tweek Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 [i posted this up but it disappeared. Either the mods killed it and didn’t tell me, or I didn’t do it right. So I’ll try again.] Last year I crashed twice. Once on the track – chopped the throttle when I thought I was running wide. Ended up with a broken elbow. That was June. In October I had an accident on the street that landed me in the ER with a burst spleen and a concussion. I don’t know what happened, my friends say traffic suddenly stopped in front of us and I went down. I wasn’t going very fast (20mph) but landed badly and scrambled my brain. As you can imagine my riding confidence is in the toilet. I’ve done all 4 levels with CSS and have videos to prove that I was on my way to being fast enough to be mistaken for fast. But now it’s gone and I’m starting over. On Sunday (02/08/2009) my friend and I went out to Eagles Canyon for a member day. We were the only bikes on the track. It was nice being out there without any traffic. What stinks though is that I’m really slow now. I’m having trouble trusting the tires to maintain their traction, so I’m quick turning or rolling on the throttle. I’m doing the other stuff (2step, knee to knee, etc) but it doesn’t really matter at this point because I’m not really going fast enough for it to make a difference. Not really sure what I’m after here. I guess I want to know how others have gotten through this part of riding. I can’t be the first person to have experienced this. What did you guys do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justjeremy Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 [i posted this up but it disappeared. Either the mods killed it and didn't tell me, or I didn't do it right. So I'll try again.] Last year I crashed twice. Once on the track – chopped the throttle when I thought I was running wide. Ended up with a broken elbow. That was June. In October I had an accident on the street that landed me in the ER with a burst spleen and a concussion. I don't know what happened, my friends say traffic suddenly stopped in front of us and I went down. I wasn't going very fast (20mph) but landed badly and scrambled my brain. As you can imagine my riding confidence is in the toilet. I've done all 4 levels with CSS and have videos to prove that I was on my way to being fast enough to be mistaken for fast. But now it's gone and I'm starting over. On Sunday (02/08/2009) my friend and I went out to Eagles Canyon for a member day. We were the only bikes on the track. It was nice being out there without any traffic. What stinks though is that I'm really slow now. I'm having trouble trusting the tires to maintain their traction, so I'm quick turning or rolling on the throttle. I'm doing the other stuff (2step, knee to knee, etc) but it doesn't really matter at this point because I'm not really going fast enough for it to make a difference. Not really sure what I'm after here. I guess I want to know how others have gotten through this part of riding. I can't be the first person to have experienced this. What did you guys do? Tweek, First and foremost I can't say that I've been donw on my bakie even once so this may or may not help, but I have had my share of dirtbike accidents. I've landed on top of a sand car for a fifty foot gap, probably doing a little north of 60 mphs. ended up with major cuncusion, broken leg and sevealy bruised ego. After healing up I had the jitters about getting back on the horse and running her like she should be, nut what helped me get over it was the tought of the time and money invested in getting to the skil level that i was at. I had ridden constantly for years, and there i was puttin around like I had never been on a bike before. So i manned up and took it one step at a time slowly getting back into the groove of things, and bam the confidents level went through the roof after only a few days and one or two little ding-ups. You just have to let the fear go and get your head back in there man. Life throws you for a loop sometimes and you just have to stick with it, and realize that it's all part of the game. Probably not the answer that you were looking for but it's the truth bro. Hang in there, and you'll be terrorizing the neighbor hood in no time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Kane Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 [i posted this up but it disappeared. Either the mods killed it and didn’t tell me, or I didn’t do it right. So I’ll try again.] Last year I crashed twice. ... Ended up with a broken elbow. ...I had an accident on the street that landed me in the ER with a burst spleen and a concussion. ...As you can imagine my riding confidence is in the toilet. I’ve done all 4 levels with CSS and have videos to prove that I was on my way to being fast enough to be mistaken for fast. But now it’s gone and I’m starting over. Tweek; Good to have you back. As one of the Mods here, I know I didn't see your post before but more importantly, sorry to hear of your mishaps. You are surprised by your lack of confidence...why? You had two MAJOR crashes in a year! Crashing sets me back a lot and I was surprised the first time by how much of it (confidence) was misplaced and that it took time to rebuild it but it does come back...just not in one track day or even two. You haven't lost any ability, just some belief in your ability but if you stick with it and are patient with yourself, you'll be back. Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobie Fair Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 [quote Last year I crashed twice. ... Ended up with a broken elbow. ...I had an accident on the street that landed me in the ER with a burst spleen and a concussion. ...As you can imagine my riding confidence is in the toilet. I’ve done all 4 levels with CSS and have videos to prove that I was on my way to being fast enough to be mistaken for fast. But now it’s gone and I’m starting over. Hi Tweek, How about giving me a ring in the office--I'm here today and most of the next 2 weeks, call any time. Maybe we can come up with something that will get you more back in the "rider's seat". Best to talk live (if you are in LA?), 2nd best on the phone. If it isn't obvious, you are one of our students, and that means your are part of the group--like it or not! If there is anything on our end we can do, we'll try. 800-530-3350 Best, Cobie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweek Posted February 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 Thanks Cobie. I'll give you a ring on Friday. For now the direction is going to be to keep going to ECR and rebuilding. I might invest some money in the ZX6's suspension just to make it feel better. However, I'm not even close to taking full advantage of what the stock suspenion is capable of right now. But good feedback from the bike makes it easier to feel comfortable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybird180 Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 Tweek,First and foremost I can't say that I've been donw on my bakie even once so this may or may not help, but I have had my share of dirtbike accidents. I've landed on top of a sand car for a fifty foot gap, probably doing a little north of 60 mphs. ended up with major cuncusion, broken leg and sevealy bruised ego. After healing up I had the jitters about getting back on the horse and running her like she should be, nut what helped me get over it was the tought of the time and money invested in getting to the skil level that i was at. I had ridden constantly for years, and there i was puttin around like I had never been on a bike before. So i manned up and took it one step at a time slowly getting back into the groove of things, and bam the confidents level went through the roof after only a few days and one or two little ding-ups. You just have to let the fear go and get your head back in there man. Life throws you for a loop sometimes and you just have to stick with it, and realize that it's all part of the game. Probably not the answer that you were looking for but it's the truth bro. Hang in there, and you'll be terrorizing the neighbor hood in no time. Sorry to hear about your crash Tweek Jeremy- That was a heck of a speech. I got fyar'd up reading it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuman Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 As long as I know or can figure out why I crashed I find it much easier to come back afterward. Seems like for your first crash, you know what you did wrong and can learn from that mistake. You chopped the throttle and that cause your crash, don't do that again Second crash sounds like it was out of your control. Not much you could have done about that. Crashing is a part of riding, it happens, it might even happen again. If you can accept that then you can start to get some confidence back. If you are riding around worried about crashing again it will be hard to come back up to speed. Know that if you ride well, you decrease your chances of crashing again. It does take time. Like Kevin said every crash is a set back and it takes some time to work your way back up to speed after a big one. I broke my back riding motocross about 6 months ago and I've just now started to feel better about my riding. Take your time and ease back into it, keep working at it and you will come up to speed again. You haven't lost any skill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike kromjong Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Hi there Tweek, Sorry to hear about your crashes. As mentioned before, knowing why you crashed can make a differance. But i also know from experience that this is not always the case. The thing that helped me most to get in to the fast times again was to take it one step at a time and by doing the no brakes drill. It helped me in being singularly focussed on cornerspeed and experiencing the feedback you get from the bike without being troubled/worried by the distracting forces of braking. Since worrying about the griplevel of your tyres seems to be an issue, investing in a pair of tyrewarmers might be in order for you. Taking it one step at a time is not a fast but indeed a sure way of getting your confidence level up to where it was. Hope this helps. Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobie Fair Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Tweek, Did we ever get you on the slide bike? CF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweek Posted February 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 Tweek, Did we ever get you on the slide bike? CF Lean bike - yes Slide bike - no. Sorry I didn't call. That freaking day job just keeps getting in the way. This week is going to be interesting too, but I'm taking Friday off to go visit the track. Might be a good time to give Mr. Wizard a call. The interesting piece is that sense doing one day some of the feeling is returning. It is still a long road, but I'm pretty confident I can do it again. I'm not sure when this year I'll get a chance to do another CSS session. At the moment the dance card is projected to be full up in to 2010. Not a bad thing work wise, but play is definately suffering. In case anybody is interested this is the track I'll be spending most of my time at this year: http://www.eaglescanyon.com/2008/home.php Very nice track w/ a number of double apex courners, blind entries, and lots elevation changes. The other two tracks I'll visit once or twice are: http://www.oakhillraceway.net/ - most awesome track in the world. nothing compares. guaranteed to to scare you. http://www.motorsportranch.com/1.3-road-course.cfm freaking awesome uphill left hander. the entire track is on the side of a hill so it is all elevation change. CSS should do a school at ECR or MSR. Either one would produce a big turn out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobie Fair Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 Tweek, First off, real glad to hear your are moving in the right direction, nice! If I haven't said this before, if you are anywhere near us, and give me some warning, I'll get you on the slide bike, signed up or not. We can make it happen first thing--I just need a little warning (and for the guy to have done level 4). Excellent about the work front, need that to support the habits We have been to Motorsports Ranch in Cresson, and also to Texas World. We like the ranch, but couldn't get it to really fit into the schedule. Things can and do change on the schedule, but don't have it on the calendar this year. Call any time, this Friday is a little tough, going to be out most of the day. Just call and I'll get back to you if not in. Best, Cobie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweek Posted March 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 glad you're understanding about the work thing. My project is starting to stabilize so I'm not pulling 12 and 14 hour days. Down side is that now I have to spend all my time writing documentation. blah. MSR is a great facility. Did you guys get to use the new 1.3mile track? I think it is a lot better than the 1.7miler. Better pavement, great elevation changes and some buttkicking turns. We now have Eagles Canyon on the other end of the metroplex giving us twice the choice! ECR is also great, but it is more stretched out and faster. The cool thing there is the blind entry in to several of the turns along with elevation changes. Given my schedule I'm not sure that I'll be able to make a CSS this year. I'd love too, but work keeps piling up. I hope to keep it that way this year and next. That way I'll be able to afford lots of track days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobie Fair Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 glad you're understanding about the work thing. My project is starting to stabilize so I'm not pulling 12 and 14 hour days. Down side is that now I have to spend all my time writing documentation. blah. MSR is a great facility. Did you guys get to use the new 1.3mile track? I think it is a lot better than the 1.7miler. Better pavement, great elevation changes and some buttkicking turns. We now have Eagles Canyon on the other end of the metroplex giving us twice the choice! ECR is also great, but it is more stretched out and faster. The cool thing there is the blind entry in to several of the turns along with elevation changes. Given my schedule I'm not sure that I'll be able to make a CSS this year. I'd love too, but work keeps piling up. I hope to keep it that way this year and next. That way I'll be able to afford lots of track days. We havne't used the shorter course, nor ECR. The times if fit in the schedule it was pretty warm and humid Glad the work is there, hope we see you before too long! CF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweek Posted March 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 Hot & humid? where? That actually cracked me up when I went to Mid-Ohio. It was around 90 and people were talking about how hot it was! I'm like - huh? Last summer we had a few track days where the temperature passed 105F. You don't have any trouble remembering to drink water on those days. Wearing a camel back on track is even a good idea. The cool thing about this area (DFW) is that we can ride pretty much all year. Not exacty Cali style all year, it does get cold, but you can grab a track day in December and January if your schedule is flexible. The only problem now is that with spring the weather is completely unpredictable. This weekend we're going to go watch the CMRA races at ECR. Saturday is supposed to rain and be in the 50s. Last weekend was low 80s and beautiful. Give it ten minutes and it might snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobie Fair Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 Hot & humid? where? That actually cracked me up when I went to Mid-Ohio. It was around 90 and people were talking about how hot it was! I'm like - huh? Last summer we had a few track days where the temperature passed 105F. You don't have any trouble remembering to drink water on those days. Wearing a camel back on track is even a good idea. The cool thing about this area (DFW) is that we can ride pretty much all year. Not exacty Cali style all year, it does get cold, but you can grab a track day in December and January if your schedule is flexible. The only problem now is that with spring the weather is completely unpredictable. This weekend we're going to go watch the CMRA races at ECR. Saturday is supposed to rain and be in the 50s. Last weekend was low 80s and beautiful. Give it ten minutes and it might snow. What do you think of that ECR track?--it was mentioned somewhere, by you? CF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweek Posted March 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 What do you think of that ECR track?--it was mentioned somewhere, by you? CF Probably. ECR is an excellent track. 2.5 miles in length, lots of elevation changes. A number of the turns have blind entries so you have to have good RPs to go fast. The turn at the end of the longest straight is uphill, but crests. On the inside it is flat or off camber, but the outside is cambered, but you don't want to be there. My biggest complaint about the track is that parts of it feel like long straights connected by double apex sweepers. It doesnt quite flow, but the elevation changes make up for it. Turn 3 is a double apex going downhill Turn 4 is down hill Turn 5 is uphill Turn 7 is blind uphill and off camber Turns 8 and 9 are down hill in to a gully (it goes back to turn 4 and 5) Turn 10 is a steep uphill If you search for Ty Howard on YouTube you can get a pretty good idea of what the track is like to ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.