I’m the guy who sits on a stool in his garage most weeknights thumbing a T-handle as I stare at my bike wondering what settings I can adjust or what other parts I could possibly add to help me go a little faster, lean a little farther, brake a little later. In the canyons, that is. I’m the guy who gets up at 5:30 A.M. every Saturday and Sunday to go out and do battle with the other local canyon racers and relishes in being one of the faster guys out there.
Having gotten a master’s degree and a “real job” only within the last year, I never made it out to the track because I “never had the money” or “never had the time.” I always just stuck to the local canyons and the crews of racers that migrate through from week to week, even though I always wanted to get out on the track. I thought I could get good sticking to the canyons. Like some kind of school of hard knocks, I romanticized.
Standing on the side of the road after the crash, I called my friend. He brought his truck an hour out to where I was, rolled my bike up into the flatbed, and drove it home for me. He then told me he wanted me to attend a riding school before he saw me get back on a bike. With a deep sense of shame, I nodded and said I’d look into it.
I started researching the different programs, and after much deliberation decided to attend Keith Code’s California Superbike School. So I reached out to them, got a slot reserved in one of their two-day camps at the Streets of Willow Raceway, and started preparing to make myself a truly better rider.
But what makes someone a better rider? At the time, I probably would have said a rider who can go faster while maintaining control. Now, after attending levels one and two of the California Superbike School program, I can tell you that there is a lot more to it than that.
Previously, I thought I knew something about riding. But reading Keith Code’s books and watching his DVD in preparation for the school taught me that no, in fact, I didn’t. They answered questions I didn’t even know I had. What’s the best line to take when faced with a negatively cambered decreasing radius turn that leads into a chicane? What’s even the best line to take on a positively cambered turn that terminates into a flat straightaway? How much does the way you use your eyes affect your riding? The answers to these questions may surprise you. They certainly surprised me.
I quickly learned that Keith Code primarily seeks to understand “the technology” of riding motorcycles in order to improve one’s riding, which he defines in A Twist Of The Wrist II as “the application of knowledge for practical ends.” He further defines knowledge as “acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles, as from study or investigation.” It turns out that Keith Code was among the first people to truly research road racing and the science behind it, from the physics of motorcycles interacting with environmental forces to the neurological processes involved in riding a motorcycle, and put his findings into writing. This knowledge has the power to give motorcyclists the tools and understanding necessary to improve their riding regardless of what they ride or where they ride.
Late the night before the first day of the camp, I lay in a hotel bed staring up at the ceiling repeating the sequence of turns on the track map. Right, late apex right, double apex left, right into a chicane… I felt anxious. Was I good enough? Would the other riders there be hardened track veterans, and would I just hold them back? Would I crash? I really hoped I wouldn’t crash; that most of all. Eventually I drifted to sleep, anticipating my 5:30 A.M. alarm that would wake me up that Monday morning not for work, not even for the canyon, but for an experience of personal growth unlike any I had ever before undergone.
At 7 A.M. all the students reported to the track to check in, get their gear on, and meet their coaches. The first thing I noticed was the spectrum of people attending the school: there were people in their twenties up through their fifties, male and female, of a multitude of races, from around the world, possessing a wide range of skill levels, and coming from many different walks of life, all seeking the same thing: to learn to become better riders. As part of the two-day camp, I got to ride one of the school's BMW S1000RRs, which, with the full load out of options installed, was incredible to ride. Having owned a ZX6-R, an R1, and now an R6, I was completely blown away by how simply rideable the bike was: the throttle control was buttery smooth, the suspension impeccable, the brakes ideal, and the entire machine notably ergonomically-minded.
The format of the school was 20 minutes of instruction, 20 minutes on the track, and then a debriefing with your coach, with a 30-minute break for lunch. For the two-day camp, there are seven track sessions, during which you practice doing drills for a few laps, are followed by your coach to see what you need demonstrated or need to be reminded of, follow your coach to get some on-track instruction, and then finish the session practicing what your coach signaled for you to focus on. The school is clearly designed to be student-oriented, with the goal being to help each student improve by giving them personalized instruction and feedback throughout each step of the way.
The first few laps around the track were extremely discouraging: I was unsure how to deal with the highly technical nature of the track, despite having nearly a decade of riding experience under my helmet. And when we started doing drills to replace old habits with new ones, it was always challenging to do them correctly, let alone do them smoothly. It felt like I was plateauing, which, in my opinion, is one of the most frustrating feelings you can experience. But with the combined instruction from the classes, feedback from my coaches, and setting aside my preconceived ideas about how to ride in order to trust what I was being taught, my average lap time was reduced by nearly 20 seconds over the course of the program.
The school not only redefined the way that I ride, but also the way that I think. It equipped me with a pragmatic mentality for overcoming any situation. The school gave me a new understanding of the meaning of confidence and the value of technology.
It also helped me understand something that Keith Code himself told me when I sat and talked with him between sessions during the second day. He told me that 40 years ago when he founded the California Superbike School, he thought he knew a thing or two about riding motorcycles. Now, he said, he feels like he spends every day trying to learn how to ride motorcycles. At the time, I laughed. Now, I realize the profundity of that humble insight: every day is an opportunity for improvement and growth if you decide to make it one.
David Bumpus (@davidexmachina) is a motorcycle writer and rider based out of Southern California. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing and his motorcycle-related content has appeared in GQ, MAXIM, Hypebeast, Uncrate, Cycle World, Motorcycle Cruiser, Street Chopper, Cycle News, META, Silodrome, BikeEXIF, Motorcycle.com, Women Riders Now, The Boston Globe, The Miami Herald and elsewhere. Follow his Instagram adventures @davidexmachina
Photos courtesy of EtechPhoto.com
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