I read this somewhere, and it made a lot of sense to me: - Before you assume you are an expert, remember that you are probably an advanced beginner!
“Outrageaous!” - you think? So did I for a split second. Then I pulled myself out of my own butt, and decided on a thorough self assessment. In the process I developed a few categories of rider proficiency, and here they are as I see them.
Disclaimer: I am not a psychologist, and this list is neither scientific nor evidence based, it is purely empirical, and from my own point of view. You should not take it too seriously
1. Novice rider level - Noob!
Novice riders have, from none to basic knowledge of how things work on a motorcycle. They rely on the few techniques they were taught to get them through, without giving much thought to why this, and not that.
Example: Noobs know that they need to downshift while approaching a stop, but they don't know why. They know that bike needs to lean in order to turn, but don’t really think about how that works from a physics or mechanics standpoint. When things go wrong, noobs blame the motorcycle or technique they applied (and probably swear at whomever sold them the bike and thought them how to ride). They never consider that it was the wrong technique for the situation, because they don’t know better. Also, they are overwhelmed with all the information and they try to consider all the variables, as they don't know which variable is important in a given situation. What noobs needs to do is to practice more. Acquire more tecniques, purposefully - one specific skill at a time. It is going to be hard, but as their skills improve they will start self troubleshooting, and figuring which variables are important in specific situations.
2. Advanced Beginner - Neighborhood Rider
These are riders who started being aware of their own mistakes, and although they are still using the basic techniques, now they have become better at them, and hopefully by now - learnt some new ones. They give more context to the things happening and when things go wrong, they go ahead try something different.
Example: Noobs upshift at random revcount, without considering the revs/torque, and blame the motorcycle for the less than optimal acceleration. Now, because the Neighborhood Riders started shifting at different revs in different situations, they are probably aware that there is a sweet spot on any given bike. Perhaps not yet by the sound of the engine alone, but by looking at the rev counter - they just need to find it! They apply this to any and all other skills and they are ready to level up!
3. Competent rider - Commuter
Commuters are competent riders, they are able to consider many variables, and although still using the basic techniques, they start to make their own choices at given situations, which makes them more emotionally invested in the outcome. So because now they have much more information and more skill, in order not to get overwhelmed, they starts creating rules/algorithms: 6000 rpm for quick accelerating, shift body weight before initiating a turn etc. Every mistake from now on will become more of a personal thing for the Commuters, and as competent riders, they want to feel good about their choices and start relying on these rules to give positive outcomes. As the emotinal response to decisions will reinforce the ones with positive outcomes and discourage the ones with negative outcomes, our commuter will develop a more intuitive way of assessing the situation. Think less, ride more!
4. Proficient rider - Street Rossi
Proficient in every sense of the word, Street Rossis will lanesplit as if there was enough space for an 18-wheeler. They will drag knees in roundabouts, and will be comfortable on a bike of any size and shape right off the bat. Proficient riders look the part of Expert riders, and although they intuitively know what the goal needs to be in a specific situation, they still need a moment to rationally choose the course of action
Example: They feel they are in too hot for that reducing radius corner, but they need to think of the correct process to manage it - slow down, not target fixate, look through the corner, off the throttle/trailbrake, lean deeper.. If they had intuitively known what to do in that situation, they would have been…
5. Expert riders - Old guys on sports tourers
OGST's ride the most comfortable, fastest possible motorcycles. Bikes are just extensions of their butts and they do everything without a second thought. Old guys on sports tourers won't have trouble deciding what to do, but more likely, trouble explaining why they did what they did. Researches show that, less than 1% of all riders fall under this category. OGST's are not easy to come by, and if you ever wonder who they are, you'll know them when you see them. And if you ever see one, take their number and let me know I would loooove to talk to them!
Now you tell me where do you think you are on my skill level chart, comments are down below.
In future blogs and vlogs I'll elaborate on each level separately, and suggest the exercises you can do to level up!
Have a great one!
