Tweet
Day2:
One thing about life is that there would be various ups and downs. What a crash can do is make your confidence hit the lowest ebb in life.
It would make you think twice before getting on a motorcycle again. That’s when men have to go into their caves and do some soul searching. So its always wise to do a root cause analysis of the crash and come up trumps for the reason you went wrong at the corner.
Soul searching , I did and did when i hit the bed. The one and only reason I knew was SPEED.
SPEED without the technique is a recipe for disaster and that’s were the problem lied. So made up my mind to ride slower and get the technique corrected.
Woke up in the morning and the first thing to check was ofcourse the hand. I could lift stuff but there was that slight niggle when applying torque. Decided to ride to 4 kms to the track and check out how I fared. Atul got in as pillion and was able to drive without pain. So I decided to take the risk and do the practicals as well.
People were quite surprised to see me back in full suit ready to ride. My trainer for Day1, Dylan code was surprised too. He was quite happy to see me back on track. Keith did give me a huge “Thumbs up”.
Day-2 was the same as Day-1 in terms of format. Classroom lecture followed by track time followed by a brief from the coach on the pros and cons of your riding and then a small break before going to the classroom for the next session. My coach for Day-2 was Andy Ibbott.
The lessons from the day were
1) Drill: Reference points
Format: 4th gear, no brakes
Identify points on the tracks which you can use for as your turn points, apex and exits. It could be a bump on the track, where the edge begins etal. The idea was to go slow and find a lot of information on the track and identify things which you normally wont be able to find at higher speeds. You would amazed at the info available there when you go slow. Format was same as Day-1, only 4th gear.
2) Drill: Change lanes
Format:3rd and 4th gear, no brakes
The idea behind this was to find out new lines on the track in the corners. First lap was to ride on the far right side. Second lap was to drive on the far left side, third lap on the middle and the next two laps on basically anywhere you would want to. This is when the phenomenon happened
. On the second lap, on the far left, when doing C3, I did a knee down for the first time in my life. Boy, was I happy
. Felt like one of those orgasmic moments in life
. The pain was forgotten and the strategy had paid off. Then it happened again on C4, on C9 and on the dreaded C10 as well. The confidence was back and then I was touching the knee on all left handers for the rest of the laps. Back to the pits, I was a man possessed. I was showing off my scraped knee sliders to all and sundry. I could take those bloody corners follwing any line. I had conquered my demons on the C10 corner.
Andy was pretty impressed too. He remarked that the big wide grin on my face revealed how the session went. He had a tough time following me on C10 with all the sparks flying on his face.
3) Drill: Three step vision
Format: 3rd and 4th gear, light brakes
This was a continuation of the Two Step Vision lesson from Level 1. The first step is to find the turn point, then apex, then the exit reference (which could be your next turn point, furthest point you can see out of the turn, or your vanishing point) and develop a “moving picture” of information. The best place to practise this was on the c5, c6 and c7 fast corners where I had crashed the previous day. Was having big fun on the left handers and a lil circumspect on the right handers. The laps went on effortlessly. That’s when Andy barged in and asked me to follow him to the pits
. The right hander turn technique was not correct and my right shoulder was pointing a lil towards left whereas it should be straight. Went back on the track and promptly ran wide on C3. The reason being loss of focus and focussing on things which I shouldn’t focus on when taking the corner. I was thinking of my body position when taking the corner and had forgot about the line. Promptly ran wide into grass but by this time I had become a pro on running in grass!
The bike was controlled and I was back on the track.
4) Drill: Wide view
Format: Three gears, light brakes
The idea was to see with your peripheral vision.
Keith had asked in the classroom –
“How many of you have crashed in life”?
My hand promptly went up.
How did it feel when you crashed?
When I crashed, I had felt like time and space had come to a stand still and everything was moving slowly.
That’s when you start seeing with the peripheral vision-he quipped
So the idea was to use the same peripheral vision (which slows down time) to use to your advantage. One way of doing it was to have a wider view of the track. When you focus on things afar the bike appears to move slowly. This also helps avoid target fixation. Back to the pits and Andy was a disappointed man. I had failed to spot him following me closely for nearly 4-5 corners. So was duly given a lesson on peripheral vision and on how to do the same.
5) Drill: Pick up
Format: All gears, medium brakes
This drill was to help you get an idea on to level 3 stuff. The idea was to pick up the bike when coming out of a corner and then follow it with your body. So you stay leaned when you are about to get out of the corner and then straighten the bike which allows you to come out at greater exit speeds and then you hop back on to the bike.
By the last lap it was a really confident man riding the bike. The crash was forgotten, the pain was long gone. Everything appeared to be a movie. Time and space were on a stand still.
I forgave my dad, I forgave my boss, I forgave them all. I felt like god.
Andy remarked that I was really enjoying myself and my right hander body position has improved a lot.
One thing about life is that there would be various ups and downs. What a crash can do is make your confidence hit the lowest ebb in life.
It would make you think twice before getting on a motorcycle again. That’s when men have to go into their caves and do some soul searching. So its always wise to do a root cause analysis of the crash and come up trumps for the reason you went wrong at the corner. Soul searching , I did and did when i hit the bed. The one and only reason I knew was SPEED.
SPEED without the technique is a recipe for disaster and that’s were the problem lied. So made up my mind to ride slower and get the technique corrected.Woke up in the morning and the first thing to check was ofcourse the hand. I could lift stuff but there was that slight niggle when applying torque. Decided to ride to 4 kms to the track and check out how I fared. Atul got in as pillion and was able to drive without pain. So I decided to take the risk and do the practicals as well.
People were quite surprised to see me back in full suit ready to ride. My trainer for Day1, Dylan code was surprised too. He was quite happy to see me back on track. Keith did give me a huge “Thumbs up”.
Day-2 was the same as Day-1 in terms of format. Classroom lecture followed by track time followed by a brief from the coach on the pros and cons of your riding and then a small break before going to the classroom for the next session. My coach for Day-2 was Andy Ibbott.
The lessons from the day were
1) Drill: Reference points
Format: 4th gear, no brakes
Identify points on the tracks which you can use for as your turn points, apex and exits. It could be a bump on the track, where the edge begins etal. The idea was to go slow and find a lot of information on the track and identify things which you normally wont be able to find at higher speeds. You would amazed at the info available there when you go slow. Format was same as Day-1, only 4th gear.
2) Drill: Change lanes
Format:3rd and 4th gear, no brakes
The idea behind this was to find out new lines on the track in the corners. First lap was to ride on the far right side. Second lap was to drive on the far left side, third lap on the middle and the next two laps on basically anywhere you would want to. This is when the phenomenon happened
. On the second lap, on the far left, when doing C3, I did a knee down for the first time in my life. Boy, was I happy. Felt like one of those orgasmic moments in life. The pain was forgotten and the strategy had paid off. Then it happened again on C4, on C9 and on the dreaded C10 as well. The confidence was back and then I was touching the knee on all left handers for the rest of the laps. Back to the pits, I was a man possessed. I was showing off my scraped knee sliders to all and sundry. I could take those bloody corners follwing any line. I had conquered my demons on the C10 corner. Andy was pretty impressed too. He remarked that the big wide grin on my face revealed how the session went. He had a tough time following me on C10 with all the sparks flying on his face.
3) Drill: Three step vision
Format: 3rd and 4th gear, light brakes
This was a continuation of the Two Step Vision lesson from Level 1. The first step is to find the turn point, then apex, then the exit reference (which could be your next turn point, furthest point you can see out of the turn, or your vanishing point) and develop a “moving picture” of information. The best place to practise this was on the c5, c6 and c7 fast corners where I had crashed the previous day. Was having big fun on the left handers and a lil circumspect on the right handers. The laps went on effortlessly. That’s when Andy barged in and asked me to follow him to the pits
. The right hander turn technique was not correct and my right shoulder was pointing a lil towards left whereas it should be straight. Went back on the track and promptly ran wide on C3. The reason being loss of focus and focussing on things which I shouldn’t focus on when taking the corner. I was thinking of my body position when taking the corner and had forgot about the line. Promptly ran wide into grass but by this time I had become a pro on running in grass! The bike was controlled and I was back on the track. 4) Drill: Wide view
Format: Three gears, light brakes
The idea was to see with your peripheral vision.
Keith had asked in the classroom –
“How many of you have crashed in life”?
My hand promptly went up.
How did it feel when you crashed?
When I crashed, I had felt like time and space had come to a stand still and everything was moving slowly.
That’s when you start seeing with the peripheral vision-he quipped
So the idea was to use the same peripheral vision (which slows down time) to use to your advantage. One way of doing it was to have a wider view of the track. When you focus on things afar the bike appears to move slowly. This also helps avoid target fixation. Back to the pits and Andy was a disappointed man. I had failed to spot him following me closely for nearly 4-5 corners. So was duly given a lesson on peripheral vision and on how to do the same.
5) Drill: Pick up
Format: All gears, medium brakes
This drill was to help you get an idea on to level 3 stuff. The idea was to pick up the bike when coming out of a corner and then follow it with your body. So you stay leaned when you are about to get out of the corner and then straighten the bike which allows you to come out at greater exit speeds and then you hop back on to the bike.
By the last lap it was a really confident man riding the bike. The crash was forgotten, the pain was long gone. Everything appeared to be a movie. Time and space were on a stand still.
I forgave my dad, I forgave my boss, I forgave them all. I felt like god.
Andy remarked that I was really enjoying myself and my right hander body position has improved a lot.
Couldnot tell you in words how happy I was.
Never felt better in life!
Never felt better on a bike!
Never felt more confident on a bike!
. Never felt better in life!
Never felt better on a bike!
Never felt more confident on a bike!
The 11K was well spend and I would take this again. The crash was a blessing in disguise. It helped come back with a different perspective and a different strategy (very fortunate at that, thou). The strategy had paid off. Was able to focus on technique. I knew I could go much faster but the whole thing is not about speed, its about enjoying yourself on the bike, getting the right line at the corners with the right technique and the right vision. Once you get them right, the speed will naturally follow and you wouldnot probably even notice it.
. It helped come back with a different perspective and a different strategy (very fortunate at that, thou). The strategy had paid off. Was able to focus on technique. I knew I could go much faster but the whole thing is not about speed, its about enjoying yourself on the bike, getting the right line at the corners with the right technique and the right vision. Once you get them right, the speed will naturally follow and you wouldnot probably even notice it.Said goodbye to all. Took my stuff and took the poonamalle road and got lost at saidapet. Thanks to Arith ( i guess thats his name, another Black Ninja 250R on CSS who took the pains to show me how to get to Adyar. Dropped my bike at my friends place in chennai and boarded the Chennai-Trivandrum mail to Kerala with that Big wide grin still intact!! 
Comment