Riding Tips

September 10, 2016 CC Track Day

September 20, 2016 By Carol Carpenter

I’ve heard from many people that they think CC Track Events hosted by MotoVixens is only for women, let’s clarify, it’s for EVERYONE! Gals and guys. I think the confusion comes with the MotoVixens part, but I’m here to tell you it’s for anyone who wants to attend a boutique track event/day. I say this in part because we aren’t like any other track events/days, we are unique, the environment we provide is relaxed and friendly, we are focused on rider training, mainly street riders who are either new to riding or are looking to improve their skills, riders per session are limited to 30 riders, the main focus is for you to learn, ask questions, get help from our talented instructors. We are not the cookie cutter track day where each session is jammed well over capacity and track real estate is hard to find, we limit riders to allow more open track for you to practice. We may be more expensive than the average track day but we have to charge more if we cap the riders per session. From someone who has instructed for other companies, I know too well how dangerous and ridiculous it is to try to teach no less learn when the track is overfilled with riders. So next year for those who say this is a chick day, um no it’s for guys who dig chicks (on motorcycles of course).

Marie our awesome registration gal and Oliver J our talented rider who is overly obsessed with his perfect hair

Now with that taken care of let’s get to business, the weather for the day was stellar (which a week before had me worried) and we had Ducati Richmond and Pacific Motosports close down their shop on Saturday so they could bring employees and customers our to our day (because they are just that awesome). We had free classroom sessions through most of the day on the top of the hour for those who wanted to come, listen and ask questions. Later in the afternoon, Troy and I finally got some time to go out and ride around and we had fun just putting along and checking out who was riding and seeing if they were having fun. This track day was our way of giving back to riders as a community, we priced this day as low as we could to break even. My goal isn’t about making a ton of money running track days, it’s knowing that I helped someone, how happy they are at their new found confidence and being able to share my passion with others. I remember before I started CC Track Events, someone told me that once I make my passion into a business I’ll spend less time doing what I actually love. I didn’t believe it then, but I now see how your attention gets diverted to the business side and a lot less to the riding. That being said, I was unable to ride during our two day event in June, both my bikes were borrowed for the day so I was determined to at least get out 2 – 3 sessions this time. All I know is that when I ride, everything melts into the background whatever was on my mind a minute ago is no longer there. It centers me, reminds me why I love this sport, how much fun and challenging it is and how good it feels when everything clicks (even if its just fleeting). Mostly, the environment of our days is like hanging out with our friends and family everyone looking out for everyone else. The honest truth is every person on my staff is a friend, I appreciate and respect each and every one of them and I am so grateful to them for helping me to bring these days to you. If you haven’t joined us, please, do we are looking to expand next year depending on the availability of days we can reserve with the Ridge.

When you ride so hard you blow off the end of your exhaust

Next year we will do a two day event with JP again and if you didn’t get an opportunity, make time. What it would cost you to trailer down to Chuckwalla (or flight and rentals), accommodations and school fee would far exceed the price of our track day by a long shot, plus you can ride your own bike. We are literally a fraction of that cost (tiny) and we are doing it because we want to bring this special opportunity to you so you can learn from the best. I was fortunate enough to have the ability to travel to track schools, but I know not everyone can and that is why it was important for me to bring this to our local tracks. So as soon as we get the dates ironed out will post them on the website and Facebook, tell all your friends who ride to come out, it’s not just for gals! I am looking forward to seeing you again next season. Thank you to all my volunteers, instructors, control riders, tech and track control without you our days wouldn’t be the success they are.

Family, friends and fun!

Now get out and ride every chance you get, the weather is changing and the chances are getting slimmer. Hope to see some of you out there!

Track Days

July 4, 2015 By Carol Carpenter

oprt_logo_full_new I was recently at the track more days of the week than not, not complaining at all, most people would kill to be in my position that is for sure. I’m fortunate to be in a position that allows me a bit more freedom to schedule myself out and unless there is a project that I absolutely must do, I can make myself available to be at the track to fulfill my passion…helping others learn to ride. I was recently at the Father’s Day track day with OPRT on Sunday and we had a full house, as usual, level 200 was full and people signed up for levels that were either above of below their skill set. As the day progressed and people were shifted to their appropriate levels, things started to mellow out and everyone got in a groove. I was teaching a student in level 200 and due to some technical difficulties I had to pull off, check my bike, then I jumped back on to find my student. I came across a rider that looked a bit confused about the lines so I tried to block his inside so as not to have him spooked by passing riders, he tended to swoop a bit so I figured if someone tried to pass they would notice that, back off a bit and then choose a safer place to pass. I must remind riders all the time, it is the passing riders responsibility to execute a safe pass, if you can not, just don’t do it. It leads to bad consequences…as we saw on this day. [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3T7XbD8u-Y[/youtube] As we both entered turn 10 the rider behind us decided he wanted to pass so dropped back a bit and went to the right in hopes of getting a straight shot into 11, however as I previously mentioned the rider I was protecting would swoop, which is exactly what he did causing the rider who wanted to pass to panic and brake so hard he did an endo. This led to a scattering of bikes and one rider behind to hit the rider that went down, all this was caught on a video that was posted on youtube and I later shared that on my timeline. Never overtake someone until you watch them through a few turns, just understanding what they feel comfortable doing helps you make a judgement call as to when it is safe to pass. All in all, the rider looked ok and he rode off the track 2up with a Marshal.

The next day was a track day for South Sound Honda and I rode around the first few sessions to get warmed up then noticed some gals that could use some help. I came across a gal named Julie and helped tow her around a bit to get her to follow my lines and she did awesome. Next session I found a young gal named Sienna, who was pitted with her father and boyfriend and asked if they wouldn’t mind if I took her around a bit? She was on a CBR250 and she was new to the race track, but had been on dirt tracks most of her life. We did a few sessions together getting her used to riding a race track and trying to teach her to the lines to help her acclimate getting her track legs. I then went back to Julie and we hopped on and we were planning on doing a few lead and follow laps, first I let her lead to see if she was paying attention, then I got in front and led. During this session I was hit as a rider tried to come on the inside of turn 12 and as I was leaning over felt my bike start to slide, then as I was accelerating out, I felt a big clunk. I was unaware I had been hit and the rider that hit me had high sided, until I heard the scraping of metal behind me, I shook my head and motioned back to Julie to follow me as we would go for another lap. When we came around we saw the rider was ok, but there was fluid on the track so they motioned us to one side and we got up a hand to exit the track. This was Julie’s first time on the track and she was stunned to have witnessed the crash, but saw that despite being hit you can still stay upright and continue on. A great lesson that could never have been described, but only witnessed. Upon entering my pit, I told my boyfriend, who is hard of hearing, I was hit. He said, “I know someone high sided and crashed.” At which time I repeated a little louder, “No, I was hit honey.” “Oh” was his reply as I got off the bike, “Are you OK?” Yup all good and then we looked at the bike where we saw that he had hit me, his bike flipped and his handlebar came down on my passenger cowl and took a chunk of paint and scraped the tail section as is came down. That explained that clunk I felt. The guy that crashed seemed fine and the only thing he was upset about was telling his wife.

Track days are fun, they are for learning and pushing your limits a bit to see what your bike can do. Bear in mind, you will never be able to outride your bike’s capabilities, so don’t try, everything in baby steps. The track is a safe controlled environment consisting of the same corners lap after lap for you to try to perfect your entry and exit speed, your lines, gear selection, braking, reference points, etc. If your goal is to drag a knee or get faster, you are that guy that will either end up crashing or causing a crash. Getting faster is about practice, not just practice, but repeated perfect practice. You are never going to be perfect, but you can get close once in a while and that is what will bring you back, that pursuit of perfection. Everything is a byproduct of the last, in getting more skilled, smoother, faster, you will naturally drag a knee or a knee and elbow, but that shouldn’t be your goal as it can lead to dire consequences. All the skills you acquire at the track directly translate to the street, but at a different speed and with far more obstacles to be worried about. Vision, which is learned at the track, helps a great deal with this as well as reference points, the speed you must acquire information is much faster at the track and once you’ve gotten acclimated it is amazing how slow things happen on the street. It gives you the ability to troubleshoot and create escape routes just in case. You will find that your mind works quicker and your ability to predict obstacles or accidents is heightened after you start making track days part of your life. Track days can be an incredible learning experience, a place to hone your skills, a place to release stress, ride at ridiculous speeds without getting a ticket, being part of a community and push your limits in a safe environment. While my last two track days saw some crazy things, the benefits far outweigh the risks. You will learn more that you’ve ever imagined and you’ll end the day hot, sweaty and feeling completely drained, but it will be with a gigantic smile on your face.

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!

Ready to Ride?

February 18, 2015 By Carol Carpenter

With the weather warming up and sunny days peeping in more frequently, I’ve seen an increase in riders on the road so I thought I would just mention a few things to remember. We take our bikes for granted and sure hopping on the bike at the first peep of sun seems like a great idea, but have you had a chance to tune it up and get it road ready and safe for your spur of the moment ride? If your bike has been sitting for a while, take a little time checking the fluids (water, oil, brake fluid), do a quick walk around the bike, pump your brakes to check for air in lines or accumulation of moisture, make sure the electronics are all working properly, fire up the bike and let it run (if it is dead might need a new battery or if it sounds rough the fuel may have condensation in it and you may need to pump out the fuel and add fresh fuel), check condition of tires (cracks or even the need for new ones) and always check tire pressures. KFG will do a free multipoint inspection and repairs down in Auburn and if you are up north call and/or drop in to 2 Wheel DynoWorks for any repairs, check our special offers page for participating dealers to get your bike ready to ride. In addition, quick look at your gear and if it needs a bit of dusting off now’s the time or maybe it’s even time to do a little shopping! Oh I just love getting new gear! Just a few minutes of precaution can save you a ton of heartache in the end. Remember we are entrusting our lives to these machines and they will serve you as well as you remember to service them.

The best thing to do of course is to plan ahead, if you know it’s going to be great weather soon and you are planning to get out there, do your maintenance and check a week before your ride that way you can fix the things you need to and venture out confident your ride will be enjoyable. The weather is still brisk and just a reminder that your tires are not going to get warm enough to get premium traction so take it easy, not to mention the moss, leaves, gravel, oil, etc on the roads out there…it’s gonna be slicker. We are also a bit out of practice not riding as often as we’d normally ride when it’s spring/summer, not a good time to go balls to the wall first thing, ease into it and get your bearings. Be safe and let your head, eyes and reflexes get up to speed again. Drivers also need to get used to seeing more motorcycles on the road again so they might not be as aware of you, be extra vigilant and focused when you ride to avoid meeting unexpectedly…we all know they aren’t aware anyway, but let’s try to give them the benefit of the doubt here due to the winter months. Springs-a-coming and track days are around the corner…save those crazy speeds for the track…there are heightened patrols out there and I know none of us want to get a ticket to ruin our day.

Be Safe and Vixens Ride! See you out there on the roads!

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!

StreetMasters

September 23, 2014 By Carol Carpenter

Headed by Nancy Foote and Walt Fulton, StreetMasters is a street riding course located in Lancaster and taught on Horse Thief Mile at Willow Springs. Unlike most track riding schools, it’s main focus is on street riding and the skills you require specifically for that type of riding. Unlike track schools, StreetMasters treats the track like a two lane road, with a line down the middle of the track serving as the divider and teaching you how to take those turns with precision as well as providing you with the knowledge on how to read those corners for your own safety.

Students of the class ride to Lancaster the day before and stay at the Hampton Inn in Lancaster where the morning classes are held and have a group dinner the night before to meet the staff and other students. Sign in begins at 7am and is followed by introductions of their staff and presentations of traction, braking and carving the perfect corner. At 8:45 everyone mounts up and rides to Horse Thief Mile at Willow Springs International Motorsports Park in Rosamond where the group is split up in groups A & B depending on experience (which they gather on your registration). Group A then goes over the drills on the track and mounts up as Group B does drills on the practice pad, alternating through the day. There is a Q & A with presentation and lunch in the hospitality tent from noon till about 12:40 and another discussion at 3 in the hospitality tent. The day is then rounded out with graduation drills on the practice pad and the graduation ride on the track…the ride in reverse to prove you’ve indeed learned the skills without the help and of the cones and memory of riding the course clockwise through the day. The day ends at 4pm where there is a graduation ceremony and group photo.

Due to my quick turn around time, Nancy and Walt had Rocky, their veteran instructor, accelerate the course and we did the afternoon courses at lunch so I could really experience the full nature of their school. I had the pleasure of borrowing Nancy’s bike a Kawasaki ZRX1200 which was a fabulously powerful bike to ride and so much fun to carve those corners with, it reminded me of the days of riding with my Monster. The lines are clearly different when riding for the street as opposed to riding the track and my track training had to be put on the back burner, a reminder when Rocky was beeping at me to “get in my lane”. I laughed and waved as I repositioned myself and resumed the lesson. In track riding schools we use the entire width of the track and “lines” to go faster and safer through the corners, at StreetMasters it is about using the “lane” and lane positioning to view around the corner for a safe exit. The similarities are the use of entry, apex and exit points however they are applied a bit differently for this street course. I highly recommend this course to anyone who wants to improve their street riding skills and carve out that perfect corner. The burden of safety lies with us and until the day that we even out the burden and force drivers to understand motorcyclists and the dangers we face, we can only arm ourselves with knowledge and confidence in our skills.

A huge thanks to Nancy Foote and Walt Fulton (the big wigs of the operation) for inviting me down, Peggy for being the “mom” of the group, Steve and Rocky for being superb instructors and Vince for sweating it out on the practice pad and providing comic relief. I couldn’t imagine a better way to spend the day and a more fun group of individuals to ride with. For those who are interested in attending the course, StreetMasters has extended an offer of 20% off for mentioning MotoVixens while registering. It’s all about the ride and 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!

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!