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The Two Step


doog

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Right my story quickly .....

 

After racing 3 years I did level 1 and then level 2 April last year at Silverstone UK. Raced at Donnington and had the best meeting ever (new fount confidence) . Raced at Cadwel Park before highsiding and ending up having the rest of the year off.

 

Back doing trackdays last year and took a while to feel comfortable and sort my head out.

 

Right this year just done a trackday and starting to get back into it but after sitting down and replaying laps in my head the problem I have and think I may always have had is the Two Step.

 

Now at the class this worked fine but at a faster pace it feels rushed and I aint getting the corner entry speed I need.

 

Now the problems I think I have are as follows.

 

Approaching a corner I can find my turn point however I am then on the brakes before forcing myself to look at the apex. At this point I already have the sensation of speed (from looking at the TP) and am on the brakes so slow down more than I should. I can hit the apex no problem and the visualisation through the corner is fine.

 

I feel i have to hit the exact TP so feel I have to look at it longer than I feel I should. How big a area for a TP should I be using , how exact would this need to be inch, foot, metre , couple of meters square ?

 

Going from looking at the TP to looking at the Apex feels very rushed adding to the speed sensation.

 

So I guess the question I am is asking is at what point to I go from looking at the TP to the Apex, at the moment I 'think' I am looking at the apex for 1 -2 seconds before turning the bike. This time is rushed as I am already on the brakes and am unable to enter at the speed my head says I should.

 

I guess the fear of crashing is still high so I am looking at the basics to built confidence and I really need help with corner entry speed, is the answer look at the apex for longer and if so how long ?

 

Cheers

 

 

doog

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Hi doog,

 

You mentioned attending the school, have you read the books? I'm thinking there is a chapter called "Seeing the Big Picture" in TTOW or a part of a chpater with that title that might be helpful.

 

When I attended the school there was an exercise that correlated with that chapter that involved moving one's attention around without moving the eyes. The gist is remaining aware of the whole scene and your place in it without getting stuck on any one point.

 

Also, it really helps to have a good set of RP's (reference points) to go with the SP (sub-products) like turn points and apexes and be really clear about them and the relationship between them. And between them and you. And what exactly you plan to do where.

 

So, as I approach the turn my eyes are relaxed and not focused specifically at anything. Not near, not far. Not at any particular point, just in the middle somewhere. I can move my attention around if I need to, but, under normal circumstances, it's more like I'm "noticing" things like RP's as they come into view.

 

Like, "Ok here comes the brake marker, here comes the big rock where I let off the brake or here comes the square patch before the little patch where I turn in."

 

But I don't actually look at any of them. I don't really focus on these things or look right at them. It's more like I just "notice" them without getting stuck on it.

 

It sounds like you might not have enough reference points (RP's) before or after the the turn point or may be on the verge of what is called "target fixating" a little bit with the turn point. A school coach probably could say better from just a verbal written description, but, to my ear, the feeling of "being rushed" indicates a lack of awareness of where you are IN RELATION to where you are going. Like you have lost track of where you are and/or need more reference points (RP's) for where you are going or are getting a little stuck looking RIGHT AT the turn point and not looking into the turn soon enough.

 

For me, I'm turning my head and looking into the corner just before hitting the turn point to be seeing the apex or RP's to aim for a sub-product or apex of the corner.

 

They books are an invaluable resource to work from and read over and over and over again. I you don't have them, get them!

 

 

Oh, size of a turn point?

 

On a 125 about 1-3 inches wide.

 

On a 600 maybe 6-12 inches at most.

 

Width of a tire.

 

But you DO NOT want to be staring at a 3 inch patch of pavement... :blink:

 

 

I hope this all made sense. :rolleyes:

 

 

Cheers,

Racer

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Cheers mate ,

 

I have all the books and just bought the DVD :-) maybe time to study them all again.

After I did level 2 concentrating on the wide view and other drills my riding became a lot better, thinking about it my corner entry speed did improve (then I crashed big time putting me back to square one).

 

I felt as though I had enough RP's but deffo something I can work on. Thinking a lap my vision does go very narrow and not relaxed as I target fix on both the TP then the APEX, I guess I need to built up RP's and work on the level 2 visualisation drills :-). I think my 'thinking' was looking at the apex just before my turn point caused the problem but it may be im not seeing the whole picture and concentrating (target fixing) on the turn point.

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Hey doog,

 

 

A crash can sometimes re-instill a strong survival reaction, no doubt! :o

 

Especially if the first time bites you hard, eh?

 

The experience can create a whole new set of barriers that weren't there before. :unsure:

 

Keith has a really good article on overcoming barriers here on the site.

 

 

Good luck,

 

Racer

 

 

PS I like to do track walks. They really help to see things I don't notice at speed.

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ALso,

 

Re-reading your first post...

 

I was a little confused about where you are with the brakes.

 

How much attention are you spending on braking/downshifting?

 

Are you getting off the brakes before your turn point?

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At the moment im not really braking that hard and think im off the brakes when i turn the bike in. As i feel rushed im braking to much just before looking at the apex and getting off the brakes.

 

Thinking about it I aint using the widescreen view at the end of a straight, im target fixing on the Turn point then doing the same with the Apex. After the bike is turnned I am looking through the corner and no longer hace the problem (except not having a high corner speed).

 

Cheers for the feedback has deffo made me think my first diagnose of the problem was the wrong one and hopefully my two step is ok :D

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  • 4 weeks later...

Just to add my 2 cents with a questions. Are you ready to turn at the turning point? (I mean off the gas and the brakes). If you are too rushed have you tried to get set for the corner a little before the corner. Brake a little earlier and keep the same speed that you would at corner entry?

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Doog,

 

I think you are on the right track with the vide view technique. Honestly, the most commonly re-visitied skills in Level 4 (where we do indivualized programs for the students) are the Level 2 skills. Both of the last times British Supersport Champion Leon Camier came over here, he was working on those quite a bit.

 

Let us know how it goes!

 

Cobie

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  • 2 weeks later...

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