How do you relax?

[misti]

One piece of advice that I often hear people giving new riders is to just RELAX and while it is good advice, it can be hard for a new rider to do so unless they know HOW.

How do you learn to relax on your bike? What specific techniques help you stay relaxed?

Misti

[kevin_stevens]

Two things:

> Sing or play songs in my head (not headphones!) If I can't keep the song going through a corner, I know I'm out of my comfort zone. Conversely, if I'm tight, trying to loosen up and pick up the melody will often relax me.

> Rest my outside arm on the gas tank. One of key positioning points on the bike is that when I get off, that outside arm goes so limp that it drops down on the tank. If I don't feel the tank under my elbow, I'm too tight.

KeS

[azure78]

Flap your elbows like chicken wings ...

[RyanITV]

Originally Posted by azure78

Flap your elbows like chiken wings ...

I was gonna say the same thing. Works like a champ - forces you to stay loose on the bars...

[gordsboyroy]

Sing gets my vote. It seems weird but any day I come home from a ride in which I feel I never got a good "rhythm" going, I can't recall any songs running through my head. If I've had some tune stuck in my brain, usually things have been good. To the point where I have stopped until I get the theme song from the Beverley Hillbillies boring into my frontal lobe so the rest of the day works better.

[V8M3]

I don't know if you are talking about on the track or in general, but I found with time, I was able to relax as I became familiar with the bike. The "chicken wing" is something I do occasionally, especially when cruising on the freeway for a while. I also try to remember to loosen my grip and keep my elbows bent.

One comment. When I first purchased this bike, I wondered how I would get used to the vibration at the grip. Once I learned to relax and enjoy the bike, the vibration went completely away.

[kanankeban]

Originally Posted by misti

One piece of advice that I often hear people giving new riders is to just RELAX and while it is good advice, it can be hard for a new rider to do so unless they know HOW.

How do you learn to relax on your bike? What specific techniques help you stay relaxed?

Misti

I do integral equations in my head while riding...lol...just kidding, the real thing is that I do ride my bike to relax...I dont stress my self...just the other way...thats the reason why I ride bikes, I try to concentrate 100% on my flow while riding(I even forget my name) and as magic, whem I go down the bike im fully relaxed
Ass Vale said one time "four wheels move the body, two wheels move the soul"
Cheers!
Hector

[dc92974]

Breathe, a few deep breaths does wonders... even better when combined with chicken wings.

[misti]

Love the comments about flapping your arms like chicken wings, you would all look like California Superbike Students as that is one of the exercises we do and I find myself doing it when I'm riding and even racing as well I also like the comments about singing a song to relax, that worked for me in a few corners that I was having trouble with.

Sometimes though, people can't seem to flap their arms or they can't seem to loosen up. What other kinds of things are going to influence whether or not a person is able to relax and flap their arms or loosen up or not?

Misti

[randomwalker]

I, too, like the singing bit. I also find myself talking to myself and reminding myself to B...R...E...A...T...H...E... especially through turns.