Chris McGinnis
Cesar Millan
Sam Lowe
Jason Fogelson
Bryson Forbes
Amy Graff
Slow Down to Go Fast
October 17 2012 by Jason Fogelson
Comments (3)
Sometimes, my best insights about how to improve my motorcycle riding occur when I'm not even riding my bike.
This week, I was playing the guitar, practicing a particularly difficult solo with the help of a video lesson on my computer. Onscreen, the instructor gave some potent advice about how to conquer a passage that had a flurry of notes. He said, quite simply, "Slow down to go fast."
I had looked at the passage on paper, listened to on the audio recording, and thought that there was no chance I'd ever conquer it. Then, I paid attention to the guitar instructor. I stopped looking at the flurry of notes as a cluster that I'd never conquer, and I slowed way down. I slowed down to the point where each note became distinct, and where the path from one note to the next became a simple jump. I remained in rhythm, but slowed way down so that I could conquer the challenges one by one.
Once I could navigate the passage, I played it over and over, concentrating on getting each note right, and on traveling smoothly from one note to the next. I didn't worry about speed -- I concentrated on rhythm, precision and smoothness.
Something started to happen. Once I felt that I had mastered playing the passage slowly, I pushed my metronome a little faster. I began playing at 30 beats per minute (bpm), which is very, very slow. Soon, I was playing the same passage at 80 bpm, and I was playing it in rhythm, playing every note precisely and smoothly. In no time at all, I was able to play the passage at 120 bpm, and each note felt as distinct and clear to me as it had at 30 bpm. I had mastered the passage.
I realized that I could apply the same learning technique to my motorcycle riding. If I ever expect to be able to execute an emergency avoidance swerve at 80 miles per hour on the freeway, for instance, I must build a foundation for the same maneuver at 15 miles per hour first. I must practice over and over at 15 mph until the maneuver comes naturally, then gradually ramp up the speed until I can avoid obstacles in the road at 80 mph as smoothly and precisely as I can swerve at 15 mph.
What aspect of your riding do you need to improve? Try slowing things way down, and working on your riding one step at a time. You'll be surprised at how quickly your riding will improve when you go slow to go fast.
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What a cool article. I've heard the slow down to go fast regarding music (in do many words) but I never thought of applying it to other aspects of life such as motorcycle riding. You write wonderfully, by the way, I feel like I'm experiencing you'd memory with you.