Last time, it seemed like you were able to move forward and backward, but
the movements were not the same as the left and right,
so you were told it was like a cross keypad (laughs).
Did you remember the anticipatory movements in skiing,
and do some image training to see if that helped?
Orientation
Today, 20 people are taking the lesson,
and half of them are familiar and skilled.
The instructor has been the same for the past three times.
Although the main and assistant roles have been swapped.
Personally, I think the advice of these two makes the most sense.
The goal of this lesson is to be conscious of forward, backward, left and right movements!
Actually, I think that if you move ahead,
forward, backward, left and right movements will inevitably come out.
Also, I won’t write this in the chart, but
I’m going to throw away the cool image of leaning the bike deep and turning quickly,
and drastically change my focus to stopping the bike firmly and
changing direction quickly.
It’s scary to lean the bike, isn’t it?
So I’m changing my image to not be conscious of leaning it,
and just changing direction! .
Warming up
I straddled my usual CB400SF and started warming up.
As I started to ride, I felt something was wrong with the right turns.
My movements were stiff.
This is normal, so I relaxed and relaxed my body.
I rode the S-curve course with one hand, but I still couldn’t make the right turns very well.
Late ride
The warm-up continues.
It’s a late ride.
The trauma from the previous time…
If you’re not careful, your lower back will stretch out,
so keep your eyes on the rear tire and try to imagine
your tailbone slamming into the seat.
I somehow managed to get through the scary slow ride.
Today I’m able to ride at low speeds and it feels good.
The fall two times ago is traumatic…
I’m glad I didn’t fall today.
Braking
As always, it’s no good at first.
My butt is off the ground and my arms are stiff.
Slam your tailbone into the seat!
Be aware of the rear tires!
Recently, I’ve learned that it’s better to start slowly,
and now that I’m older, I’ve come to understand myself better,
so I’m going to make slow, incremental adjustments.
I got a Good! in the second half.
However, I was warned not to grip the brakes with too much force.
If you grip them like you do with a grip strength tester,
your arms will tense up.
The brakes are applied with both your index and middle fingers,
so you need strength due to the principle of leverage.
I was told to keep my fingers as far out as possible,
but I have small hands so I think that’s a bit difficult.
My fingers can’t reach it…
By the way, my glove size is S.
They are still a little loose, so I put on inner gloves to make it just right.
I need to think a bit about how I apply the brakes.
Turns
When practicing turns,
I gradually increase my speed while checking the timing of releasing the brakes,
and then turn with firm braking.
This has become my recent routine.
Today,
there was no jerk when I first opened the throttle!
Ehehe. I practiced a lot~(^o^)
But I still have a strange feeling when turning right,
but I feel like I’m riding well overall today,
so I’ll call it a day and end the morning lesson!
Pylon Slalom
In the afternoon,
there was a straight pylon slalom that was quite difficult to master,
an offset slalom, and a slalom with randomly placed pylons.
The random slalom had one place where you had to turn at full lock.
There was also a slow ride section and a figure eight section for those who wanted to ride.
This was the course for today.
Straight Pylon Slalom
As expected, straight pylon slalom is no good (T_T).
There was a slalom lecture for those who wanted to,
so I listened to it, but I just couldn’t run it well.
It was like I wasn’t doing something even before that.
Offset Slalom
In offset slalom,
you need to be conscious of quickly changing direction.
As for the controls,
you should actively use the front brake while turning, and be conscious of taking the lead.
I think this image is probably correct,
so I’ll explain it in a bit more detail.
When you apply the front brake while turning…
Have you ever applied the front brake while turning slowly and ended up falling over?
I’ve recently realized that when you apply the front brake hard, the bike will rise up, but if you apply the brakes to a certain degree (how hard?), it will slow down and get rolled over.
Am I the only one who thinks that this feeling of getting rolled over is similar to when you fall over?
It seems that you can use this to quickly change direction.
Don’t forget to take the initiative.
At the same time that you feel the front of the car getting caught,
throw your upper body out toward the next pylon (imagine throwing it out).
This sensation is similar to turning while skiing.
The throttle…
Hmm. I can’t remember.
Maybe at the same time as releasing the front brake?
It seems like full lock has become quicker too.
Don’t forget to take the initiative.
At the same time that you feel the front of the car getting caught,
throw your upper body out toward the next pylon (imagine throwing it out).
This sensation is similar to turning while skiing.
The throttle…
Hmm. I can’t remember.
Maybe at the same time as releasing the front brake?
It seems like full lock has become quicker too.
When I make a right turn, it feels like my right arm gets in the way…
It feels like my right arm is getting in the way.
It didn’t feel like my arms were particularly getting in the way.
Today, I’ve been feeling a strange sensation on my right side all day.
The instructor accompanied me around the course.
The instructor accompanied me around the course.
Offset and random are good because they allow you to move ahead.
However, in straight pylon slalom,
there is no forward or backward movement, and you ride forward.
ハンドルを投げ出してしまうくらいの意識をしたらどうですか？
I see…
That’s the opposite of how I felt before…
Until now, I’d been trying to attract。
You can probably imagine this, right?
So solidify your image by the next lesson,
and try to incorporate it next time!
Course Slalom
This is the course slalom that concludes the day.
After the practice run, we change the order, but since I want to run at my own pace,
I’ll drop back until the middle of the course.
First, I’ll run at a slower pace without pushing myself too hard.
It’s a simple layout, but…
When I was doing the test run to learn the course, I thought it would be easy,
but when I actually drove it, I couldn’t turn where I wanted to.
It seems like a course that requires some fine tuning.
Remembering the offset slalom,
I tried to find a line that would run smoothly, while remembering the front brake and the leading movement of my upper body.
Let’s think about the driving line
I’ve never really thought about finding a smooth line,
but when I started thinking about it while driving, I realized that there are almost no straight lines.
After passing the S-curve,
a gentle left curve,
a short straight line,
a left hairpin…
Until now, I’ve just been driving as I saw it, like above,
Come out of the S-curve,
release the throttle for a second, turn slightly to the left,
and head straight for the left hairpin!
And then, a left hairpin.
This time,
after passing through the S-curve,
I could see the line from a large left curve
to the left hairpin turn.
Coming out of the S-curve,
I took a big curve and kept the throttle open until I reached the left hairpin!
I braked without lifting the bike.
Then came the left hairpin.
However, because the bike is braking while leaning,
I can’t go all the way in (;_;).
I think it’s okay to hold the front brake down until the bike is about to right itself,
but then the human limiter of fear kicks in.
But this time, I felt like I was able to ride the smoothest I’ve ever been.
I received some advice from the two instructors.
Tip 1
You’re usually unable to accelerate after an S-curve, but today you were able to accelerate well.
As your speed increases, braking becomes more difficult,
but you should be able to go further in.
You can also take the lead.
What’s your goal next? Maybe I could try some technical training once.
The flow of the lesson is pretty much the same…
For turning practice, the speed instruction is 80km/h.
For the offset slalom, it will be half that, 2.5m.
Huh!?
A 2.5m offset means full lock all the time?
That’s right.
You won’t be able to make it in time if you wait for self-steering,
so you need to be proactive and turn the steering wheel.
That’s impossible^^;.
Tip 2
The usual jerky feeling when first opening the throttle is gone.
Your hips are also turning more quickly.
Your overall technique is improving.
From this point on,
I think this will be an area of concern for those ahead of you. Keep it up!
thank you!
Thoughts
It was the last lesson of the year, but it ended on a good note.
I’ve had the same instructor for a few lessons recently, so there was a flow to what I was taught.
I think the feeling I got from the last few lessons was probably correct.
I was recommended to do technical lessons, but I’m not confident yet.
Bonus
After the lesson,
there was a Christmas party at the bike shop.
The 8-hour endurance rider and
former WGP rider Shunji Yashiro were there,
and it was a great party.
