StreetMasters. Took the course. The Coyote didn't get me.

[EffBee]

For me, it was a coyote. I think back to Cowboy Don and when we lost him to gravel in a turn. And thus begins my story.

 

I've known Bob Reichenberg for 20 years. He was the Manager of Rider Education for the entire US back at the MSF when I was their Director of Communications, and also for many years after I left the Foundation. Fun guy. But dead serious about motorcycle safety. Dead serious enough to kick my butt and yell at me in my face if he needs to. Not that he would anyone else, but me he knows and will go to all lengths to keep me from making mistakes on two wheels. He’s that kind of friend to me and I value him greatly. I don’t believe this makes me biased, but before anyone reads my report, I wanted to explain how/why I took the course. I wanted to see what Bob had developed, given his intensive background at the MSF and in motorcycle safety.

 

Truly, Bob wants us all to be safe. And he's out to spread his gospel.

 

Since the MSF already offers both beginning and experienced rider courses, is this the end of available rider education? Does one's education proceed from that to Track Days? Actually, no. Because if Bob has his way, you'll come to understand that the racing lines you learn at Track Days are best applied religiously to track riding, and could actually contribute to problems on the street. And we're not talking ticket problems. We're talking fall down and hurt problems.

 

While the StreetMasters course does provide some "range" work on a paved practice pad where you will practice firm braking, turning, and weaving, its main focus is to get us to understand how different the street is from the track and how to learn and utilize a broader, more diverse skill set to help keep us out of trouble on the road.

 

With single-bike accidents now approaching nearly half of all motorcycle accidents (that's "single-bike" as in rider/bike all alone, no one hit them, no one interfered/cut them off, they just fell down), it's becoming more and more clear that the danger to one's self comes from two areas. First, poor skills. Second, poor use of the road.

 

The first are taught partially through MSF and partially through the range work at StreetMasters. But teaching them doesn't make them routine or second nature with us. They must be practiced and practiced and practiced. Thank goodness for empty parking lots and Sundays. Seriously, 20 minutes is all it should take once a month. But you have to focus on what you're trying to ingrain into yourself.

 

The second danger is poor road use. By this, what is primarily meant is poor line selection. BUT, "line" in this case is not the sporty line or that perfect apex that you see Hayden or Rossi hit. Public roads are VERY unlike race tracks. Asphalt varies and is sometimes broken. Trees, hills, Armco and other things block our view of the asphalt we intend to trust with our very lives. And that asphalt is poorly maintained, i.e. no one cleans up the gravel, sand, oil, transmission fluid, coolant or dumped Big Gulp ice. Then there’s Bambi. Bambi got Larry Grodsky. Sad as it sounds, riders have died from all of these things.

 

Why? Mainly because they didn't see them until it was too late.

 

That "sport" line that we are all so fond of, commits us to a corner at a time when we usually can't see all the way through the corner, or can't see the asphalt and its condition through to the exit. And that's where the problem lies. We commit, and then we hit something we hadn't seen. Instant single-bike accident. Oh, I forgot to mention. Often a pretty hefty insurance spike, too. And the usual damaged gear and bumps, bruises, or even broken bones if we're unlucky. Yes, even worse than that, but let's not go there right now.

 

Right now, let's go back to StreetMasters and their Workshop Classroom.

 

As we began the day, the StreetMasters Instruction Team was introduced to us. Former LEO's. Former racers (one former H-D factory roadracer, Walt Fulton Jr.). MSF instructors and Chief Instructors who believe that StreetMasters is the next logical and necessary step in rider education. In all, there were about a dozen people there to teach us and help us learn.

 

The classroom portion took about an hour. During that time, Bob and his team laid out the basic fundamentals that we would be working on. The principles are simple. Cornering on the street should involve a late apex whenever you cannot see through the corner clearly and completely. At least I thought it was simple. After all, if I can commit to a racing line going up some canyon, how hard is it going to be to delay that commitment until I can see a clear exit path through the turn? I was about to find out.

 

Horse Thief Mile at Willow Springs is probably the most ideal place StreetMasters could have selected for their course. Not only is there a practice pad ("range") on which to relearn smooth, prompt braking and other basic skills, but the track is on the side of a hill and it’s a tight serpentine layout with no curves, just corners. Most of them of the 120-to-180-degree kind. There are no flat corners. Everything is uphill or downhill, and the sight lines are particularly well blocked by the arch of the hill. In this case, you have a track with many street-like characteristics. Hold up and late apex only when you can see your way through the turn? On HTF, you can't see your way through a corner until WAAAY late. And that really accentuated the value of the learning. It's also what made it difficult. I was delaying and delaying my turn-in point, yet I was still turning in too early. I had to treat each turn, each lap, as if there might be something in the roadway that I couldn't see. And I couldn't commit until I was certain there wasn't. It took a while.

 

The track portion of the class gets divided up into groups. Each group has an instructor. Groups can be up to five people. Half of the groups are on the track and half on the range at any given time. All instructors are in radio contact with central command. On the track, there will be three sessions plus a surprise open session at the end (more on this later). Speed limits rise with each session. Also, you are not allowed to use your brakes until the last session. This is because you won’t have completed your braking practice and instructor evaluation on the range until then.

 

First session, 25mph. The speed is a piece of cake through the corners. But that’s also what contributes to errors. It’s almost too slow and people (me, for one) get impatient and they turn in to the apex too soon, and exit too wide (the StreetMasters people spray paint median lines through the turns so you have to stay on "your side" of the track, just like you have to stay on your side of the street). Cross that median line, or even come too close to it so as not to have any safety reserve, and you’ll know it.

 

During each session, each rider in the group gets a chance to lead for two laps, with the instructor positioned behind and the rest of the group following. So you get to ride in positions 1, 3, 4, 5, etc. This gives you not only a good view of the other riders, but several rear perspectives on the instructor, so you get to see it done correctly a LOT.

 

Second session, 35mph. No brakes. There’s one downhill right-hander right in the middle of the track that spooks me. It doesn’t feel like I can make it at 35mph without hitting my brakes. At least not until the last second before entering the turn. And then I dive to the apex in order to take advantage of the turn’s camber and its comfort. WRONG! Too soon.

 

I have to FORCE myself to stay high through the turn. It’s uncomfortable because the camber is greater at the apex. But if I commit early, I can’t see through to a safe, clean exit line. And remember, the whole time I’m assuming there’s something unwanted in the roadway, until I can actually see it and tell that there isn’t. The "seeing" part is also part of the learning. That means head up and looking THROUGH the turn so that you will be able to identify when that clear path opens up. I’m having trouble. Not bad trouble, but this isn’t a piece of cake anymore.

 

Lunch couldn’t have come at a better time.

 

After vittles, it’s back to the practice pad. This exercise is Tight U-Turns. These are a breeze for me. I grew up riding trials, so the throttle/clutch/balance tango required to execute a full-lock turn from a dead stop is something I can handle. Did five of them. Only one wasn’t perfect. OK, at last something has gone right and I’m getting a little bit of confidence. Back to the track.

 

Third session, 45mph and we can use brakes if we want. IF WE WANT? Come to poppa. And then I get my chance to ride 3rd, behind the instructor who’s watching the guy who’s leading for two laps. And what do I see the instructor do for two laps? No brakes. On an LT, no less. OK, he knows the track, I tell myself. Still, if he can do it. . .

 

Finally, I get my chance. 45mph is not a problem going uphill. As I approach the turns, I roll off, the bike slows and I hold a high line until I can see through to the exit of the turn, then I tip ‘er in. Going DOWNHILL and approaching that one turn at 45 gives me a pucker. But I remember what I saw the instructor do and I figure my insurance is paid, and I’ve got good gear on, so I go for it.

 

Not only do I make it, but the greater inertia at that speed helps me hold the higher line. Late apexing becomes natural at that speed on this track. I don’t have to HOLD the bike out on the high line, it naturally stays there. Now to try it on the uphill-to-downhill corners. A little tougher, actually, because gravity works the other way on these turns. But eventually I am able to do the entire track at 45mph, apexing late every single time, and having it feel natural. I finally GOT IT!!!

 

For the first time, my instructor approves. Unfortunately, track time soon ends. Or does it? Having mastered the track in the traditional CCW direction, we are now told to go back out there, in our groups, and do it clockwise. This is truly challenging because we do not get to benefit from familiarity and repetition. It is as if this was a completely new road we’d never been on and we have to ride it "assuming" there’s something waiting for us around each corner, until we can see otherwise. Personally, I thought this was brilliant. What StreetMasters has done is to take everything we’ve learned, eliminate the familiarity, and make us treat the track as if it was a real-world road we’d never been on before.

 

We had to call on all our newly learned skills to make it happen, and we did! Actually, the 45mph speed was easier this way because the sharp, scary downhill right-hander was now a left-hander and we had the outer lane, so the radius was bigger. Still, it was a challenge to put what we’d learned to use.

 

We had a wrap-up meeting to discuss what we’d learned, receive our graduation certificates, as well as our embroidered StreetMasters T-shirts and hats. I jumped on the freeway and headed home. Three weeks later, I took a morning ride to Julian, CA for breakfast. It’s a 240-mile round trip, through the mountains of eastern San Diego County. I’ve done it dozens and dozens of times. Today, I would do it differently.

 

I had my Dad on my mind as I got to the mountains. He would have loved this ride. I was riding the road as I usually did. And then I remembered the StreetMasters training. So I began riding the road using late apexing whenever I couldn’t see clearly through the turn. About 12 miles up I noticed that I had returned back to my more traditional sport lines through the corners, and I scolded myself and rededicated the ride to using the StreetMaster principles. A few miles later, it happened. Fresh roadkill. A coyote. Right on the racing line, but hidden from the traditional turn-in point by the hillside. The corner was marked 50. 70 had always been safe, with a little reserve left in place. Had I taken my regular line, I would have hit it. Or if I’d been able to veer off to the left and miss it, I would have crossed the double yellow line.

 

I’ve often said that motorcycle training is kind of like suggesting sex lessons. Most riders are men, and as men we often feel that we are innately "gifted" with the ability to do certain things. Make love. Master tools. Start fire. Grill/BBQ. Drive well. Ride well. And perhaps, due to our masculine exposure to these things, we have a leg up on a bit of knowledge. But not on the skills required. Yet, it’s not in our nature to think we could benefit from training, when in reality, it’s our self-inflicted blindness to what needs to be done, all in the name of what we feel we instinctively KNOW how to do, that will end up costing us.

 

MSF training is a great place to start. But we need more. More training. More understanding of what we’re doing out there and what we have to, or MAY have to deal with.

 

StreetMasters is the first phase of that second step. I can recommend it highly. Yet it’s not the end, either. As we speak, StreetMasters Level II is on the drawing board.

 

I don’t do Track Days. I do Street Days. If you’re like me, consider taking the StreetMasters course. And perhaps the coyote won’t get you, either.

[Joel]

Thanks for sharing that, Fernando. That gives me plenty to think about. I hope the course gets offered somewhere that I can make work for me.

 

I find it interesting that a lot of teaching and coaching involves working with concepts we already understand, but for some reason don't use like we should. This course seems like another extension of that.

 

Sometimes we say "This thread is worthless without pictures." This is definitely not one of those times.

[Woodie]

Nice write-up!

 

Where do I sign up??

(you mean you didn't link it? I have to google it myself??)

[EffBee]

Nice write-up!

 

Where do I sign up??

(you mean you didn't link it? I have to google it myself??)

 

Sorry, Woodie. The link is here.

[David]

Some good thoughts, Fernando. Having participated in developing RidingSmart, taught entirely on public roads, and doing track days, I have a foot firmly planted on both sides of the fence. It's all learning and all valuable.

 

My only concern is what I perceive to be a false dichotomy throughout the narrative, illustrated by statements such as this:

 

Because if Bob has his way, you'll come to understand that what you learn at Track Days is for the track only....

 

It seems you all are working extra hard to make false distinctions in hopes that people will understand the value of StreetMasters.

 

I suspect, though, that they'll see that value without some of the sweeping statements that devalue track days? I'm guessing you didn't mean that quite the way it came across. There's quite an overlap in the skills, and it would be sad to write them off as unhelpful for street riding.

 

Each has a place. Frankly, there's a bigger gap on the street side, so it's marvelous that this is now there. I hope to learn from it firsthand some day. I want to do Horsethief, too.

[EffBee]

It seems you all are working extra hard to make false distinctions in hopes that people will understand the value of StreetMasters.

 

I suspect, though, that they'll see that value without some of the sweeping statements that devalue track days? I'm guessing you didn't mean that quite the way it came across. There's quite an overlap in the skills, and it would be sad to write them off as unhelpful for street riding.

 

Each has a place. Frankly, there's a bigger gap on the street side, so it's marvelous that this is now there. I hope to learn from it firsthand some day. I want to do Horsethief, too.

 

Devaluing Track Days? That's not anyone's intentions. The point I was trying to get across was that it seems as though there's nothing for the street after one completes MSF. It's Track Days or nothing. And now that has changed. Track Days teaches people invaluable skills. After taking the workshop, I see that StreetMasters similarly does for the street. As you say, each has its place and neither should feel diminished by the other. On the contrary, without each a rider doesn't have the most complete skill set that training can provide.

 

I don't do Track Days. My experience with the one I did some years ago is too many rectums with too much attitude and too little supervision/discipline, too close to the only body I have (you really don't want to know whose track day). Nevertheless, I recognize that I could improve from a good Track Day or Track School just as I improved from StreetMasters. It's all positive.

[Woodie]

Thanks for the link. I was actually kidding you, but forgot the winky.

 

Now that I've read through their site, application form...it's in SoCal *only*.

 

I guess I'll have to read and drool, and start working on a RideSmart class for the northeast. At least that will give me something to do during the 2-month winter here.

[David]

Thanks, though I still am not further along in understanding your perspective, particularly in the statement I quoted above in my first response. If you believe that statement, then we'll just disagree.

 

I think your perspective might be a tad different if:

 

1) You'd done more track days and gotten into the experience a tad more. Just to use one example, you draw a distinction between a "sport line" and the line that's appropriate for the street. That's another false distinction, as about 70% of the lines you'd take on a track are exactly the line you should take on the street, with the late apex and emphasis on sight lines, not speed lines.

 

2) Not lumped all track days together.

 

Anyway, I love hearing about programs that are developed like this. Behind each one is someone with vision and courage who cares about riding skill.

[Les is more]

Great write up Fernando. This was the information that surprised me in the Ride Smart course as well. At the beginning, I was all about body position and taking what I thought was a good corner. Then the topic of sight lines came up and changed the definition of "good corner." That late turn in was not easy for me to hold onto. I still find myself going in too early. That's usually a function of not looking far enough out there. Those outback roads often don't have much of a defined edge and that grabs my attention sometimes. Those late apex turns remind me of playing softball and being what they call a dead pull hitter. I could hit a ball down the third base line or split third and shortstop or even go between short and second, but I'll be darned if I could wait on that pitch long enough to hit the ball to right field. The interior dialog is very similar. Keep those eyes on your objective and be patient!!

 

StreetMasters sounds excellent!

 

By the way, unless my eyes deceive me, our own Phil and Carol Degnan are in the pics on the StreetMasters site. Check the blond with the short hair in pic #22--"making friends" and look at the pics for the graduating class of April 9, 2005 to see if you can spot them.

[BiggerTwin]

My only concern is what I perceive to be a false dichotomy...you'll come to understand that what you learn at Track Days is for the track only

When I did California Superbike School I definitely picked up skills that improved my overall riding. Some things I was taught, like don't downshift in a corner, apply to the track and not the street. I smoothly downshift in corners on the street but on the track Keith was right: at track speeds there isn't enough attention left to smoothly downshift in a corner and you are better off leaving your bike in a higher gear. I like all rider education and am happy to see there is more available focusing on the street. Now if they would only offer the course at Lime Rock for those of us on the East Coast...

 

Alan

[Woodie]

Now if they would only offer the course at Lime Rock for those of us on the East Coast...

 

Alan

 

Now you're talking!

[EffBee]

Thanks, though I still am not further along in understanding your perspective, particularly in the statement I quoted above in my first response. If you believe that statement, then we'll just disagree.

 

I think your perspective might be a tad different if:

 

1) You'd done more track days and gotten into the experience a tad more. Just to use one example, you draw a distinction between a "sport line" and the line that's appropriate for the street. That's another false distinction, as about 70% of the lines you'd take on a track are exactly the line you should take on the street, with the late apex and emphasis on sight lines, not speed lines.

 

2) Not lumped all track days together.

 

Anyway, I love hearing about programs that are developed like this. Behind each one is someone with vision and courage who cares about riding skill.

 

As to your first paragraph, sorry my previous post above wasn't more thorough. I had to rush it in order to log off and get ready for work.

 

I thought I'd made it clear that the focus of the course, as I experienced it, was strengthening of basic skills on the practice range, then the application of those skills to a late-apex, line-of-sight, clear/clean-road verification with a built-in safety margin thus reducing the possiblity of road crap/critters putting us in unrecoverable situations. If I didn't say this enough times, then I apologize and make it clear from hence forward. In fact, let me go back to my original post and amend the statement so that it's clear that I was talking about riding line, not the entirety of the Track Day experience. And if that still means we agree to disagree, then it won't be the first time. But you're still invited to dinner next time you're out here.

 

1. Track Days were soured for me early on. I know, I should get over it. In a way, you're helping. Watching you improve on your track skills to the point where you were asked to become a Keith Code Instructor, and then following you through those steps and seeing you realize success, has been inspirational. As for the "sport" line being the correct line for the street 70% of the time, that depends on the road you're on and what you can/can't see. It also depends on how "late" a late apex is. As taught by StreetMasters, it's a very safe, very late apex, not just one designed to provide the greatest drive out of a corner and onto the next straight. I found comfort in that and the added measure of safety it provides. No right way or wrong way. Just something that has increased my enjoyment.

 

2. Yes. There are now professionally run, well-administered, tightly controlled track schools staffed by dedicated instructors. And there are pay-yer-fee goof-off days at yer local track. Let's NOT mix the two together.

 

Like you, I have chosen a path with my motorcycling. It may some day include another track day, just to see what it offers (certainly practicing smoothness on the bike and at the controls is beneficial) that I can transfer to the street to improve my safety. However, performance riding (TRUE performance riding) is best left behind me and to those whose risk/reward ratio differs from mine. I am comfortable with the pursuits I've taken on. StreetMasters surprised me and pleased me with how well it was aligned with those goals.

[Paul Mihalka]

I also seriously disagree with the statement "What you learn at track days is for the track only". Instructed track days (Keith Code, Reg Pridmore's CLASS, others) help the average not speed oriented rider to realize how far away the limit of the capability of the bike is and how far from the limits the rider is now. If you never braked hard from high speed, when you need it you won't do it. If you never leaned the bike far enough to scrape a footpeg, when a turn tightens instead of countersteer and lean a bit you will run off the road. Same with hard steering inputs at high speed, not parking lot speed. I'm not even talking of riding technique, just explore and push your limits and the bike's limits. There is no other place for that than a track.

[hindsight]

Great write up Fernando. This was the information that surprised me in the Ride Smart course as well. At the beginning, I was all about body position and taking what I thought was a good corner. Then the topic of sight lines came up and changed the definition of "good corner." That late turn in was not easy for me to hold onto. I still find myself going in too early. That's usually a function of not looking far enough out there. Those outback roads often don't have much of a defined edge and that grabs my attention sometimes. Those late apex turns remind me of playing softball and being what they call a dead pull hitter. I could hit a ball down the third base line or split third and shortstop or even go between short and second, but I'll be darned if I could wait on that pitch long enough to hit the ball to right field. The interior dialog is very similar. Keep those eyes on your objective and be patient!!

 

Jamie, you are one lucky guy. A wife that lives to ride and rides very well, but then... comes up with a sports analogy to describe the problem of entering a corner too soon. UNBELIEVABLE!!

 

Understand that my wife is not agains motorcycles and does ride with me, but if I bring up the topic of riding or planning a ride at the dinner table one more time, she says I have to eat in the garage. Well, not really, but just trying to paint the picture of how lucky you are.

 

Hope to see you two again soon.

 

Fernando, nice writeup. I may need to look into it and see if I can attend. Sounds like a good training point.

 

Later,

[jgrant]

I certainly agree with David on this one. I believe that there are good things to learn at track days and at track schools. Sure, maybe a racing line or hanging off the bike is not appropriate for the street but smooth throttle control and good visual skills are. I also learned that if I take a corner too fast that I just need to crank the bike over some more (poor judgement on my part has made me use this principle on a couple of occasions).

 

I am sorry that you had a bad experience on your one bad track day but I would caution against etrapolating that one bad experience into all track days. I believe, along with David, that you might have a different perspective if you attended several more or maybe just a couple more with friends (perhaps from this forum).

 

Yours was a great write-up and it did "sell" me on the school. I am going to try to do two schools and this just might be one of them.

[Couchrocket]

Fernando,

 

Thanks for posting your experience. I'm going to do some serious Christmas present hinting! This sounds like a great course for me. I loved RidingSmart and this looks like it will add some more tools to the toolbox in a very complimentary way. It should be great to have some formal instruction and an instructor with this nice small instructor/student ratio

 

I've always thought that David Hough's approach to late apex was sound for the kind of riding I do. When I lived up north it was necessary for day to day survival on the remote mountain roads filled with road kill and great horned rats bouncing about. .

[EffBee]

Fernando,

 

Thanks for posting your experience. I'm going to do some serious Christmas present hinting! This sounds like a great course for me. I loved RidingSmart and this looks like it will add some more tools to the toolbox in a very complimentary way. It should be great to have some formal instruction and an instructor with this nice small instructor/student ratio

 

I've always thought that David Hough's approach to late apex was sound for the kind of riding I do. When I lived up north it was necessary for day to day survival on the remote mountain roads filled with road kill and great horned rats bouncing about. .

 

Scott, I never had the chance to take a Ride Smart as they were mostly on Saturdays and I work those days. But I have heard a lot from David as well as others about the Riding Smart class. I would have to agree with you that they would likely complement each other very well.

[KMG_365]

I also seriously disagree with the statement "What you learn at track days is for the track only". Instructed track days (Keith Code, Reg Pridmore's CLASS, others) help the average not speed oriented rider to realize how far away the limit of the capability of the bike is and how far from the limits the rider is now. If you never braked hard from high speed, when you need it you won't do it. If you never leaned the bike far enough to scrape a footpeg, when a turn tightens instead of countersteer and lean a bit you will run off the road. Same with hard steering inputs at high speed, not parking lot speed. I'm not even talking of riding technique, just explore and push your limits and the bike's limits. There is no other place for that than a track.

VERY good discussion and I'm learning a lot from the differing perspectives.

 

I would like to tag on to Paul's comment and suggest an edit to the quote above to read: "How you practice to ride on a track at track days is for the track only, but the skill set learned can translate to becoming a better rider on the street."

 

My perspective: having been on many rides with many different skill levels of riders (both track school trained and just years of street riding trained), it's interesting to hear the track riders say they slow down on the street more than they did before they had track training. But I'm also reminded of Russell's get-off in Colorado when he took a tight right-hander on a mountain pass at a reasonably sedate speed (his own admission) and used the "perfect line", but then rolled right through a patch of sand/gravel brought up onto the road by large trucks cutting the corner and which had then been drifted into the middle of the road between the wheel tracks of the cars who took the "average cager's line" through the same corner. I don't know for sure, but I would guess that Russell had some of the most track experience of all of us who stopped to help and the rest of the dozen or so riders who went by while we were standing on the side of the road--all of whom negotiated the gravelly turn without incident (Russell, please correct me on the details . . . like I need to mention that. ).

 

My point being, as Paul mentioned most street only riders will never practice threshold/emergency braking or maximum lean angles so it's hard to say there is no value to be gained as a "master of your machine" from track riding, but unless you ride only in the clean, controlled environment of the track there is just as much value in studying how to ride in the real world as well.

 

Thanks for the write-up Fernando!

[David]

Wow.

 

That's quite a stretch to draw those correlations to that incident. Russell, with lots of track days, went down. Us, with virtually none, didn't.

 

Sorry, bro, but I'm not hopping onto that ship. There are certainly elements at play that could relate, but I'm never going to connect the dots that way, or even hint at them.

 

To reiterate, I think this is a great program, but I think Fernando (and others) could position it without the unnecessary distinctions.

[GelStra]

I, for one, appreciate your writeup. It is something I have wanted to do since I heard about it. The monetary Kuyper Belt has failed to line up with the Proper Time Planet so far, but it will. Are the Convertibles here YET?? Any good education to improve our skills is worth it.

 

Sorry for the interruption in arguing. On your marks, get set, SPLIT HAIRS!

[Tasker]

There is a lot to be learned and applied from taking programs of all stripes. I believe that a rider can learn technics from programs like StreetMasters and RidingSmart, as well as good programs that involve the track and dirt. Some of the information will seem basic and some will be new and awkward, all depending on the skills of the student involved.

 

The coyote didn't get Fernando, but the deer did get Larry Grodsky, who was considered one the best and safest and experienced riders on the street. He offered his own version of RS and SM.

 

Once a rider has attended any of these programs, the key to success is practice, and I would suggest that it takes more than once per month in a parking lot. I would suggest once every week or at the very least, every two weeks.

 

I believe that being involved with programs like these teaches us how to react and how to prepare for the "bad possibilities" that can occur on the road. If we practice what we learn enough then hopefully when we are faced with a "situation" our reaction will be the safer way out and it will be "automatic" due to preparation and practice. If we can lessen the panic quotient, we will have a better chance of survival. Pucker is bad.

 

Track days and days in the dirt can give us additional skills and confidence that could very well save our arse in the event of a potential disaster on the road.

 

And, the fact is, the outcome will have a lot to do with luck, but we can certainly have a lot to do with pushing the outcome toward our favor if we are prepared and aware.

[90%angel]

Thanks for the write up Fernando, it was a great read. I think the class sounds interesting, but I wonder how you concentrate on what speed you are going? I think that would be a distraction to me to try and hold a certain speed. I would think I would focus on that and not the other more important tasks at hand. Did you find this to be an issue?

 

Also, to Jamie, I believe Russell DID late apex that corner. He tries to late apex most of the time while riding on the street, for the reasons that Fernando talks about in his post. He was going slowly around the outside of the curve, saw that the road opened up and there was no traffic, so gave it some gas and turned. The gravel was virtually invisible, so he just had a case of the bad timings (gas and lean at just the wrong time). I think it could have happened to any one of us that day, it just happened to be his lucky day!

 

(Besides, Howard and I have done lots of track days, and we did ok through that corner!)

[TN_R_Girl]

Great Post, thanks for sharing.

Sorry to hear SM is only available in SoCal ... guess I'll keep my fingers crossed for that RideSmart class to materialize in this area next summer

[Couchrocket]

I would like to tag on to Paul's comment and suggest an edit to the quote above to read: "How you practice to ride on a track at track days is for the track only, but the skill set learned can translate to becoming a better rider on the street."

Ah, that's what I love about my brother firefighrters.... that ability to cut through the fog to the crux of the matter!

 

I've never met a learning experience I didn't like, or at least benefit from (hopefully). And, one of the hallmarks of real intelligence is the ability to relate "across fields of experience" in a synergistic way. From one type of riding training, to another, "as it applies to the street" should sort of, ah, um, BE OBVIOUS!

 

I never took Fernando's comments as pejorative to any kind of training and its benefits being able to be translated to the street. It is what people "take away" from a learning experience and how they cross relate (or not), that brings about the result, for better or worse. This is true for any kind of endeavor.

 

What matters is our deliberate thinking about what we've learned in any field, and how it might apply to some other topic / activity.

[russell_bynum]

My perspective: having been on many rides with many different skill levels of riders (both track school trained and just years of street riding trained), it's interesting to hear the track riders say they slow down on the street more than they did before they had track training. But I'm also reminded of Russell's get-off in Colorado when he took a tight right-hander on a mountain pass at a reasonably sedate speed (his own admission) and used the "perfect line", but then rolled right through a patch of sand/gravel brought up onto the road by large trucks cutting the corner and which had then been drifted into the middle of the road between the wheel tracks of the cars who took the "average cager's line" through the same corner. I don't know for sure, but I would guess that Russell had some of the most track experience of all of us who stopped to help and the rest of the dozen or so riders who went by while we were standing on the side of the road--all of whom negotiated the gravelly turn without incident (Russell, please correct me on the details . . . like I need to mention that. ).

 

I crashed going a very sedate speed, while taking a VERY late apex so that I could see where the road was going. I hit a small patch of gravel that was virtually invisible (even when I walked back up the hill to look for it).

 

It was just bad luck. If I had turned a half-second later, or a half second earlier, it would not have been an issue.

 

If anything, if I had been riding the "racing line" and using my "track skills", I wouldn't have crashed because I wouldn't have hit that gravel.

 

My point being, as Paul mentioned most street only riders will never practice threshold/emergency braking or maximum lean angles so it's hard to say there is no value to be gained as a "master of your machine" from track riding, but unless you ride only in the clean, controlled environment of the track there is just as much value in studying how to ride in the real world as well.

 

I don't think anyone has ever said there's no value in studying how to ride in the "real world".

 

I think there's a huge misunderstanding among people who have never done a track school that track schools are all about getting a knee down and racing around the track at maximum speed/lean angle. Again...I can't speak for the others, but that's not what Code is about at all. Every single skill learned in Levels 1 and 2 of the superbike school are 100% appropriate for the street. Pick a finite turn point, set your entry speed to allow smooth throttle application all the way through the corner (aka In slow, Out fast), get the "turn" done as quickly as possible so that you can carry less lean angle for a given turn-point and line (also teaches you just how quickly you can make the bike change directions), stay loose on your upper body, look through the turn, keep your vision wide, look for the vanishing point, etc. These are all 100% appropriate and helpful for the street.

 

The Level 3 body position skills are not (IMO) directly applicable to street riding, but they add depth to your understanding of how to control the motorcycle in the same way that trials riding would.

 

About the only thing that generally happens on the track that is inappropriate for public roads, is the pace. Since you're going around the same set of corners 100 times a day, and there are very few variables to deal with, your pace can come up....WAY up. As long as you are mature enough to realize that you're not on the track when you get back to the street and you're buzzing along on Angeles Crest, you'll be just fine. Actually...you'll be better than fine because you'll be that much farther away from your comfortable limits.

 

I would like to tag on to Paul's comment and suggest an edit to the quote above to read: "How you practice to ride on a track at track days is for the track only, but the skill set learned can translate to becoming a better rider on the street."

 

That's not accurate. When we first set out on a new track, we're riding it EXACTLY like it was the street. As you become more familiar with the track, you can start to "cheat" a bit using reference points as a substitute for sight lines. But if you don't have those reference points, you have to wait until you have a sight line. This is exactly like street riding because you basically never have RP's in street riding since you rarely cover the same road more than once (at least...not frequently enough to really learn the RP's).

 

The only things that you do on the track that aren't appropriate for the street is lines (and then only when you've been around the track enough to pick up RP's) and pace.

 

I really suggest you set aside a little bit of time and money to go take Level 1 on your RT. You'll see first hand what I'm talking about, and I really think you'd enjoy it and learn from it.

[russell_bynum]

Great writeup, FB.

 

I'd like to Echo Lisa's comments about the speed limit thing. That seems like it would be really distracting, but since I haven't taken this class, I don't know. What are your feelings on that?

 

Also, being forced to ride single-file and not pass...was that an issue for you? I don't mind following slower riders at the track, but when I get behind someone who's not being smooth on the throttle, it really distracts me from what I'm trying to do. Was that an issue for you?

 

How did you like the skidpad exercises? I really enjoy that sort of thing (like you said...empty parking lots on Sunday mornings ROCK!) and unlike some of the other skills, it's so easy to go work on those in a reasonably controlled environment.

[Mike O]

Thanks for the write-up, Fernando. I'm eager to improve my riding skills as well. Let's hope we could generate enough demand to have someone offer such a course here in Colorado.

 

Regards,

 

Mike O

[Lone_RT_rider]

Great Post, thanks for sharing.

Sorry to hear SM is only available in SoCal ... guess I'll keep my fingers crossed for that RideSmart class to materialize in this area next summer

 

You might not even have to wait for summer.....

 

Shawn

[norah]

Hey Fernando,

 

Thanks for sharing your day...it sounds like a good, informative class. You've always had my respect as a fellow rider and know you've got a few more tricks up your sleeve. Let's go out and practice in Torrey, okay??

[Volfan615]

Great write up! Now to find a StreetMasters near me.

[EffBee]

Great writeup, FB.

 

I'd like to Echo Lisa's comments about the speed limit thing. That seems like it would be really distracting, but since I haven't taken this class, I don't know. What are your feelings on that?

 

Also, being forced to ride single-file and not pass...was that an issue for you? I don't mind following slower riders at the track, but when I get behind someone who's not being smooth on the throttle, it really distracts me from what I'm trying to do. Was that an issue for you?

 

How did you like the skidpad exercises? I really enjoy that sort of thing (like you said...empty parking lots on Sunday mornings ROCK!) and unlike some of the other skills, it's so easy to go work on those in a reasonably controlled environment.

It's a speed limit, as in maximum. Not a speed at which you MUST ride. A safety issue at that point in your learning curve, if you will. Maintaining it is easy on the straights. You don't HAVE to maintain it in the corners, but I wanted to see if I could, especially after our instructor did it.

 

Riding single file is simply a control technique so that the instructor can focus on the one rider in front of him, corner after corner, for a couple of laps. Plus, it allows you to watch the instructor and the lead student and learn how/how-not to do things. Eventually it becomes your turn and you have the instructor's undivided attention. At first, that can be daunting, but eventually you just do what you can and wait for the critique and the coaching.

 

The skidpad exercises always seem trivial at first. But they're not when you're trying to perform them. Some of them are not too dissimilar from MSF exercises, although different enough to be different. You know the drill.

 

A. Ride along at 30mph in second gear, brake firmly as you downshift, release the brakes as you rotate your head as much as possible to pick out an exit point, and make a tight 180. Clutch use is OK if you must, but better if you don't have to.

 

B. Brake quickly and firmly, but in control while bringing your bike to a stop with your head up and your left foot down.

 

C. From a full stop, with your handlebars at full left lock and your RIGHT leg down, make a quick full-lock turn.

 

D. Cone weave and figure 8 in 1st gear with the clutch out (preferably). Etc., Etc.

 

Lots of emphasis on smooth but firm control inputs, head turning, looking through your turn and focusing on where you want the bike to go rather than where it's going. These skills then get transfered up to the track as speeds increase and help you to master the bike up there so that you can control it like you want to in order to hold the line you need.

 

Dragging footpegs? They sporadically pecked at the ground all day long, even when shifting weight to the inside in order to relieve the bike's angle. That's more the undulating nature of the HTM track and gravity (plus the fact that I stubbornly refused to use my brakes). Same layout, same radii, same speeds but on a flat surface, you wouldn't touch down at all. Not even close.

 

P.S. In Colorado I went to Mile Marker 60 on Hwy 149 and surveyed the site of your get-off. Finally found that little patch of gravel near the center line. It was as you descirbed it, i.e. virtually impossible to see. It was just your number that day. But that's also why good skills (especially on the street where there's schmutz on many curves) helps so much. I don't know, and maybe never will know, how many times late apexing will keep me up on two wheels. One day, there may be an invisible patch of gravel on the high entry line. If I tip over that day, I can't say it was the late apexing that did it. Corners can be similar in shape and condition, but no two are the same. I simply believe that on the street, making sure you can see through to a clean exit will save me thousands of times more than it will hurt me. And those are odds I'm comfortable with.

[EffBee]

Hey Fernando,

 

Thanks for sharing your day...it sounds like a good, informative class. You've always had my respect as a fellow rider and know you've got a few more tricks up your sleeve. Let's go out and practice in Torrey, okay??

 

The eastern side of the Fish Lake Loop has some tight corners and some good elevation changes. A perfect place. Bring Errol and that new V-twin cannoli maker of his.

[KMG_365]

David, I'm not asking or expecting that you jump on any ship, least of all mine.

 

My comments were "from my perspective" as a non-track trained rider trying to learn from another's experience. I meant no disrespect to Russell as he will always be ten times the rider I'll ever hope to become--regardless of the relative miles we might amass. I'm not that good a student of the science of riding, I'm basically just a recreational SportTouring rider. I've never even been to a track as a spectator and your "Ride Smart" class is the only formalized training I've had since the MSF class I took as an adult.

 

However, just in the last six years or so, I've tallied over 130,000 SportTouring miles--many on twisty mountain roads with gravel in the corners. Perhaps my lack of broader knowledge leads me to see things more simplistically. My only point in mentioning the incident (and juxtaposing any possibly related dots) was that if you're riding in the mountains you might not always be best served by focusing primarily on "the best line" (as defined by track riding standards) or even just "late apexing" to see possible obstacles around the corner outside the line of sight, but also to spare some consideration to real world things like the likelihood of drifted gravel the same color as the asphalt accumulated in the middle of the lane. From my experiences and those of others I've ridden with, I try to remember to spend at least a few of my attention dollars on things like this. Granted for me, who knows little about a good line (let alone the best line) and who has not the first clue of what an entry or exit point would look like, I also don't have the added distraction of evaluating those criteria as I blithely putt through the corner trying to follow the "best line through the best wheel track" of the other hundred or so cars who took that corner since the last rain.

[russell_bynum]

It's a speed limit, as in maximum. Not a speed at which you MUST ride. A safety issue at that point in your learning curve, if you will. Maintaining it is easy on the straights. You don't HAVE to maintain it in the corners, but I wanted to see if I could, especially after our instructor did it.

 

OK, I gotcha. I don't generally pay much attention to my speedo, so having to do that while doing the drills seems really tricky. I definitely understand what they're trying to accomplish with keeping people slow. You can't learn when you're going fast.

 

Riding single file is simply a control technique so that the instructor can focus on the one rider in front of him, corner after corner, for a couple of laps. Plus, it allows you to watch the instructor and the lead student and learn how/how-not to do things. Eventually it becomes your turn and you have the instructor's undivided attention. At first, that can be daunting, but eventually you just do what you can and wait for the critique and the coaching.

 

Ooohh...OK. So, you're not in a situation where your instructor sneaks up behind you (like they do at Code)...you know when you're being watched. OK, that doesn't seem to bad, then. And like you said...you can use your time in line to watch what the other riders are doing.

 

The skidpad exercises always seem trivial at first. But they're not when you're trying to perform them.

 

Yeah, I know that story. I really like that kind of stuff, though. It's easy to work on, and you get immediate feedback when you do it right.

 

I remember practicing for hours after I got my first street bike. My favorite/hardest one was exactly like Exercise C that you listed. It's much harder than it sounds, but it's SO satisfying when you nail it.

 

plus the fact that I stubbornly refused to use my brakes

 

That's a good policy. The brakes add a bunch of complexity and opportunity to screw up. Plus, it's a crutch.

[SteveB]

Fernando, using Leslie’s softball metaphor I would say your batting .500. One bad track day and one really great track day experience. Yes I consider your experience with StreetMasters at Horse Thief Mile a track day. And similar to other classes I have taken where an exercise is explained and then executed under careful observation in the controlled environment of the track. I share you concerns about Wild West practices at open track days. While in Texas I resigned myself to the fact that I would forever take the school offered only in the entry level over and over to get the instruction desired. Most of the cowboys in the next level were total idiots without training and common sense and scared the bejeebers out of me. California Superbike School's curriculum teaches a lot of very street applicable skills in a progressive controlled environment. That does not say that we are always going to use the best judgment on how and when to apply that knowledge. However like StreetMasters the skills may just save our bacon someday. Looks like it already has for you.

[Dennis Andress]

Fernando,

 

Thanks for writing about your day. I think you're right about track days not being the end all of learning new skills for the street. I've seen the benefit of schools like Code's in people I ride with but Jamie brought out a good point when he said

However, just in the last six years or so, I've tallied over 130,000 SportTouring miles--many on twisty mountain roads with gravel in the corners. Perhaps my lack of broader knowledge leads me to see things more simplistically. My only point in mentioning the incident (and juxtaposing any possibly related dots) was that if you're riding in the mountains you might not always be best served by focusing primarily on "the best line" (as defined by track riding standards) or even just "late apexing" to see possible obstacles around the corner outside the line of sight, but also to spare some consideration to real world things like the likelihood of drifted gravel the same color as the asphalt accumulated in the middle of the lane.

There's a world of difference between focusing on a line through a curve, as one would do on the track, and riding a curve at a pace that leaves some margin for the unexpected.

[TN_R_Girl]

Great Post, thanks for sharing.

Sorry to hear SM is only available in SoCal ... guess I'll keep my fingers crossed for that RideSmart class to materialize in this area next summer

 

You might not even have to wait for summer.....

 

Shawn

That would be awesome!!!

[Chris K]

Great write up Fernando, much more detailed than the article in Cycle News.