always come out with you. just before you do a trick if thats what you want? because when your on your bike nothing else matters. what time is tea, your gf, your mum leaving whatevers gone on none of it matters.

A always get a bit shaky i always do its part of the moment that makes me... me i guess just building up to the one hop or whatever. Say im wheelies hopping up something you plan... pedal strokes wether your doing 4 stokes 5 you know. As you build up speed your looking at the edge, in your final 2 strokes you feel something in the back of your mind. which either make you nail the trick or dent your frame its just the little thing that either makes you put in 2 hefty strokes and tuck up or do a half job and f**k it up.

If ever you want another london ride ill try my best to get there..

[Bingowings]

If ever you want another london ride ill try my best to get there..

Definitely. I'm going to leave it until probably around April when things warm up a bit and then try and organise a ride where I can do some filming and chat to people in person. I'll post it up on the forum a bit nearer the time.

Thanks for your help,

Justin

[Simpson]

sure man e mail me and if it isnt a sunday i can prob get my fat ass down there lol look forward to it, (even though we ride in the winter lol )

[ogre]

Krisboats was spot on about that! It's kinda scary now i think about it, you realy are oblivious to the stuff going on round you! and i agree about the reflexes (i'm jumpy anyway, so funy when friend try to hit me i proper lash out at them and now I've started trials i hurt them more, and after a ride i'm even worse!)