Above 130 MPH, remember to breathe

August 11, 11:29 PMDC Motorcycle Travel ExaminerMark Poesch

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During the 40th Anniversary coverage of Apollo 11, We Choose the Moon, the mission audio captures the exchange between Houston ground control and astronaut Neil Armstrong.  During stage two, at four minutes, Neil Armstrong is completely cool, calm, and collected as he calls out “velocity 12,472 feet per second.”  But ground control betrays the astronaut’s calm by announcing that Neil Armstrong’s heart rate on launch was 110 BPM compared to 146 on his Gemini launch.  Mike Collins was 99 (compared to 125), and Buzz Aldrin 88 (compared to 110).

On the ground, the maximum speed I’ve traveled has been 126 MPH… on the autobahn… with cruise control on.  On the track at Virginia International Raceway, I’ve seen 120 MPH.  But, on the track last week, top speeds ranging between 130 to 139 MPH were testing my limits: I don’t know whether my heart rate passed Neil Armstrong’s, but I do know that I had to consciously remind myself to breathe and relax as I broke from 130+ MPH top speed on the straight to set up for turn 1.

In his book, Total Control, Lee Parks devotes a chapter to "Fear" in which he explains:

Every motorcyclist has what I refer to as a "fear threshold."  A fear threshold is a point at which the level of fear becomes so great that the rider’s mind cannot process any additional information.

The difference in the astronauts’ heart-rates from the Gemini and Apollo 11 launches suggests that during the Apollo 11 launch their confidence in the mission had increased, their fear threshold had risen, or both.

Pushing past 130 MPH on the track, I felt a similar phenomenon.  No panic, but definitely an approach toward my fear threshold.  I’m sure if my heart-rate had been monitored on the track, it would have roughly trailed relative to my velocity around the track.  But, above 120 MPH, I’m sure that it began to move up more rapidly!

At or above your fear threshold, remember to breathe.

For more information:
- Track day as a journey to self-discovery
- Yamaha R1 and R6 demos at Summit Point Raceway with NESBA
- Track day at VIR – first-hand report