Ever seen a naval captain glance at the sea, the sky, and his instruments? Though appearing subtle, there’s a level of observational acuity and understanding few will fathom. He’s responsible for his course, the safety of the ship and his crew. Well, public roads are our medium, and properly reading them are just as crucial for safely navigating them.
Pro riders (both on and off road) walk the track/course, ‘mark’ it in their mind, think of their optimal line (sometimes even spray painting reference points), annotate and markup a printed/sketched course outline, memorise every detail/obstacle/challenge possible.
Faster riders are more proficient at ‘reading’ the road. The very fastest have actually committed to memory critical details of the road in question, leaving them with less to process while riding.
Putting together a bunch of visual and tactile inputs/signs are the ‘instruction manual’ for navigating the particular section of road in that moment. Same road can change, as they all have ‘personality’ and can always surprise you. Remember a curvy road which suddenly had an unanticipated/forgotten tighter or tightening corner**? How about that road you already know so well, which suddenly surprises you with a patch of gravel, a diesel trail, or police?
Expert riders ‘read’ considering:
Temperature of the air and the ground;
Type & age (colour) of asphalt/pavement/tarmac;
Road signs;
Size and spacing of undulations/bumps;
Obvious debris/obstacles (such as dust, leaves, pine cones and needles, or tar snakes), hidden (in the form of liquids – diesel being most dangerous), and camouflaged (fine gravel on patches);
Paint and any metal;
Moisture/humidity, keeping in mind that recent rain (‘green’ road) can sometimes mean a cleaner road, but also less of a rubber layer to help with grip;
Condition and amount of road-side runoff / bank or shoulder / emergency lane;
The angle / camber / banking / climb / descent;
Available vision and possible hidden areas, as well as the vision and expectations of other vehicles (with same heading and oncoming);
Police and radar;
Pullouts, rest areas, bridges, gasoline stations, and sheltered areas;
Personal experience, info from websites, guides, or other riders (including history and/or past incidents);
Etc.
Safest riders follow ‘commandments’ like:
Expect slow and fast cars, motorbikes, bicycles in your lane or coming at you taking up the middle of the road or crossing into your lane. Place dependent, rickshaws, sheep, skateboarders, camels, horse drawn carts, electric scooters, cows, tractors, etc. (all of whom act as though they’ve paid road tax and have priority.)
When the road has been clear and ‘empty’ for a bit, remember to expect a surprise. One always comes – coming out of a hairpin on a cold, rainy evening, in the clouds, climbing a famous Tour de France mountain pass in October, a bull copulating with a cow, right in my lane.
Always (unless passing) stay in the right half of your lane (when on right-side-driving roads). Always. No exceptions. Ever. If you don’t like curves, take a highway.
Employ the ‘70/85 corner’ rule. Never go into a right corner faster than 70% of your ability (keeping a 30% safety margin). Never go into a left corner faster than 85% of your ability. (Again, inverse numbers for left-side-driving.)
Consider that conscientious and meticulous pros have accidents on memorised and studied closed tracks, where they benefit from an entire team and from section by section signalling by safety marshals. Now contextualise the relative ignorance, naïveté, and risk of amateurs on unknown roads, with all the unknown factors, and lack of all the road-reading/navigating techniques…
“But I have my Garmin!” A GPS/navigator is not a flawless reference, though it will allow you to remember or see a hairpin coming. When pilots have zero visibility they’re taught to ‘trust the instruments’. You’re not in Top Gun, so consider using a GPS requires a lot of practice, and comes with the risk of time taking your eyes off the road. It’s a skill that can be a life-saver if used properly, just as it can be a greater risk if not.
Adding others you ride with into the mix alters how these road-reading skills are used. If you’re leading, you need even more foresight to have time to alert those following and also maneuver. If you’re following, you have to juggle your dependence, independence, and how much the leader is a reference or a block to your visibility.
Listening to your common sense and not to your adrenaline is primordial and having a logical and thought-out approach makes this a little easier to accomplish. It’s a technique, like any other, and when practiced enough for it to become second-nature, you’ll suffer less instances of sensory overload and fatigue. You may even reach zen moments, where you’ll truly feel road-omniscient.
**Let me dispel the myth of being able to read a corner when the exit is out of your visual range. #bullshit! Nobody’s got x-ray vision, yet I’ve heard theories or ‘techniques’ of all sorts, including looking at ‘the lines coming together’; observing the tree line; remarking the banking of the asphalt; following oncoming vehicle light sources; and a handful of other ones too shameful to even mention, reminding me of the echo and sonar techniques used by Shaman Throat Warblers of the Guatemalan Delta (nod to Sir English).
Writer:
Peter ‘Safety Bear’ Bokor