Knowledge Base

Technology and Profiling

May 3, 2015 By Carol Carpenter

With new technology being introduced into automobiles, the increased use of smartphones and just the sheer inattentiveness of drivers or being distracted, it is more crucial than ever to be more aware when riding. The AAA conducted a study of motor-vehicle safety systems and found that motorcycles were detected 26% more slowly than a typical car. The fact that dealers use this as a positive selling point can lull drivers into a false sense of security that they will be able to detect any vehicle and choose not to take a quick glance to make sure. While technology is truly a wonderful thing and it continues to advance at lightning speed, for riders this can be more cause for concern than give us confidence that we will indeed be detected. Just because you see their caution light come on in their mirrors as you enter their blind spots doesn’t necessarily mean they see you, there may actually be a car they are picking up entering that spot behind you, so pass them with caution and always ride as if you are invisible. Remember there is the blind spot and then the death spot as I previously mentioned in the last blog, that would make you directly in that death spot.

I’ve adapted profiling cars as I ride, it is exactly what it sounds like…watching them ahead and behind me to see if their driving is erratic, distracted, have their heads down, are rocking out, having an argument, etc. Those are just a few things to look out for when you are riding to help you make the best decisions and basically steer clear of them. I’ve noticed the best drivers have stickers of manufacturers that are motorcycle driven, they often are very understanding and will move over to let you pass and at times move back to keep others from riding up your backside. In contrast, those driving high performance sport cars are very happy to try to engage you in a race, don’t bite! They are often going to draw undue attention of law enforcement and who needs to be caught up with that? In the Pacific Northwest, I also find pickup trucks to be awesome, they are usually sport enthusiasts of the two wheeled kind and are very conscious of motorcyclists. As you ride, start profiling a bit and soon you’ll see that there definitely people in certain cars that are more attentive drivers, others that are completely oblivious and some that will surprise you and I don’t know about you, but I hate surprises, especially when they come in the form of a 3-4 lane change last minute (oh shit) I need to make the exit kind of variety. Look into the cars ahead of you when you are behind them, have they looked up to see you there (could you see their eyes glance up in the rear view mirror)? Good, then they are acknowledging they see you, if not, get away from them as soon as possible. Also, if the people are looking to change lanes they typically will turn their heads to see if the lane is clear, give them a bit of space to do so and look at tires, they don’t lie, if they are pointed in your direction, slow it down a bit just to make sure they see you.

As motorcyclists, the burden of our safety is placed on ourselves so put yourself in the best position to be seen, ride with the flow of traffic (don’t be so far behind that cars speed up to get around you) and ride with complete awareness. Ride with a plan and then have a backup just in case, our machines are very quick to respond to our inputs so use that to your advantage when you are surrounded by automobiles…try to ride to those gaps in traffic where you can take a a breather until you hit the next cluster of cars. Riding is such an integral part of our lives and I know we would all like to continue to do it for a lifetime so let’s make it a priority to be better educated and get the skills necessary to make that happen. The riding season is upon us so let get out there and Vixens Ride!

Blind spots and Death spots

April 21, 2015 By Carol Carpenter

The previous blog was about how our brain tricks us into believing a false truth, filling in the blanks because the other option seems unlikely, that is how motorcyclists end up entangled with vehicles all too often. Knowing this helps us arm ourselves when we are riding and also to start trouble shooting ways to avoid these unnecessary accidents. A fight between a car and a motorcycle is an unfair fight and the fact that so many drivers are distracted make it even more dangerous for us when we ride on the street. I’ve heard many a motorcyclist say that they ride to just get away, just relax…while I ride to get away from people, stress, kids, whatever the day has managed to drag and and dump in my lap, I never ride to relax. That implies you are riding without thought which I interpret to not being aware of your surroundings, mindless. Riding that way will get your ticket punched pretty quickly.

As many of you know I advocate advanced training, whether it be on the track or on the street, the more you fill your toolbox with skills the more confident you can be to handle any situation as it arises. However, nothing beats predicting and preparing so you never have to react in a panic or high stress situation. I just finished reading Sport Riding Techniques by Nick Ienatsch, if you haven’t read it, do. Every book and author has morsels of information that you can connect with and at times change the way you look at things and your ride…reading one book or one author is like getting a whole box of chocolates with every one the same, it’s great until someone gives you an assorted box, then all of a sudden it changes everything! Nick discusses reading traffic patterns because if you commute enough you will see them and can use these patterns to your advantage. He also discusses “driver identification“, which I consider profiling. It merely means being aware of who is behind the wheel of a given car, what sort of car it is, how it’s being driven. Identifying the types that say bully you, ignore you, don’t see you, want to work with you, types that don’t give you space. Who can you trust, tailgate, intimidate or not, is clueless, etc.? Asking these questions can help you determine if you want to be around them or get as far away from them as you can. However, if it ever comes to a question of trust? Trust no one and ride like you are invisible.

As a street rider, I check my mirrors often and so should you. I’d say I check every 5 seconds or so, even down the freeway, I like to know who is coming up behind me (check for the occasional trooper) and who is around me since it is vital to my survival. I ride relaxed, but not to relax and be mindless, there are too many variables to think about, but these skills will become second nature and pretty soon you’ll see how much more enjoyable your rides can be. This rule is also a helpful reminder for you to glance to make sure your turn signals are canceled, they are responsible for more accidents than you can imagine. Always be clear with your intentions, confusion can lead to an unfavorable turnout. Not using them at all to solve the problem? Don’t! Signals help draw attention to your bike, which you want! For example, if you want to change lanes, but don’t want to use your signal, the car in front or the next lane over wants to do just the same, who wins? Signals help notify others of your intended actions. Just be more aware of canceling them after lane changes and turns, that is where checking your mirrors and a quick glance down to check your turn signals is perfect.

Within every blind spot is a “Death Spot”, a place where you are in harm’s way if that vehicle changes lanes or decides to share it with you. Try to avoid these spots no matter what. As soon as your front tire is parallel with a vehicle’s rear bumper you are entering the death spot and will remain in it until you are past that vehicle. A Porsche’s death spot will be far less than a Ford F150, but either one can take you out. As riders we are always forced into blind spots in heavy traffic, do whatever you can to get noticed, whether its slowing to fall into the car’s mirrors or accelerating to the vehicle in front of you to be visible to the car in the next lane, always trying to get clear of the death spot. Remember motorcycles have this incredible ability of speed to get us out of sketchy situations, use this when you need it, especially when your instincts are telling you to get the hell out of there. “Riding well in traffic is a constant adjustment of speed an lane position, requiring the same total concentration needed while lapping a racetrack.” There are so many lessons you can take from the racetrack to the street. Total focus and concentration, a well maintained machine, practice and get better, ride sober (no racer would ever ride impaired) and the principle of no brake lights (road racing bikes do not have lights, so do some cars, they learn to judge speed and deceleration without relying on lights as should you.

The season is quickly approaching and nicer weather will be more consistent, brush up on your skills and should you require some private lessons, I’m here to help. Fill out my questionnaire form and email it to me, we can setup a time to meet and figure out a plan to make you a confident and empowered rider in no time.

Vixens Ride!

Optical Invariant and Why Motorcyclists should be more aware

April 12, 2015 By Carol Carpenter

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As motorcyclists we ride with the thought process that we are invisible and that may not be far from the truth. There are a great deal of collisions due to a car suddenly turning left into the path of a motorcycle when the motorcyclist was clearly in the right to pass or a car turning left into the path of the motorcycle at an intersection in broad daylight when there are no obstructions. This begs the question why this happens and why is the percentage so high?

Research by a Texas Tech University psychologist brings to light that the large percentage of this problem isn’t due to poor driving or carelessness, but could be due to a basic human judgement error caused by the way the brain judges distance and time. Pat DeLucia, coordinator of the Human Facts Psychology Program at Texas Tech University says these types of brain miscalculations plays a crucial role in motorcycle accidents involving automobiles. DeLucia states that in her studies small, near objects can appear farther away than larger, farther objects. Her studies showed how the brain interprets objects, their size and motion and how it relates to an object’s time to impact. Her finding concluded that an objects size affects distance perception and may be the reason that car drivers miscalculate a motorcyclists distance and speed. The brain uses two visual cues to determine the time of impact. In the first, a moving object is reflected on the eye’s retina, it expands as it approaches the eye, providing the brain accurate information about when the object will hit this is called an optical invariant. However, the brain also uses “rules of thumb” such as various “artist” depth cues as a shortcut. According to DeLucia, the brain interprets objects with a larger retinal image as closer and since motorcycles are smaller than cars, the brain may use this shortcut to judge them as farther away than it actually is.

So let’s do some math here: it takes the average rider 1.2 – 1.5 seconds to react from seeing danger to realize it is a threat, make a decision what to do and react. Using 1.3 sec reaction time at 30mph that’s 56.94 feet to react, at 60 mph it requires 114.4 feet, and at 100mph 189.8 feet to react, pretty sobering isn’t it? Considering the odds are stacked against us already, it is our responsibility to arm ourselves with skills and knowledge to make us better, safer and more aware riders. Be proactive, knowledge and skills will help you take control of situations and allow you to anticipate where situations can arise. Riders need to focus and not be complacent our lives are literally in our own hands. Riding is as safe or as dangerous as you allow it to be.

Take care, ride safe and Vixens Ride!

Rickdiculous

April 4, 2015 By Carol Carpenter

Rickdiculous-1 Not sure what to expect at Rickdiculous, I signed up due to the rave reviews from those who have attended in the past. Reasons were vague, but the resounding praises of their techniques were what intrigued me to join them and see what the buzz was all about. For those in the track community, there has been a great deal of talk about their school and Rickdiculous-2 while the price may seem steep, once you attend you will see that you get more than you paid for. Rickdiculous was started with a father-son team who loved the sport, however did not like learning with 30-50 people on the track. Adam Bronfman, otherwise known as “Papa Rick” and his son, Josh Bronfman, aka “Ricky” decided there was a better way and made it happen Rickdiculous-3 with Rickdiculous including elite coaches to help others reach their riding goals. Their style of teaching is unconventional, not classroom based and truly designed to make you a better rider no matter your level. Quite often you receive a private coach for the day which was in my case true, there was only one coach there that received two students and Rickdiculous-coaches-1 their riding styles and levels were compatible so it worked well. My plan was to take 3 days and really immerse myself in this process, but due to a family death I was forced to cut my trip to 2 days. However, on my long drive home and judging from how sore everything is, I think two days was plenty of riding and enough information for me chew on and absorb. This is not an easy school, they will work you hard, break down your riding, discuss things you really need to work on and you ride pretty much nonstop. If you are looking to just attend a school and not get your head around things, don’t waste your money and time, but if you are committed to being better and safer all the while naturally getting faster, this school is for you.

Rickdiculous-coaches-2 Since I was there for two days, I spent my first day with my coach, George Grass, speaking about what I wanted to work on…braking. I can go fast, who can’t? That part is easy, it’s the braking to make the corner that scares the living daylights out of me, so that’s what we did…we broke down my braking and discussed how to make that better, safer and more effective. Change is hard, we become lazy, complacent or just accustomed to what has worked in the past and the drills we did to help make those changes as minute as they were, made all the difference later on the track. George applied only a few applications at a time, but each building on the last until I think I didn’t scare the crap out of him anymore (corner 5 at Thunderhill being one of them to start) and we could quickly move on to the next challenge to tackle. By the end of the day we had tackled a great deal of my braking issue and I was getting comfortable with the track. Sweaty, tired and sore I went back for a good nights rest to recover from a long hard day.

Rickdiculous-coaches-3 Day two of my training was like boot camp, Ken Hill was my coach for the day (which was an honor to be taught by one of the best) and while he is kind and patient, he expects you to work hard and that’s exactly what we did. We worked even more in depth on my braking, mostly to help with my acceleration and how one works with the other to make it possible to do it at a higher rate of speed, safely. This was shown by taking a car around the track and with him sitting by my side telling me to keep accelerating until he said brake was extremely hard to do, but having faith in him I listened and when we broke, I got to see what the right application of braking could do to getting you the direction you wanted to go. HUH! The remainder of the day was about acceleration and braking and how the two help each other, a completely eye opening experience. All of a sudden, things started clicking and we were clipping at a higher rate and Ken was popping wheelies (he does this when he’s happy). With all my GoPro and Sena footage in tow I have two days of memories forever recorded of my experience at Rickdiculous and I hope that next year or even again later this year I can add to those memories as I continue to increase my skills to help others increase theirs.

Stay tuned video will be posted soon and Vixens Ride!

Body Positioning

October 7, 2014 By Carol Carpenter

There is too images much emphasis on looking the part than the real reason we teach body positioning. I have seen it all too often, the frequent track enthusiast who tries to nail this technique, but refuses to take a class where we can work one on one with you to help you feel what the proper technique should be. The truth is what you think you are doing is no where close to what you are imagining in your mind, it requires having someone follow you, meet you in the pits and put you on one of our bikes (which are on stands) and physically adjust your feet, torso, arms and head to really understand. If you can film yourself by placing a camera on the tail section of your bike this can help you visually understand what it is you need to do to get yourself in the position you’d actually like to be in. What you feel and what you are actually doing are two very different things and this will help you work on it productively to improve.

Now for the reason we actually stress body positioning…Safety. Less lean angle, quicker you can get the bike up, quicker you can add throttle safely. I know it looks cool, but it has another purpose, less lean angle means less hard parts scraping (foot pegs that are stationary are not things you really want to scrape since they may catch and launch you). The more you get off your bike, the more contact you have with the pavement, the more traction you have…you get the picture. We want to get people off their bikes to allow more traction because more traction is safety. Have you noticed people who get wicked lean angle? How long are they in that position? Do you notice that people who have better lines and less lean time are actually quicker? Hmmmm…starting to make sense? Once you start that lean angle you can only maintain that speed with tiny and I mean tiny changes, it is only when you start to stand the bike up that you can actually start to add throttle safely.

Then there’s the knee dragger…don’t be in such a hurry. Get the technique, lines and confidence up because then you can really add speed into the equation and guess what? Dragging that knee will come naturally. We are aiming for smooth here, since smooth is what your bike likes and if you aren’t smooth don’t even think about throwing that knee out there to try to get proof. All you may end up with is the need for new leathers or repairing your bike all for the sake of getting some street cred. I am not trying to discourage anyone, I just want to stress the importance of getting everything down before taking the next step. It is a bit like learning to walk, we had to crawl first then walk, it was in steps…so it is with riding and in riding it is about smoothness, technique, body positioning and speed. They all need to work in perfect harmony. Riding is like a beautifully technical dance and there is no feeling in the world when everything is perfect, that is the feeling we try to achieve every lap we take. It doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does there is no feeling like it. The season is over, but we have a new year to set new goals for ourselves, let’s aim on being safer and faster. Be safe and as always…Vixens Ride!

Lines on the track

September 9, 2014 By Carol Carpenter

Track-Map-with-Numbers-and-Names-Sized3-e1321882861754 During the classroom portion of track schools, one of the lessons is about lines around the track. We talk to countless people about them, track day riders who most of the time have never taken a class and I see a look that usually means they either have no idea or they have a very loose understanding of what lines really are and why we use them. Firstly, lines around the track are a guide and they are usually set up with cones on various places around the track. If you come to a track day you have several visual cones to help you work your way around. There are cones for braking, entry, apex, exit and at times specific cones set for passing for different levels. It is very much like a puzzle and getting everything timed just so to work for the perfect turn or turns which is what we try to aim for and when it works, it feels fantastic! Secondly, the reason we use lines is it is the fastest and safest way around the track, that’s why racers use them and visualize how to set up each corner linking one to the other all the way around.

The typical setup to a corner is braking cones (where you would start braking and it is to your comfort level, you can brake at the furthest cone if you are unsure all the way to the last cone if you want to really test the size of your balls). Then comes the entry cone where you want to start or initiate your turn, somewhere in the middle of this turn you should see the apex cone which will give you a perfect line to the exit cone. The trick is to link these all together in not a sweeping motion, but more like a straight deliberate line setting you up for the next set of cones. Now not every corner will have braking cones, mostly you will see these down straight aways where you can gain a tremendous amount of speed so these are let’s just call them your mom/bf/gf/significant other screaming at you to brake before you hit something (when you get to the last one you are in deep shit). In the areas where there are no braking cones these are followed by entry, apex and exit cones to guide you through. This is where setting yourself up for the next set of cones is important, if you miss an exit your entry, apex and exit will be sloppy or even missed in the next turn. I always say if you set yourself up well in one turn you will be pretty good for the next two…however missing one will cause you to keep correcting for the next two turns.

Some people may have no fear and brake late, but suck at corners, others may suck at braking, but are phenomenal in corners. Being great in corners and knowing your lines will make you a faster rider as your speed will eventually increase as well as your taste and mastering of braking later. Liter bikes are monsters on the straight for sure, but it requires skill to harness and control their power through corners. Smaller bikes lose to that power on the straights, but their cornering is phenomenal and easier to harness and can whip around them with a huge amount of agility. Now imagine having near perfect lines, just using that alone you are already faster without ever having to increase speed. Add speed and you’ll be pretty darn wicked! Lines are also the safest way around the track for that reason, it literally aims you to where you need to go, like connect the dots. If you follow them and learn them you’ll not only be the one of the fastest around the track, but you will do so with very little “OH SHIT” moments in your head. If you aren’t prepared things tend to go wrong right? SO the track and the lines are your plan that you try to perfect so you can have a great day. It’s not a contest, you aren’t getting a prize and push too much and you’ll end up with an ugly bike and some physical souvenirs. Challenge yourself a little every time, improve and soon you’ll be zipping around the track like a pro! Please please please take classes, these are an investment in your skills and in turn your life. We should never stop learning and what you get in one day in the classroom is so overwhelming that you will honestly only apply one or two principles so come back and build on what actually sunk in.

Track season is almost over in the PNW, so if you want to hone some skills before we lose to the weather, sign up! And as always gals and guys alike…Vixens Ride!

Life Flight

August 5, 2014 By Carol Carpenter

On a recent track day there were several crashes and a few that required Emergency transport, this led to a discussion from the EMT about the importance of having Life Flight. The individual I spoke with stressed for a small fee (in comparison to the bill the air transport would charge in an emergency) you could have the peace of mind of knowing that the service would be there if needed and this doesn’t just apply at the track. In the event you were a part of an accident in your car, out hiking, biking, etc. should you ever require air transport, it is covered when y life-flight-in-flight ou become a member.

http://www.lifeflight.org
For $60 a year per family you can be covered in the event you or anyone in your immediate family needs this service. For those of you who ride the track regularly, consider purchasing this little bit of insurance since you just never know what can happen and being prepared can give you and your loved ones peace of mind. We do not have any affiliation with this organization and we do not benefit from people signing up with them, we just make every effort to inform you of services we find beneficial to riders like us. Look forward to seeing you out there enjoying the sunshine and hopefully soon at one of the track days, in the meantime, rubber side down!

Vixens Ride!

Rider Beware, Part II

July 30, 2014 By Carol Carpenter

So let’s talk about being seen, lots of riders wear hi-viz gear, bright helmets or jackets, have modulating lights, turn brights on, etc. I prefer to forgo most of those things and just be ultra aware. Let me elaborate, I do run with my brights on as my headlights only turn one on in regular mode, but both when I have brights, whether this truly works or not is debatable, but I’m all about a little extra caution. In terms of gear, it gets really hot in the summer and black is just like being in a sauna, so I opt for other colors if I can find them, my favorite being red or white which is a lot cooler as well. Us gals do not have loads of options when it comes to street gear, most of the apparel made for us is usually black so it makes it hard to stay cool out on the hot pavement, bike and sunshine.

I’ve spoken about lane positioning before and that is crucial, lots of drivers complain that we sit in blind spots all too often, so make sure that if you are in one, you move and make yourself more visible. Going down the street you have the full width of the lane to make yourself seen which allows you freedom to move from the left side to the middle to the right side of the lane. Whether I am behind particularly big cars or not, I like to ride either side to allow myself greater visibility around the vehicle to anticipate what the driver will do. If you are going down a road with a lot of driveways to the right, stay on the right to be seen by those pulling out of those driveways. If you see someone in the turn lane ahead stay left so they can see you behind the vehicle. If there are two lanes going the same direction, depending on traffic, opt to the left lane since drivers coming out of intersections might have a hard time seeing you or predicting your speed as you enter into their path of travel. I honestly rarely stay in the middle unless it is all clear and open, but that typically isn’t the case. Always check your 6 (behind you in your mirrors, you need to be aware of vehicles behind you that might not be paying attention) when slowing down and stay to the right or left in case you need to move due to driver error behind you. If you are smack in the middle, you have nowhere to go except into the car in front of you. Try not to be behind large cars, you can’t see well around them and they hide you to all oncoming cars making turns, again drivers can’t see you. Also, don’t forget to signal, no one has ESP! Drivers can see you looking, but signal to give them a clear message of what you are doing and that can solve a lot of confusion. In addition, check your blind spot, physically turn and look just like a driver would (quick glance), don’t assume you are clear or you might meet someone you didn’t want to that day. This is an extra precaution, but is as important as all the safety measures you take to be seen.

Above all, be aware and fully focused of your surroundings, this is why I constantly preach track riding, at high speeds you learn to process things a lot quicker and when you go to the street it all seems like slow motion. You can really anticipate things quicker and process at a much higher level allowing you to relax more when trying to make your way around our crazy busy roadways. You start to actually see things in much more detail, see more things you need to be cautious of and feel more at ease to just ride. Not to mention the skills to be gained and translated to the street, the confidence you will gain and the knowledge that you will continue to build on to make you a better, safer rider. Hope to see you gals out there having fun and enjoying the sun! If you are interested in track days, look at the events page for upcoming track days and sign up!

Vixens Ride!

Rider beware, part 1

July 14, 2014 By Carol Carpenter

It’s summertime and the weather is beautiful, the kids are out of school, people are vacationing and we are out riding whenever we can. This sounds absolutely wonderful, but it is also a recipe for disaster. Everyone that knows me, knows that I advocate confident riding and with that is rider training…seeing there are too few places to learn how to become better riders at speeds higher than a parking lot, I hope many of you are taking the opportunity to sign up for track days and track day schools. While rider training is absolutely crucial no matter what speed, once you feel comfortable riding around at parking lot speeds and on the street a while, please go to the track to learn at higher speeds so that you are able to process information quicker allowing you more time to react.

You may ask why the track? It isn’t about racing, it isn’t about getting your rocks off at high speeds, it is about knowing your bike and it’s capabilities, knowing your limits and seeing how little you were actually processing on the street. On the track we teach seeing a wide view…not just what’s in front of you, but everything in front and around you. What you should process as important and requires some of your attention and then to discard what is not. Why is this important? Let me give you an example, I was riding behind a car, who clearly did not know where he was going. He signaled left and moved two lanes over to get in the left hand turn lane, I sped up to get on the freeway, he then decided he picked the wrong lane and swept across two lanes and cut me off…I had to break hard, but I saw him looking around so I had anticipated that he might try moving back. He had no idea I was there, he didn’t even stop to look, even when I was behind him honking, he didn’t realize he could have caused a severe accident. Truth is without the time on the track to learn and be confident in my skills, I could’ve ended up having a very bad day.

That is only one of several events that happened on that particular day, but it made me more aware that we need to not just make drivers more aware of us, but to also arm riders with enough knowledge (if not experienced) to make it through unscathed. You have to anticipate people and their actions and even then it’s really a crap shoot. Someday I hope we can add a chapter in driver training on motorcyclists and to be aware of them on the road, but until that day happens, it is up to us to be proactive. Sure you can wear bright colored clothing and helmets, have modulating lights, but in the end that will not keep people from not seeing you. With the smartphone, people in cars are clearly distracted and it is up to us to help ourselves. Take your rider’s education in your own hands, I was always aware of motorcyclists because my brother and many of my friend were riders, I always gave them space because I had seen many of them get into an accident with drivers and it made me extremely angry that people didn’t realize that a poor decision they made in their car had serious repercussions for the rider. We are exposed, quite literally with very little protection in comparison to their cages.

Remember, we have the benefit of speed on our side, use it when you need to to get out of clusters as I like to call them. Go around them (safely, of course) and find yourself a nice open area to ride more comfortably without worrying about someone making a stupid move (not seeing you). A cop who pulls you over will understand if you explain to them you just didn’t feel safe riding in the middle of a cluster and just wanted a little breathing space, this shouldn’t be a free pass however to be a tool and ride like a madman. He will know the difference, trust me. I’ve had many a cop drive up next to me after I broke clear of a cluster and just give me the hand wave of slow it down and I nod my head, but they really do get it. Also, be aware that while you are close to a car to pass, they don’t know what you are doing, so give yourself enough of a cushion should they brake check you. Again, another reason why I’d like to educate drivers in general. Many don’t understand that you are trying to calculate speed to pass safely and may do the worst thing possible for you and hit their brakes, but most of the time, many will change lanes. Do not tailgate them for a long time or they get edgy and things could get heated.

There are so many other things that I want to discuss, but that is enough for now to at least get you thinking. I will do a part two here about how to make yourself seen better, at least giving you a fighting chance of being seen without any special equipment, just awareness. It really is up to you especially if you want to get the most out of your experiences out there on the road and to free up more of your time on enjoying the ride. And don’t forget to give the courtesy wave, two wheels down, hang loose, devil horns…whatever hand signal you choose, customize it if you wish to fellow riders. We are all out there having fun together and heck it’s just common courtesy! It’s gorgeous out there, what isn’t to love? I don’t know about you, but I am always smiling ear to ear everytime I’m out on my bike and it is my honor to share the road with my fellow riders.

Vixens Ride!

New focus on street riders

July 2, 2014 By Carol Carpenter

June was an incredibly busy month for track days and if you add the number of days I was at the track along with auditions, bookings and shoots it was exhausting. I am not sure I’ve ever relayed what I do on the side besides MotoVixens (and just appointed AXO dealer), I am a mom of two sons, one going to college and one just turned 16 (and driving!)…I am also an actor/model/voiceover talent/whatever they need me for and pays ;). What ends up being a week where I believe I can gain headway and write a blog, ends up being booked up with auditions to sometimes as far as Portland. This brings me to my first love motorcycle riding…it is the most rewarding thing I do. Honestly if it paid well I’d give everything up just to do it, but since it doesn’t, I have to resort to spreading myself around…

The one thing that I’ve noticed as an instructor is that track day companies are now very focused on street riders which excites me tremendously, one for the fact that they are reaching out to people who need to gain more knowledge and skills for surviving the craziness out there and two because seeing the person start the day nervous to ending it with a great big shit eatin grin makes me feel honored to be a part of that journey. The truth is there is a lot to be gained by riding on the track; knowledge, confidence, no cops, emergency vehicle (in case), adrenaline rush in a safe place and hopefully keeping that off the streets where there can be dire consequences and above all what you accomplished while there for the day. I try to attend every session of every school Mark puts on and while I know the curriculum, each class is unique in that with each group there are things that get stressed more due to the questions raised. Plus the truth is, I’ve sat through a couple recently where I got a refresher on things that I’ve forgotten to pay attention to, so I still continue to learn. It is an ongoing thing and honestly your brain can’t wrap it’s head around ever concept discussed in one shot, it requires repetition, practice and nailing one concept down is an accomplishment. I encourage students to go away with the knowledge they’ve obtained work on one or two things then hit a few track days and take another school course and build upon what they have as the foundation.

The focus is clear – teaching riders to make better decisions, knowing their machines capabilities in a way they never thought possible, trust themselves and the machine together, understand how to make it work for you and giving them the knowledge and confidence to survive even the most hairball situations out on the road. Panic is not our friend, it causes people to make kneejerk reactions which upset the bike and in turn the bike ejects you for pissing it off…we hope that in the knowledge you gain, you KNOW you can handle it and will stay relaxed when such an event happens and it does everytime you ride. So let’s save our fellow riders and tell them how beneficial track riding is and let’s all be around for a very long time!

Vixens Ride!