11-03-2006, 01:31 PM
Connect the Dots
Being told you're a hack is a humbling experience. It's not an entirely bad thing, but it certainly doesn't make you feel good and it's not where you want to be when you're learning. But if that's what you're handed you suck it up and make the most of the advice you're given.
Monday, 10/30 was my first run with Team Promotion (TPM), and only my second day on the Summint Main track. I had heard a lot of good things about TPM over the months so I was very excited to run with them. Their reputation was for having a structure very similar to something like NASA than with REDUC and STT, two other groups I have ridden with who, honestly, just seem to run open track sessions. Although I outpaced the Intermediate class with STT at Jefferson circuit I deicded to run the beginner group with TPM so I didn't get in over my head with a new club and a track that I knew I wasn't proficient at.
To cut to the chase, the beginner group was a good call. I felt like I was weaving through a parking lot during my first two sessions and that irritated me. It seemed like the track was overcrowded with riders who didn't know left from right. I found an instructor for the third session of the day to get evaluated to move up a level where I could hopefully turn the pace up a little to actually learn something. We were let to pit out at the leading edge of that session and found wide open track - my instructions were to "just show me you can ride." I got my tires warm and went about 8/10'ths. I felt good and I was happy with the way things had gone until the session ended. My instructor had over ideas, though.
In short: you're not afraid to pull the trigger on going quick, but you're doing it on the ability of your motorcycle and letting your riding suffer.
Burn.
The rest of the day I spent concentrating on making repeatable laps. I didn't care if I was running 1:40's (I didn't bring a laptimer for anybody that's curious), I knew it would be a simple matter to turn the speed up later; my only goal was to know that I could put in as many laps as I wanted and be in the same places every time. I mapped out turn in points based on physical landmarks like I've been taught here at MM, and did the same for brake markers, apexes, shift points, anything I could find to use as a reference. Things came together, albeit slowly, but they did. After just 2 sessions I could walk myself through a virtual lap with at least one major marker at some point in each turn. It wasn't where I hoped to be, teaching myself to not use the cones was rough, but it was progress.
Running out to the rumble strips of turn 10, throttle pinned, is certainly an experience. Keeping it WFO until the end of the front straight requires attachments the size of watermelons... really. There's nothing quite like passing the control tower, fast approaching 150mph, knowing that you've got to burn off three digits before throwing the bike on it's side praying for grip. It's fucking scary. Not the speed, but the wonder of what's going to happen if you screw up your braking. I braked early. Every. Single. Lap. But at least I was consistent about it.
I had a chat with another instructor (Instructor 2) towards the end of the day who happened to be on an F4 as well. I told him what the first instructor told me and he responded, telling me that I looked very comfortable on the bike and, from what he saw while we were trading places during the day, that I was very consistent. I was happy. I wasn't where I wanted to be, but knowing that there was visible progress was great.
I ran the second to last session of the day as a fun run after my chat with the second instrcutor and packed up. I felt too tired to make any good use of the very lsat session of the day and.. well.. we all know what happened last time I felt like that.
I'll probably ride primarily with TPM next year. They really do put on a class act. There were always available coaches with tons of know how (one even hunted me down in the pits just to make sure that I had gotten the on track instruction I needed, and then hung around BS'ing with me for a while), and they were happy to help. I never got the impression that they were just there for free track time. There was an accessories tent (TPM also offers trackside parts delivery from their parts store), TRACK BIKE RENTALS (*cough, CHRIS, cough*), a photog and a video shadowing service, and just a generally very friendly group of folks with nothing to prove.... all in all I was very impressed. Hopefully we'll have another MM tent or two out there next year.
I'll put some small photos up later.
Being told you're a hack is a humbling experience. It's not an entirely bad thing, but it certainly doesn't make you feel good and it's not where you want to be when you're learning. But if that's what you're handed you suck it up and make the most of the advice you're given.
Monday, 10/30 was my first run with Team Promotion (TPM), and only my second day on the Summint Main track. I had heard a lot of good things about TPM over the months so I was very excited to run with them. Their reputation was for having a structure very similar to something like NASA than with REDUC and STT, two other groups I have ridden with who, honestly, just seem to run open track sessions. Although I outpaced the Intermediate class with STT at Jefferson circuit I deicded to run the beginner group with TPM so I didn't get in over my head with a new club and a track that I knew I wasn't proficient at.
To cut to the chase, the beginner group was a good call. I felt like I was weaving through a parking lot during my first two sessions and that irritated me. It seemed like the track was overcrowded with riders who didn't know left from right. I found an instructor for the third session of the day to get evaluated to move up a level where I could hopefully turn the pace up a little to actually learn something. We were let to pit out at the leading edge of that session and found wide open track - my instructions were to "just show me you can ride." I got my tires warm and went about 8/10'ths. I felt good and I was happy with the way things had gone until the session ended. My instructor had over ideas, though.
Instructor 1 Wrote:You're definitely the fastest one out here [in this group], but you're really inconsistent and your form needs work. The three traffic free laps we got in you never took the same line twice and your form looks more like you're "willing" the bike with your upper body than commanding it with your lower.
In short: you're not afraid to pull the trigger on going quick, but you're doing it on the ability of your motorcycle and letting your riding suffer.
Burn.
The rest of the day I spent concentrating on making repeatable laps. I didn't care if I was running 1:40's (I didn't bring a laptimer for anybody that's curious), I knew it would be a simple matter to turn the speed up later; my only goal was to know that I could put in as many laps as I wanted and be in the same places every time. I mapped out turn in points based on physical landmarks like I've been taught here at MM, and did the same for brake markers, apexes, shift points, anything I could find to use as a reference. Things came together, albeit slowly, but they did. After just 2 sessions I could walk myself through a virtual lap with at least one major marker at some point in each turn. It wasn't where I hoped to be, teaching myself to not use the cones was rough, but it was progress.
Running out to the rumble strips of turn 10, throttle pinned, is certainly an experience. Keeping it WFO until the end of the front straight requires attachments the size of watermelons... really. There's nothing quite like passing the control tower, fast approaching 150mph, knowing that you've got to burn off three digits before throwing the bike on it's side praying for grip. It's fucking scary. Not the speed, but the wonder of what's going to happen if you screw up your braking. I braked early. Every. Single. Lap. But at least I was consistent about it.
I had a chat with another instructor (Instructor 2) towards the end of the day who happened to be on an F4 as well. I told him what the first instructor told me and he responded, telling me that I looked very comfortable on the bike and, from what he saw while we were trading places during the day, that I was very consistent. I was happy. I wasn't where I wanted to be, but knowing that there was visible progress was great.
I ran the second to last session of the day as a fun run after my chat with the second instrcutor and packed up. I felt too tired to make any good use of the very lsat session of the day and.. well.. we all know what happened last time I felt like that.
I'll probably ride primarily with TPM next year. They really do put on a class act. There were always available coaches with tons of know how (one even hunted me down in the pits just to make sure that I had gotten the on track instruction I needed, and then hung around BS'ing with me for a while), and they were happy to help. I never got the impression that they were just there for free track time. There was an accessories tent (TPM also offers trackside parts delivery from their parts store), TRACK BIKE RENTALS (*cough, CHRIS, cough*), a photog and a video shadowing service, and just a generally very friendly group of folks with nothing to prove.... all in all I was very impressed. Hopefully we'll have another MM tent or two out there next year.
I'll put some small photos up later.
When it comes to Ryan Jenkins, the story ends with me putting him in the wall.
2009 Speed Triple | 2006 DR-Z400SM | 1999 CBR600F4 | 1998 Jeep Cherokee
-Ginger
2009 Speed Triple | 2006 DR-Z400SM | 1999 CBR600F4 | 1998 Jeep Cherokee
-Ginger
