[wcj]

If the bike is not safety wired, you can try inspecting the bike to take your mind off your last session. Make sure the pegs are not loose, check the chain, clip-ons, just general maintenance stuff so you not surprised at speed when something falls off or breaks.

If you dont have a full time riding coach, you may want o see about getting one you trust. Having one will help you correctly analyze your last session can possibly change it from stressing over the mistakes to learning from them.

[kat_kitten]

Morning, kat_Kitten has your bikes suspension (springs, preload & sag) ever been adjusted for your weight, or is the bike at the "factory" settings?

yeah, my main sponsor is a suspension guru. he set it up for me when i got the bike. if anything, it might be a little too soft.
i know that my issues with a hard coutnersteer are totally mental and i've gotta find a way to make it happen, 'cause those long turns are going to get me low lap times, every time. plus, gives other riders the chance to pass me. lame.

If you dont have a full time riding coach, you may want o see about getting one you trust. Having one will help you correctly analyze your last session can possibly change it from stressing over the mistakes to learning from them.

again, my main sponsor is also my riding coach. he's great, but he pushes me super hard. sometimes i think that i'm not going hard or fast enough for him.

[DOCTORNITRO]

he's great, but he pushes me super hard. sometimes i think that i'm not going hard or fast enough for him.

Biting tongue!

[kat_kitten]

Biting tongue!

lol don't worry, in that aspect, i think i'd hold my own just fine.

[superbike]

Only positive reinforcement is useful to go faster, harder, better. Period.

[DOCTORNITRO]

KK, I really like the suggestion of reading between sessions. I have several drag racing "bibles" that are all dog-eared and highlighted that I use between rounds in the dragster. It calms me down and helps me to focus. I also have a ritual when being towed up to the staging lanes where I stare at the trailer ball on the truck and shut every thing else out for a moment. Sounds corny, but it works for me.

[kat_kitten]

tonight we ran things a little differently, and it was amazing.

after a super long first session, we decided that we were going to watch the seasoned racers go through the carousel (tight hairpin-esque corner) and the chute (which, is very badly positioned in front of concrete walls), and that was the main corner that we were going to work on.
and so my mind was concentrating on that, and taking in as much as possible, but not stressing about things that happened in my previous session (it was obvious that my coach saw me not hugging the corner, then going wide - a line that will send me straight into the concrete barrier if i make a mistake).
I was as close to perfect as I'm probably going to get going through that corner by the end of the night (heck, i even learnt my trail-braking!).

Needless to say, that improved my disposition and got me outta my funk.

My coach says I'm doing great, and I just need to learn to lay on the throttle (i'm, uhm, cautious, for a racer)

I'm so ready for Round 1.
booyah!

[loudnlow7484]

Not the same kind of racing, but I was so nervous going back to the strip after being gone so long...... so between rounds I smoked like a freight train. Substance abuse is my answer!

^^^^^ This was a joke...... while that was my method, my reaction times were f'd all day, and I'm sure that smoking a half a pack in the course of 4 hours wasn't helping me in that. If I HAD to give some serious advice, I would tell you to do some meditation for at least 10 minutes if you can. It's something my psychologist used to tell me to do...... sit back or lay down if you can, and wipe your mind of everything, and then concentrate on completely relaxing every piece of yourself, starting from your toes and working up, until you feel like you weigh about 500 lbs. While it won't give you any fresh insight to bring onto the track for the next session, it certainly helps with your mental clarity and the jitters.

[professa_riddler]

I'm glad to hear that you did much better and got out of your funk. Keep having fun with it and do your thing.

[Tmod]

KK, I really like the suggestion of reading between sessions. I have several drag racing "bibles" that are all dog-eared and highlighted that I use between rounds in the dragster. It calms me down and helps me to focus. I also have a ritual when being towed up to the staging lanes where I stare at the trailer ball on the truck and shut every thing else out for a moment. Sounds corny, but it works for me.

You went to sleep and we had to wake you up.

Tmod

[superbike]

That's excellent. I bought a yamaha scooter a few years ago just so we can ride out to different corners to see how other riders get through them. It's great for keeping the miles off of me during the weekend, as the pace on the track usually wears me out now that I'm getting a "little" older. During the Schwantz School I attended at Indianpolis last year, each of the three days we were there we did "track tours" to every corner of the MotoGP course in the Indy Tour Bus (with Kevin driving). We would all bail out of the bus and stand close to the corner in question while three of the instructors would come throught the corners, on school bikes. Schwanz School provided all of the bikes and tires as one of the reasons we were there was to "rubber in the track" and clean the racing surface for the following weeks racing. Then we would move to a different vantage point so you could see the turn-in point, the apex and the exit point of each corner. Its a good drill, no matter what your experience level. SportBikeTrackTime, the trackday provider I use the most, recommends all levels and requires novice groups during their first three laps of the day to use the outside line of the track, the middle of the track and then the inside line of the track, just to get you in the frame of mind that there is alot of track out there to use, and while racing in particular, you may need to use it! Another very useful drill. Kevin Schwantz is also very big on being able to use unconventional lines and made a career confounding the opposition on how he made a pass where most others couldn't or wouldn't. I don't argue with World Champions. Its all good, hey, you're out there doing it, whether at the front, middle or back of the queue, 99.999% of the rest of the population can't say that...

Good luck in round 1!

[depths_of_mind]

get a boytoy to give ya some quickie pit lane lubbin... :P

[cybrnathan]

.....

I'm so ready for Round 1.
booyah!

Patience young grasshopper.... Time can be your most dangerous enemy if you pursue him too quickly...

[kat_kitten]

get a boytoy to give ya some quickie pit lane lubbin... :P

volunteers???


they're calling for snow for Sunday! that's insane!
i've never been on the track when it has been wet!

[superbike]

Rain, Snow, same soft set up, rain tires if you got 'em. Stay off the "line" in the corners, thats where it's the slickest when you add water. It'll teach you throttle control and help you with your braking skills. Adjust speed as necessary. Only raced once in the snow, April, 1987, Indianapolis Raceway Park, my first national event. All of my buddies that had gone to Muncie, Indiana to drag race came down to see me when their event was cancelled. None of them could believe Road Racers go regardless of weather conditions. I finished on the lead lap, mid-pack. It took me hours to get my body temperature back to normal. I still fancy myself pretty good in the wet.