Originally Posted by
sumgy
Is 51 an old fart?
Oldish fart, then. I'm 58.
I know consciously that I'm not really balancing the bike by holding onto the bars, and I can put such light pressure on the bars that I know that I'm not really "controlling" them with my hands, but my brain stops me when I try to let go completely. I suspect this mental block is some part of my brain signalling that my sense of balance is no longer good enough to react quickly in case of mishap, so I really haven't tried to fight this.
I know it might sound somewhat crazy to talk about the brain like this, but so much of bike control is unconscious that I tend to "go with my instincts" as to what is or isn't safe for me.