Trackday vs off-road rider training

[vgcspares]

yesterday I came upon a very sharp (read perpendicular 90 degree) bend in a country road - suffice it to say I was going a tad faster than my trackday honed skills could get me round ...

awaiting me and bike was a two foot deep gully which dead-ended where a driveway level with the road crossed it ... course the gully continued on the other side of the driveway and the only way out was diagonally up a pretty steep gravel-covered bank

me and the bike made it unscathed, so should I hone my off-road riding skills (which are non-existent) or do more tracktime so I can get round the corners ?

PS there was a "Sharp Bend" sign when you came upon it from the other direction ...

[disturbed]

i would say tracktime lol, good to hear you got away unhurt

[tigertim20]

sounds a little like putting an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff instead of a fence at the top if you improve your off road riding skills. I mean, it was a slight shortcoming in road skills that put you in that position, so why not focus on staying ON the road, and reduce the chances of it happening again? Just my 2 cents!!

[vgcspares]

you're probably right - first time I've gone off the road in this fashion (so also the first time I survived that kind of thing)

however a friend knicknamed "Gravel" says he makes a habit of this kind of thing so will see which of the two he recommends and report back

[Patch]

just slow down and save the hero antics for the track

[vgcspares]

wasn't being a hero - the corner was unmarked and I'm guessing the sign in my direction had gone missing, the fact there was a sign facing the other way points to there having been problems in the past

but you're probably right, if I stay in first gear I won't get into any trouble

[discotex]

You want to be using the vanishing point technique as it helps you to judge how sharp a corner is. That and using clues such as power poles or rows of trees.

Of course the *very* occasional fuck-up is normal but if you habitually find yourself getting a scare mid-corner you should slow down until your road-craft is up to the task - especially on new roads.

[cowpoos]

yesterday I came upon a very sharp (read perpendicular 90 degree) bend in a country road - suffice it to say I was going a tad faster than my trackday honed skills could get me round ...

awaiting me and bike was a two foot deep gully which dead-ended where a driveway level with the road crossed it ... course the gully continued on the other side of the driveway and the only way out was diagonally up a pretty steep gravel-covered bank

me and the bike made it unscathed, so should I hone my off-road riding skills (which are non-existent) or do more tracktime so I can get round the corners ?

PS there was a "Sharp Bend" sign when you came upon it from the other direction ...

I would say slow down...until you learn to read the road better. dirt riding and trackday practise ain't gunna make up for stupid decisions!!

[Motu]

Stupid decisions are a part of life for most people....I still make them all the time.Call me stupid.

But having some skills in place for those moments is a good insurance scheme....The best place to learn how to cope with an oh shit I've really fucked up this time moment - is on a hard packed dirt oval,dirt,track....on a small gutless bike.Push the bike harder and harder,learn to control front and rear wheel slides,learn what happens,and what to do when the bike gets out of control beyond the limit.This is not track riding,and it's not dirt riding - it's learning to control a bike at what you believe is faster than it can go around a corner.You are in the corner constantly - entry apex exit,entry apex exit,over and over and over.There are no straights,no left and right,no let up,just the corner the corner the corner.

Who's got some flat land somewhere?

[cowpoos]

Who's got some flat land somewhere?

Close to Ngahiwahiha?? might know someone

[zzzbang]

agree with motu. on the dirt you dont want to be leaning off either, keep your weight above the bike and lean it over while you stay ontop, keeps it from lowsiding so easily. that feeling of going into a corner too fast and out of control sucks eh lol, successfully drifted some cow crap into a corner a while back, just barely stayed in the white line heehee.

[dpex]

yesterday I came upon a very sharp (read perpendicular 90 degree) bend in a country road - suffice it to say I was going a tad faster than my trackday honed skills could get me round ...

awaiting me and bike was a two foot deep gully which dead-ended where a driveway level with the road crossed it ... course the gully continued on the other side of the driveway and the only way out was diagonally up a pretty steep gravel-covered bank

me and the bike made it unscathed, so should I hone my off-road riding skills (which are non-existent) or do more tracktime so I can get round the corners ?

PS there was a "Sharp Bend" sign when you came upon it from the other direction ...

If I've got this right...and I always do cos I'm a know-it-all-son-of-a-bitch, you made this post for the sole purpose of exculpating the shivers that still run deep in your gut as you relive those awful moments when it became evident you could well be about to become a statistic.

I can relate to that.:--))

You survived. Live wih it. Be happy you did, and ignore all the advice of the sages. Corners like the one you nearly messed up on are all over the land.

Most you win, some you lose.

But, you see, if we were not living within a society which asserts that absolutely 'everything' from atom bombs to vibrators must be absolutely safe, we wouldn't have signs on the road suggesting speed limits or potential dangers. We'd have drivers and riders who, instead of being lulled into a false sense of security, would have to find their own way.

But no, we don't have that. We have an amazing array of signs for just about everything, all there for the lowest common demoninator/driver.

All which happened was, you fell into the 'total-safety' trap. No sign? No problem. Oops! Sign missing. Big problem.

I'm real pleased you came through it physically unscathed though.....The brown stuff on your undies will wash out. :--)))

[dpex]

yesterday I came upon a very sharp (read perpendicular 90 degree) bend in a country road - suffice it to say I was going a tad faster than my trackday honed skills could get me round ...

awaiting me and bike was a two foot deep gully which dead-ended where a driveway level with the road crossed it ... course the gully continued on the other side of the driveway and the only way out was diagonally up a pretty steep gravel-covered bank

me and the bike made it unscathed, so should I hone my off-road riding skills (which are non-existent) or do more tracktime so I can get round the corners ?

PS there was a "Sharp Bend" sign when you came upon it from the other direction ...

I did mean to ask where you found a perpendicular turn on any road in the land. Must be skate-boarders heaven. :--))