rider training

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!

June 27-28 Event Report

July 5, 2016 By Carol Carpenter

What an incredible two days at The Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, WA with Jason Pridmore, Caroline Olsen, Benny Solis, Redspade (Anna Rigby), her hubby Steve and David Kolb (marketing/social media/transportation-jack of all trades). We couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to come instruct and ride, than this crew. The weather was stellar, the people were in wonderful spirits and the pits were filled with riders grinning from ear to ear. Jason being the consummate professional and perfectionist squeezed in a lesson plan so filled to the hilt that it will require the remainder of the year to work on the intricacies of those techniques to feel confident enough to execute them consistently. The general consensus being that those who took the special session learned more in one day than they ever knew was possible.

In an environment of overcrowded track days and after instructing in many so overly filled every session that it was more a parade lap than the chance to work on practicing your techniques and working on your riding, we proved there is a better solution. The danger associated with overcrowded track days comes down to the sheer numbers of individuals on the track and the various skill levels. The two combined lead to crashes that could be avoided if we had less people on track and more room to maneuver. If we can provide an environment with far less riders where people can learn, go faster, is significantly safer and you can get knowledge from a renown world class coach who you can ask anything wouldn’t you want to? It’s a question I’ve asked myself through the years and after witnessing this during our event days, know that this dream is now a reality. Less traffic on track means more opportunity to work on your riding, making that plan and being able to implement it to practice and improve the timing and confidence of that technique.

JP and his crew are amazing people, not just referring to their riding abilities, but as individuals. Knowledgeable, kind, helpful, gracious, lovely and immensely talented people who truly want to better this sport and raise rider education awareness. JP having retired from racing, although still quite involved in training riders such as Caroline Olsen and Benny Solis (who are on the rise in MotoAmerica) as well as commentating with beIN sports for MotoAmerica, is still at the top of his game. JP and his crew rode with our clients, towed and instructed them and by the end of the day I saw remarked improvement in each rider. Sitting in the classroom and listening to JP teach and answer questions made me want to hop on a bike and go out and ride with all of them but alas I could not and still run the show. JP’s teaching style is one I’m especially receptive to, purely because when a question was asked, it was answered with facts to support the answer. No one left that room without a plan to adhere to on their session out on track, yet with that mission there was a levity and ease knowing that while we are working on these drills, we can’t forget why were are doing this…our love of riding. While this sport is inherently dangerous and things can happen, with the proper training you can only improve…your riding, knowledge and confidence.

From the outpour of emails, texts and calls since the event it is clear to me that people want more of what we offered with JP and our event days. When I started instructing, it was different, there was a sense of family and community in the organizations, but over the years that has changed. My goal is to kill two birds with one stone, provide an environment where staff feels appreciated as well as a part of a family and the clients have the best experience possible while in our care. I do this out of passion, for the love of the sport and keeping riders safe. This is not a lucrative business (very seldom is one done from passion), I could very easily just do track days and jam them full of people, but I love this sport and teaching riders is important to me. A great deal of planning goes into keeping costs down to pass them on to the clients, this is in hopes we make lifetime riders from everyone we touch. Whether you ride a cruiser or a sport bike, we just want to you have the skills necessary to enjoy this sport and share it with everyone around you. If you missed our event with JP we will be bringing him back again next year, so stay tuned for the announcement later this year (once I can pin him down with a schedule).

Our second day ended with a birthday celebration for Troy, the last two years have been celebrated at the track and how poignant since motorcycles brought us together three years ago. Clint and Di prepared a feast for JP, Caroline, Benny, Anna, Steve, David, Troy and I where we stuffed ourselves then got everyone on horses to show them what horsepower used to mean! The friendships we developed from this event, the memories and laughter we shared are experiences that we will remember for a lifetime. More than being about business is the sense of community and family which we will strive to bring back into our industry. Passion fuels my desire to make this successful, giving people opportunities that are hard to come by and options to achieve their goals, creating an environment to develop and grow, supporting our industry by providing continuing education to riders and advocating for rider safety.

Come out and ride with us, we have another date on September 10th and signups are limited. JP will be in New Jersey, but Troy Cook will be holding classroom sessions which will be listed the day of the event. The schedule will be that of a typical track day, 20 minute sessions every hour. Check the event listing for more detailed information.

Special thanks to Oliver Jervis (for breaking in my new bike and driving me around the track in his snazzy car), Spero Benias, Wendy Leber, Chrissy Wiley, Jenny Besaw, Brian Pinkstaff, Moaka Clay, Alan Schwen, Steve Cook, Troy Cook, Pat O’Connor, Adan Mendoza, Matt Staples, Chris Larabee, Tyler Oxos, Matt Darling, Marie Kile, Renee Johnson, Cory Osburn and James Ketchum who with their dedication and support on these days made it possible for me to focus on making this event fantastic for all who attended. Thank you Clint and Di for the lovely BBQ and fun at the farm for the gang after our two day event, they had more fun than they ever could’ve imagined. Also, huge thank you to Fred and Andy at the Ridge Motorsports Park for allowing us to take it over and put on an amazing two days. Not to be excluded all of our sponsors who so generously donated products to help make this event truly special: Ducati Richmond, Pacific Powersports, Triumph of Seattle, South Sound Honda, South Bound Honda, I-90 Motorsports, Sena, AGV, Dainese, Dunlop Tires, Cycle Gear, KFG Racing, Mike Sullivan, Cycle Wipes and Racer Gloves.

Getting to know Jason Pridmore

May 31, 2016 By Carol Carpenter

In our continuing “get to know” series, I wanted to do a blog on JP. I have never met JP face to face, but have spent many hours on the phone speaking to this amazing and kind man, which strikes me as surprising and refreshing since I’m around type-A men who are usually ego driven (excluding Troy of course). JP is not like that, he’s genuine, self-deprecating, humorous and kind. Not at all what I expected from such an accomplished individual as himself. He doesn’t want to talk about motorcycles, he wants to talk about life, how you are, how he can help, …he is a very giving individual. I wanted to ask him some serious questions and some fun ones too and there was a question I had asked him at the end of our Q & A that he answered with such humor, which I can’t print, that reminds you of what you already know…he’s awesome!

CC: For many new to riding, they might not know of you, can you give us some background and a summary of your accomplishments? (JP is very humble, he doesn’t like to list his accomplishments or talk about them)

JP: I’ve been riding since I was 2yrs old. I was lucky enough to be born into a racing world, my father Reg is a 3 time AMA Superbike Champion. Been very fortunate to win a number of AMA races along with countless podiums and 2 AMA National Championships. Also, I have won 2 FIM World Endurance Championships including winning at the Le Mans 24hr in 2014. Up until last year I was the only American to ever stand on an FIM World Supersport podium and was also very fortunate to race in World Superbike. I’ve raced all over the world, I have been a very lucky guy.

CC: What do you feel is your greatest moment or accomplishment while you were racing and now post racing?

JP: Wow, honestly there have been so many great memories. Winning my first AMA National at Brainerd, Minnesota was amazing. Most don’t know that I won the Imola 200 in Italy. Winning Championships are always pretty defining and I was fortunate to scoop up some of those all over the world.

Post racing is easy. Helping people realize their riding goals, working with military and mentoring kids. All those make me keep going everyday.

CC: What do you consider as your defining moment and why?

JP: Not sure I can think of one. I do know this, nothing beats pulling into the winners circle and seeing your team, family and friends overwhelmed with your success. I had some moments racing that I only wish I could relive one more time.

CC: Do you have any pre-riding routines and/or superstitions? For example, Aaron Yates used to wear the same socks until he crashed, do you have a list of things you do on and off your bike?

JP: This is a funny one. I never went to sleep the nights of race weekends on my back with my arms folded across my chest. Always creeped me out, I am sure you can figure out why.

CC: What is your favorite post victory riding memory?

JP: Having my mom (Who doesn’t love this guy?) at the races anytime I won was so rad. Taking Richard Stanboli for a victory lap after winning the Formula Extreme Championship, that guy was amazing to work with.

CC: Who do you admire, consider a hero or a mentor?

JP: My dad for sure, couldn’t have ever got where I did without him. Ken Greene is someone not many know but I look up to and admire to this day, incredible rider and mentor to me.

CC: What is something about you that people don’t know?

JP: As much as I travel, I am a homebody. I would do almost anything to just chill in my house and enjoy my time at home. Also, I was the first guy to win an AMA National on the GSXR 1000 which was at Sears Point in 2001 in the bikes very first race. Good trivia question for people. I qualified for the US Amateur Golf Championship and 2 US Mid Amateur Golf Championships. Guess that’s 3 things, haha.

CC: Other than your current sponsor, what is your favorite bike of all time you’ve ever ridden? (JP is currently sponsored by Kawasaki)

JP: Ridden so many bikes but the bike I won my Championship with Richard Stanboli on in 2002 was incredible. Can’t say it was the funnest at times because it was straight violent but it made me a better rider. 2002 GSXR 1000. Also, my very last race was the Le Mans 24hr for factory BMW, bike was amazing and made me wish I was 20yrs younger so I could keep racing.

CC: You run Star Motorcycle School, why do you feel rider education is so important?

JP: Bikes these days are incredible. I see too many people that have plateaued with their riding and have stopped their advancement. Being able to break down the fundamentals again will make people think about what they are doing again and make them better and safer riders. I know what almost every rider out there wants, to get faster!!! Let’s take the time to learn every technical aspect of riding so we aren’t riding off into a dark room. Too much seat of the pants riding out there, I wanna fix that.

CC: You’re a golf addict, can you tell us what got you started? Who you admire most as a golfer?

JP: I miss racing a lot. But there comes a time when you have to realize you have to move on as an athlete. I never accomplished everything I wanted to as a racer but it wasn’t because of lack of effort. Golf now is something that allows me to keep my competitive juices going. It’s such a hard sport and I get so much satisfaction playing well.

I recently played 54 holes of golf with Rickie Fowler and was a fan before we teed it up. Now I have huge admiration for him. Besides being top 5 in the world, the guy is just pure class.

CC: Do you feel golfing helps your riding? Why?

JP: No doubt golf has helped my riding and riding has helped my golf. Both sports you can really only control what you do, can’t control anyone else. Golf has taught me patience even though I don’t exude that trait very well sometimes.

My thanks to Jason taking his time out of his busy schedule to participate in this Q & A. He travels nonstop coaching and announcing, most of the time I had conversations with him while he was driving to yet another airport. He’s a trooper though and the consummate professional, he actually felt guilty that he was late in getting his answers back to me, yep that is the type of guy he is.

Jason Pridmore will be at the Ridge MotorSports Park June 27-28 for a special two day event. There are 3 groups that rotate throughout the day. Group 1 and 2 are track only groups, Group 3 is the special session with Jason Pridmore in the Classroom and on track. Group 1 and 2 are open to all makes and models of bikes and both men and women. Group 3 on the 27^th is dedicated to women and the 28^th to men. We have confirmed Caroline Olsen will be joining us as well as Corey Alexander. This is an event you won’t want to miss, there has never been this much talent on the track at one time in the PNW. Save yourself time by signing up online and reserving your spot for this special event. Look forward to seeing you out there for this amazing event and opportunity to meet and learn from some of the most talented riders this track has ever seen in one place at one time!

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.

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!!!