vadim

Got a call from Andy and he explained where/how I crashed. It was very helful because I could not remember pushing myself and/or taking any corners without a comfort margin and I was quite worried that I wouldn't know what mistake I made. He said that I did not go far enough to the right before taking turn 4 (left hander) and now I remember that coming out of the turn 3 I had had a bit of a problem setting up for 4 once or twice during that day. So the problem probably started with the line I took in turn 3. Not sure if I took a different line or went into the turn faster, or both, but when I went into 4 I was going to fast/was on the wrong line. When I saw what was not going to make the turn, I decided to straighten out the bike and brake on the back straight, but the front wheel washed out on the wet grass/puddle that I hit. Andy says that I probably could have made that turn if I stuck to it. Any way, a few lessons have been learned. I will be on a lookout for these "problem" spots that don't look like a big problem until you crash and will make sure that I can take the right line EACH time without making major adjustments before increasing speed into the turn. I'll also try not to run off into wet grass...

This would be going directly through my health isurance, not through my bike insurance (Progressive). I told the hospital to make sure that they are explicit in saying that I crashed at a school and not during a race, but I don't know what they'll actually put there. I didn't hear from Andrew yet. -Vadim

Thanks, Kevin. Kinda ironic that I crashed at the end of the last session. I thought that I had learned by now and I usually take it easy at the end, but I guess I had not. Or, rather, I can't remember if I did. As for giving it a go next year, I am waiting to hear what my health insurance company is going to say when they see the bill. When I called them a while back they said they only have restrictions if one is racing, but I am sure they will try to find a way out of 27,000 bill... We'll see how it goes.

Hey guys, I crashed at the end of the day on 23rd and was air lifted to the hospital. Just wanted to apologize for screwing up the last sessions for everyone... I hope that the damage to the equipment/mood was minimal. I had a pretty good concussion - don't remember the crash or, for that matter, much from the day of the crash, but other than that no major bodily harm was done. If anyone here has seen what happened or could remind me the details of the two days to help me recall things, I'd appreciate the feedback. I do remember that I loved the training, coaches were great and the teaching system that Keith developed is excellent. I guess I'll have to do this again next year! Cheers, -Vadim P.S. I can be reached at 917-343-3175 (work) and 646-408-8335 (cell)