The boring life of an instructor's bike?

The other day my cell phone rang. The caller ID indicated it was Tallie. She's the one who does the instructor scheduling. It's an always hectic and sometimes very demanding job. Tallie handles it all with unending grace and charm. She's one of my heroes. I answer the call.

"Hey, Dan, this is Tallie. Do you want to teach ART next week?"

That's like asking if the government wants to raise taxes. Or asking a Lion if it prefers raw meat. Come to think of it, it's also a lot like asking Jack Riepe if he likes pole dancers. Of course, I said yes right away. Not for me, mind you, but for Elvira's sake.

ART stands for Advanced Rider Training. It's our flagship motorcycle training class. We hold the course on an enclosed go kart track. Strictly speaking it's not a track class. We do spend a lot of time on proper cornering technique. The big difference is that we teach street lines as opposed to racing lines. In a racing line the goal is to use as much of the track as needed. In a street line, it's imperative to always leave a way out. Remember "Plan B"?

This would make my fourth time so far this year. I taught the first civilian ART in May. In between were two Police ART sessions. Now it was back to a civilian group once more. As much as I love the hard charging atmosphere of the police training, it's good to pull the throttle back a notch or two, so to speak.

You'd think that the bike of an active instructor would have it made. In some ways the bikes do have it good. There's a few of us who practically live on a bike. Elvira and I are together almost every week day. It's a good life, but it's mostly work related. A Saturday and / or Sunday should see the work week behind us. The weekend should be a time to just go out and stretch the legs with miles of relaxed riding. Third star to the right and on 'til morning, as Peter Pan would say. That's the way it should be, at least.

Our work week doesn't really end. Weekends during the summer mean teaching. A lot. In June I racked up 63 hours of teaching. On top of my actual bread and butter job. What that means to our bikes is a bit more riding to work. Then just sitting and waiting patiently. Since the bulk of our classes are the Basic Rider Training, that means a lot of sitting, watching, and waiting. The bikes DO get to be in a motorcycle related environment all weekend. Sadly, they're only spectators. It's for an excellent cause, mind you. I find teaching riders to be extremely satisfying and rewarding. It's just hard on Elvira as it was on Sophie.

The photo above is of Elvira with Mike's ST1100. Both bikes sitting on the sidelines while watching the training bikes have all the fun. I can just see the bikes looking at each other and wincing. Some new rider will make some sort of abrupt move. Our bikes will be saying something like,

"I'm sure glad I'm not a training bike!" Or, "If Dan did that to me I'd dump him on his head, just for spite. Of course, MY rider would never do a thing like that in the first place."

Sound far fetched? How do we really know what they're thinking when they're forced to be sidelined?

Here's a shot from the very next weekend.

Different scenery, different companions, same situation. Just sitting around waiting. That's tough for a bike that's born to run. Ho, hum.

ART, in contrast, is so much more fun for the bikes. Our bikes are an integral part of the course. We're like cowboys on fast horses riding among the herd. Using our speed and skill we cut individuals out from the group. We might have the student follow us to see the proper lines. We might park the student and have them ride with us on our bikes for a bit. That's an awesome tool for imparting understanding of the many aspects involved in proper cornering. By the way, you might not have thought about it, but an instructor has to be as fast two up as the solo mounted students are. Can't be holding up the group while we take somebody on a tour of the track. Sometimes it's just a quick chat to pass on a tip. Either way, the bikes get to play and they have a total blast. Believe me, the bikes know where they're headed and get excited. Kind of like how a dog knows they're going to the vet, but with an opposite reaction.

I arrive early. It's fun to have that half hour or so with an empty track all to myself. In this case, Jeff Earls arrived at the same time as I did. I guess I'm not the only who likes to come early and play, eh? I'm coming in from the West and Jeff's coming in from the East. We meet in the middle. Jeff's another of my heroes. He's a perpetual top five finisher in the Iron Butt Rally. Take the last two rallies, for example. The IBR is held every two years. In 2005 Jeff finished 3rd. In 2007 he finished 4th. That's tough and smart in the same package!

I park Elvira. Jeff does the same to his Moto Guzzi Breva 1100. His usual bike is the BMW K1200GT, affectionately nicknamed "Battle Star Galactica". It's currently being readied for the upcoming IBR so isn't available for duty. The gate's locked. Jeff and I fish out the key and open the padlock. Walking back to the bikes I look at Elvira. She's been here before. She knows why we're here. Like the flaring nostrils of a fine mare, Elvira's ram air scoops are open more fully. She's picking up the scent that surrounds the track.

Jeff and I head up the long gravel road that leads to the track. Elvira's trembling. Far more than the roughness of the road would call for. She's getting more excited by the second. Jeff's bike is picking up the pace, too. The track is calling. Soon Elvira and I are seeing the Guzzi through the dust cloud ahead of us.

For just a bit the track is hidden behind a bunch of parked cargo trailers. We burst out of them and there it is. An empty track just begging to be ridden. With two eager bikes we happily comply.

We play, I mean, work as long as we can. Well, somebody has to make sure the track's clean and safe for the students don't they? We do that job very thoroughly as befits the good instructors we are. All too soon, though, it's time to get things set up. The bikes are content as they know much more fun is coming their way. This time the waiting is easier for them. They know it won't be for long.

In short order the other two instructors arrive. Dan arrives on his GSX-R. Dan's a partner in the PSSR, an organization that runs actual track days. Stan rolls in on a red Interceptor. It's kind of funny when this group works together. There's two Dan's and a Stan! As a side note, Stan's the one responsible for my taking my first professional training class 22 years ago. Also for becoming an instructor myself later on. A sincere thanks to you on both counts, Stan!

Unfortunately for Elvira, I'm teaching classroom for the regular ART group. Since we have the track for the day, a cornering clinic for instructors is being held in the morning. Three of the four bikes will get to play twice. I give Elvira a gentle pat on her shapely seat. I assure her that when the other instructors are eating lunch, we'll put on enough "warm-up" miles to make up for it.

Later in the day Elvira gets her chance to play. She even gets to run down a "fast guy" on an R6! Maybe being an instructor's bike isn't so bad after all!

Miles and smiles,

Dan