Well it was a few weeks ago now but figured I would write about it anyway, I had such a great time!
After completing level 1 I thought that must be the bulk of it and now it’s just honing those skills. No way! Suddenly I realised level 1 is just the start, there is so much to learn and understand. We were taught how to make the track appear wider, slow down our perception of speed using peripheral vision (amazing!) and hang off using their lean bike, amongst other things.
I could ramble on for ages about all the things we learnt but one I real simple thing that helped me no end with hanging off was this:
Before - I was getting my arse right off the bike and trying to push my knee down. The result: Body upright, bike LEANT OVER!
After - They taught not to get the arse so far off the seat so you can still grip the tank! Then point around the corner you are travelling, with your outside shoulder. Result: Body leant over, bike UPRIGHT (which is the whole point of hanging off)!
Getting the knee down then happened almost as a by-product because of biomechanics (I guess it’s called). You turn your shoulders into the turn, that means your hips fall into the turn too, which then means you leg naturally falls away from the bike and bingo!
Level 1 was amazing - learnt so much I didn’t think there could be much more. Level 2 was yet another eye opener! Gagging to get back on the track and try this stuff out. Then roll on level 3!