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Break Between Rounds



This year has been a struggle on the track for me, I can’t lie about that. First off there was all that medical crap, which was more than just a small hurdle, and to some extent, continues to be another aspect that has changed. Then we have the new bike. Before getting the bike I was thoroughly convinced that there would be a transition period, but by around the 2nd or 3rd AFM round I’d be hitting my stride (with a fair bit of seat time over the winter included as part of that with a few trips to the SoCal region). Instead, breaking my leg meant none of the off-season training happened. I got back on the bike by round 2, but I was suffering from a complete lack of seat time (in general and on this bike), my decision to step up to expert, and a fresh surgery. 

Okay, I gave that and the next round up to “hey, medical, still getting used to bike.” Round 4, however, and I finally got the bike sprung properly, but it wasn’t making much difference. Between my own physical issues (which were significantly less, but still there on some level), and lack of useful time on the bike, I wasn’t set up for success that weekend. By this point I had managed to get intimidated by the bike, and things weren’t jiving very well. I knew the bike was awesome, and capable of being amazing, but I just wasn’t getting there, and I wasn’t sure how to proceed other than to keep chipping at it.

While discussing my issues with a fellow coach, I got given a piece of advice I had never heard before. It was simple – “go slower. Execute where you know you should be (such as start braking where you should, turn in where you should, etc), but just go slower. Add the speed back in slowly.” It was the first time someone had suggested I go slower – not to work on a technique, but to, literally, go slower. Combining that with the advice I had been given from Ken Hill (eyes, eyes, eyes), it proved to be rather useful. I finally left the track that weekend feeling like I had made actual, measurable progress on the bike. I was feeling more confident with what I was doing. Yes, I knew there was a LOT more to go, but I was much happier with the current progress.

I carried that over to my recent trackday. While I was still going slow, I was finding I was super consistent and very comfortable with what I was doing. No, I wasn’t getting on the throttle – but that’s NOT what I was working on. I’ll add throttle naturally as I get comfortable with the other actions. I was doing MUCH better on the brakes, which has been a huge pain point for me on this bike. I know myself, and I know that as I gain more and more confidence in that, I will be willing to add more throttle as well. 

Yes, I’m still slow, even compared to my best on my old bike, but I’m feeling a bit more content and feeling like I’m finally making forward progress. The main struggle for me right now is my dissatisfaction with myself and how long it’s taken to get to this point. The leg still offers some struggles, and I really noticed it at Sonoma where it was making it hard for me to lock into the bike and causing my other leg to fatigue – but, those things are going to be slow to fix. I’m back to working out, the leg is getting more use, but it’s not going to get better overnight. I was off it for months. They say 3 weeks of recovery for every week of non-use, with active rebuilding. I was completely non-weight bearing for a total of 15 weeks. That means I won’t be “normal” until the end of January next year at the earliest. FML, but that’s what I’m dealing with. I can only accept it and do my best to work with what I’ve got in the meantime.

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