This is my review of track instruction from Rybo. On labor day of this year, I had a private half day lesson with Scott (Rybo) at HPR. This is the first instruction I have ever had outside the MSF course I took five years ago.
In the days before the session, Scott asked me to think about what I wanted to work on as well as what I thought I was good at and what needed work. He asked me what my best and worse corners were and what I had hoped to gain from instruction. I tried to give honest and accurate answers to these questions and Scott worked out an outline for some drills and things for us to work on.
At the track, we spoke briefly about the plan for the day and went out in the Fast session to get a baseline video. I should note here that I do not consider myself fast, but I have been out on the track enough with the fast guys that it doesn’t bother me. If they ran an intermediate session, I would probably fit in quite well. Getting back on topic, I ran a few laps with Scott following me and then we came back into the pits to review.
Back in the pits Scott told me that what I was doing was pretty good. He reaffirmed that my lines were reasonable and that I wasn’t doing anything terribly wrong. This was good to hear, since I had never had an advanced rider critique what I was doing. I had also lowsided turn 11 a month or so prior and it had put a big dent in my confidence. From here, we turned to the video and Scott showed me how I could improve my line in a couple of the faster turns.
We went back out on track and I worked my line through these faster turns. Scott had told me to slowdown to speed up which was great advice. It enabled me to focus more on the task at hand, rather than trying to go all out the whole session. After several laps we came back in.
Reviewing the second video, you could easily see where I had successfully improved my line and where I had failed to do so. It was clear that in turns where I had followed the instruction, I was able to carry more corner speed and get back on the throttle sooner.
From here we found our second area for improvement. This had to do with body positioning, and moving more efficiently. Scott told me to continue working on this as well as the skills from the previous session.
Back out on track I tried to follow the instruction from both lessons. The first lap or so, I felt odd trying to improve my body positioning and movement on the bike. After a couple of laps it started to work for me but I grew tired quickly. This was likely a result of spending the day prior on trampolines with my nieces, go figure. Anyway, I was only able to get a few more laps in before my legs and concentration were shot.
Back at the pits, we reviewed video once again and you could see the benefit to Scott’s suggestions. It was obvious that I needed to continue working on this for it to be comfortable but the idea was clear. By this point I was exhausted and didn’t want to risk a major mistake so I called it a day. We discussed the take away’s for the day and I got a copy of my videos and a quick photo of my lesson board for future reference. I left feeling like I had gotten very good instruction and the type of feedback I was needing to help my confidence.
A month goes by and I am back out at HPR on 10/8 for a half day. This is my first time riding the track since the instruction on labor day. I was looking forward to applying what I had learned and try to make it habit. They were running the North Course which I had never been on before. Turn 4s gave me all sorts of problems most of the day. As I got a few more sessions under my belt, I felt more comfortable and was using what I had learned from Scott in a more natural manner. At the end I was able to kick off a few laps that felt at least as good as anything since my lowside. I left wishing I had made more progress but feeling very good about my last session.
October 20th comes and I am back at it on North Course for another half day. This time I’m running a -1 front sprocket. This is my first ever gearing change and I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. I spent the first few sessions learning where and when to change gears and the appropriate gear to be in. About four sessions in, something clicked. I was doing what Scott had told me without thinking about it nearly as much and I was picking up 10mph or so in most corners. I was much more confident going into corners and the pace felt easier even though it was faster. I was riding at the same or better pace than before my lowside and I felt confident I could go faster. This was nearly the end of the day and I was tired so I decided to take it a bit easier, but left feeling very good about the day.
I had taken some video for timing purposes so back at home I pulled it up on the PC. I found that I had picked up about 6 seconds. Now I’m excited, I picked up significant time and felt confident I could do more. I’m hoping to get back out next week to see what else I can do. I’m also really interested to see what these advancements will translate to on the full course.
In conclusion, this was probably the best money I have spent since I first got on the track. Scott not only helped me improve my technique but also my confidence. I highly suggest anyone looking to improve their riding talk to Scott about a private lesson. You won’t regret it. I plan to take another lesson next spring for sure.
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Originally Posted by tecknojoe
