Have you thought about how you prepare your mind before you ride? Until I started the ChampU online course, I had not given that idea any serious thought. Nick Ienatsch, a moto-journalist that I grew up reading, and a highly successful professional road racer, starts the course by recommending using a mantra as part of your mental preparation to ride.
I learned in yoga to use a mantra to bring my mental focus to the present, and to eliminate the distracting thoughts that would invariably enter my mind. Turns out racing champions use the same technique. As Nick explains, the number one reason racers and riders crash is lack of focus. A mantra, which he suggests using before every ride, is a technique, just like in yoga, that focuses your mind on the present, what you’re doing when you ride, and eliminates distractions. Turns out that racing champions, like seven-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi, use pre-ride rituals, like a mantra and other physical acts, to focus their minds on the present.
So I taped “Be Present” on the tank of my GS and say the words out loud while I’m putting on my helmet.
My thanks to ChampU, the online training course by Nick Ienatsch and his team at the Champions Riding School for giving me a valuable new tool to improve my riding, and that was just the first lesson. From their racing experience and on-track school, they’ve assembled 7 reasons riders crash and then share the habits that racing champions use to avoid crashing. A partnership between the BMW MOA Foundation and Champions Riding School provides BMW MOA members the opportunity to train online to improve their riding skills at a significantly reduced cost to BMW MOA members.
Jamie: Thx. It would have been more informative/helpful if your short article included the 7 most common causes of crashes. I expect you didn’t include that because ChampU wants BMWMOA members to pay for the course. More information might help persuade riders to spend their money. Take care.