New CCS Racer, but need confidence.

[lbk]

Well first of all sorry to those that were at Roebling, I didn't get around much due to feeling like crap, both physically and menatally about my riding.

To those that witnessed it, I was the GSXR in the race school. Yep I was SLOW and made a lot of mistakes.

My confidence is really low, primarily due to ending last season totalling out my street bike. But I will take my time a rebuild it before going out and bcoming a rolling road block at any CCS event.

Also for the record I was the idiot that stopped in turn 1 during the mock race. I was nervous and it looked as if the corner worker was pointing the flag downwards. Apparently she was probably just lowering it since I was the last rider to go past. Anyway pulled off into the grass thinking I was suppose to stop there. Mistake, lesson learned. Along with a few others.

1) Make sure you have enough water in your bike (Overheated during our second session out)
2) Loosen chain so you don't ruin what crappy suspension you have.
3) Try getting your license when you actually feel well, but after an 18hr drive I wasn't going to not ride.

Anyway, sure some of you were laughing at me as my riding, definitely warranted it. But I have some track days lined up and will work on my confidence. After getting a new rear shock of course. And we'll see how I feel by the May Blackhawk date, may race may not.

I did pass, and did get my license despite my error in turn 1. Definitely learned my lesson though. I'm also planning on going and watching some more races before I do, just to make sure I have everything fresh in my head before doing an actual race.

[Dawn]

Well.....

It doesn't sound like you had that good of a time, and you made a few mistakes.  Take heart, everyone does whether they adimit it or not.  You will learn.  This is not an easy sport, but it is a fun one.  

It's good to see that you have signed up for some more track days.  Better yet, sign up for another race school.  Come to the races and not only watch, but ask questions.  Everyone would be more than willing to provide you with their experiences on the track.

Good Luck!

Dawn   :)

[sdiver68]

Hey don't worry about it.  I made so many mistakes my first weekend I thought they'd make me take another school ;)  Experience only means you've already made that mistake...or others have made it and you've seen it 1st hand.

Do the track days, get some help from Super Dave, and learn.  Track time = experience.  Good experience = confidence.

It also sounds like you are being too hard on yourself.  Just have fun!  ;D Don't worry about what other people think...the only thing important is that you improve on your own schedule.  There are some fast peeps who are naturals...they went fast in their first weekends.  Others got there after years of learning.  Doesn't matter when the flag drops how you got there...only that you did and had fun doing it!

[lightweightgp]

relax, man.    i fell down in New Rider School on the first track session.   BANG, game over, better luck next time.     The next time i took it, it was 40 degrees and raining.    i stayed in 2d gear around the whole track.   but i passed, even though i was dead last in the mock race.

my first year of racing i was DFL in every race i entered.      some people get fast slowly.   i was one of those.   i am still working on it 3 seasons later.   it keeps getting better.   if you want it enough, just give yourself time.    

[lbk]

First of all thanks to everyone. Yeah I'm probably beating up on myself a bit, but there were just some basic things I was struggling with that I had last year before the street crash.

1) Looking further out, I really got comfortable with this, and this time struggled with it, had to keep forcing myself to look down track.
2) Using my knee as a comfortable guage as to my lean angle. At the end of last year, I really felt comfortable throwing the bike over until my knee touched. Now I kept easing it very slowly trying to see where I was at, then once it touched I felt myself actually back off a notch.

Anyway thanks again to everyone for their support, that is what really makes me look forward to this the most. Here are a few pics from Saturday.

[Chef]

you must enjoy riding in order to be out there.
so, imho, focus on ENJOYING every turn that you approach, you've gotta see past the fear, WE all do, as do you. and thats well known cuz anyone on a bike knows that it's scarey to the average schmo....

so in short, dont race just yet, .... get on the track, and be glad to be "in the numbers"

ive found, for me, that ive just gotta focus on the fulfilment (sp) that i get for "hitting" each turn, better and better, each time i encounter it...  and that goes for every turn.

hey,   then i looked up and shocked myself with a lap time from 1:24 to 1:18.

if ya doesnt have fun, ya doesnt deserve to bee's out dere....

yeah, get over it, grab yourself in the crouch area, man up, and find some fun in it... none of us started out as the fastest on the track, nor mistake free!

Ike

[SliderPhoto]

Come'on Dave! I've ridden with you bro! Stop beating yourself up, it will come back. It's common to reset after a crash. You'll get comfortable and be back in no time. Hang in there man and hope to see you out there soon!

[KBOlsen]

Advice from your pokey-slow friend at the very back of the pack:

Quit apologizing.  RELAX.  Shake it off.  Get back out there.  Remember to breathe.  This is club-level racing, not WSB.

Track days will help with some things, but there is no substitute for what you will learn while RACING.  Go to Grattan - it's a great confidence-builder.  Come to VRS.  Rosno & Co. will help you.

Don't worry about being slow.  You're just starting out.  At this stage of the game, it's far more important that you are able to hold your line.  These guys will get around you - no problem.  Just be predictable.  I already know you can do that.
If guys give you shit about being slow, remember - if they're as good as they think they are, they should have no trouble getting around you.

I've seen how you ride, and wish I could toss my bike around as confidently as you did on the Kat.    

Don't let anybody tell you that you don't belong on a race grid.  

[tzracer]

Confidence, like motivation, comes from within. When you are on the track, don't worry about other riders, it you against the track. If the ohter riders are good enough to catch you, they should be good enough to pass you. Passing you is their problem, ride the track - this makes you predictable. Practice the things you were taught in school. If you come to Blackhawk, stop by, Rick , myself or one of the other LCR instructors will be around to help you.

One way to gain some confidence is to set some attainable goals. I set my first goal as passing riders school, you already did that. My next goal was to finish a race, then to finish a race ahead of another bike, etc. Might not sound like much, but attaining goals, even modest ones helps confidence. Making goals too difficult can ruin confidence. Remember that the biggest difference between you and many of the faster riders is experience, they have been doing this for a while, they should make it look easy. If you stick with it, you can become one of the riders making it look easy. Remember, not all riders progress at the same rate. Pushing yourself to get faster before you are ready is not a good thing. Work on being a better (smoother) rider and speed will follow. It can be frustrating at times, but that is part of the game.

[lbk]

Thanks again to everyone here. Actually I was talking to my wife over lunch, and she being as smart as she is suggested something.

I had planned on doing all of this to go racing in May. So she like some others have suggested just put that off. Maybe I will race maybe I won't. But if I axe it from the schedule for now, and just ooncentrate on having fun and rebuilding my skills it will be a more relaxing atmosphere and more productive to learning. Well DUH!

But hey when you start leading down a path sometimes it's hard to take a step back and just look at the situation. She and all of you are right. Just relax, do some track days, learn at my own pace then when I'm good and ready I already have my race license so can start into that whenever.

So that's the plan! Going to just go out and enjoy riding on the track, then once I start to feel nice and relaxed again, I can check the CCS schedule to see where I fit in. :D

Ahhh... man it's the simplest answers sometimes...

Thanks again to everyone here. See you at the races, eventually. LOL

[TZDeSioux]

I think most of go through this at one time or another. I hadn't ridden a motorcycle in 8 year when I had a hair up my butt to buy a TZ250 and start racing in 2001. So basically the first motorcycle I ever rode in 8 years was at LCR in August of 2001. I was scared out of my freaking mind. Gripped the handlebars so damn tight that I had forearm pump before I even left the hot pit. I took it nice and slow went my own pace and passed the class and got my license. I didn't let the faster riders bother me. I basically circulated the track minding my own business with no concern for the faster riders. I figured they'd get around. I even convinced myself to enter a race on Sunday so I did and believe me I was scared out of my wits and considered turning back around and coming back into the pits to pack up and find a new hobby. Once I did the warm up lap and got in my grid position, I forgot about everything. All I cared about was finishing the race and I did... dead fricking last! You would think that coming dead last would do nothing for my confidence but when the April blackhawk round came around in 2002..everything I was ever afraid of had disappeared. Lap times went from 1:45 in August of 2001 to 1:22 in 2002. Just race in May.. you'll get over it :)

[MightyDuc Racing]

I agree with Super Duck...if you set an original goal of racing in May, you need to race in May.  You should have several track day opportunities between now and then to get ready for it.  And you'll be amazed how much faster you go in an actual race!  And as far as the first weekend and licensing goes...mine went well.  However, as I sat with a blown engine in turn 7 at Moroso a few weeks ago (my almost 2nd race weekend), I got to see a guy with an orange shirt (first race weekend) crash in turn 7 in the exact same spot that I saw him crash in front of me the day before.  Your first time coulda been worse..right?