Cider

Today started bright and early with a 5:45am wakeup call. After breakfast, I meet Nick, Ken, and the other students at a local hotel, and then we set off to the track in one of the Freddie Spencer vans. Nick drove straight out on the track and showed us lines, trail-braking, and the consequences of messing those things up. It can get pretty scary when Nick shows the wrong way to do things! Eventually, we got out of the van to watch Ken run some corners, showing both good and bad form. That dude is crazy fast.

After that, it was up to the classroom to discuss track riding, lines, and trail-braking (of course). Then back out to the track for some warm-up laps on the CBR600RRs, followed by work on body position, and finally the dreaded cone drill. During all of this, we spent quite a bit of time talking about trail-braking (do you see a pattern here?).

Lunch followed, and we analyzed the MotoGP qualifying session at Donnington Park while we ate. Then it was back out to the track for more braking drills. During the afternoon session, Nick gave me a two-up ride on the VFR, and it's amazing how smooth and fast he is. It's a real eye-opener to see what these bikes are capable of!

We had our first video session this afternoon, and I was a little nervous, since I know they don't pull any punches with returning students. Fortunately, things went pretty well. I went a little bit slower in an effort to hit apexes and emphasize body position, and I managed to put together a good lap. My biggest mistake was braking too much for turn 8, and not opening up the critical exit out of turn 3. Overall, they were very complimentary of my form and suggested that I should start adding more throttle out of the corner. Good stuff to work on for tomorrow.

Speaking of which, I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, as I like the east side better than the west. The double-apex turns 1 and 6 are my favorites. Hopefully I can improve my speed and smoothness a bit, as I noticed that my on- and off-throttle transitions have room for improvement.

Wish you were beautiful; the weather's here!

CBRF2Old

Nice report! I did not know that you were going down for another "session". Very cool!
Have fun.

Hozhead

YOU SUCK!!

Glad you're having a good time and learning out there though.
And yeah, trail braking is awesome (as I'm sure you're aware since you've been schooled in it before). I learned trail braking on the track and I dedicate some time each track day to working on just my trail braking with a MAJOR emphasis on being smooth enough getting OFF of the brakes that the bike stays steady and doesn't unload too fast. Consequently, I trail brake a LOT on the street because its just a habit now.

Ming

Cider

I'm beat, but what a great two days. We started out early again this morning, and Nick drove us around the East side in the van. Afterwards, we discussed the new track briefly in the classroom, but we hit the bikes earlier than yesterday. Nick gave us some challenges to work on, and he must have given us the tools to meet those challenges, because I think we all did pretty well. We finished up the morning with another video lap; even though I like the East side better, I didn't feel like I did a very good job while the camera was on. Oh well.

Nick arranged for us to ride karts on the kart track during lunch, so we grabbed a quick sandwich and headed over there. It was pretty much just goofing off, but he reminded us that slow hands and good lines can be applied to any kind of vehicle. That's the first time I've tried karts, and it was a blast. Wild, aggressive passes and a little bit of paint-trading were the norm.

After the karts, we reviewed the student videos. My lap didn't turn out quite as bad as I thought it would, but I still wasn't really satisfied with it. I was hanging over the curb on almost all of the apexes (good!), but I rushed 7b (bad!), and wasn't as fast as I'd like to be. Something to work on for next year, right?

This afternoon we worked on some really cool rear brake stuff that wasn't covered last summer. Finally--open track! Nick and Ken pointed out that my body position was already where it needs to be, so I should start adding speed. Ken also mentioned that I need to work the rear tire more off of the apex. To practice, Nick towed me around for a few laps to push my comfort zone, and I suddenly realized that eyes are one of the things that's holding me up. Fortunately, I can work on that every time I ride, rather than waiting for the next visit to the track.

As usual, I was a little disappointed when the riding ended, but after I put the bike away I realized how tired I was. They really pack a lot into a day. We had a quick "graduation" ceremony, said our goodbyes, and Nick and Ken drove us back to the hotel. I had already checked out this morning, so I jumped in the car and drove straight to Boise. I'm exhausted and wired at the same time (and stinky, too). If its anything like last year, I won't get the videos for several weeks, but I took lots of notes to review in the meantime.

So who wants to go next spring?

stubby

I was looking into Keith Codes school next spring/summer. Although I wouldn't mind going with Fast Freddy either.

Ryan@IdahoSportBikes

Oh man... That is so awesome! I would love to see some pics of you. My position needs work bad! I think 15% of the time I was at the track last month I had it pretty close to where it should be. Then I'd think about going fast again and screw everything up.
Riding at 75-80% really is how you get faster. The first year at the track I was a 100% all the time kind of rider.

I'd love to do a FS school. Maybe next year! I know the longer I wait the more bad habits I could form though. I'd like to break them now.

Cider

They take video, but no pictures. Unfortunately, it takes several weeks for the video to arrive in the mail. However, one of the students was a journalist writing an article about the school, and he took a bunch of photos and video, so maybe he caught me in one of the photos.

I agree: I learn best at a 75% pace. Nick was working with me to gently exceed my comfort zone, though, because I had the lines, trail-braking, and body position where they need to be. Now I need to start working on more pace, which for me means using my eyes better and making sure I keep weight off my hands.

Nick1983

I try my best

Hozhead

Indeed. You make me VERY uncomfortable.

CBRF2Old

Hoz is right. Nick, you exceed all of our comfort zones.

Nice report Cider! Sounds like you had a great time.