Reg Pridmore CLASS

[Paul Master <masterps@xxxxxxxx>]

Well, I have to admit, the Pridmore School named CLASS
is extremely well named.

I got a call from Reg himself yesterday.
He called to thank me for the video tape I sent,
and we spent a few minutes talking about my
riding as witnessed from the tape during the Laguna
Seca class in November.

He suggested during the next class, I try  the A
Group. I was using pretty decent lines, except for turns
3 and 4, where I was going a bit wide. In the A group,
I would find riders passing on the inside there.

He also suggested that I work on downshifting some
more, and that while it is usually very good, it is not
completely consistent. I agreed that I had botched the
shifting into 11 more than once. While it is not a defense,
a couple of times I had the front tire chirping, so I definitely
was getting on the brakes. So I am imagining I was 99
percent focused on slowing down, leaving only 1 percent
to shift with (OK, really lame).

He also said he hasn't ridden the Triumph, but from the video
he could tell that this was a pretty decent machine. He liked the
gear ratios ( I told him I had just dropped to a 17 from 18 on
the front sprocket due to the acceleration down the front straight.
If I really botched 11 and went in 2nd gear, it was an interminable
drive down the front straight. With the 17, acceleration is noticeably
snappier). He agreed that this was a good thing to do for the track.
(As an aside, my normal commute mileage hasn't changed,
indicating I am using taller gears for some of that time. I expect
highway droning will cause a change, but I love the snap).

He also noted the ST acceleration was very good, and liked the
way I was consistently getting to red-line in most situations.

He also noted I went quite wide a couple of times in 2. I admitted
I had botched that a couple of times too. Lastly, he was giving me
a very friendly hard time about turn 1. He said I was spot on the
entry, right where he would be, but I was getting off the throttle way
too early. I admitted that not seeing the road was freaking me out
a bit. (There is a crest in the road here, so I was lining up on the
telephone poles. You pop over the crest, and there is turn one.
At around 110, this was my limit. Next time, we'll see. Also heading
up to the corkscrew there is a blind bit of road. You crest the hill
at around 100, then jump on the brakes to get slowed for 8.
He said next time, I should consciously, but slowly, try increasing
the "throttle on" time. There was plenty of track to make turn 1, head
on down to 2, then downshift and brake.

Other than that, he thanked me for being a courteous rider, and
following the passing rules, even though it was obvious from
the tape that not everybody did.

He also offered to return the tape. I told him it was his to use as
he saw fit. He said he might show it to a few people. I told him
I already had another tape circulating to those who had expressed
an interest, and was sending it to the owner of Milpitas Honda,
the main sponsoring dealership for this particular class.

What a great phone call. Now the crass might say this was
obviously a marketing call. And you know what, I don't care.
I was telling my wife about it, and she asked if I was going again.
I said yes, but I might try the Sears Point class before the track
is renovated. Apparently it will be quite different, much safer,
but less fun. I'm all for safety, but hopefully it won't end up
boring in the end. One of the things I've been told about Sears
Point is that you never really get a chance to take a deep breath.
Sounds like fun to me. I've heard the esses are going :-(

Anyway, 'nuff about this. I highly recommend getting to a track
class, of any offerer. But the CLASS school was GREAT FUN,
and you really can't argue with this personal touch either, IMHO.

Ride safe, ride well.

Red Dawg & Flash

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