Saving Your Bacon

[Kevin Kane]

I had a recent track experience that got me thinking about how often things like this happen to other riders and whether we just kind of take it for granted or can we see the link to our training.

 

For me it was right after the apex of turn 7 at NJMP when I felt the front start to tuck and the weight transferred to my knee. The rumble strips are very smooth there so without even thinking much I just pushed back with my knee and with the lightest adjustment to the bars the front picked up and I resume rolling on the throttle - it was all over in a nano second. There was a time I would have chopped the throttle or maybe just let go but I remember thinking as I drove out that my reaction was an ingrained response and not at all what would have been intuitive. So I know that the School's training saved my bacon but I'm not sure I am alone with this experience.

 

How about anyone else - do you find yourself dodging a bullet with your training?

 

 

Rainman

[ktk_ace]

too many to remember

 

 

 

 

throttle control:

 

-sewer cover slides

 

-white/yellow line slides

 

-wet road

 

-mud/sand

 

 

 

 

quick flick

 

-incoming traffic

 

-stuff on roads

 

 

 

 

a bullet is an understatement, i've dodged entire hailstorms... I've to admit the area wher i ride is not very friendly...

 

 

 

 

 

[matt17]

How about anyone else - do you find yourself dodging a bullet with your training?

It happened for me while taking level 3... it had started to rain and I got distracted by that and a passing rider (first mistake) and misjudged the entry speed for a slow corner (second mistake) causing a scary feeling rear slide... which worked out OK and actually looked rather cool on video after. The only things I remember doing are keeping the throttle steady and relaxing my arms.

[Stewal]

Great reaction Rainman!! Really impressive!

 

Now here's the real question in true CSS style Do you remember what you did that caused the front to wash out?

 

Edit: I ask because i recently did CSS at NJMP(first time there-great track) and know turn 7. It was one of the only turns i had any issues with through the first couple drills. My issue was mainly with not getting a very good drive out. Through the first couple sessions i felt like the corner was over before i had a chance to roll on the throttle and i wasn't able to get a good drive and as a result wasn't able to get around other riders that i knew were slower than me. I'd end up following them all the way to the front straight and it would press me to go into turn 1 harder, which is risky since the first couple sessions in lvl 1 are no brakes. With some coaching help of a better "quick turn" and not cheating in on the turn point i was able to use turn 8 as a good passing point.

[Kevin Kane]

Now here's the real question; Do you remember what you did that caused the front to wash out?

Stewal;

7 is one of only three left hand turns at NJMP/Thunderbolt and I believe it had to do with not enough heat in the left side of the tires coupled with a little too much drive out of the corner.

...at least that's my belief.

 

Rain

[khp]

How about anyone else - do you find yourself dodging a bullet with your training?

Sure have. Your story reminded me of Hollywood (aka Paul) telling a similar story of digging in his knee and gassing it at Gelleraasen in 2010 when his CBR1000RR "decided to kill me" as he said.

 

Dang Rain, now I have to go pop a beer for you!

 

Kai

[Kevin Kane]

Now here's the real question; Do you remember what you did that caused the front to wash out?

Stewal;

7 is one of only three left hand turns at NJMP/Thunderbolt and I believe it had to do with not enough heat in the left side of the tires coupled with a little too much drive out of the corner.

...at least that's my belief.

 

Rain

 

...or maybe I was too far up on the paint? This arrived about two hours after I posted this.

[mugget]

I can't think of anything specifically, but I am always aware of the benefits the various kinds of training has had on my riding. I've always been very cautious on the roads, but that's not enough because on my very first ride up the local mountain road I ran wide and put my bike in a ditch! I've never done that again, but I wouldn't be at the point where I am now without all that training, research and learning.

 

This reminds me of one kind of funny thing that shows just how strongly ingrained certain actions and processes can be. I've mentioned this on the forums here before, but anyway I was on my MTB after a long time not riding push bikes at all, going down the road and I went over a driveway to get on the footpath. I didn't lift my front wheel enough and the bump was enough to kick it into the air. Here comes the funny bit - I was actually turning at the time, so I felt the front wheel in the air but my immediate thought was actually "oh, it's okay it will regain traction in a few moments..." thinking that I was on a motorcycle! All that training kicking in! Of course if I was on a motorcycle I would have been fine, but on a MTB I really should have put my foot down to stabilise myself. I went down like a sack of potatoes, without even attempting to put out a foot or hand! I was fine though, I guess that just goes to show how true it is that you should stay relaxed when you crash!

 

Something has gone right so that I have such a strong response to front slides, but you could also use that example to show how strongly ingrained bad habits can become.

[warregl]

Very nice Rain, a front end save is impressive sir!

 

I've had a few "near-misses" that I can attribute to CSS. Several backend slides that would have probably highsided me pre-CSS, and one tank slapper that I was able to handle (and even remembered to pump the brakes afterward) thanks the great training. The biggest was right after my Level 1 (I know I've told this story before so apologies if you've read it in another thread). I was exiting the interstate on a declining radius exit ramp when a car exited from the far left lane (in a classic "OH SH*T thats my exit" move).

 

At my Level 1 class, coach Christy (Glamazon on the forum) had noticed I was pushing with my outside arm when cornering. Now I know this is a classic rookie mistake but I had been riding for years and never knew I was doing it. We worked on it that day and I remember thinking it was like adding power steering to the bike.

 

Fast forward a few months and when that car and I were side by side mid-corner on the exit ramp I was able to hold a tight enough inside line (between car and concrete guardrail) to keep things from ending badly. I was even calm enough to be agrivated by his driving; it was only after I had stopped to get coffee that I thought about what would have happened only a few months earlier.

 

There is no substitute for proper training, but then saying that here is definitely preaching to the church choir.

 

BTW...when I saw Cobie at VIR he mentioned starting a section of the forum dedicated to stories like those posted here. Great thread!

[Cobie Fair]

Here is one, happened recently: driving from VIR to our next track, NJMP, narrow road in Virginia, no shoulder (maybe a foot).

 

Older gent pulls up to the road at the stop sign in a small sedan, slowed almost to a stop. We are in a mini-van fully loaded, 6 coaches, 2 asleep, doing about 50 mph.

 

The gent does a left turn right in front of us...our driver (a coach) did a hard right/left and accelerated, went right around the bumper of the duffer. Braking would just have made it worse.

 

The 2 asleep coaches banged their heads on the windows, but no more drama than that...coach attributed this save to the Wide View exercise in Level 2!

 

CF

[Hotfoot]

OK, I have a new 'How CSS training saved my bacon' story. On Sunday I did an open track day - on a new, unfamiliar, poorly set up bike with a REALLY nice paint job. I definitely did not want to crash this bike.

 

I had just turned the bike into a tight slow corner, and a rider in front of me added throttle and lean angle exiting the corner and crashed - right in my path. His bike was spinning around mid track and I couldn't tell where it was going to end up, and the rider was sliding towards the outside edge of the track; it seemed too risky to go between them and the gap to the outside was closing as the rider slid. Without CSS training I would have just ridden off the outside into the dirt - all my instincts made me want to keep watching the moving rider, the thing I was afraid of hitting. It took a strong conscious effort to drag my eyes away to find a path to the inside that missed both sliding rider and spinning bike and kept me on the track.

 

Thank you CSS; going off track could very likely have resulted in a crash, but instead I was able to get my eyes up (recognize and overcome the target-fixation SR) and get around the obstacle cleanly.

[Stroker]

Saved the rear when it skid on sand with a pillion a few times.Kept the throttle on and relaxed on the bars.

[Cobie Fair]

Driving in a car last week late at night, missed some parts of a car that had munched itself into the median on the freeway--Wide View again at work.

[tmckeen]

I was riding a CRF450 around my block a few weeks ago trying to adjust to shifting in new stiff motocross boots and tried to apply the front brakes like I was on a street bike, I put down a good 6 foot strip of rubber and easily recovered the skid thanks to practice on the brake rig out at CSS.

 

 

Tyler

[Cobie Fair]

Sweet!

 

One of my coaches was riding the brake bike back from the shop (helmetless--this was years ago) and did the same thing.

 

The brakes worked way better than the thought .

 

CF