Originally Posted by
Milton Keynes
Thanks for this. A while back I was trying to remember how that went, steering toward the direction you're falling, or the opposite way. Balancing a bike is something that's so ingrained into my brain that I do without thinking, that I can't do it if I think about it. But yes, you'd have to steer the direction you begin to fall.
And this is why the faster you go, the easier it is to steer, and why when you're riding slower you move the handlebars more than you do when you're going fast.
Technically, this is called counter steering, and it applies even at fairly slow speeds. It's actually the reason that learning to stay upright is so difficult initially. Your muscles want to do the opposite, which just makes the bike tip faster.
Some people, knowing how countersteering works makes it easier to learn, but for most, it's just a matter of letting your body figure it out. It does help later though, as one advances in skill, to consciously be able to do it and avoid target fixation.