California Superbike school jerez
Discussion
ive heard a few guys on here asking about the california superbike school . i have recently got back from a marathon all 4 levels of the california superbike school in 4 days at jerez spain and thought id share my experiences.
this is possibly the best thing i have ever done . was in a group of very varied riders . built up of complete novices to proper racers (!) and everything in between . the instructors and the instruction are brilliant . so friendly , make you at ease and fun.
we covered several points in class ( then on track ) on day 1 . basically our mission was to keep the bike stable . the motorcycle is an inherently stable device but a 100kg imbecile jumping around on it ( me ) doesnt exactly help matters . so we worked on fixing this . dealing with throttle control , corner entry , grip etc etc . then you put it all together with combination drills for the last 2 sessions and as if by magic you are transformed .
absolutely brilliant day 1 .
______________day 2 was a revelation . several small seemingly harmless drills drip drip dripped away at the morning until like niagra falls erupted a raging waterfal of biblical proportions !
by the end of day 2 you can drive any line within reason . i mean any line . the instructor takes you over rumble strips , dust everything then he opens up the track like you cannot believe . you can overtake almost on a whim , its truly awesome .
but thats nothing . because thanks to CSS now i can see .
yes , all these years of driving and riding wasted . i can see now . in hdmi , wide screen full colour riding a will never be the same again o vision .
i swear its like a lightbulb illuminating a dark room . nothing can prepare you for this . i will never ride or drive ( or even walk ) the same again . Its very close to a martial arts exercise .
day 3 deals with your physical relationship with the bike . i warn you it is very tiring ( especially if you were mad enough to do days 123 all in a row ). we covered moving around on the bike , all the different positions and moving between them using VERY novel and effective methods . then we did some superman s
t ( my name not theirs ) and the brilliant hip flick , knee to knee and the mighty hook turn . possibly the coolest position ever seen on a bike .
by now i had become great friends with andy ibbot and the brilliant instructors . they are so good at dealing with people and so good at reading your position / what you are thinking / looking or not looking at it borders on sorcery .
by now i was flying . day 4 goes how i want its very personal and i decided to work on my moving around the bike and the mighty hook turn . i was getting faster and faster . the instructors were very impressive , so dedicated . you can tell they truly want you to reach your goals .
it was hard work and very serious( as you can see ) :
the last few sessions were free periods and we had some great dices and runs . this school has been a revelation . i have made great friends and learned so much . ill be doing as many as i can . highly recommended .
in short how i felt day 1 :
how i felt by the end of day 4 :
a big thank you to andy and all at the california superbike school (uk) for teaching me so much and being so nice . the bottom line is i am transformed and i can now really see .
highly recommended !
but be warned if you misbehave ibbott san will behead you :
this is possibly the best thing i have ever done . was in a group of very varied riders . built up of complete novices to proper racers (!) and everything in between . the instructors and the instruction are brilliant . so friendly , make you at ease and fun.
we covered several points in class ( then on track ) on day 1 . basically our mission was to keep the bike stable . the motorcycle is an inherently stable device but a 100kg imbecile jumping around on it ( me ) doesnt exactly help matters . so we worked on fixing this . dealing with throttle control , corner entry , grip etc etc . then you put it all together with combination drills for the last 2 sessions and as if by magic you are transformed .
absolutely brilliant day 1 .
______________day 2 was a revelation . several small seemingly harmless drills drip drip dripped away at the morning until like niagra falls erupted a raging waterfal of biblical proportions !
by the end of day 2 you can drive any line within reason . i mean any line . the instructor takes you over rumble strips , dust everything then he opens up the track like you cannot believe . you can overtake almost on a whim , its truly awesome .
but thats nothing . because thanks to CSS now i can see .
yes , all these years of driving and riding wasted . i can see now . in hdmi , wide screen full colour riding a will never be the same again o vision .
i swear its like a lightbulb illuminating a dark room . nothing can prepare you for this . i will never ride or drive ( or even walk ) the same again . Its very close to a martial arts exercise .
day 3 deals with your physical relationship with the bike . i warn you it is very tiring ( especially if you were mad enough to do days 123 all in a row ). we covered moving around on the bike , all the different positions and moving between them using VERY novel and effective methods . then we did some superman s
t ( my name not theirs ) and the brilliant hip flick , knee to knee and the mighty hook turn . possibly the coolest position ever seen on a bike .by now i had become great friends with andy ibbot and the brilliant instructors . they are so good at dealing with people and so good at reading your position / what you are thinking / looking or not looking at it borders on sorcery .
by now i was flying . day 4 goes how i want its very personal and i decided to work on my moving around the bike and the mighty hook turn . i was getting faster and faster . the instructors were very impressive , so dedicated . you can tell they truly want you to reach your goals .
it was hard work and very serious( as you can see ) :
the last few sessions were free periods and we had some great dices and runs . this school has been a revelation . i have made great friends and learned so much . ill be doing as many as i can . highly recommended .
in short how i felt day 1 :
how i felt by the end of day 4 :
a big thank you to andy and all at the california superbike school (uk) for teaching me so much and being so nice . the bottom line is i am transformed and i can now really see .
highly recommended !
but be warned if you misbehave ibbott san will behead you :
Edited by wtdoom on Sunday 18th April 23:19
Top stuff, must of been a fair whack doing 4 days (I've seen the 2 day prices so have a rough idea) but it's a once in a lifetime thing I guess. As said in a thread before which you replid to, I'd love to get myself down to Laguna Seca next March or so and take advantage of my familys cheap flight deals.
Ralph Wiggum said:
All in all what did it cost? Including ferrys etc.
Looks like epic fun. How would you have rated yourself as a rider pre this trip?
i have no access to the costs on this computer im afraid ( but the website lists them all and remember you dont have to do all days at once ) . but there are different ways of doing it . e.g you can have an all inclusive with flights , bike transport etc or just make your own way .Looks like epic fun. How would you have rated yourself as a rider pre this trip?
i did everything through them and it was great .
To be frank , i rated myself as utter poo before i did this . i was so nervous of the bike ( on slicks , dream bike etc etc ) that i nearly bottled it and not go .
i assure you it was the best decision ever . I really enjoyed myself , made great friends and learned to control myself and more importantly my bike . no amount of ohlins or akrapovic will ever make as much difference to your riding .
i promise you , you will not believe the change !
obscene said:
Top stuff, must of been a fair whack doing 4 days (I've seen the 2 day prices so have a rough idea) but it's a once in a lifetime thing I guess. As said in a thread before which you replid to, I'd love to get myself down to Laguna Seca next March or so and take advantage of my familys cheap flight deals.
you will not regret it . im going to do a few more this year , cant wait .gareth h said:
Mate you must have been bksed after 4 days. I've found 1 day at a time tiring.
it was hard work mate your not wrong there . i wanted to make sure i did it and not leave it after a day or 2 and keep putting the other days off and off ( you know work and stuff like that ).ksed after 4 days. I've found 1 day at a time tiring.i put a gun to my head so to speak .
obscene said:
Top stuff, must of been a fair whack doing 4 days (I've seen the 2 day prices so have a rough idea) but it's a once in a lifetime thing I guess. As said in a thread before which you replid to, I'd love to get myself down to Laguna Seca next March or so and take advantage of my familys cheap flight deals.
Do it, I did my Levels 3 and 4 at Laguna Seca with Andy Ibbott and the US CSS crew, including Keith Code doing classroom sessions, was an awesome experience.Nice write up as well, thansk for sharing, they are a great bunch at CSS, who did you have as your instructor ?
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