Take Heart......

[OTB]

I spent some time on the phone the other day with a tweener friend of mine; "tweener", cause he's not a newb anymore, but he's still in the accelerated learning mode but he's put about 10,000 miles on in the last couple years...he's not an expert, not a newb; he's a tweener......

...like me. Anyway, he rides with a group of REALLY fast guys on the street; these guys love to tear up the twisties and they are really good at it. And they make it look so easy. I ride with them on occasion, but I have to work to keep up, so it's not what I would call a relaxing ride. And I don't have the stamina of these young hot shots. And they are all "naturals". They took to it like ducks to water, do regular track days, and generally run circles around everybody else. Anyway, my tweener friend was lamenting that he had to work so hard to get what these guys considered "basic" or "just common sense" techniques; concentration, body position, setting up for turns, ect. He said he enjoyed riding, but then when he rode with these guys, he felt so inadaquate that he felt like selling the bike and giving it up.

I started riding in the seventies in my "late" teens. As a teenager I had poor coordination for team sports: I was the kid nobody wanted on their team. Thick glasses, poor hand/eye coordination for ball sports and an intolerance for having other guys slap me on the ass...................anywho....

Not exactly your prime candidate for high-speed motorsports, right?

I won't say I discovered I was a "natural" for bikes, either. Just the opposite. And to top it off, this was the days before MSF, the Hurt Report, Sportbike Magazine, Twist of the Wrist(I and II) and Nick Einatch was but a tender babe...trust to say that there was a dearth of training and literature on proper riding.

Let's see...klutzy kid, no training, little info and that which there was was mostly wrong; bikes had more engine than frames or brakes. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, eh?

I was lucky in that I hooked up with a group of guys that were experimenting with roadracing on the club level; I got to follow around some folks that could truly rock, on some truly scary machinery (not because it was so fast, but because it was so fast and shimmied and shook and tankslapped and siezed and spit us off..... a lot). We got to figure out how stuff worked on a basic level...because our stuff was so basic. "Adjustable suspension" meant cranking up the preload collar on our shocks (one on each side) or adding 15cc of 10 wt to the forks. The rest was up to the rider. There was only one DOT tire you could use on the track, it was a trigonic section Dunlop K81 and they wore out quickly on our 50 HP wonderbikes......simple times meant things mebbe didn't work so well, but things were also much simpler.

I dropped a few bikes, crashed a few times, read everything I could and experimented through the same set of turns, over and over. I spent hours and sparkplugs in the parking lot of my school, running through problems set up with sand-filled paper cups as cones. I practiced, I rode every chance I got in all types of weather.....

I got to see most of this great country on two wheels, met great people, had (and still have) great times and I'm still a tweener; I'm no expert and I learn something new everytime I go out; I love motorcycling and plan to do it as long as I'm able.

I made up for my lack of innate ability with practice and effort and got out of it the greatest experiences of my life. So if you've dumped your bike and are discouraged, or been scared by a few close calls, or always feel like you are "chasing the bike"; ie. always one step behind, and that you think you'll really like this thing, but mebbe you should forget it and take up golf......

...remember that if I can "get it" , you can, too.

Read a book on riding techniques, take another class, go out and practice in the parking lot, ride instead of driving....come ON!


I'll see ya out there.........


OTB

[tached1000rr]

Amen! I seek to get better each time I venture out which is as often as I can.

[the chi]

I love reading these posts...right click and save! Good material for me and all my "tweener" friends!

[Tmall]

Good write up.

One thing I've noticed about new riders, they spend too much time worrying. If they'd relax and let things come, things would feel natural and not forced. Just my humble opinion of course.

Those guys who took to it like duck to water probably don't put half as much thought into it as your buddy who over analyzes what he's doing and then feels inadequate.

[marko138]

There's my boy. You had that Bimota out yet? When I finish this cup of coffee I'm going out to prep the bike for it's first ride...a whole 4 miles to work.

[tommymac]

Originally Posted by Tmall

Good write up.

One thing I've noticed about new riders, they spend too much time worrying. If they'd relax and let things come, things would feel natural and not forced. Just my humble opinion of course.

Those guys who took to it like duck to water probably don't put half as much thought into it as your buddy who over analyzes what he's doing and then feels inadequate.

Another thing ot add is for the tweeners to ride their own ride and not try to play keep up with the faster guys. I always stress that on our group rides since the guys we ride with have a wide range in terms of skills, from intermediate to advanced track guys to newer guys just starting out and some that are just admittedley slow and are fine with that.

I always want to make sure we all have fun and i dont have to do any work related type stuff out on our rides

Tom

[smileyman]

Good stuff as usual OTB! And I agree.

From my experience, learning means take your ego and toss it. Forget about comparing yourself to "the naturals" or any other rider for that matter and get into your own learning curve.

It sounds existential and probably like something you would hear from Keith Code but you have to get into your own space and love what your doing. What your observing about your riding and your experience. Sure take the tips from the faster guys and apply the time tested techniques but forget about how they are doing in relation to yourself and discover your riding style.

I once heard a magician explain that the secret to discovering magic was to quit trying to figure out "how he did it?" and start by thinking "How could I do it?!"

[z06boy]

Damn nice post/thread.

[tommymac]

Originally Posted by smileyman

Good stuff as usual OTB! And I agree.

From my experience, learning means take your ego and toss it. Forget about comparing yourself to "the naturals" or any other rider for that matter and get into your own learning curve.

It sounds existential and probably like something you would hear from Keith Code but you have to get into your own space and love what your doing. What your observing about your riding and your experience. Sure take the tips from the faster guys and apply the time tested techniques but forget about how they are doing in relation to yourself and discover your riding style.

I once heard a magician explain that the secret to discovering magic was to quit trying to figure out "how he did it?" and start by thinking "How could I do it?!"

That totally works for me weather on the street or the track. When I am trying to keep up with faster guys on the street I get frustrated and make more mistakes. On the track when i just kind alet it go and ride I seem to do better, even though I do need to work on stuff. But i know I am also my own worst enemy out there sometimes.

Tom

[smileyman]

My fast street/highway pace is way different than my fast track pace. Not only in terms of how much of my personal riding limit I am operating at but also the technique and speeds...

At the end of the day though it is my style, my pace, and my learning curve. You have to judge for your self where your making mistakes and how you could have done better. Then you have to find your own personal way to change your technique.

Look at the pro Baseball pitchers...Any of them look like the picture perfect technique taught to little leagues? Or collegiate pitchers? No, they have taken the basics, made them their own, and found out how they can do it...sometimes better.

Compare roadracers Mick Doohan, Max Biaggi, Colin Edwards, Troy Bayiss. They all have their own technique and compete at the highest level. They can all tell you how they manage traction and find lines. Not how you should, but how they should. Your mileage may vary!