Vision is important for so many reasons, but in dirtbike riding it tends to predict where you are going to end up.
Look at the ditch…. Guess where you will end up. Its the same on Road Bikes but with Dirt Bikes it can get even more critical because whereas on a road bike if you are looking at the road you will stay on the road (mostly anyway :-)) with Dirt if you look at the middle of the hill, or the top of the log, guess were you’ll get stuck!!!
Of course you need to look and plan for the top of the log and the middle of the hill, especially if that is where you have an obstacle to overcome, but that can’t be your focus when you are riding, it must be the top the very top.
To really highlight this I’ll tell the little story of four stroke riders who ride a two stroke enduro bike for the first time. Hill climbing on a four stroke is alot about keeping the engine from stalling and when you get to the last bit of the climb just as you crest over the top, backing off the throttle will not cause the bike to stall, its got to much flywheel momentum. But with a Two stroke if you roll off the throttle before you have reached the top, it will stall. It won’t do this going up the hill if you have throttle on, very hard to stall a 2T with throttle on, but the sudden stop just before the top… well that’s a common gotchya for 4T riders on 2T for the first time.
The main reason is that they have not focussed on the top of the hill, but almost the top, the bit they can see and when they there they roll off the throttle as they would on a 4T to stop the momentum and they suddenly find themselves stopped just before the top and usually in an awkward position!!!!
So the key is focus on where you want to stop, no matter if you are climbing a hill, or crossing a log or crossing a river, keep your focus on where you want to stop.
Scan the hill, river, log of course, but whilst executing the manoeuvre , keep your eyes on where you want to come to a stop.
