SvenCRen

I have just completed levels 2 and 3 at Barber and it was a great experience as I expected. After spending more time with the CSS team, I feel that my time there was as worthwhile as ever. My friend Chris and I arrived a day early so that we could sort out a new set of tires as well as take care of some other technical issues such as getting rid of the disappointing Stomp Grips and replacing them with the Tech Spec tank grips. With a couple of mods, they are far better and thank you to Will for all the technical assistance. I find it interesting how I have the sense of belonging with the group with the friendly and welcoming nature of everyone. Keith and Dylan ran their usual on point class sessions while Lonnie supplemented those with our first Level 3 class. Pete was on hand for our Level 2 off track drill which was one of my more enlightening moments at CSS regarding body positioning. The on track coaches were great as usual as well. When I did level 1 with Kristi recently at Infineon, I was greatly impressed by her support and direction. She definitely set the bar quite high but Travis (level 2) and Greg (level 3) were great to work with as well. Greg kept me focused on not only the drills but helping me tackle challenges one section at a time so that I can better gain a measured improvement. I was able to achieve my best lap time at Barber to date on last lap during the second to last session beating the previous best by 5 seconds. Also, thanks to Judy for all she does for all students and Cobie for being available for the occasional chat. Hopefully I'll have the opportunity to do level 4 in the near future and have the fortunate pleasure of spending more time with a great group of people... Best regards, -scott

You would think that Sheehan would actually watch previous WSBK races so perhaps he would have a clue to know how to pronounce most of the names of the top riders. I lost count with how many different pronunciations he had of "Sofuoglu" and I don't think any of them were correct. I was dumbfounded at how annoyed I felt listening to the commentary from both Sheehan and Russell. Then listening to that in stark contrast to this weeks 250 MotoGP race with all the excitement in the last lap, and there is no comparison. Nothing against Russell's achievements, but a commentator he does not make. Some people can either carry an environment with their voice and others simply can't. I almost miss Freddy Spencer, even with his overly opinionated approach to critiquing technique and preaching trail braking, we was much more interesting to listen to and I felt there there was much to be learned from his perspective. THE GOOD NEWS HOWEVER: They are losing the format of AMA Pro Primetime and going back to showing the AMA races in the same format that they did last year, oddly enough the same way we see the rest of the races. No more trying to keep my head in the dirt for weeks to watch a race without knowing the outcome. Best regards, -scott

Hey Steve, I think it is very interesting to hear you say, "somehow I have to start trying to put it all together insead of having 15 drills to work on separately." Even though I have only completed level 1, I found that the drills were additive in nature. What I mean by that is when I was working on the 2nd drill, I was still doing the first, while adding the 3rd, I was still doing the 1st and 2nd. I never viewed the drills as separate exercises, but rather building blocks to be combined into a more encompassing end result. Using this approach allowed me to make significant progress throughout the day and completely embed the technique into my riding style. I am sure that I will need to review this as I move on to Levels 2 and 3 at Barber in a week or so but I feel like I am still in tune with what I have learned. Best regards, -scott

I think this is a great article as well, this has been one of those topics that I have been struggling with for some time now. More recently, I do feel like I am making some positive strides to what I feel is optimal. When I look at the photos that Dissident posted, none of them look right to me. I wonder how old that page is because it did seem quite out of date to me. The best example I can think of for what I think is an ideal body position is Dylan's avatar photo on the CSS Team page. He looks like he could give Spies a run for his money in that shot. I think there is a reason why Spies runs so well, getting the greater mass of one's body to the inside of the take seems to make sense to me. I have noticed that even though I am not quite achieving that position yet, that coming close has really improved the about of fatigue I had been feeling previously at the track. Regards, -scott

My favorite shot from Infineon (Sears Point) last March doing Level 1. I'm really looking forward to Levels 2 and 3 at Barber in a couple of weeks!

I personally use a MyChron Light TG lap timer and am fairly happy with it. I know it is a type that you can see while you are riding but I kind of like that. I can make minor adjustments and see right away if they are yielding positive results. I don't really get too concerned to get a record lap every time I am out there, therefor I don't feel that it pushes me to make errors in judgement. http://www.aimsports.com/products/tg/index.html In addition to the Starlane GPS timer for the high end style product, there is also the Traqmate: http://www.traqmaterental.com/What_is_it_.html Best regards, -scott

So in the wake of the amazing save that Jamie Hacking pulled off at Barber recently as well as reflecting back on another final turn save that Blake Young pulled off last year at Road Atlanta, would there be the possibility that modern riding techniques would include righting your bike even after the rubber has left the asphalt? A few years back, would anyone think that it was possible for anyone to perform a double back flip on a motocross bike? Perceived boundaries are constantly challenged and pushed beyond the expected. Why not on the track as well? After reviewing the several times of Jamie pulling himself back on the bike coming out of 15 at Barber, I have to think that even though much of that had be blind luck, why couldn't it be possible to be able to guide the bike back up on its wheels? Just a thought... -scott

I'll have to add another positive response to the bicycle pump. I recently purchased a fairly nice t-handle style bicycle pump for our mountain bikes for around $35 and was very surprised how well it worked when I realized one of my tires was very low at home. It is a bit of a ride to the nearest fueling station and so I figured I would give it a try and it required surprisingly little effort to bring the tire up to more than enough pressure. -scott

Sorry I don't have much to offer in the way of a suggestion Ian, but I do agree with the idea of your perceptions. I know that from the limited number of bikes that I have ridden, there are some that fit wonderfully well and other I plain just didn't feel comfortable with. My '05 GSXR750 and the school's ZX6r both feel great for me but all the CBR600RRs, Aprilia Mille RSV and the Buells all felt awkward and instilled very little confidence. I know that there are those can can ride these bikes really well so I guess this raises a question regarding riding style and how it is effected by the bikes one rides. -scott

It would seem to me that the two were somewhat intertwined. To become one of the best racers, wouldn't you need to have good technique? Sure being out on the track in a race environment will push you to go faster and take more risks, but without the foundation of technique would there be any true improvement? With a strong technical foundation along with the seat time on the track that most racers have, the combination seems in my mind to be the best way to become a better, faster rider. -scott

I know this is kind of a late post on this topic but... My son broke his ankle recently so so severely that he nearly sheered off his foot falling from a tree. He is restricted to being immobile with zero weight bearing for a month or so. Point being that we have quite a bit of time to hang together and so I bought him the MotoGP game for his Wii. This turned out to be very cool since it is something we are both very interested in (Peter Lenz is one of my son's favorite people at the momnent). With the start of the MotoGP season, it has been great to watch the race together and then go and race the same tracks in the game together. I won't mention how he has been kicking my preverbal butt. Oh wait, I think I just did... :-) I have heard that this is a great way to learn the tracks and from what I understand, Spies has been doing that this year since it is his first time on these tracks. So what game is out there that has the tracks the AMA races on? Since I have more hope of actually riding those tracks, it would be great to learn them ahead of time this way... Best regards, -scott

Go fast enough and you could be called a "flying circus"... :-)

So Chris, Did you feel motion sick on the Dragon when we were barreling up and down the thing throughout the days or was it when we did our night runs in the pitch black. I'll still never know how you were able to spot your way through those turns while your headlamp was doing nothing but lighting the wall of rock along the road. All I know is that I am glad that I had your tail light to spot while we were leaned over pushing through all that. Best regards, -scott

Yeah, not a real large population center there, not that easy to fill up single day schools (we'd love to do more there!). I think I would consider flying out for it, Miller seems like an awesome track. Just as well, I'll be somewhere in the Mediterranean around then. Pehaps I'll be able to do Level 4 out there next year. -scott

Well I'll have to admit that I haven't posted as often as I could but I am one of those that feel I should have something additional to offer as well to existing posts. What this should not hold back however is prompting additional discussion on new topics or questions. I'm sure many of us have much to learn and with the wealth of knowledge that must exist in this group, this seems to be a great resource for just that. I think being new to the group as well, I just need to make my involvement a bit more routine as well. As I look forward to doing level 2 and 3 at Barber in less than two months, I plan to tap this resource in preparation. Best regards, -scott

And to make matters worse, they are only going to be showing the highlights from the races. It is a one hour show that will encompass not only AMA but if I understand correctly, MotoGP and WSBK as well. I think this is a massively disappointing approach and I feel as a domestic racing fan, I am being pushed aside so that some executives can somehow boost their profit margins. I cannot think of any other logical reason for this type of approach... -scott

It was great to meet everyone at the school at Infineon. The rain day was a bit of a bummer but day 2 went really well and although a bit concerning at first, the weather turned out to be great. I think that the format of the school works very well (obviously) and greatly appreciate the professionalism and candor of the entire CSS staff. Keith and Dylan were dynamic and wonderfully engaging in class and Christi the ride coach I was assigned to was wonderful to work with. Some of my favorite moments of the day were following her on track weaving through traffic while doing the drills. I really enjoyed the experience and am greatly looking forward to Level 2 and 3 at Barber in early June. From my understanding of the curriculum for those levels, doing them back to back seems like a great benefit. I have been to Barber before for a couple of track days and it will be great to do these levels on a track that I am already familiar with and know I have much room for improvement. Best wishes, -scott