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"One CLASS Act"
by
Steve Sands
"I have been riding motorcycles for over
thirty years. The
first ten of
those were spent in the dirt and on some dirt tracks
(motocross, scrambles
and short track). So
about the last 20 years I have been riding on the
public
highways from cruisers and standards to sport bikes.
For the last
four
years my tool of choice has been a 1000cc V-Twin
'super-bike' and I have
been riding as hard and fast as ever...
I am 45 years young and with all of the above
experience I have never had
any real formal training on riding technique. Sure I have taken a couple of
safety classes which were held in a parking lot and
seemed to dwell on slow
speed maneuvers that were limited by the size of the lot
being used.
I had heard of the various schools, out and
about, that utilized an
actual race course, but I always figured that such
training was orientated
towards the 'Ricky Racer' type.
I also believed that such schools were
absolutely the worst thing a street rider could attend.
Imagine, getting out
of school, completely forgetting that you are back in
the real world and
taking the race track line/mentality into that blind
corner, that you knew
was clear on the track, but which now has a stalled
truck in your lane.
The
track had none of the things that are thrown at us on
the public roadways
that us street riders will encounter...
OK, I was wrong.
What Reg Pridmore's CLASS offers is an
opportunity to brush up on those
techniques that all of us utilize every time we ride the
magical-two-wheelers.
Those include; cornering, braking, throttle
management
and smoothness...
Along with these techniques come the classroom
instruction largely given by
Mr. Pridmore, in which you are informed how the various
techniques should be
applied to your street use of the machine.
My introduction to CLASS came through a great
friend who even paid my
way (Jeff, I still have the check ready to pay you back)
as he just had to
get me into this to make his point that such instruction
was absolutely invaluable to a street rider, such as
myself... OK, Jeff, you made your point!
The preparation was simple, make sure the bike
doesn't leak, that it
runs, that the tail & turn lights were not visible
(taped over, or removed)
and that you had practically new tires (98% tread?).
Well, even with 66,000
miles, the old VTR was ready and I was willing, so LET'S
RIDE!
Somehow Jeff even managed to get another friend,
Ron, into our class and
transportation arrangements were set.
I picked up Ron and his Yamaha R-6
about 4:45 a.m. and the two of us met Jeff along the way
for a caravan to
Sears Point Raceway.
Of course, being like a little kid, I hardly got
any
sleep the night before and it was killing me by the end
of the day...
Adrenaline is amazing stuff and I must have been running
on it all day.
After a quick bite along the way we finally
arrive at the track.
Unloading the bikes is no big deal, again thanks to Jeff
who has the
appropriate ramp to get our bikes out of the truck,
replacing the short
little dirt bike ramp that I had been using. With the bikes on the ground,
we then mosey over to 'check in'.
At the check in trailer we are greeted by a gray
headed gentleman
wearing what looked to me like a 1970's denim leisure
suit. Jeff
introduces
both Ron and I to this gentleman, none other than Reg
Pridmore, himself!
Mr. Pridmore (Reg) is a very friendly and open
man who greets each of his
students personally as they go through the check in
procedure. After
the
check in we are instructed to get suited up and take our
bikes over to the
designated technical inspection area.
As I pull on my leathers for any ride I usually
hear some suitable tune
in my head like something you would hear at a
bullfight... Today some idiot
has their radio on and I hear Brittney's "Oops I
Did It Again"... oh what are
we in for??
Suited up, we then take the bikes over for their
inspection. I
had been
told that the inspectors could be a bit rough looking
over things like chain
tolerances, brakes, and of course tires... My VTR, "Lucky", makes it through
with no problem. Heck,
with 66,000 miles on her the inspector "Terrible
Ted", could have at least said how nice she looked.
The next item on the agenda is for all students
to assemble for a quick
orientation where we are split into "A" and
"B" riders.
The A's are the real
quick and experienced riders (experienced with track
riding and/or prior
CLASS courses). Jeff
gets into the A group while Ron and I stay with the B's.
The A's are told to get their bikes and assemble
out on the track in
groups of five to seven for a 'follow the leader'
session. The
B's are told
to assemble on their machines behind Reg for a guided
tour and check out of
three strategic areas of the track.
Following Reg up the hill of turns two, three and
four, you can see that
there is some elevation to this track.
We stop at nearly the highest point
on the track and wait to watch some of the A's as they
play the follow the leader game.
We all get off of our bikes to listen to Reg give
us some tips
on the corners we are viewing.
Jeff comes flying along on his Duke only to
cause some oooos and aaaahs as he makes about the only
bobble I can recall
seeing him ever make.
It was a tiny slip, but the foot came off the peg
and
the bike did a little jig.
Jeff's dance was over before it really started,
butt we all realized that this track could suck you down
in a heartbeat if
you weren't careful!
We B's moved on down to another spot to watch a
little more of the A's
antics and then made our last stop at the
'get-off-the-track' area.
This was
a very important spot as getting off the track, on
purpose, is what you want
to do and what you want to do correctly! With lesson one drilled in, we then
were taken off the track to form up into our groups of
'follow the leader'.
Our leader was riding a Valkyrie and his last name was
Womack (as spelled
out on his leathers).
Mr. Womack takes us around and the guy in front
of me
is way slow, on his cruiser, causing the group to get
kind of broken up.
We
end up taking two laps before the session is over and
then we hit the
classroom.
While the A's are in class the B's are on the
track and visa-versa.
Our first lesson is on throttle management ...
which is just a bit more
complicated than twisting the wrist (oh, oh, that's
somebody else's moniker).
Reg talks of the rolling on, and off of the throttle
with the result to be a
smoother ride, rather than just jerking open the carbs.
Smoothness is
something that is stressed, in one way or another
through out the day.
We are asked to practice on the track using our
engines in a bit higher
rpm range than we would normally use.
A bit difficult with the VTR as I run
the crap out of that engine all the time ... butt I'm
here with an open mind.
Sure enough, I can see some great benefit to spinning
the big V-twin
up
into the higher digits of the rpm band.
Smoother runs are accomplished with
the engine providing a lot more in the way of braking.
Quicker acceleration
out of the turns is also an added bonus since the engine
is already right at
where the power is just pounding out of those two big
pistons.
Following that first session on the track I check
out my Sigma bicycle
computer and see that I did about 25 miles (10 laps) and
my top speed was a
paltry 84 miles an hour.
The next classroom session reviews what we went
over the first one and a
bull session on how the track session went in general.
I am now a bit less
intimidated by the track and am getting to feel pretty
confident with the
course itself. Reg
now goes over the smoothness aspect of riding and the
correct seating/ positioning oneself on the machine as
well as trail braking
and body steering.
Anyone who has ridden for any length of time may
think
they know what they are doing and that it is the correct
way to do it... I
was WRONG! I
set wrong, I steer wrong and I brake wrong... DAMN!
Out on the track again I practice our latest
revelations and sure enough
I can feel the smoother reactions from the bike as well
as my speed through
the corners increasing.
I also note that while I can still pass Ron that
he
is getting a bit more difficult to get around ... he
must be getting more comfortable too.
Our third classroom session is discussing braking
and the absolute need
to be smooth and almost gentle with the brake lever.
Strong use of the rear
brake is frowned upon and I just hope nobody notices my
smoking concave rear
disc ... yeah, I use my rear brake a lot! We are asked to pay special attention to the use of our
brakes and the easy on and off is to be practiced.
My third run on the track was a huge eye opener.
I feel like I'm the
king of the B's
and am even passing some of the
instructors who have been circulating with us throughout
our track sessions.
Without mirrors, I fail
to realize that one such instructor has seen fit to tail
me. At some
point I
must have bored him as he flies by me and then gives me
a lesson I'll never
forget. How
fun to be able to follow someone as gifted as Bill
Womack...
Mr.
Womack has flown F-14's and now is in the movie industry
but seems to
love the magical-two-wheelers as much as anyone.
I fall in behind Bill for
about three-quarters of a lap of just sheer delight.
He signals for me to
follow his line. Now
I must say that this is a bit hard for me to do because,
as a street rider, I tend to take the opposite line of
anyone I am
following at anything approaching a spirited pace.
Focusing on the use of
Mr. Womack's lines, I can feel the speeds increase as
the smoothness of his
on/off throttle/brakes is forced upon me. I love having a rabbit to follow!
Bill takes me off track to let me know that I am riding
like a
'flat-tracker'. This
is no surprise as I developed as a rider on such great
arenas as the Lodi Cycle Bowl, etc.
Bill gives me a way to overcome my
handicap by simply getting a piece of tape placed in the
middle of my
windscreen and to just stay to the right of this marker
when going through the right turns and to the left on
the left twists ... simple enough.
We now have to take a lunch break.
Great, just as I get a great tip, now
I have to wait an extra hour while we feed our faces...
Thankfully, Ron
(actually Ron's wife) had prepared some fantastic sub
sandwiches and all the 'fixens'.
We pig out and finally hear the call for the B's
to get out on the
track. I
listen in as Reg gets ready to start taking some brave
souls out on
a two-up run on his VFR800.
I look over this bike and note that the rear
tire is used all over, I mean 100% of that tire has been
slid around the
track ... while two-up!
I go get my bike and hit the track trying as hard
as I can to avoid
looking like a flat-tracker.
With a piece of blue tape on the center of my
windscreen I am ready to be a real road rider...
Out on the track I come
upon a big black Gold Wing and while I am amused at the
sight I also am amazed.
This guy is throwing sparks, grinding away his
floorboards and
moving right along.
Heck, I'm have trouble keeping up with him and
about the
only reason I am is that there is traffic slowing him
down. I
find out that
this is "Terrible Ted" and he has reportedly
gone as far as to buy special
pegs that shoot out even more sparks than usual.
I somehow manage to get
around the light show offered by Terrible Ted and
continue onward practicing
the lessons being expounded by Reg.
On this first track run following lunch I am
about at my best, and I can
feel it. Again
I feel like the king of the B's, until I get absolutely
blown
away by a new BMW 1150 (the stock/standard looking one
that just came out and
which I don't know it's
 model number).
The Beemer is soooo quiet that I
don't hear it's approach and then after being passed I
have no way to answer
this guy's speed... DAMN!
The 'king' gets toppled.
This humbling experience
just made it that much clearer that even though you
might think you are good,
there are tons of folks out there who are better.
So I go back to my
practice session. Following
this session I check my computer to find that I
had indeed posted the fastest speed for the day, 92 mph.
This would remain
my fastest speed for the day even though we still had a
couple of sessions
left.
Following the track time our next 'classroom'
experience was on the bike
doing some braking exercises.
You were to start off heading towards an
instructor who had signaled to you to either use the
front brake only, the
rear brake only, or both brakes to come to a smooth
stop. Really
shows the
effectiveness of that front brake and the relative
weakness of the rear.
I
manage to screw this up a couple of times but finally
get it down to where I
am trailing off of the brakes at the end of the stop and
looking pretty
smooth.
Our next track run was the most fun one I had of
the day. Most
of us
were now comfortable with the track and had learned the
turns, dips, and
bumps pretty well.
My tires were holding like never before
(partially due to the lowest pressure I have ever run,
32psi) and I was using more of those new
tires than I had ever done before too.
I came upon Ron and actually had to
back off twice before I could finally pull around him on
the 'carousel', so I
knew he had improved his riding quite a bit.
About the only problems that I had on this
session was with a Buell and a
snake. The
Buell was making my ears ache, and upon getting around
him I
somehow missed a shift and drifted wide, right where the
Buell had gone in
trying to get back around me.
We avoided any mess and I took off.
The snake
presented another problem as I didn't see him until it
was too late and ran right over his center.
The snake was at least a three footer and may
have
been ran over a few times before I came upon him.
But he was fresh and not
exactly the best kind of traction that the tires could
find. Again
the VTR and I came out OK, and we continued on our
charge up the hill.
Our last classroom session was held with Fred
Willink who, while being a
computer geek, also seems to be able to ride the
bejeebers out of his
motorcycle with style.
Fred kind of overviews the day's lessons and it
is an
open forum for our questions.
The next track session is to be our last and
Fred reminds us to take it down a notch as most of us
are tired, the track
has warmed up some and this is the time when most of the
bike/machine
separations occur.
With
Fred's warning ringing in our ears we get our bikes out
for one
last
assault on the track. I get to play with the Buell again
and one of the
instructors flies by me like I wasn't even there. A most
humbling experience
to be riding along as quickly, smoothly, comfortably and
confidently as you
have ever ridden and to be passed by one who is so much
better than you may
ever hope to be! I looked at it as a good reason to
continue with the
practice on my skills. Just maybe, someday, I would be
able to ride with
such an individual, on his level. Looks like I may have
to go back for
lesson 2?
The signal is made for us to get off the track and we
reluctantly head to
the truck for the last time. About the time I get to the
parking area I
start to feel the adrenaline running out and I am real
tired. Jeff, starts
loading up while Ron and I head to the classroom to sit
down, suck a soda and
relax while the conclusion of our day unfolds. I was
just too tired to start
throwing the bikes back into the truck and needed a
minute to recoup some
energy.
The CLASS crew then begins in handing out the
Certificates of
Accomplishment and each participant gets a warm round of
applause from the
rest. The crew of the CLASS also gets a huge thank you
from all of us riders
as they are all a bunch of first class folks. Each of
the crew were very
approachable and most willing to answer any question
regarding the lessons
and riding techniques that the rider could come up with.
I have only mentioned Fred Willink, Bill Womack and
"Terrible Ted" as
they were
the ones (in addition to Reg) that I had the
most contact with. The others can all be introduced
through the CLASS web
sight: www.classrides.com. Take a good look at this web
sight and the
quality of the CLASS comes shining through. You can even
start the signing
up process if you can find an opening at an event near
you!
After receiving our Certificates we get a look at a
video that was shot
while Reg was running some of his two-up excursions. It
almost made me dizzy
as I saw the lean angles that Mr. Pridmore was doing. To
see him passing
even the A riders on a VFR800, with a passenger is truly
a sight to remember,
and when he blows by you one that you will never forget!
The video tops off
the day and I pick up a hat as a souvenir of the whole
experience.
Getting the bikes loaded up isn't too big of a hassle
and we are quickly
heading for home. We manage to stop for dinner along the
way and are still
back at the cribs just before it got real dark.
This was a long day, we left around 5:00 in the morning
and got home
around 7:00 p.m. I got everything out of the truck and
then hit the shower.
After a cold beer I found my soft bed and just about
passed out. I had
promised to write down my thoughts of the day, but I
wanted it to be a
serious account and had to wait for the giddiness to
wear off. Every time I
get to thinking about charging around Sears Point I get
this huge stupid grin
on my face and my wife has to yell at me to wake up.
CLASS was everything that Jeff had touted it to be, and
then some. I
came to it with as open a mind as a 45 year old 'Butt
Head' could muster.
Sure I had my doubts, but sometimes even an old dog can
learn some new tricks and I did! Don't worry about the
unfounded fear that I had, that this is for the 'Ricky
Racer' types, CLASS is set up for the street rider who
wishes to improve his skills out in the real world of
the public roadways.
If you have the opportunity to try out Reg Pridmore's
CLASS then don't
even blink, just do it, you will not forget it, nor
regret it. I believe
that if you are serious about your street riding skills
and, following your
first such CLASS, you will be looking at how you can set
up your next such
experience... I know I am.
Again;
Thanks Jeff ... I owe you one!"
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