OK, Hands up those who would like an opportunity to improve their riding. In reality, none of us are at a point where no improvement is possible, and if you're serious about enjoying riding your bike more and getting more from it, then training is the best way to go about it.
One of the biggest bogeymen for riders of all ages and experience levels is cornering. The California Superbike School (CSS) is widely regarded as the best training around for learning to corner with confidence.
From reading that last sentence a number of you will have had two thoughts:
1) CSS is just for racers and trackday riders so it's of no relevance to me.
2) Jesus, that's expensive!
Let's address both of those thoughts:
1) It's a long time since the Romans left our shores and since then our roads are no longer arrow-straight, they all have corners on them, lots of corners of all different shapes and sizes. The physics and fundamentals of getting a bike round a corner are the same, whether it's Fish Hill, the corner down the road from your house, or Paddock Hill bend at Brands Hatch. Many of you have never ridden on track, and many of you will be uncomfortable negotiating bends on roads that you ride with friends at the weekend. Doing CSS isn't purely to turn you into wannabe racers, it's designed to improve confidence when cornering and for many, doing Level I will be enough to really open the door for you to ride with more confidence.
2) Yes, it isn't cheap, but how much did you spend on that bike in your garage, you know, the one that you're still uncomfortable to ride round corners? What you may spend on doing CSS will repay itself time and again in terms of how much more enjoyment you get out of riding your bike.
I'd been riding over thirty years, including racing and trackdays for over a dozen of them when I watched Star do CSS Level I a couple of years ago. I was so impressed with what I saw and heard that day that I decided to do it myself and have since done Levels I & II. I'm signing up to do Levels III & IV this time.
I've been talking to CSS and they are prepared to offer a discount for a group booking (see below), along with the option to pay by instalments. I doubt we'd manage to get a full group of 20 students from this forum alone so I'm posting the offer on other fora too. If you're interested in doing the course, copy the list of names below and paste into a fresh post, adding yours. I will not be arranging bookings - that's up to you, call Lynn on the number below and mention my name (Simon Scott) so she can put us all in the same group booking. CSS runs four levels of training, and everyone starts at Level I, irrespective of the amount of experience you may have.
The following is the text sent to me by CSS:
Looking at May 2nd or 3rd on the Stowe circuit at Silverstone.
We would need minimum of 20 people to sign up. Although we couldn't guarantee there would be an exclusive group as people are put in groups based on ability and level taken. The three groups rotate throughout the day so there is always time to watch one another and have a catch up!
Cost of the day would be £359** a £40 saving on the normal price
Payments can also be made in 3 instalments to ease cashflow in the run up to christmas
Instalment 1 = £159 (£100 of which is a non refundable deposit) due now
Instalment 2 = £100 due 31st Dec
Instalment 3 = £100 due 31st Jan
All payments must be made by the 31st Jan or the course will revert to the full price of £399
10% discount will also apply to any hire bike bookings and Leather hire.
For all booking please call Lynn on 08700 671 061
Have a look at the CSS Website
Important note: if taking up this group offer, call Lynn directly, you won't be able to get the discount if booking on-line.
Participants List
Scotty
Originally Posted by Scotty
Maybe next year.
