OK, so… Team Oregon Advanced Rider Training (ART).
“Welcome to ART. The first rule of ART is: you do not talk about ART.”
Hmm. No, that’s not quite right. Especially when a third of the class is a bunch of moto-blogger hooligans.
“Unfortunately, no one can be told what the ART is. You have to see it for yourself.”
That’s a little more like it.
The ART consists of two hours of classroom work followed by 4 hours of riding. The classroom component covers street skills, awareness, braking, and cornering, and is largely review if you’ve ever taken the Team Oregon Basic Rider Training.
ART is not a track class. It takes place on a track — a go-kart track — but the focus is on picking street-centric apexes and cornering lines. Aside from a strong emphasis on head turns, there’s no instruction on body positioning. If you sign up for ART thinking you’re going to learn how to drag knee, you’ll be disappointed.
This year, my third year of riding, has had its ups and downs. The low point (totaling my first SV) really did a number on my confidence, and I never had much cornering confidence to begin with. On my own, I got as far as quarter-inch chicken strips, but chicken strips don’t show the death-grip on the bars, the tension in the muscles, or the lack of faith in the tires that accompanied thousands upon thousands of corners.
Dan took this photo of me early in the class, before I really felt confident in myself or my tires.
ART pushed me to trust more, lean further, and corner faster than I ever would have on my own.
When I started scraping the tips of my boots, I knew — I knew I had to tuck my toes in closer to the bike so that it wouldn’t happen again! So I scraped the tip of my boot. No big deal. I didn’t crash. The tires held.
That was a big turning point for me.
I took this class hoping to learn how to corner — not necessarily faster, but with confidence. And that’s exactly what I got from it, along with the joy of scrubbing my new tires down to the edges.
Everything’s Better With Friends
I shan’t neglect to mention that several mid-valley riders conspired to take this course en masse (myself, Brad, Kari, Eric, Rick, and Stacey) and that one of the instructors was none other than Irondad (aka Dan). Suffice to say, the atmosphere was jovial.
For more fresh perspectives on the ART, see
Brad, Never had one lesson…
Kari, ART class
and from Dan’s instructor perspective, Burning up the rubber!
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“but chicken strips don’t show the death-grip on the bars, the tension in the muscles, or the lack of faith in the tires that accompanied thousands upon thousands of corners.”
Great statement!
It was awesome having everyone there.
I hope your corners are fairing well since class! Keep those toes tucked in!
I’m way jealous. Of both the opportunity to be able to take the class and for being able to take it with good friends.
I’ve enjoyed reading the various perspectives of the same class.
I still can’t get over how smooth you are on the bike. Nicely done! One of my high points is when you wanted to go for a ride with me. Jumping on the back of the bike, you said “Teach me to turn right”. After our two laps I followed you for the next one. All I can say is “You learn well, Grasshopper”.
@kari: My cornering is much, much better. I rode Alsea Falls before and after the ART and the difference was profound. Plus, a deer gave me the opportunity to put that emergency braking practice to use on the “after” trip.
@RichardM: It’s definitely one of the neat parts of being friends with so many moto-bloggers from the same region.
@irondad:Aww, shucks!
I must say, I’ve been blessed with excellent instructors who got me started on the right foot from the very beginning.