I can't believe it- this past Sunday- March 7th, I actually got to ride outside for the first time this year! The mercury rose up to 57 degrees making it perfect to get outdoors and get some practice in on the bike. I never thought that I would be riding outside in New England this early in the year! I mean honestly- the ground usually still has at least two feet of snow on it!
But not this year... its been unusually warm and I'm taking advantage of it. Myself and my best friend loaded up the CRF and headed over to Dover, NH for some practice. Dover is a pretty beat-down, whooped out old sand pit. Actually, when I think about it, the whole track is a giant whoop. It gives you nasty arm pump and really works the hell out of your quads. But enough whining- its a good place to get some laps in. Plus its all sandy and I figured this time of year its probably one of only a few places that would not be muddy- and we were right. The track was great for March.
So aside from banging out some laps, I worked on starts and cornering. My bud was good enough to draw a line in the sand (the starting gate) and to hold a stick in the air (the 30 second board) and then drop the stick to the side (5 seconds) before our imaginary gate dropped. It wasn't all that technical, but it did the job. Its a lot different starting on dirt/sand versus a concrete pad. Anyways it was good practice and I got a good feel for my dirt starts.
As far as the cornering goes- I worked on not using the rear brake like I used to and actually totally avoided using it while going into the turns. It made me faster and eventually I didn't feel as though I even needed it. I guess its just something I need to adapt too. I think before I was relying on the rear brake too much and it was robbing all my momentum. I feel quicker now and I think I will get past the learning curve fairly quickly...
-Patrick
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