ERC - Experienced Rider Class post-class information & pics from 8-24!!

RE: 8-24-08 class- FIRST of all, here are the usual suspects from 230-(somebody needs to email me and help me with the names!) Tony B, Gregg T, Richard Van L kinda in the back, ?? help me with the next guy!, John R., Tomy TwoToes oopsie I mean Tomy TwoTone, Don R, another rider, and RiderCoaches Stephen and Jim. I saw Tony's Raider, it looks AWESOME with the chrome blacked out. That sucker looks EVIL (which is probably why he bought it and why I rode it in March at STAR BQ). The guys at first break said that everything was going great, and from what I saw when I left, they looked like they were having a ball.

One of the things I found out from another Ridercoach, Vince (who was doing the BRC with Marcel) is that he, as a District Director for his GoldWing club in the Inland Empire, strongly suggests (well, actually, almost mandated it for ridecrews) that besides taking the ERC, members take CPR & First Aid. Sounds like a great idea, and we might have a lot of members in 230 that ARE currently CPR/First Aid trained-maybe we can get a deal going, or at least identify those who are trained?

Ok, back to our training:
There were 3 of us taking the ERC -Barry, me, and Johney Harper. I had been under the impression that the skills riding contest at STAR BQ was based on the ERC, and since I sucked big time at the STAR B-Q skills test, I wanted some 'makee-learnee' so I could do better next year. Well, they kinda are-it's close. Last week Bub and I were practicing up a storm at the local high school with U-turns, weaving in and out of cones, tight curves, etc. Not doing too great, but not bad...hey, I didn't drop my bike, so that was a plus. I'd have to say that Bub was a bit better at riding than I was, well, ok, more than a bit.
The ERC is pretty much just like the BRC except on your own bike, with maybe a few more experienced rider skills thrown in.

How to get there from North Orange County: 91 Freeway west to Pioneer Blvd north, go up Pioneer about 1 block or so to the bigger light 166th street; turn west (left) at 166th street, continue west on 166th street for a couple of miles. If you get to Studebaker, you've gone too far. (I chose that way vs. the 605 to Alondra version because it can be really weird getting off the 91 W to the 605 N to Alondra E, and this seemed safer with less turns. You can always take the 605 route, below)
How to get there from Central/South Orange County: 22 Freeway (or the 405) west to the 605 north; get off at Alondra, go east to Studebaker, then go south (turn right). Go south on Studebaker to 166th Street, turn left (east) and the parking lot will be on the left side of the street.
How to get there from anywhere else: Find the 605 and the 91, take Alondra east from the 605 or Pioneer north from the 91, then see the above directions depending on which way you take. Below is a map of the freeways and where the class is.

Barry and I met Johney at the Denny's at Pioneer & the 91 for a quick bite at 5:45 AM then got to the parking lot for class at 6:40 AM. NOTE-DO NOT BE LATE DO NOT BE LATE DO NOT BE LATE. They're very strict and the two guys that showed up late were not allowed to take the class, so we had 9 riders. Along with our ERC class at that parking lot there are also 2 BRC's at 7 AM-12 Noon and 2 more at 12:30-5:30 PM. Only 1 ERC Sunday mornings. It wasn't hard to figure out which one the ERC was because the BRC uses 175-250 cc bikes which sound pretty puny, and the ERC course had our bigger, cooler bikes.

Additional note: You'll see the college and a big construction-type dumpster/fenced-in area on 166th Street. That's parking lot C-10. You'll see bikes, pop-up tent canopy thingys and 3 separate riding courses. The ERC portion of the whole parking lot is closest to the street. This is a non-graded skills testing course and you will get extremely valuable feedback, evaluation and suggestions for riding improvement. This particular lesson was done by 11:25 AM because there were only 9 participants. There were 8 cruisers and 1 sportbike, and 4 of the cruisers were Star Yamahas!! Moderate 'apehangers' were ok; loud exhausts were ok.

All the comments I'm making here are from personal observations of this one class. After having ridden in almost ALL kinds of weather and conditions (thank you SO much, Chapter 345, for the freakin' HAIL experience coming down from Big Bear), breaking a TON of rules just because I was a smart-assed kid (don't say it, I can hurt you), I can attest to wanting to and being as comfortable as possible. BIG TIME comfortable. (Try riding home from Newport Beach to Long Beach at 10 PM on a misty March night on a 125 Enduro with just a light long sleeved shirt on. Newspaper as an insulating agent works well.) I also took the BRC in the middle of August last year, so I really know what's comfy at these training sessions in summertime!

WHAT TO DO FIRST: The bikes should be inspected and checked pre-class based on the T-CLOCS acronym. It's like a pre-flight check for your vehicle! (and thanks to Gary Felkel, Lead Tailgunner Chapter 230 for doing this at our Chapter rides to each and every bike that goes! I noticed you walking around when we get into our groups and checking us all out just before we do our Chapter rides and I know I am deeply grateful, Gary)

Our instructors mentioned that tire pressure was very important, due to the uber wear, tear and use the tires get.

WHAT TO WEAR and BRING-IMPORTANT !

WEAR: a long sleeved white cotton shirt for the riding portion. Our Chapter shirts or the 'flames' STARBQ shirts are perfect. Since the class starts at 7 AM, you may wish to wear a light jacket for the trip there and for the first hour or two or class. It gets light around 6:50 AM, but we travelled to the site when it was dark, so some clear glasses/goggles came in handy. The class is conducted on a blacktop parking lot, and we know how black absorbs heat! If you go light, you'll be all right. (I didn't mean that to rhyme-it just happened.) It'll start to get warm around 9:30 AM-ish and you'll be sweating by 10:15. (So far, the weather report says that your class day will be about the same as ours with a high of 84, but check the weather closer to the day of the class) Wear the minimum that is required, because you won't be going faster than 25 MPH at any one time, which means damned little airflow. The week before, Barry and I saw some sportbikes with the guys wearing their 'cool, bitchin' leathers and gear. I could SEE the sweat pouring offa them!
-There's only one small pop-up tent/canopy for the instructors and 9-12 participants, so SOMEBODY'S gonna be in the sun. And there are only 2 chairs which are the ridercoaches', so you'll either be standing or sitting on the ground.
-Another suggestion, just my personal opinion- Your 'colors' may just make you hotter. One of the cruiser guys wore his Harley vest the week previously and you could tell that the vest on top of his long sleeved heavy shirt wasn't the most comfy. That sun BEATS down on you and when you're waiting in line, sitting there with the other bikers, with your bike idling and searing your leg with the engine heat before it's your turn to go and do the skill, you'll be sweating bullets. TRUST ME. Remember Julian? There you go.

-DOT HELMET (halvesies and 3/4 are ok) Barry and Johney wore theirs. I also took the visor off my helmet since I raise it up whenever I stop, & I figured I might as well just dump it and use glasses. I think it saved me because of the airflow into and thru the helmet stopped any sort of fogging effect and I didn't do my 'flip up when I'm hot' routine. One of the instructors, by the way, had one of those helmets where the bottom part comes up, and that's how he demonstrated the skills- with his bottom piece lifted.

-GLOVES -use lighter summer ones that don't hold the sweat a whole lot. Some gloves are a bear to wear because if you sit in the sun for awhile, take them off, then try to put them back on, they're a pain because they're still sweaty and about as hard to put on as a wet bathing suit

-BOOTS to cover your ankles (no canvas high tops-gotta be something substantial)

-LONG PANTS, like jeans, sincerely suggest you DON'T wear leathers

-GLASSES or goggles

BRING:
-Registration, proof of insurance, driver's license. If you can't find the insurance, either go online to your carrier and download a temporary, or contact your insurance agent for proof, BEFORE the class. As I mentioned, this stuff seems to move around and is NEVER where you put it last, and it'd be a shame to get there and have to forfeit $89.
-WATER because it's hot out there-a good idea might be to bring 2-3 bottles that you've frozen and wrapped in foil. When you get thirsty, they'll be defrosted but still cold. (Hm, who knows, BEVERAGE GIRL just MIGHT show up...)
-Energy bars/SNACK-5 hours is a long time to go without fuel, and since you're constantly going and standing and riding and standing, you don't want to hit a sugar low during that time! (Thanks for the tip on August 9th on the 345 ride, about fueling oneself as well as one's bike , Gregg-I know it'll save some folks at the ERC sessions)
-Perhaps a towel to wipe your face off when you sweat.

When we got there at 6:40 AM, it was just starting to be kind of light and we filled out the registration form and the waiver and showed our bikes' registration, insurance and our driver's licenses. Bub & I checked to make sure we had ours the night before because those things have a nasty habit of moving around.

Here are some pre-class pictures. Note how it was kind of gray and overcast-that's because it was pre-dawn! (What kind of a sick, twisted mind puts a motorcycle class at 7 AM on a Sunday??)

Barry's signed in and waiting for class, above; we three were the 2nd, 3rd & 4th bikes there. Above right, the other bike that you can BARELY see on the left was Urban's bike, and he drove down from Big Bear to do class. Below, Johney and Barry talking to Urban about his bike, and more people start showing up. Of course, everybody has to check out EVERYBODY ELSE'S bikes. WHY do guys do that?

Above, Johney, Barry and Urban (yes, that's his right name) Below, Bub's just kicking back and checking out another STAR bike: Below, I'm DEFINITELY needing this class because I still have problems riding the right way! (AND I HATE this picture! Makes me look like an older Goldie Hawn)





Left, Johney's really pleased that he got his ERC certification ahead of time until we told him that it was just a copy of the waiver he signed. (just kidding, Johney, you know I have to bug you so your Mom can see that you're not getting too big-headed)






Left, Johney checking out my exhaust and telling Barry that yes, he was right, that bolt needs to be replaced before the whole thing works itself off. The T-CLOCS pre-ride check definitely has it's good points! (I did go to Lebard et al and had them put a bolt on it, and incidentally replace the speedo bulb that I found out was burnt out when we were haulin' down the freeway in the dark and I couldn't even see how fast we were going.)

LECTURE: Our RiderCoaches, Marcel (right) and Stephen (I swear, Stephen looked EXACTLY like Stephen Spielberg!!!) gave a pre-ride lecture about hand signals, expectations, (like nobody riding off somewhere when we were all supposed to be listening or on break), etc. Each skill set was prefaced by a lecture portion outlining why that particular skill set was important to learn on the road. The skill is always explained and demonstrated by one of the instructors. My suggestion would be to watch the instructor's demo carefully to see their bike positioning; their head positioning; the bike's speed; any of the instructor's body changes and positioning; gears shifted into or out of during the demonstration. And don't be afraid to ask for a repeat of the demo!

We also went through these ERC RiderCards to follow along with our RiderCoach's instruction. Looks like things were going well! (Marcel and Johney)

Above, do you see that really pretty gold Harley second back from the right? That's Melissa's Harley and I am SO JEALOUS at how she maneuvered that sucker around. She and her hubs Don drove down from Simi Valley.

Also above, do you see that "T" where the front righthand bike is parked behind? Each bike parks in position on these "T" letters, but with each skill set, we came to park at different T's, so the groups got mixed up. I prefer to be in the second group, thank you very much, because I'm going to try to position myself in the last 1/3 of the group. Not the first rider, not the last rider, but someplace past the middle. There are times when calling attention to yourself ISN'T the greatest idea. When I get flustered and unsure, I do worse because I overcompensate and overcorrect, and get even more in the hole, then I get pissed off at myself and am not a fit companion for anyone for about a day. So that's why I overprepare for stuff. If you wanted to know.

I'm going to try to remember the more important skill sets, but there were so many and it was amazing that we got through them all in one morning, with plenty of practicing. These are in no special order except for the first two.

SWERVING THROUGH CONES
This was a kind of 'warm up' skill-we swerved through cones that were placed about 30 feet apart, then on the other side of the track about 20 feet apart. After a few go-rounds of that, they had us go through both sides of the cones with the right hand driving, and the left hand on the leg.
I personally think that the instructors used this portion to assess the riders and see their skill levels. But that's just me, also being an instructor. (Aerobics, remember?)

SWERVING THROUGH CONES, TAKE TWO:
This time the cones were placed wider width wise but closer together, so you really had to concentrate on looking where you were going vs looking at the cones you were driving around. On one side were cones placed 8 feet width-wise apart, but on the other side, 3 feet width wise apart. (No single handed swerves this time) For some reason I did better on the 3 footers than the 8 footers at the beginning, but got the hang of it. Of course Barry and Johney were ho-hum freakin' perfect...I hate those guys. I remember this skill from STAR BQ also in the single bike/no rider competion.

THE SLOW, SLOW FORWARD MOTION:

We would stay in line, accelerate forward to about 10-15 MPH or so, then go down a long strip/set of lines as SLOWLY AS POSSIBLE. Marcel said to do in 8-10 seconds was really good. RiderCoach Stephen did it in 12 seconds when he demo'd it, and I did it in about 10 1/2 seconds, because again, Barry and I would have competions coming up to lights, going as sloooooowwwwllllyyy as possible, so we aced this one. This one I remember from the STAR BQ skills competion.

CURVES
Do a moderate curve, pause a bit at blue cones; go to the end of the parking lot and do another curve, this one tighter. Practical riding area/cone setup is a large oval, so the rider had to turn on the outside of the cones and the inside of the box.
Then riders reverse and do it the opposite way.
Riders first go one at a time about every 11-12 seconds, with individualized evaluation and suggestions for improvement after the first curve and also after the second curve from each of the instructors.

I was previously terrible at left curves, but I'm 'way better now after this skill. BETTER? HAH!!! I felt SO much more confident after this class and it really showed when we all went to LA Chapter 415's anniversary party.

BRAKING
Slight curve, a tad more speed, object is to do a slightly faster curve, straighten, and come to a stop. The instructor stands just past that. The rider will accelerate a bit more going thru the curve, pass the last cone with a slight turn, straighten up (literally and from the curve) then BRAKE using both brakes. The idea is not to skid to a stop while braking but to also make sure the bike is balanced and one leg doesn’t come down harder or before the other leg. I’ve done it so many times after turning onto an onramp, stopping really nicely with both feet coming down at the same time and waiting for the timed lights, but I got nervous, dammit. Kept on stopping too fast and unbalancing one side or the other instead of coming to a slow, controlled stop and putting both feet down at the same time. Look into the turn, straighten up and start to brake at the 1st cone, ending up between both cones. Riders should keep eyes where they're going instead of down or at instructor. Look at instructor only after coming to a stop. (This is what we ACTUALLY overheard the instructor say to a few riders.)

FIGURE 8

All I can say is that I amazed myself by being able to do it not only within the 28' radius of the rectangle, but within the 24' radius. This skill I really messed up on EVEN with a 175 last year at the BRC, which is why my score was so high. (at the BRC, the higher the score, the worse you are, and if you get more than 20, I think it is, you fail, but they let you take it again within a few months, not sure)

THE QUICK STOP ON THE RIDERCOACHE'S COMMAND, THEN SWERVE

We would go toolin' down the straightaway at the tearingly unbelieveable speed of 20 MPH, then have to stop suddenly when the RiderCoach held out his arms as a "T". We then continued into the swerve and would swerve whichever way the RiderCoach motioned to us with his arm. I sucked big time at this, which really surprised me since I did really well at it in the BRC last year. I just got more and more nervous, I tried, I really tried, but got flustered and frustrated. It kinda rankled when, after the 3rd or 4th time, the Ridercoach asked me if I knew about CounterSteering. Of COURSE I knew about countersteering, jeez! Then he made me go out of line to 'watch what the other riders were doing" so I drove over by the fence in the shade to "watch the others". I felt really, really put on the spot, ashamed of myself and felt like everybody was watching me, that I was put 'in the corner', almost with a theoretical 'dunce' hat on. I still tear (you know, 'tear' as in eyes getting teary and stuff) up just thinking about it.

One of the things that DID happen was that one of the RiderCoaches did the 'stop' motion, then the rider started moving again, then the RiderCoach did the 'stop' motion AGAIN. The guy got kinda flustered, dropped his bike, then ANOTHER rider who was 2 in front of me saw it then HE lost his and dropped his also. So there were 2 drops, thankfully none of them me, and unfortunately neither bike had engine guards.

CURVE CLOSE (LIKE GOING AROUND A MOUNTAIN CURVE) and then some really TIGHT 'S' CURVES:

This I believe was the last skill and it was the most FUN!!! Accelerate to about 20-25 MPH (which by now seemed like flying), come up to the curve, slow the bike pretty well JUST WITH THE FRONT BRAKE, take the curve, then do some "S" curves. This one was THE BOMB-now THAT was fun! I tried to take it faster and faster on each subsequent try and did really great, I feel. Restored my confidence, anyway, from the previous 1-2 skills that I f**ked up on.

THE ALCOHOLIC EFFECT
Riders donned the "Alco-Goggles" (some places they call these, "Beer Goggles"). This special pair of goggles give you the equivalent of .07-.10 blood alcohol You have to try to walk a straight line, and try to walk it without falling over. Barry and I seemed to walk the line pretty damn well, so we know who the alcoholics are! Johney was just all over the place and couldn't hardly walk 3 feet without partly falling over. We laughed when the others each took a turn walking the line, but only in fun.
The take home message was easily understood by all: "One is too many if you are riding."

At breaks, I was chatting with Melissa and Don who came down from Simi Valley to take this class, and they said that in their Simi Valley Hog Chapter, their safety officer holds practice drills in a parking lot occasionally. This might not be a bad idea, yes?

Certainly, I already knew a lot of what was taught thanks to the MSF BRC and 14 years of cumulative riding, but like anything else there is always more to learn and practice never makes you worse for wear. Not to mention confirming that you were doing some things correctly and could improve on other things.

Some additional post-class notes:
***I'm glad I brought paper and pencils because I wanted to get some of the other riders' names and phone numbers, like Don and Melissa Doxsee; Urban Bianchi; and our Ridercoach Stephen from Lakewood. I should've brought some of my business cards. Some of the riders may be future members of a STAR chapter!!
***Since I brought the camera, I'm really regretting not taking pics of other riders and our WHOLE GROUP after the class, with our Ridercoaches. If I show up and STAY for the whole thing when most of 230 goes, I'll suggest that, or take a pic of everybody. I actually DID be-bop on over there to find my jacket that I left there, bring some practially frozen waters and did take the picture at the very top. Didn't stick around, though.
*** I want to take the class at least 1x/year, just to refresh myself and for $89, it's the best riding insurance I can have.

***There's a possibility that you might get a break on your motorcycle insurance due to taking this class-check with your agent. Hey, it might be the cost of the class. Couldn't hurt. We got a $5 discount through Progressive because we already got a good discount for the number of years we've been riding.
***I'm saving up for Bub and I to take the StreetMaster's class at Willow Springs. Have to save up because we'd probably spend the night before class at a motel.
Some links to some websites:
Slower riding motorcycle tips:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMgU44UwByY&feature=related
The MSF Experience Ridercourse rider cards:
http://www.msf-usa.org/downloads/ERC_Rider_Classroom_Cards.pdf