2old

Flat track bikes have no brakes. Sliding is how they slow down into the corners.

Gloves: I hyper-extended ("bent backward") my left thumb during a crash last summer. It still bothers me occasionally. I was wearing AlpineStars SP1 gloves at the time. I would like to find a pair of gloves that have some sort of protection built in that allows fingers and thumbs to move in the direction they are intended to move, but does not allow them to go the other way. My son plays hockey and his hockey gloves have a rigid support that will keep thumbs from bending backward but does not restrict regular, forward movement. I have not seen this on any riding gloves. For this season I bought a pair of Held Titan gloves but thankfully have not "road tested" them. The Held Titans have the two smallest fingers sewn together to provide additional support. They also have a very rigid gauntlet section to help protect the wrist better. They still don't offer the thumb protection I would like, but they include several features I had not seen on any others. After buying the Held gloves, I saw that AlpineStars is offering a model with the ring and little finger sewn together, also.

Back on the original subject, here's a review of the Q3s: http://www.motorcycle.com/products/dunlop-q3-tire-review-91635.html According to this article, the Q2 will be discontinued.

I know the CSS crew probably won't see this for awhile, but I wanted to say thanks for a great two days at VIR. I completed two Level 4 days and exceeded my goals. My compliments to Mikey and Stef, my coaches for Monday and Tuesday. You guys are great at identifying things to work on and you really helped me a lot. Thanks!!

FYI - you cannot keep your trailer at the Villas. The last time I went I dropped my trailer off in the paddock area and rode the bike back to the villa. My wife drove the truck back. If you're by yourself, this might be something to think about. When I arrived they told me this was due to the Villas limited parking situation. VIR is really spread out, so walking between Villas, paddock, resaturant, etc. is pretty much out. There did not appear to be any restrictions on trailers at the Lodge, and of course none at the Paddock Suites. Given all that, the Villas are a great place to stay. If you get the second floor unit, you'll have a full kitchen (bigger and nicer than what I have at home...) so you could stock the fridge and never have to go out for meals. My wife and I took bicycles. She spent the days riding around the property and hanging out at the pool. Not sure if the pool will be open by the May school dates, but she's planning to go along again anyway. There's enough to do to keep her occupied while I'm in school. See you this spring!

Oh no doubt, I just wanted to have the knowledge on what to expect or try to be able to do to remedy the slide. It may even be something a little slippery on the track that causes the front to slide or maybe you were trying to pass someone on the outside and now you find yourself trailbraking into the corner because you passed your end of braking marker and coming into the turn too hot. Many different scenarios but just looking for the idea of how to try and prevent washing out if possible. My first (and only - so far) crash on track happened this way. It happens so fast you have mili-seconds to respond. I wish I had known the correct response, because what I did didn't work. It was cool that day and overcast. My tires were probably a little over-inflated for the conditions, but the more I relive that moment, the more I am convinced that tire pressure was not the only problem that day. When the front slid the first time that day, I was able to recover. The tire caught traction quickly and I made it through the turn. But it happened again a few laps later in the same turn and I ran into the grass and went down off the pavement. Maybe someone with more experience would have reacted differently, but my natural reaction was to stand the bike up a little. Of course, that makes you go wide. And if there's not enough room, you run off the pavement. I can say that for me, that feeling in the pit of your stomach when the front slides and you're leaned over at your limit is not one I wish to repeat. I can also say that applying throttle in that situation was the farthest thing from my mind. In fact, about the only thing that had time to go through my mind was "dammit!". I, too, would love to have some advice on what to try next time, but I also hope I never have to apply it.

Looks to me like he never changes his body position throughout that entire video.

This is a pretty deep subject. I'm sure there are lots of philosophies and opinions. Here's mine... 1. Learn the technique. 2. Develop consistency. Generally people who are good at something do that thing exactly the same way every time. Regarding track riding, this is why we memorize reference points - so every lap can be as consistent as possible. Some people seem to have more natural ability to do this than others. School, coaching, books, instructional videos, etc., will show you how. Once you can do that thing the way the experts have proven it should be done, then you have to figure out how to do it the same way every time. When you reach the point where you are doing something "right" and consistently without having to really think about the technique, people will look at you as an expert. If you have natural ability to master an activity to this point, then you can start looking for ways to improve on what the experts taught you. What is considered "good" always evolves. How often are sports records broken? When someone outperforms what everyone thought was as good as it could get, everyone studies what the record breaker did and imitates them. It's been my experience in those few things I'm actually good at, that doing it correctly, then repeat exactly the same way is the key. Usually, when you look back at a sub-par performance, you can identify the point where you did something differently from before. Occasionally, if you do it better than before, you might create a new technique that others will imitate.

1. Yes 2. I bought Stomp Grip universal pads at CSS in August. Will be adding them to my new bike soon, too. 3. Much better grip. 4. N/A