Ducati Sporting Club UK > General > Idle Chat > Trackdays and Trackday training, like the CSS. Do they make us too fast for the road?

[desmojen]

I still enjoy road riding, and I, like some others have said seem to be a far slower road rider than I was before I went racing.
I do find, however, that I have so much more in reserve than before. I am far less fazed by a tightening bend, say, and tend to go into 'survival' mode much less often.
On that basis I think training and fast track riding can only be a good thing.
As long as the riders realise they cannot transfer all of it to the road that is...................

[Redruth]

I think any training/practice on the track stands you in good stead for road riding. The more in control of my bike I feel, the less time I have to spend thinking about my riding and the more time I have available for watching out for what other road users are doing.

However, I am seriously considering Advanced Riding lessons after some comments AK made on Friday about a manoevre he saw me make that he considered highly dangerous. My perception of how safe I am on the road and the perception of others may not quite meet, it seems.

Anyone know of any Advanced Riding instructors in the Herts/Beds area?

[bradders]

Ruth - follow AK and see if you can comment on his riding, not a dig at anyone (just an example) but be careful of taking too much in on peoples comments, its like having your mother-in-law in the car and telling you how to drive!! What she considers safe (from the passenger seat) and what you do are different - plus there is often a fair distance between riders when out on a ride.

You are in control - when you are not in control is when you are dangerous and I think most of us spot that 'that was close' overtake etc pretty well ourselves.

when you follow advanced riders, it then shows what a good idea this is for the road, well worth doing I think but not sure how this would affect track riding as they are such different styles

[Andyl]

Redruth......I am a RoSPA Gold certificate holder and observer for the organisation. I am based in Herts and would be happy to spend an hour or so with you if you think it might help. I don't want to hijack the thread so please feel free to email me if you would like to discuss.

Back on topic......I tend to agree that with all the advanced training and track based activity there is potential for speads to creep up. IMHO the secret of advanced road riding is to mix your increased machine control abilities with a healthy respect for the consequences if it all goes pear shaped, and adapt.

[yeti]

YES, YES and YES again! IMHO that is.

I finally gave up road riding last year after some 34 years and quite a few knocks. I found that the more track riding I did, the faster I travelled on the road simply becuase it felt well within my own limits and those of the bike. HOWEVER it took no account of other road users, the truly sh**ty state of the road surface, and the assorted c**p that truckies and farmers lay down just to catch us out.

I tired hard to slow things down a bit to take account of the above, but then found that I was quite simply bored, not to mention occasionally frightened by some of the antics of various other road users.

I had already stopped riding with various friends because I was pushing them well beyond their normal limits, and did not want to be responsible should they have an off chasing me. I gave up riding with another friend because he was always out to prove how fast he was off track and didn't want to be the one to peel him off the front of an artic.

So to sum up, track time has definately put a stop to my road riding simply because I felt I was too fast for the road.

[WeeJohnyB]

Ruth - U2U on the way.


oh and Weeksy - quote ''although because you've been taught how to ride that much quicker, obviously your limits are increased, therefore so is your speed'' - I couldn't disagree more mate - road riding is about survival, hazzard awareness and defensive riding - get yourself some advanced lessons from a decent school - you'll be amazed what they can teach you. If all my racing, No Limits instructing, CBT instructing and 50 mile daily commute into central London has taught me anything, it's to go a lot SLOWER on the road.

WeeJohnyB

[Mr_S]

So the assumption is that taking training and therefore increasing our competence as riders increases our speed?

Not so sure about this.....Maybe for some, but I feel that training teaches us how to focus our attention on the things that matter, ignore the things that don't and be able to handle that information accordingly.

Track training, trackdays and racing teach us how the bike will behave at it (or our) limits, and shows us that 9/10 times it's us and our actions that's the limiting factor (Weeksy's the exception, cos he rides a Gixxer and is therefore severely limited by the bike Gonna get my ass kicked at Brands now....)

Road training teaches us all about hazard perception and how to deal with these things, and place ourselves in situations as far from these as possible whilst still making progress safely.

At the end of the day it comes down to mental state, and how we choose to approach riding in each of these environments. The road is no place for flat out riding 100% of the time, and the tracks no place for taking the scenic route (except at Oulton). If we choose to take the skills we learn on the track and ride to our limits on the road, we will get hurt, and may take others with us, but, if we back off, and use all the extra attention we now have to focus on hazards, we become safer, smoother, and a lot more relaxed.

Do track training, combined with road training and I believe we'll become more rounded riders, Chris Walker still rides on the road, as does Rossi, if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me.


I think I'll lay off the caffeine for a day or two.....

[ericthered40]

Now this is a teaser.

Iv been on or around bikes for thirty-five years and I am still here today.
A fact that I still struggle to believe. Pure unadulterated luck.
I can’t trust myself on the road, still find myself riding like a 42-year-old idiot so try to keep it on the track.
From the first time you get on a bike you are learning right from day one, right up till today but you’re never to well trained to slip up and have the big one.

Experience saves lives, if you get help from a more experienced rider, which instructors are, then it’s got to help.

Two close friends have just passed their tests and I have been out with them a few times but it scares the life out of me to be honest. I spend the whole time looking for them, worrying if there OK even when they go off home after the ride out. I just hope they’re as lucky as Iv been.

If you ride bikes you have decided to ignore the risks and enjoy the feeling only riding can deliver.

Not very constructive but I have lost friends with hardly any experience and friends with extraordinary talent to bikes, no rime no reason just wrong place at the wrong time or some weird fate thing, I don’t know.

NO I Do know, I believe it was bad luck.

When I was a kid, eight or nine I remember telling me mum that you were safer on a bike because you could fly threw the air and not end up in the wreckage of a car. Told you F***ing idiot.

I have got to the stage now were I only feel like I have ridden the bike if I go out on track but I love the Pub car park to much not to get on the road some times.
To fast for the road, if I’m honest YES complete tool.

[dickieducati]

pretty much all bikes are way too quick for the road, training or not. unless you stick to the limits of course, but in reality who does. i think you have to be very careful how your persepcion changes if you do lots of trackdays or racing as you get very used to high speeds on track that are just way to fast for the roads.

[VanDaMauler]

Originally posted by dickieducati
i think you have to be very careful how your persepcion changes if you do lots of trackdays or racing as you get very used to high speeds on track that are just way to fast for the roads.

Thats the point I was making, plus the fact that your reflexes speed up etc and being on the road with nothing more then "motoring retards" is quite risky.