motorcycle training

Track Days

August 25, 2016 By Carol Carpenter

I went to support my friend Cory Osburn on his last day to receive his endorsement card for successfully completing and passing his 3 day course with WMST. He had three great instructors, Chris, John and Ed, who welcomed me to stay and watch, cheer and proudly watch him pass this course. Upon completion of the testing, Chris stated something to the graduated class that seems like common sense, but many people don’t do it. Not only get seat time, but get coached properly, seek out more classes and instruction, build upon what you just learned. I can’t stress enough the importance of doing that, you just learned something, now go out and practice, practice a lot, if you don’t it will be forgotten. Practice with a plan and set a goal for yourself every time, it can be small like going up and down your street to get comfortable with your bike, then head out of your neighborhood, then tackle the freeway. Some people read to gain knowledge others do better by doing and attending classes, it’s up to you, but make sure you check in time to time with someone who can actually help you assess if you are improving or creating bad habits. Bad habits are hard to break and when they become second nature your tendency is to revert to them since the new concepts are harder to implement as they require more focus and concentration.

Riding is an amazing sport and for those of us who love it, we understand it is a never-ending process. You will never be able to fully appreciate what your bike is actually capable of, it is an incredible piece of machinery that you will get to know and love like your best friend (only it won’t drive you nuts). Some days you’ll feel like one with it and other days it’ll seem like a complete stranger to you, that’s completely normal but remember that the bike is the constant, it’s you that is inconsistent so if you are having an off day just be aware and adjust your riding accordingly. I still feel a great deal of anticipation and adrenaline every time I climb on to one of my bikes (each one rides so differently) yet somehow once I’m there, everything quiets down and fades away. Riding for me feeds my soul, quiets my mind, centers me and reminds me why I do what I do. Find a group or a friend(s) and get out there. Skills are tools that need to remain sharp so the more you practice technique the more comfortable you’ll start to feel in no time. Don’t let those tools and skills get dull and never be complacent about your riding. Things happen and they happen quick.

Track days are great for practicing, it is a controlled environment, controlled conditions and depending on which track organization you choose to signup with, can either be a great experience or one you may never attend again. For those new to track days look for providers who limit riders per session it will be a more relaxed environment for you to practice and learn instead of a stressful experience as you get buzzed or end up in a pile up in the corners. If you are more experienced you make those decisions of signing up knowing there is a chance of a lot of traffic. Make informed decisions based on your skill level. I’ve instructed at several organizations and I’ve seen tears, frustration and outright anger because of traffic on the track, just do your homework and make sure you get the most out of your day. With less riders there is more time to work on your technique and you spend less time figuring out how to negotiate your way out of traffic. Makes sense right? Nothing is worse than being super excited to ride and then encounter a misfortune in your first or even second session, it ruins your entire day. It can be due to individuals who can’t hold a line, someone clearly in the wrong level, a mechanical issue, lack of focus, too many people on track, etc. As an instructor through the years for track organizations, I’ve seen some pretty interesting things and knew that there had to be a better, safer way to put a track day on. If you haven’t had a chance to attend, sign up, we provide the perfect environment to learn, have fun, not feel self conscious or intimidated and our biggest joy is seeing you happy at the end of the day and smiling ear to ear. Our last day is on September 10 at The Ridge Motorsports Park and it is limited to 30 riders in each session. There are control riders and instructors there at your disposal and the classroom is free to everyone who wants to attend. Don’t forget to bring anything you might want to sell, barter or trade with other riders…you never know what someone might have that you absolutely can’t do without! (OK That’s the fashionista in me) Signup at www.motovixens.com/ccevents

Looking forward to seeing you out there!

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!!!

It’s A Fine Line

September 3, 2014 By Carol Carpenter

On a recent track day our staff was told there would be a film crew filming footage for videos and we were on strict orders not to crash! Of course that’s not on anyone’s agenda ever, but as we all know too well, s#**t happens. Com’on we are at a track after all and we knew that their presence could trigger people to do some interesting stuff. The film crew, Creative Media Alliance (headed by Jai Suh) was excited to film track footage and ask questions pertaining to why advanced or continuous education for riders is essential to our sport. We were told the footage would be used by Washington state in-house and for www.ItsA FineLine.tv to further get the word out about continuing education for motorcycle riders.

This endeavor is remarkably close to all of us who work in the track companies missions…to educate motorcycle riders and enhance their skills to make them more aware and safer riders. I remember the time when all I wanted was some where I could go to learn to not only ride (really ride), but ride competently and confidently. That was why I started MotoVixens, because information was scattered and I Google/Yahoo searched like mad for motorcycle classes which only turned up MSF classes. While those classes are great and serve a purpose, I was looking for something more and that’s when I came across track schools. We are fortunate enough to have a few in our area, 2 Fast and OPRT, with a mission to make lifelong riders of everyone who wants to come and learn.

Our community is small, but as riders our family and outreach is very big. It doesn’t matter what you ride, it’s only that you ride and know the dangers we must face everyday on the streets. It’s a battle and we know as riders our best defense is knowledge and with knowledge comes confidence. So if you haven’t tried a track school, what’s keeping you? Fear of the track, the mentality of people there, people that attend track days are racers, etc…? Try it, I’d be surprised if you weren’t a little intimidated, but the truth is by the end of the day you will have a confidence you never experienced before and a big ass grin on your face you won’t be able to wipe off for weeks. It just makes sense to learn in an environment closer to the speeds we would be riding on the freeway, getting a true sense of what our motorcycles can do (they can do more than we actually challenge them with) and gaining some technical and actual skills that will translate to riding on the streets. Check out www.ItsAFineLine.tv who’s mission is Target Zero…Zero Motorcycle deaths by 2030. It is and will continue to be my mission to provide you resources to becoming the most educated and confident riders you can be.

Vixens Ride!