drew231506
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My First (second, third, fourth) Track Day
Well I wanted to post about my first track day but I waited too long and now there has been four! :clapping: I’m not going to write in depth about them, because lets be honest, no body cares. So here is the abridged version for your reading pleasure.
1st Track Day:
Clueless, anxious, terrified, excited, terrified. After day one I wasn’t sure if it was fun or not. I had spent all day going as fast as I could while trying not to die.
2nd + track days: A blast! I knew where to park, I knew about “tech”, I knew the rider meeting and I knew there were a lot of shittier riders than myself. By the end of the day I was getting both knees down and cornering faster each time through. Even while thinking there is no possible way the bike can make it but it would, over and over. Pretty neat if ya ask me.
Tracks ridden: Summit Point Main, VIR North, Summit Point Shenandoah- Shenandoah was my favorite, though the concrete walls scared me a bit.
Kieth Code’s California Superbike School Level 1:
I had been looking forward to this day for a long time. This was my birthday gift from my wife. I used the schools bike for the day. Now, it seems when talking about schools or training classes everyone has nothing but good things to say. In fact it’s almost annoying, I feel like I could put together a school in an empty lot, go in a few circles, mention counter steering, and everyone would love it. So it’s tough to tell which school you’d like best because all the reviews are always great.
Here’s my take on CSS. First off, Keith Code was truly amazing. I couldn’t believe he taught and spoke so well in the classroom after doing a million of these schools. He was impressive to say the least. My coach came off as kind of uninterested…more like how I thought Keith Code would act. He was how you would expect someone to be who has taught hundreds of groups of riders, lots of scripted answers, seen it all, pretends to listen, pretends to be interested. There is very little one on one instruction and/or feedback. At first I was pretty excited because there were only three of us for one coach. Or so I thought, but they have other sessions in which the coach has other students participating in. So here’s how it works, you sit in the classroom with Keith, then out to practice a drill. The coach (if he has time) will tail you for a bit. Then after your session you run back to the cones and your coach asks a few scripted questions. How’d you do? What corner did you do well on? What corner did you struggle with? But you had to answer quickly and you couldn’t ask many questions because the coach has to get to each of you and meanwhile his other group is out on the track and he has to get out there asap to see them. My coach was even training another coach so if you had a question you felt like you were butting in while he was talking to the other coach…or he would simply ignore you. The other guys in my group were pretty happy with the coaching. They were new to everything so if the coach mentioned “counter steering” or “lean angle” they’d smile like they just learned the holy grail of riding.
Is it a good school? Yes, absolutely, just a few minor annoyances which one would expect or should have expected with a school this large. The classroom work was excellent and informative, the instructors have a wealth of knowledge and present it well. Keith was amazing, his wife and son were also very helpful. The school gives you a chance to practice drills on the track, which can be tough to do elsewhere, even on a track day, here everyone is practicing. Was it worth it? Yea, for $450 (your own bike) but maybe not for the $650 (using their bike). I’d definitely bring your own bike…yes the FJR would be fine. Unless you're new to a sportbike, then this would be a great opportunity to try one. The skills ranged from beginners (prolly 70%) to expert racers. I’ll probably attend level 2 and so on...but I’m also going to try some other schools.
(remember these opinions were based on my experience, yours may differ)
A couple track day pics...
20 degree banking...
Well I wanted to post about my first track day but I waited too long and now there has been four! :clapping: I’m not going to write in depth about them, because lets be honest, no body cares. So here is the abridged version for your reading pleasure.
1st Track Day:
Clueless, anxious, terrified, excited, terrified. After day one I wasn’t sure if it was fun or not. I had spent all day going as fast as I could while trying not to die.
2nd + track days: A blast! I knew where to park, I knew about “tech”, I knew the rider meeting and I knew there were a lot of shittier riders than myself. By the end of the day I was getting both knees down and cornering faster each time through. Even while thinking there is no possible way the bike can make it but it would, over and over. Pretty neat if ya ask me.
Tracks ridden: Summit Point Main, VIR North, Summit Point Shenandoah- Shenandoah was my favorite, though the concrete walls scared me a bit.
Kieth Code’s California Superbike School Level 1:
I had been looking forward to this day for a long time. This was my birthday gift from my wife. I used the schools bike for the day. Now, it seems when talking about schools or training classes everyone has nothing but good things to say. In fact it’s almost annoying, I feel like I could put together a school in an empty lot, go in a few circles, mention counter steering, and everyone would love it. So it’s tough to tell which school you’d like best because all the reviews are always great.
Here’s my take on CSS. First off, Keith Code was truly amazing. I couldn’t believe he taught and spoke so well in the classroom after doing a million of these schools. He was impressive to say the least. My coach came off as kind of uninterested…more like how I thought Keith Code would act. He was how you would expect someone to be who has taught hundreds of groups of riders, lots of scripted answers, seen it all, pretends to listen, pretends to be interested. There is very little one on one instruction and/or feedback. At first I was pretty excited because there were only three of us for one coach. Or so I thought, but they have other sessions in which the coach has other students participating in. So here’s how it works, you sit in the classroom with Keith, then out to practice a drill. The coach (if he has time) will tail you for a bit. Then after your session you run back to the cones and your coach asks a few scripted questions. How’d you do? What corner did you do well on? What corner did you struggle with? But you had to answer quickly and you couldn’t ask many questions because the coach has to get to each of you and meanwhile his other group is out on the track and he has to get out there asap to see them. My coach was even training another coach so if you had a question you felt like you were butting in while he was talking to the other coach…or he would simply ignore you. The other guys in my group were pretty happy with the coaching. They were new to everything so if the coach mentioned “counter steering” or “lean angle” they’d smile like they just learned the holy grail of riding.
Is it a good school? Yes, absolutely, just a few minor annoyances which one would expect or should have expected with a school this large. The classroom work was excellent and informative, the instructors have a wealth of knowledge and present it well. Keith was amazing, his wife and son were also very helpful. The school gives you a chance to practice drills on the track, which can be tough to do elsewhere, even on a track day, here everyone is practicing. Was it worth it? Yea, for $450 (your own bike) but maybe not for the $650 (using their bike). I’d definitely bring your own bike…yes the FJR would be fine. Unless you're new to a sportbike, then this would be a great opportunity to try one. The skills ranged from beginners (prolly 70%) to expert racers. I’ll probably attend level 2 and so on...but I’m also going to try some other schools.
(remember these opinions were based on my experience, yours may differ)
A couple track day pics...
20 degree banking...
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