A Proposal for New/Newish Riders

[madvlad]

Riding experience of course

[#1Townie]

Dirk you are the man.

[AOK303]

Rider Mentoring Is kinda what i went through Had Slo help and went on a couple of group rides where alot of riders helped

I took the MSF first and road 2 months on the street, but still learned more in 3 canyon runs with the Mentoring then prior time combined. I did ride 10 years before and even road a bike from here to cali in 2001 but the things i did remember are the DO not do parts.

[kawasakirob]

I'd be willing to donate time in order to take inexperienced riders out and about. I've learned the hard way when riding on the street and am lucky to be alive. My MANY mistakes can be used to positively teach others.

[Scer]

I think this is a great idea too. Share the wealth in both finances and wisdom among the community.

I can assist with donations and a tire seminar. If I have the time I could also participate with a riding effort as well.

Thanks for the idea and putting this together Dirk!

[Narsisco Lopez]

So, I'm just getting back into reading/following new posts on this forum, but have been pretty active over on others for a few years now. I've been doing a lot of bike-swapping lately as I find new bikes I'd like to try. Last year was a KTM 990 Adventure and my riding was primarily geared towards longer, mixed terrain, multi-day, mixed camping moteling.

I've taken a few safety and technique courses... last year's was a MSF with United Dirt Bike School (ABATE-certified) and a 2 day intensive trail-braking course at Danny Walker's American Supercamp.

While I don't consider myself a noob, I know I have gaps I'd like to fill... especially in my canyon carving techniques. So, I'd love to do something like this... sounds like I could learn a lot and meet some of you experienced riders and site contributors... would be a blast!

[G35CO]

That’s a great idea, thank you dirk. I start riding 5 years ago but I consider myself a noob. I would love to have a mentor for street and track riding, I’m always interested in learning from the right people.

I went to IMI several times and someone form this club was there once (I think it was dirk but I’m not sure) and gave me great tips that improved my riding.

I like Scer idea on tire seminar. I hope we will have a suspension seminar that will cover how to setup the sag and the different suspension adjustments and how they affect the bike.

[sky_blue]

Just to be clear, and I'm not referencing anyone specifically, but I think the mentoring Dirk is talking about here is about how to be "safe" in the canyons.

A mentor should critique your fundamentals, things like lane positioning, body positioning, looking through a corner, using the apex, riding the pace -- but these are all with an emphasis on anticipation, and giving you tools to survive your mistakes. A mentor's goal will not be to make you a track-star in the mountains. Want to learn to drag knee? Go to a trackday.

[Nick_Ninja]

Just to be clear, and I'm not referencing anyone specifically, but I think the mentoring Dirk is talking about here is about how to be "safe" in the canyons.

A mentor should critique your fundamentals, things like lane positioning, body positioning, looking through a corner, using the apex, riding the pace -- but these are all with an emphasis on anticipation, and giving you tools to survive your mistakes. A mentor's goal will not be to make you a track-star in the mountains. Want to learn to drag knee? Go to a trackday.

+1

I have led a few CSC and other rides. I find that if the more experienced riders take off like a bat-outa-hell the lemmings will follow. I have been a few miles down the road when I look in my mirror and there isn't a rider behind --- only to turn around and go back to witness the carnage wrapped up on the guardrail or jersey barricade. The only way to avert this is to ride for the lowest common denominator. Like that's gonna happen

[dirkterrell]

A mentor should critique your fundamentals, things like lane positioning, body positioning, looking through a corner, using the apex, riding the pace -- but these are all with an emphasis on anticipation, and giving you tools to survive your mistakes. A mentor's goal will not be to make you a track-star in the mountains. Want to learn to drag knee? Go to a trackday.

I couldn't have said it any better. The idea is to help you with fundamental things that will help you become a better rider. These things might very well make you faster, but that is not the point. If your primary goal is to go faster, then you need to be doing work with someone on the track and there are several ways to do that around here (e.g. with Chicane, the MRA school, Ricky Orlando, Go 4 It, Jason Pridmore, etc.). The very first thing I will ask you to do is leave your ego behind, so if that is what drives your desire to ride, this is not the thing for you.

Jim makes a good point about the ARC and I will offer nothing but encouragement for taking it. It is a bargain. But my offer to pay is for newer and less experienced riders who fit in between the target audiences for the BRC and the ARC. If you still want to ride with me, the ARC is fine but don't blame me if you get bored. I'm basically requiring the BRC as an assurance that you have at least the basics down.

Thank you all for your offers to help, especially being willing to help new riders who need it to cover the cost of the BRC. It is that sort of spirit that I knew was there and ready to be tapped into.

For those who haven't taken the BRC, you can get the details on the ABATE site:

http://abate.si2.com/ABATE/TRS.nsf/L...s-BRC?OpenForm

Now, are there any riders here who have already taken the BRC and want to get some riding time with feedback? If so, I'll start planning.

Dirk

[madvlad]

+1

I have led a few CSC and other rides. I find that if the more experienced riders take off like a bat-outa-hell the lemmings will follow. I have been a few miles down the road when I look in my mirror and there isn't a rider behind --- only to turn around and go back to witness the carnage wrapped up on the guardrail or jersey barricade. The only way to avert this is to ride for the lowest common denominator. Like that's gonna happen

When I lead rides that I know slow people will be at I always take it easy, hell even with a fast group I always sweep cause hauling ass in the canyons is just a rarity for me due to all the factors that play into your demise there or jail time ... I just think that new people need to understand the true meaning behind "ride your own ride" which means don't attempt to keep up if the group is hauling ass and you feel out of your handling element lol

[G35CO]

Now, are there any riders here who have already taken the BRC and want to get some riding time with feedback? If so, I'll start planning.
Dirk

I'm in. Thanks Dirk!

[Dannymack]

For someone like myself who never took the brc but has been riding quite a decent amount, 6 to 8k last year alone, should I take the brc still to make sure I've got the skills covered? Or should I pick up a book and do some reading?

[asp_125]

+1 if you want to drag knee in the canyons, I don't want to mentor you there. I'm not going to give track instruction. If that's your goal, support our local track schools and take it to the track. It wouldn't be right to take potential business away from Ricky, Rybo etc. IMO.

In the canyons we will work on techniques and strategies to stay alive, ride better, and have more fun.

[G35CO]

Just to clarify my previous post, when I was talking about track mentoring I was thinking about the IMI mentoring we did last year. In my experience going to IMI improved my street riding. Going to IMI helped me practice tight turns in a safe environment. I don’t go to IMI to drag a knee and so far I didn’t drag a knee. I would like one day to drag a knee so I would know how it feels but that’s not why I go to IMI.

[madvlad]

When I was talking about track mentoring I was thinking about the IMI mentoring we did last year. In my experience going to IMI improved my street riding. Going to IMI helped me practice tight turns in a safe environment. I don’t go to IMI to drag a knee and so far I didn’t drag a knee. I would like one day to drag a knee so I would know how it feels but that’s not why I go to IMI.

Check with Rybo for a session at HPR man, he'll make you a way better rider in a trackday's session for sure if you want to gain quick confidence with your bike and your riding style... I plan on at least one day with him this year if possible, hell even a couple trackdays last year made me a much more confident and smarter rider.

[G35CO]

I would like to attend a track day but I cannot afford the cost that comes with it, kids are expensive

It’s not just the cost of attending the track day, i will need to get new tires. I currently have PR3 tires which works okay in IMI but I don’t think they will survive at HPR.

[madvlad]

I would like to attend a track day but I cannot afford the cost that comes with it, kids are expensive

It’s not just the cost of attending the track day, i will need to get new tires. I currently have PR3 tires which works okay in IMI but I don’t think they will survive at HPR.

People ride street tires at the track plus if you are learning then you're not going to be ripping extremely hard plus they'll heat up a lot more at the track than the street always so you'll feel the grip difference as you start to get there. You can always do a half day punch card along with other people and it'll be cheaper that way and it'll get your feet wet at the track. I did it a few times and man what great fun and experience that was plus superstreet for my first track time last August (thanks Siob ) and have never looked back

[The-Violator]

Motorcycle in good SAFE working order.......CHECK
Proper Gear............CHECK
BRC .... CHECK
Mentor Ride........ READY AND WAITING

Great idea Can't wait! Sign me up for Ride #1!

[Grim2.0]

I can show people what not to do on a DRZ since ive experienced a few things here and there on why i shouldn't do certain things.

As far as sport bike i have learned a lot from Cornfed, Bueller, and watching people like Vellos, matty, and a few others ride. I wouldn't mind passing some information along.

[Grim2.0]

To add to this also I will once again be doing early AM rides this year, yes they are early, yes they can tend to be cold, but what better time to learn how to handle the canyon's and the conditions when there are no cars or other riders hauling ass.

The early am rides are how i learned to navigate the canyons properly, holding my line and prepare for changes in the road. Anyone here who has watched my earlier videos can tell you that i could not hold my line for shit, my footing was improper, and my body position was poor. Thanks to all of the constructive criticism on here i have become a much more comfortable safe rider.

[Zach929rr]

Best run I've ever had up Bear Creek was at 5am

[madvlad]

Best run I've ever had up Bear Creek was at 5am

+1 early morning rides are the best except with the fact you have to keep an eye out for animal movement but the few times I went out early with Grim dude it was some of the best and smoothest rides ever. No traffic nothing, tis awesome!

[dirkterrell]

For someone like myself who never took the brc but has been riding quite a decent amount, 6 to 8k last year alone, should I take the brc still to make sure I've got the skills covered? Or should I pick up a book and do some reading?

Honestly, my recommendation would be to take the Advanced Rider Course that Jim mentioned earlier. I suspect that would do you the most good. Maybe we could do some more advanced mentoring later but right now I want to focus on newer riders and see how that goes. If this turns out to be popular, we could certainly have rides for people of different skill levels.