I need help getting the most out of my limited track time this year.

[President Sterling]

its the porn. without the porn we'd go crazy.

[diamond]

Originally Posted by Murf99

3a - Bikes will give you a LOT of feedback on the brakes. Even if the front wheel locks, you probably won't crash. Bikes don't just up and tuck on the brakes - there is a lot of feedback the bike and tires give you before you'd crash.

Todd, you've given a lot of really useful info.. Alot of things I've never thought of...

but, I was in trouble with the brakes before I really even thought about them (I was still thinking "don't hit that guy, he's wearing jeans" while I was looking down over the front tire.)

[generator]

Raven hit it on the head, two days in a row is paramount to building on the skills you've practiced in day one, withoug waiting for a month til your next day. I completely agree.

[bittersweetryan]

Originally Posted by Malik Ross

different people have different goals on the track and what ever is a valid goal to them is a valid goal to me. personally, i never cared about what i looked on the track past a fleeting moment of vanity. (i'm fat...regardless of how i look on a bike i'm still fat.)

you can dig yourself into a hole trying to go fast but not focusing on the things that aren't going to make you faster. everything on the track should have a purpose. use the brakes because you need to. turn the bike becuase you have to. turn the throttle because you have to. change gears because you have to. if you don't need to do it and its not going to produce results (faster lap times) then there is no point in doing it. i'm all for making things as easy as possible and keeping it simple. turn gas, squeeze brake, turn bike repeat.

body application is going to pay bigger dividends at this point in your learning curve than position. its going to help you stay smooth and feel more in control. at your stage (based on lap times) learning to relax and not feeding unneccessary inputs into the bike are worth more than hanging off. as you get faster you may feel the need to hang off more. you may not. relax under acceleration. keep your arms bent and grip the tank with your knees under braking.

as far as the fear of speed is concerned its usually not the speed that overwhelms its the acceleration. use a gear higher. you cut down on the amount of work (shifting) you'll have to do, you'll become smoother because there well be less chassis pitch and you can get over your fear of wringing the neck off the throttle.

That makes a lot of sence. I know I've spent a lot of time worrying about things that won't help me go faster. I'm hoping that this year a lot of the things that I had to think about doing will start to come automatically and I can put more of my focus on things that I've neglected before like finding reference points and making sure I'm sending smooth inputs to the bike.

Originally Posted by Murf99

4 - I'd encourage you to define specifically what your goals for the season are, and what you're willing to do to accomplish them.
-Get the I bump?
-Get as fast as I can in as short of time as I can?
-Learn as much as I can?
-I want to lay a solid foundation for being proper fast?
-Become as smooth and consistent as I can?
HOW do you want to make the most of your time? What EXPLICITLY are your goals?

-I want to lay a solid foundation for being proper fast?
-Become as smooth and consistent as I can?

Those are my goals right there. When I'm coacing my sons basketball team the thing I stress the most is fundamentals. I'm a firm believer that you have to have a solid foundation of fundamental skills before you can really start to move on to that next level, whatever it may be.

I'm very reluctant to make a bump my goal. If all I'm looking for is the bump I'll end up being more focused on that than the things that matter the most. If I stick to my goals I'm sure a bump will come when I'm deserving.

*Edit, I really should read what I write before I go ahead and post something.*

[CopperTL]

Originally Posted by bittersweetryan

-I want to lay a solid foundation for being proper fast?
-Become as smooth and consistent as I can?

Those are my goals right there. When I'm coacing my sons basketball team the thing I stress the most is fundamentals. I'm a firm believer that you have to have a solid foundation of fundamental skills before you can really start to move on to that next level, whatever it may be.

I'm very reluctant to make a bump my goal. If I do that I'll be more focused on that than the things that matter the most. If I do the two things above I'm sure a bump will come when I'm deserving.

I cannot really add anything as far as advice being that I think you have more track experiance than I do. But as far as I look at things, I think you have the correct attitude as far as goals. Learning those fundamentals are my goals as well. I am in no rush to get a bump.

I think it was Matt G that made an interesting point in another thread, where he mentioned he was working so hard on certian things that he almost got sick of it (or something along those lines). And still did not get the bump. He then just went out there and had some fun and it all started flowing for him and he really enjoyed riding the track again and shortly after he got the bump. Like the last day I did at RA on the 4th of July, I had an absolute riot on the track, which was my first time on a bike up there. I think, actually I know, that was the best time I had dicing it up with Bill and Ducatti Dave. Even though my bike started falling apart. We had just a ton of fun riding together and pushing each other.

I guess my piece of advice would be to keep moving towards those goals but not to the point that you dwell on every little thing you do. Remember your there to learn and to have fun, so relax and enjoy the ride!

[generator]

I agree with Dave on this-- I got oo wrapped up in carrying my momentum fro Atlanta that I lost focus on having fun. I started gettin all sorts of pissed off when Iwasn't hitting my apex, carrying too slow a corner speed, braking too early, etc. dave said, 'dude, just have fun.' so I tried that and everything started coming together for me at the end of the day. Don't think too much or you'll forget the reason we do this-- It's fun, it's a hobby. ENJOY IT!

[Murf99]

Originally Posted by diamond

I was in trouble with the brakes before I really even thought about them

I was actually thinking about that when I was writing. Yours was the result of a panic reaction, rather than tucking the front while trying to modulate your brakes. There's a lot of feedback that the bike gives you if you modulate slowly up to the point of lockup/endo. That's how I differentiate.

Originally Posted by generator

Don't think too much or you'll forget the reason we do this-- It's fun, it's a hobby. ENJOY IT!

AMEN - I'm prone to do this... get a case of the 'Seriousness'. If you're not having fun - you need to change something in your aproach!!

Also - I don't think that "Getting a bump" is a bad goal - in fact I think it's a pretty good one IF you keep in perspective what a bump represents. You must attain that level of overall skill before the bump can be had - and therefore it's a GREAT metric.

Don't try and 'audition' for the bump. Don't try to persue the bump. Don't put on an act or ride over your head. Keep in mind that a 'bump' is one very visible milestone on your overall road to improving overall performance. Keep that in mind, and Bumps are a great goal!

[pointer]

I'm sure a lot of similiar questions/thoughts out there to what Ryan is addressing..I know I have. The advice is well thought out, concise,........understandable. Should almost get a sticky .

[bittersweetryan]

Originally Posted by pointer

I'm sure a lot of similiar questions/thoughts out there to what Ryan is addressing..I know I have. The advice is well thought out, concise,........understandable. Should almost get a sticky .

If anything the advise in this thread should be appended to the "journey to the nesba i and a groups" thread and stickied.

[Tojo]

I have only one thing to add. Save your money and get yourself Video'd. You eluded to the way you looked when reviewing still photography. Imagine how much information you could digest with a Miller Lite on your couch reviewing you Braking markers, Body position, Apexes, Corner speed and corner exit, etc. etc. etc.

John, Greg and I did almost 50 rider videos last month at Road America. To a rider, they found places to improve their riding. A video done early enough in the day will be put on our big screen in the booth. You can digest it right there and begin taking corrective action with your next session. YOU WILL IMPROVE!

We are the Video vendor for STT@ Blackhawk, Autobahn, Road America & Putnam. We have also done work for PTT however, We have no PTT dates remaining for this year. To view the schedule go to:

http://www.shadowvideoproductions.com/

You can also save money by pre-registering on the website.

With the blessing that we have in our fair state called Winter, there is no way that I know to make the off-season feel shorter than to fire up the DVD player and review how much fun you had the previous season.