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Well, in our first year re-branded as Cyclesmith we decided it would be a good time to return to Bootcamp! We book the entire camp and make it available to staff and family first. This year we invited about 10 customers and friends to fill out the 24 slots.
Heading into the camp we heard that Cory West would return as an instructor. He's fresh off winning his first national championship in the Super Hooligans class and also just had his first child! We were pumped as he's phenomenal to watch and all around a great dude. They brought in a new coach named Jacob Lehman for this camp and he worked out great. Jacob is a professional flat track and supermoto rider with plenty of podiums to his credit. Another mind blowing talent as well as an engaging coach. Andrew Trousdale filled out the lineup. He's a local flat track racer and our point person for booking and organizing our camps.
We arrived Thursday after heavy rains had fallen and the entire outdoor track was bottomless clay mud. This was the first time we would not be able to use the outdoor track section. Luckily they have an enormous stadium roof covering what I think is the best surface there, and we were able to run the entire 4 days under the big top. For me, this didn't take anything away from the experience. In fact, I think I progressed more because the surface is smoother and more consistent. And in 4 days, it never ceased to be entertaining. Boredom was not a factor!
Speaking of the surface, it is red clay, hard as concrete with variable traction levels depending on the moisture content. It can change hour by hour and range from slick as ice, to "hero dirt" that is super grippy (but not like pavement). During our camp we had a little of everything, but finished with hero dirt all day sunday.
If you aren't familiar with the camp, it is run on TTR125s fitted with knobby fronts and smooth Bridgestone BT45s on the rear. This gives the bikes minimal traction and requires incredibly good riding technique if you want to carry any speed at all. Speaking of speed, the basis of the program is the superpole lap. Run each day, it is a single timed lap of the entire layout with Colin on the stop watch and everyone watching. No pressure!
With the limited track area, we rode the lap in one direction only to pivot turn around a tire and ran the same track in the other direction back to the start point. The turn around was right in front of the crowd, and let me tell you, it was stressful! Ha.
My personal goal for this camp was to crash less than last time. I had at least 25 crashes at my last camp and it really held back my progress at superpole. So, I focused on body position, throttle control, and pivot points all while not worrying about being as fast as possible. This strategy paid off big time and I was able to top superpole all 4 days, which is NOT easy no matter who you are!
Off track, this camp was also a blast despite the weather. There was plenty of partying with Colin and his crew and a lot of Maury Povich and Cheaters! (don't ask why) Oh, and there may or may not have been rental cars on that track...
Anyway, this was my 3rd camp and by far the best one yet.
Pictures mostly by Hyperic Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/vTWpe3RnarQh5qKe9
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Originally Posted by OreoGaborio
