Feature: MEM - advanced training - paul pitchfork
Back in the UK after three years exploring the Andes on my Tenere, I found myself sharing a cof-fee with Nick, an old friend and coach at the California Superbike School. He was explaining the School’s syllabus to me.
“When I did the training as a student”, he explained, “the impact of Level One was evolutionary. Level Two, however, was revolutionary - that’s when my riding really changed.”
He didn’t tell me why - that, he believed, was for me to find out - but I nevertheless trusted him. Convinced that the California Superbike School would have a big impact on my riding, I signed up for both Levels One and Two.
I learnt a huge amount from Level One; back on the roads after the training, my cornering rapidly became smoother, more stable and more consistent. However, I soon realised there was a gap in my riding technique; with my focus on selecting the turn point and the apex, I was neglecting wider observation such as hazard awareness, and vice-versa: I was struggling to allocate my visual at-tention to both aspects of cornering. But I shouldn’t have worried - Keith Code and the California Superbike School have this covered.
Level Two of the syllabus is all about visual skills. A month on from Level One and back at Silver-stone with about a hundred other students, we were taken once again through five theory sessions, each followed with a twenty-minute track session under the watchful eyes of our coaches. The key concept of the day was simple - in order to ride smoothly, quickly and safely, the rider must acquire information, through his or her vision, with which to make the right decisions at the right time. Improving the acquisition of information was our aim.
We started with the technique of using reference points to help us orientate ourselves and make decisions - when to brake, when to turn, when to adjust our line. We were shown that a series of reference points, identified one after the other, provides the rider with a smooth flow of information and avoids target fixation.