So last week I meet a fellow by the name of Scott and had only been riding 2 months. He arrives at the track to hang out and ride in the N group for the day. I was given the day off by track management (rare for me!!!!) but comes at a great time because I needed to bed in new brakes.
So it begins...
Scott, Drew and myself are all sitting in the chairs in the morning waiting on the day's events to start. It was awesome for me, no working tech, no business to get ready to ride, just relaxing and enjoying everyone's company and helping friends get ready. Drew is an A rider so nothing for me to do there, but Scott is fresh and green and headed to his first N group meeting with his coach. He put himself in the slowest subgroup of N (he is a smart fellow) and they ride the first session no big deal and he comes back all smiles. While his session was going, I test ride my bike around the paddock to get a feel for who is there and to ensure my brake work is solid.
Fast forward to the 2nd session...
I decide to go out in novice to get some heat in the brakes and bed them in a bit more before heading out in A to put in some laps with Drew. So I fall in line behind Scott at the tail. After all, customers first ya know. First lap was clean but on the second lap, Scott goes down in the grass at the exit of turn 7. He does exactly what is expect of him and the session finishes as normal. I saw it all... start to finish.
So back in the paddock, the crash truck brings his bike back and we unload. Given clearance from medical, Scott arrives back in the paddock kinda unsure of himself. We have already assessed the bike damage and the only real showstopper is a bent brake lever. He as rider is fine aside of a slight gear burn on his arm that he said doesn't bother him a bit. So I put on my coach hat and begin doing what I need.
We chat for about 10 mins about what I saw and he relates that to how he felt at the time. He learns some things, I learn some things and he rests while I try to find his coach to have a word. His coach tells me that his pace doesn't match with the rest of the group and to talk with the novice lead for the day. The novice lead tells me that there is no slower groups so he will have to stay where he is at unless I wanted to take him solo. So I did...
We started by me asking if he felt like finishing the day, followed by what makes you uncomfortable? His list was long but I focused on the big 3;
1. Trusting my tires - Built faith in them via the throttle
2. Turning - Build faith in steering via skill and visual skill/Line building
3. Lean angle - Knowing your job as the rider is to KEEP THE BIKE STABLE goes a LOOOOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGGGG way.
Scott rode the rest of the day cleanly, and with as much confidence as he could muster. Over the course of the day, he came a long way and left with no new scratches on the bike and a huge smile. Once again, he kept apologizing for me taking my "day off" to ride slow with him instead of going out in A with Drew.
It was an awesome day for Scott (and me too).
