As your skills progress, it is only natural to test your limits and start to add some more speed to the equation (I personally think we all get a little cocky the more confident we become). But with this added speed we have to be more alert and not think, “Hey I had this at the lower speed, I got this,” because what you will have is more than your share of, “Oh *&#@ moments.” At higher speeds it requires more focus and attention and you really need to be thinking well ahead of the turn, if you are focusing only on the turn in front of you, you will run out of road really quick (and I mean literally), in the CA Superbike School this was referred to as “wide view”. It seems simple enough, but at high speeds your wide view requires a great deal of concentration and interpretation on what is important and what you must disregard. If you don’t, you can start to feel uncomfortable and this can cause you to target fixate, for example you see a pothole and instead of missing it you end up riding right into it. Your mind has a moment of panic and before you know it what you were trying to avoid becomes the object you end up becoming very intimate with (in a bad way). On a road you have your lane, the outside edge and the inner edge, because of the size of your machine, you have plenty of room to play with. Now add a twisty road with a lot of blind corners, cars coming at you from the opposite side who sometimes are not so great at staying in their lane, this can really scare the crud out of you.

Learning how to read reference points (entry point, apex, exit points) in a turn will help keep those moments of panic at bay and hopefully with enough practice will give you the confidence to ride those twisties at speeds that make others nod in respect. It is not only women that have trouble with corners though, I know quite a few men who have misjudged a turn or two and ended up on the side of the road, heart in their throat. It is important to look well ahead of the turn and not only be aware of where the road is leading, but have enough attention scanning for any issues that may arise on the road like potholes, loose gravel, bumps, etc. This is even more of an issue when riding in a group setting where you are responsible for not taking out the person in front of you because you were in lala land, if you don’t feel completely confident in your riding ability, wait a bit before joining a group or join one specifically for novice riders. Riding in a group however has it’s advantages, which include safety in numbers, camaraderie, support, learning from better riders and the list goes on. However, there are disadvantages as well, such as varied levels of experience which can lead to accidents and people riding above their abilities to “fit” in. Never ride someone else’s ride, ride to your comfort level, if it causes your heart to palpitate too much take it back a notch.

Your best friend is knowledge and seat time (sorry no short cuts here ladies), invest and learn as much as you can. Take classes to better your riding, if there is something in particular that you want to improve on or seems to stump you, find a class that addresses that skill or ask a friend who is a rider for their input (however, ask a reliable source). We want women to learn from reputable companies we’ve established relations with and know that they are the leading authorities in their industry. I hope you will take the opportunity to sign up for workshops, courses or track days we put on to get more women out there feeling really good about their rides and loving it. Check out our events section for upcoming dates and be sure to sign up. I hope to see you all out there at the upcoming track day in June, I know you guys are in for a treat. Mark DeGross with 2 Fast puts on a great performance school and you will leave feeling exhausted and excited with your newfound abilities which you will be able to apply immediately on the streets. Ride on Vixens, the weather is looking up if this last weekend was any indicator!