object fixation

[shootingstar]

Methinks I'm annoyingly accurate on object fixation ...on little things on pavement ahead.

ie. looking at a stone to avoid..and my wheel goes over it. Sometimes these are the size of a tiny pea.

I've become a cycling robot.

[OakLeaf]

Really, the soft focus or "seeing with my whole eyes" discussed in the article I posted, really does help. Not only in avoiding target fixation, but avoiding tunnel vision, which is really the same thing as the author found out.

[Possegal]

This thread reminds me of one of my all-time favorite episodes of Frasier.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lS0N...EC6C78&index=2

I was trying to tell my sister about it when we were riding but I was sure the minute I did manage to tell her, that I would end up riding right into a tree too.

[channlluv]

Not riding, but just yesterday I was backing my car into the driveway so i could load my and my daughter's bikes into the back and I was saying to myself, as I looked into my driver's side mirror, "I need to watch out for the basketball <crunch> hoop. Damn."

I'd just grazed it with my driver's side rear bumper, but doggone it, I've never backed into it before. Who moved that thing? Sheesh. Luckily, it just caused a tiny 4" scratch and nail polish remover took off the black enamel that rubbed off on my bumper. No biggie, but oy, I hope that's not an omen for our upcoming road trip.

Roxy

[Grog]

I learned that golfing.

That's probably also why emergency vehicles - stopped - get hit very often. Even with all flashing lights on!

[crazycanuck]

I've noticed that if i'm dehydrated or tired, it's not a good idea to mtn bike as I fixate on things I usually don't .

[PamNY]

This is a helpful thread. I bike and scooter in very crowded conditions much of the time, so why am I irresistibly drawn toward a pothole when it's not crowded and I have umpteen feet on either side of me?

Probably object fixation explains it.

Pam

[mizzbananie]

just a little update on that pothole... i went on vacation in july, and when i came back it had been nicely filled. now i drive right over it each and every week day.

all of the responses i got here were great, and i sure appreciated them. since i first wrote, i have been practicing avoiding objects, and basically improving my steering/response.

thanks everyone!

[malkin]

Teaching my daughter to drive a car, I learned never to point out pedestrians because as soon as I pointed people out, it seemed like she'd make a straight line for them as if to mow them down directly.

I don't miss those Learner's Permit rides.

[aeiea]

I'm a bit biased (work in the game industry), but video gaming, particularly racing games and other games where you need to steer/move a character and avoid certain objects, have helped me -- I haven't run into many objects or other things I see on the ground. Instead, I think "if I keep my focus I get 100 points!".

Knock on wood for the future of course.

The main reason why I wanted to respond to this old thread is because, based on the subject/title, I thought this would be about how obsessed one can get about bikes. Cuz that, that I understand.

[tulip]

My border collie has object fixation, particularly when the object is a squirrel.