A real-world look at mental recovery, high-speed skills, and the life-saving value of professional motorcycle training with California Superbike School
Physical injuries require medical attention and after getting tossed from with my bike last summer in California, my minor injuries came with a whopping $154,000 bill. Thankfully, I had travel insurance. I ride because I love it. When the helmet goes on, the chaotic world we live in goes silent. No phone. No noise. Just a teasing of the senses in the open air.
Since the ‘incident’, my physical injuries healed and I got back on a bike but soon realized something inside me had changed. The invisible injuries (emotional and mental trauma) were worse. I had not yet healed. I was tense, hyper-alert and target fixing on every hazard. The peace I once felt inside my helmet was gone. I knew I needed help, not for my body this time, but for my head.
A statement on www.superbikeschool.com stopped me:
“For decades expert riders have proclaimed riding to be 90% mental.”
If a crash demands physical rehab, why wouldn’t mental trauma need the same level of care? That settled it. I was going to California Superbike School, home to some of the best race coaches in the world. They train professional moto athletes and break riding down into clear, repeatable skills that benefit any rider.
As I walked toward the 30+ bike fleet of 2014 BMWS1000RR motorcycles, all lined up, shining in the morning desert sun, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, my stomach pitted. I was scared. The sensation intensified as I scanned the sea of riding enthusiasts mingling over breakfast in front of two, decked-out 18-wheelers, swapping riding stories like they had all been life-long friends.
It is amazing how small the world becomes when its international inhabitants converge to one location to share the same passion. Brazilian and French accents mixed with that southern American and the distinct sound of Canada. Of the 30 students in attendance (just three gals -level I, II and IV), eight were Canadian, four, including me, from British Columbia and the youngest, a 15-year-old motocross racer in attendance with his father from Montreal. Ironically, this teen could control a motorcycle at high speed better than I could and yet not be old enough to drive a car.
The ratio of coaches to riders is 1:2 on the track plus classroom seminars to teach you one of ten specific skills that when combined, give you a complete toolbox for high speed cornering, braking and control of a motorcycle. This is not a ‘learn to ride’ program nor is it an advanced rider, training program. It was focused high-speed skill building that transfers directly to everyday riding.
Every morning began with a full staff intro. On-track coaches, classroom coaches, off-track specialists, video coaches, track control, logistics. The operation ran like clockwork. When you rolled off the track, there were coolers stocked with water, electrolytes, bananas, anything your body needed to keep going in leather under the desert sun because they know how the body reacts and what needs replenishing to carry on.
My group consisted of 15 riders plus me, the lone gal. As intimidating as it was to be on the track with testosterone driven speed demons, I was fortunate to be assigned to 25-year CSS veteran, world wide chief riding coach, Cobie Fair, whose overall kind mannerism gave me the confidence to put my fate in his hands. I trusted he would solve my problem.
No judgments. No criticism. Just encouragement and gentle nudging when he knew I had more in me than I thought I did. After our first classroom session on throttle control, we each mounted our numbered saddles and meandered to the start line for a two-lap orientation aboard our new horsepower and then . . . it was open throttle.
“Holy Sh*t! What am I doing here?”
The first words to pass through my head. Accident images flashed through my mind and I struggled to remember the particular skill that we were to be working on. My body locked up. Cobie saw my struggle, pulled in front of me and tapped the back of his bike – my signal to watch, keep pace and follow his line.
Through this exercise he would not only gain my trust but also get me focussed and gently pull me past my wall while keeping me safe. Each and every rider follows this protocol with coaches every track session – no matter the speed. Learn the skill, the speed will follow. The bikes do not have speedometers making the experience entirely sensory.
Before lunch, during another check-in with Cobie, the truth hit me: my crash might have been avoidable if I had trained like this earlier. I had ridden for years without the tools that could have helped me correct a slide, manage gravel, or recover a wide turn. That was hard to swallow.
Keith Code, the school’s founder, said something that stuck with me: “It’s always our fault.” Not as blame, but as responsibility. We owe it to ourselves to keep learning, gear up properly, know our limits, and train. If we ignore that and crash, who is really responsible?
(photo by etechphoto@usa.net)
By the end of day one, the flashbacks were gone. My confidence started coming back and my speed followed.
Off-track drills included the steering clinic, braking bike, stationary lean bike, moving lean/slide bike, and the video bike. Coaches chose what each rider needed most. I went to the braking bike and learned I could grab the front brake hard enough to shock myself without losing control.
By my 14th track session and 10th classroom module, after two long days in the Nevada heat, I was cornering twice as fast as my fastest straightaway the day before. When I filled out my survey, they handed me reference material, a track video, and Level One and Two completion certificates.
I left with something more important: confidence, a clear mind, and the next year’s training schedule already on my Christmas list.
IF YOU GO:
You must have proper track gear – one piece leather suit or jacket and pants that zip together, full face helmet, proper boots and gloves – if you don’t you can rent it from the school. Be prepared to provide an imprint of your credit card for any damage that may occur to their bikes if you make an error. The school considers you to be an athlete – show up like one with proper nutrition, hydrated, rested – not hungover, still buzzing from the night before – you will be refused participation.
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