Lombardi School, Lev 2: Pocono Raceway 9/4

As I have posted in the Absolute Cycle Forum:


I believe that last Tuesday the launch of the Lev 2 course was a success. I had 3 riders that at the beginning of the day displayed substantial differences in speed and technical skills, but still they looked compatible as group to me. Unfortunately one of them, Rich, had to leave the track after the second session to follow his friend to the hospital, because he had suffered a slight concussion in a crash. With only two students, Tom and Bob, Steven Lombardi and I had the opportunity to put together an extremely intense course. Both, Tom and Bob are motorbike veterans so it was like to teach " new tricks to old dogs". It's definitely easier to instruct someone totally new to bikes than someone with decades of riding under his or her belt. Regardless, I honestly believe that I was able to discover and correct hidden attitudes and frames of mind that were affecting their overall performance. Also, Tuesday I chose to adopt a teaching style where I was explaining: the concept, why it is supposed to be done in such a way and what we try to achieve from a technical point of view. A very intense approach to learn the art of riding that requires physical and mental concentration all through the day by the instructors as well the students. Both riders, Bob and Tom have improved dramatically their riding. By the last session Bob became much more proactive with his body and detailed in dealing with cornering while Tom almost seemed to be another person:by the end of day he was able to create calmness, smoothness and control in his riding. No more fish tailing on the brakes, no more sudden reactions of his front end during the turns, overall a new Tom, capable of being totally in charge of his riding.
Unfortunately my guys were forced to leave the truck a couple of sessions before the end of the day for different personal issues, right after having ridden their best sessions. They looked tired but extremely happy for their achievements. We were able to cover probably only half of the program that I had prepared for the event, but it was OK. The level two course is tailored exactly to the skills and the real needs of each rider so I take the person from where he or she is to escalate my instructing along with his or her improvements. For every topic I have created drills that could be used to facilitate the assimilations of concepts. Obviously every rider is different so there could be a person that can go from point 1 to point 9 of the program in one day vs another one who can only get to the point #5. Regardless, substantial improvements in lowering the lap time and in the technical skills are always guaranteed.
In our school we have always put a lot of passion and joy in instructing, and last Tuesday, even in the Lev 2 course, I feel that we laid out a new milestone for the Lombardi School. As always, you can find good instructors only with good students, so a big and honest thanks goes to Bob, Rich and Tom: you guys made my day.

Ciao,

"Another great event organized by Absolute Cycle, our boutique-style local road racing club" ..... thanks to Roy, Mark and the rest of their crew