Poll: More aggressive on the street after a track day?

[MrMogensen]

First trackday (medium-level) was a short 30min ride to and back from track. Started to rain just when I was about to ride home so was a sad trip home...

After 2nd trackday (advanced) I had about 3 hours ride home. The first hour was extremely weird. I was going kind of slow... had just been going full throttle around a track in 2/3.gears for hours and hours and suddently out on the regular roads. Going 80 km/h straight forward on smaller country tarmac roads felt extraordinary slow - kind of like blurry...

 

[carbonar1]

I find a trackday makes me slow down on the street. It makes me realise the lack of grip and high level of risk on the road.

The longer I'm away from the track the more aggressive and risky I ride on the street.

I've been away from the track for over a year now and I push far too hard on the road!

I need to get back to the track and unleash some banzai speed! April 25th at Mallala motorsports park. :rockon:

 

[Misti]

I think its relative. My speed has increased sometimes on the street, but not in an aggressive fashion, just relative to my comfort level.

This is a really interesting point. If your riding improves at a track day or riding school then perhaps your speed also increases on the street but as you say, not in an aggressive fashion.

I find a trackday makes me slow down on the street. It makes me realise the lack of grip and high level of risk on the road.

The longer I'm away from the track the more aggressive and risky I ride on the street.

I've been away from the track for over a year now and I push far too hard on the road!

I need to get back to the track and unleash some banzai speed! April 25th at Mallala motorsports park. :rockon:

So for some track days are a way of getting the speed demons out and they can then slow down on the road for a while but if they don't get their jolly's at the track often enough then they push hard on the road.

Maybe the question should be changed to, do you ride BETTER on the street after a track day or riding school? how and why?

Misti

 

[fastar1]

You know, I don't feel that it's made me a better rider on the street, other that reducing the urge to speed. My constant overriding concern with street riding is the level of grip the surface affords, since dust or oil could lay around any corner, plus other surprise obstacles like road debris or animals. On top of that, the safety margin is zero given that there's no run off pr other safety measures in place.
So there is nothing I learn on the track that I can apply to the street. Even in an emergency, it takes practice to react appropriately to a given situation so learning push steering from track days doesn't do much for me on the street.

 

[Misti]

You know, I don't feel that it's made me a better rider on the street, other that reducing the urge to speed. My constant overriding concern with street riding is the level of grip the surface affords, since dust or oil could lay around any corner, plus other surprise obstacles like road debris or animals. On top of that, the safety margin is zero given that there's no run off pr other safety measures in place.
So there is nothing I learn on the track that I can apply to the street. Even in an emergency, it takes practice to react appropriately to a given situation so learning push steering from track days doesn't do much for me on the street.

Hmmmmm, I find this really interesting. I do understand how going from track to street might make you focus a bit more on the dangers that the road has, and the fact that the safety margin is not really there. But I don't really understand how you say that "push steering that you learn on the track doesn't do much for you on the street."

I think that most of the skills from track riding translate to the street and can make you a better rider. Sure you need practice to react in an emergency but isn't that what track riding gives you? A safe place to practice improving your skills so that if you do need to suddenly react on the street you are more prepared to do so?? If you get better at "push steering" and turning the bike quickly on the track then you are more likely to be able to make sudden steering changes on the street if you have to react to a sudden obstacle, right?

Misti

 

[fastar1]

I guess I'll have to wait for an emergency situation on the street before I can confirm empirically whether it helped or not! But the track is so predictable (I don't race) every move is planned in advance.
All I know is I'm very comfortable keeping up with the fast guys on the track, but on a group ride I'm a medium-slow rider amongst a group of non-crazy friends, and I still feel pretty tense!

 

[MrMogensen]

I guess I'll have to wait for an emergency situation on the street before I can confirm empirically whether it helped or not! But the track is so predictable (I don't race) every move is planned in advance.
All I know is I'm very comfortable keeping up with the fast guys on the track, but on a group ride I'm a medium-slow rider amongst a group of non-crazy friends, and I still feel pretty tense!

Given that the track you rode around on is a mixture of different bends (small/big) - yes after a couple of laps the track gets more and more predictable making you able to try to improve every single turn. This should apply to the world outside the track aswell. If your riding on roads you know (or have a good view of the turn) then this too is predictable

It's all about having as much fun as possible as safely as possible (not saying that riding a bike is safe but the odds get better after practice).

Personally I like the feeling of improving outside the track.
Example: Remembering at what km/h I rode at some turn last time and trying to figure out what to do to take the turn better than last time. I am not trying to encourage you to get speedingtickets but if it can be done to take a turn at the allowed maximum speed then why slow down = less fun?

 

[Misti]

I guess I'll have to wait for an emergency situation on the street before I can confirm empirically whether it helped or not! But the track is so predictable (I don't race) every move is planned in advance.
All I know is I'm very comfortable keeping up with the fast guys on the track, but on a group ride I'm a medium-slow rider amongst a group of non-crazy friends, and I still feel pretty tense!

It might help to try to take a look at what is most different for you on the street vs the track and what is making you tense.

It probably has something to do with your visual skills. As you said, riding on a track is predictable because you remember the corners and know what to expect but you can learn to be able to predict corners on the street by improving your visual skills.

Riders on the street tend to not look as far ahead as they do on the track and/or have a more narrow field of view. A little practice can help you widen your field of view and raise your eyes on the street which helps you be able to perceive what is coming a little better, it also helps with your sense of speed. These are things you can take from the track and apply on the street.

Misti

 

[fastar1]

I hear what you're saying and I can confirm that there are often times when I have to remind myself to look up when riding on the street.
But the biggest difference betwwen the track and the street is clearly the environment. There can be hills, bushes, buildings, vehicles impeding my line of sight and there is no assurance that the road is clear even one inch beyond my line of sight. There could be a 5 ton boulder lying in the middle of tje road for all I know. And even when I do have a clear line of sight, it's almost impossible to see dust or pebbles from a distance, so they are a constant threat and I have to assume they are present until I can confirm they are not with my own eyes.
Needless to say, I find most street riders take huge risks at the speed they ride because they seem to assume the road is clear rather than the other way 'round.