Yesterday was an awesome riding day! It was beautiful out (in the high 40's) and sunny for the first time in a long time. Seriously though- we have had nothing but gloomy overcast rainy days for the last 15 days in New Hampshire. So to see the sun and to know I was going riding was a damn good feeling!!! Myself and a few of my buddies decided to head down to Moto Town in the afternoon. What a great way to break in the weekend!
Aside from the nice weather, and that it was Friday, I was really excited about wearing my new Leatt brace for the first time! I bought my GPX Club brace off Ebay and couldn't wait to try it out. It was cool wearing it around the house for a few days, but I was itching to wear it on the track!
So after gearing up in the pits, I headed out onto the track dawning the new neck brace. I was most impressed with how comfortable it was. I honestly didn't even know I was wearing my new Leatt. It was very conforming and it fit nicely with my HRP chest protector. Once I had put it on, I pretty much forgot that I was wearing it. I like knowing that I have more protection in the event of a crash and honestly that sense of security was worth the $265...
In addition to the weather being great, and being very happy with the new Leatt brace, I felt really comfortable on the bike. It took me a couple of motos to warm up, but once I got going, I got into a real nice rhythm. No stalls, no crashes, and no close calls. I focused on braking and finishing braking before entering corners and noticed a significant improvement. As I entered each corner, I kept telling myself, "Get your damn foot off the rear brake and nail the throttle!" I think a big cornering problem of mine was the fact that I would not finish all the braking before the corner. Instead I would hold down the rear brake well after entering the corner and only release the brake as I exited the turn. I go much faster finishing braking before the turn, carrying momentum to the apex, and then blasting the throttle on the way out...
I also worked on brake-sliding going into hairpin rutted inside corners. I felt as though I was totally on my game when it came to these. There's a tight left-hander inside corner after the whoops section and I kept nailing it in a fast and smooth manner. The key is to make sure you line up both of your tires in the rut as you enter the turn and to use the front brake/tire to pivot. Its still a work in progress but I'm getting there.
Don't get me wrong, I still have lots of room for improvement, but last night at the track, everything just clicked. I felt relaxed, smooth, and noticed some improvements that really boosted my confidence.
Before I got to the track I did stiffen up my rear suspension (compression- hi & low was gradually increased) and that helped out a lot. And I raised both my clutch and front brake levers up which helped me with improved body positioning over the handlebars. I do think that if I went up 1-2 more teeth on the rear sprocket I would be in the "bread and butter" range of the gearing for my riding level on my bike. Going from a 48 to a 49 helped, but 1-2 more teeth I think would do just the trick.
Anyways, it was a really good time both on and off the track. I'm thinking that if we luck out and have an early Spring, the next time I throw my leg over the CRF it might be at an outdoor track...
-Patrick
Aside from the nice weather, and that it was Friday, I was really excited about wearing my new Leatt brace for the first time! I bought my GPX Club brace off Ebay and couldn't wait to try it out. It was cool wearing it around the house for a few days, but I was itching to wear it on the track!
So after gearing up in the pits, I headed out onto the track dawning the new neck brace. I was most impressed with how comfortable it was. I honestly didn't even know I was wearing my new Leatt. It was very conforming and it fit nicely with my HRP chest protector. Once I had put it on, I pretty much forgot that I was wearing it. I like knowing that I have more protection in the event of a crash and honestly that sense of security was worth the $265...
In addition to the weather being great, and being very happy with the new Leatt brace, I felt really comfortable on the bike. It took me a couple of motos to warm up, but once I got going, I got into a real nice rhythm. No stalls, no crashes, and no close calls. I focused on braking and finishing braking before entering corners and noticed a significant improvement. As I entered each corner, I kept telling myself, "Get your damn foot off the rear brake and nail the throttle!" I think a big cornering problem of mine was the fact that I would not finish all the braking before the corner. Instead I would hold down the rear brake well after entering the corner and only release the brake as I exited the turn. I go much faster finishing braking before the turn, carrying momentum to the apex, and then blasting the throttle on the way out...
I also worked on brake-sliding going into hairpin rutted inside corners. I felt as though I was totally on my game when it came to these. There's a tight left-hander inside corner after the whoops section and I kept nailing it in a fast and smooth manner. The key is to make sure you line up both of your tires in the rut as you enter the turn and to use the front brake/tire to pivot. Its still a work in progress but I'm getting there.
Don't get me wrong, I still have lots of room for improvement, but last night at the track, everything just clicked. I felt relaxed, smooth, and noticed some improvements that really boosted my confidence.
Before I got to the track I did stiffen up my rear suspension (compression- hi & low was gradually increased) and that helped out a lot. And I raised both my clutch and front brake levers up which helped me with improved body positioning over the handlebars. I do think that if I went up 1-2 more teeth on the rear sprocket I would be in the "bread and butter" range of the gearing for my riding level on my bike. Going from a 48 to a 49 helped, but 1-2 more teeth I think would do just the trick.
Anyways, it was a really good time both on and off the track. I'm thinking that if we luck out and have an early Spring, the next time I throw my leg over the CRF it might be at an outdoor track...
-Patrick
No comments:
Post a Comment