Constructive criticism from NOLA this weekend.

D

dragginass

First off, the gentleman in charge ( I think it was Chris, I'm terrible with names, sorry) was running around crazy, working hard. That said, Whoever thought it was a good idea to send him down by himself....it wasn't.

I waited in line for registration for 15 minutes in the morning, and when I finally got to start filling out papers, Chris had to shut down registration. This was waste of time #1. After the riders meeting I had to wait in line again. I finally got paperwork taken care of. Following that I brought my bike to tech. I waited for 20min only to be told to come back with my leathers and gear. Fine, but that would have been nice to know 20min ago. I came back, waited again, and finally got tech'd and ready to go.

In the grand scheme of things NOLA is an awesome track, and I Appreciate the Yamaha rewards program that NESBA has. That said, of the 4 organizations I have run with at NOLA, NESBA was unfortunately the least well run. Not for lack of effort from Chris, but from the manpower that was put in place to run the event.

I'm new to NESBA, but I'm sure the Advanced/Intermediate/Beginner grouping philosophy of NESBA has been discussed in depth in other places. That said, if the the requirements of registering for the Advanced group are so stringent, then the intermediate group needs to be more stringent as well. The traffic I was running into in the intermediate group was ridiculous. It seemed to me that there were essentially 2 begginer groups out there, and then the "Elite" A group.....

My $.02

-Shane
 
betarace

betarace

Member
if you print your registration at home and bring it signed with an ID, signin is usually a 30 second affair. It's best to come at 7am when tech and reg open rather than wait till 7:45 as your post infers. If you are in line at 7 you and be regged and teched by 7:05-7:10am tops. Plan ahead.
 
D

dragginass

Plan ahead? If registration is open, then registration should be open and run efficiently. Period. I understand there are times when there may be a few people in front of you in line. Thats not the issue.

I've personally run 75+ trackdays when I was in "the business" and not once did I have the same person running registration and tech. You all are a "national" organization. I am no longer running trackdays, now I am just a paying customer. If I'm paying $200+ for a trackday I deserve to not have my time wasted to that degree. I'm not saying Chris wasn't working hard, I'm saying the manpower was lacking.
It should have been better, sorry. Ignore me, blame me, whatever. Of the organizations that have been running events at NOLA, the NESBA event was at the bottom of the list.
 
zenpixel@yahoo.com

zenpixel@yahoo.com

New Member
dragginass;245428 wrote: First off, the gentleman in charge ( I think it was Chris, I'm terrible with names, sorry) was running around crazy, working hard. That said, Whoever thought it was a good idea to send him down by himself....it wasn't.

I waited in line for registration for 15 minutes in the morning, and when I finally got to start filling out papers, Chris had to shut down registration. This was waste of time #1. After the riders meeting I had to wait in line again. I finally got paperwork taken care of. Following that I brought my bike to tech. I waited for 20min only to be told to come back with my leathers and gear. Fine, but that would have been nice to know 20min ago. I came back, waited again, and finally got tech'd and ready to go.

In the grand scheme of things NOLA is an awesome track, and I Appreciate the Yamaha rewards program that NESBA has. That said, of the 4 organizations I have run with at NOLA, NESBA was unfortunately the least well run. Not for lack of effort from Chris, but from the manpower that was put in place to run the event.

I'm new to NESBA, but I'm sure the Advanced/Intermediate/Beginner grouping philosophy of NESBA has been discussed in depth in other places. That said, if the the requirements of registering for the Advanced group are so stringent, then the intermediate group needs to be more stringent as well. The traffic I was running into in the intermediate group was ridiculous. It seemed to me that there were essentially 2 begginer groups out there, and then the "Elite" A group.....

My $.02

-Shane
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shane,

IMO, the rider's meeting was very atypical for a Nesba event. Chris did his best, but was obviously overwhelmed.

did you read "typical track day" (button link above)?

"Tech Inspection

Next, you’ll need to take your bike and riding gear to tech inspection."

yeah, it's a PITA to bring all your stuff to tech, but it weeds out those with unsafe gear/bike. seems a win/win to me.
I appreciate the stringent tech inspection.

re: 'I' group traffic
if you feel that you deseve a bump up, ask a CR to watch you. I think 'A' had 6 riders? I imagine you could have bumped up easily if you had demonstrated 'A' riding. also, keep in mind that many people there had never turned a wheel at NOLA. w/4 visits under you, you obviously had an advantage. that track is really fast and fun, but it took me almost a whole day to feel fairly comfortable. factoring in the capricious weather may explain some of the erratic riding. I certainly slowed down considerably when it was wet. the swampy runoff probably added to some riders' trepidation.

Nesba is a quality organization. I wouldn't write them off based on 1 weekend.
 
D

dragginass

zenpixel@yahoo.com;245437 wrote: shane,

IMO, the rider's meeting was very atypical for a Nesba event. Chris did his best, but was obviously overwhelmed.

did you read "typical track day" (button link above)?

"Tech Inspection

Next, you’ll need to take your bike and riding gear to tech inspection."

yeah, it's a PITA to bring all your stuff to tech, but it weeds out those with unsafe gear/bike. seems a win/win to me.
I appreciate the stringent tech inspection.

re: 'I' group traffic
if you feel that you deseve a bump up, ask a CR to watch you. I think 'A' had 6 riders? I imagine you could have bumped up easily if you had demonstrated 'A' riding. also, keep in mind that many people there had never turned a wheel at NOLA. w/4 visits under you, you obviously had an advantage. that track is really fast and fun, but it took me almost a whole day to feel fairly comfortable. factoring in the capricious weather may explain some of the erratic riding. I certainly slowed down considerably when it was wet. the swampy runoff probably added to some riders' trepidation.

Nesba is a quality organization. I wouldn't write them off based on 1 weekend.
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No worries, I'm not writing anyone off. As I stated, I was trying to give constructive criticism. Like you said, Chris was simply overwhelmed. It wasn't his fault. That decision to send him down alone is what I don't agree with.

As for moving up groups, I fianlly got CR to follow me 2nd to last session. That CR said yes, then another CR followed me, he said no. I won't get into that debate here....I don't really care what group I run, but coming up on slow rollers constantly is frustrating. As someone who normally rides and SV650, my passing options become limited.

I'll post video later.....
 
zenpixel@yahoo.com

zenpixel@yahoo.com

New Member
dragginass;245439 wrote: coming up on slow rollers constantly is frustrating. As someone who normally rides and SV650, my passing options become limited.

I'll post video later.....
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please edit out the times when you passed me!:)

btw, that track kicks ass. it seems to me that the weather may be a significant problem there, though.
bring your rain tires!
 
stow

stow

New Member
Shane,

As you are very well aware of, NESBA is new to the New Orleans area. We are looking to expand in to the area due to NOLA being built as it is expected to be a great facility. This year will be a growing year for NESBA at NOLA, until we can gather support from the local area to fill out our current staff. I wasn't at the NESBA event at NOLA, but I would imagine it might have been down on staff numbers, as we don't have any staff members that I am aware of that live in that area. Most of our SE Region members live in Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. All of NESBA staff member's are volunteers as well. And the Directors and CRs at the NOLA event dedicated a large portion of their time to volunteer to run the event and probably put in a lot of time to travel to and from the event.

I watched your videos, and was surprised to see the NESBA Sucks Video. From the looks of that run you had the whole track to yourself. I guess there were a few riders that were slower than you, but they held their line as you passed them and caused no issues.

Good luck at the WERA races at the end of the month.
 
D

dragginass

I took off at the front of that session. Like I said, ill post the other sessions as soon as they upload. As for "NESBA Sucks ", its a WERA bbs thing.

I understand being new to the area, but that is not an excuse for improper staffing.
 
stow

stow

New Member
dragginass;245452 wrote: I took off at the front of that session. Like I said, ill post the other sessions as soon as they upload. As for "NESBA Sucks ", its a WERA bbs thing.

I understand being new to the area, but that is not an excuse for improper staffing.
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You also have to remember the track is new to the riders as well. Most riders do not come up to pace or find the race line quickly. It takes a few sessions and sometimes it takes a few days to learn a track. And based on the information that I have gathered the event was ran with a very small staff, but the number of riders was also very small. We would be having a different discussion if NESBA elected to cancel the event due to low turn out from both the volunteer staff and the customers. Instead NESBA decided to cut their losses and run the event. I believe most people attending the event had a great time and enjoyed a lot of wide open track time.
 
D

dragginass

If NESBA cut staff to cut costs, thats inexcusable. As I stated above, I'm not new to the game. There were days that I lost thousands of dollars running events, there were days with 15 riders, and there were days with 60 riders. We were "staffed" the same regardless.

I'm not trying to pick on anyone. As I stated above, Chris was doing his best. I was throwing in my opinion, because without question, this was the most "difficult" event from a customer standpoint. The event I attended last month had a registration table staffed with 4-5 people. NESBA had 1. And they are from "out of state" too. I understand people volunteer to Control Ride, but they also don't pay to attend either. It's a give/take.

If I am in line to register while the registration session is open, in the appropriately allotted times given by NESBA themselves, then I expect to be registered, period. It also shouldn't take 30min to tech a bike if nobody else is in line, either. You all can take this how you wish. Ignore it, delete it, whatever. I however was a "customer", and for $200+ I expect more. The event was what it was. Any day at the track is better than a day at work.

I'm always willing to help. I'm semi-local, and if NESBA wants an extra tech inspector at the next event, I would be happy to help/volunteer. I've run trackdays for 5-6 years, and I've been involved in roadracing and trackdays in some manner for 10. I'm no Josh Hayes on the track either, but I know riding quite well.......
 
Dave561

Dave561

Control Rider
Director
You have valid concerns and fortunately for the majority, this is not the standard for this club. That doesn't make this event better for you, but it should be an isolated occurrence. Hopefully, you will give us a chance to prove this to be true. Etiher way hopefully you had fun.
 
stow

stow

New Member
dragginass;245459 wrote: If NESBA cut staff to cut costs, thats inexcusable. As I stated above, I'm not new to the game. There were days that I lost thousands of dollars running events, there were days with 15 riders, and there were days with 60 riders. We were "staffed" the same regardless.

I'm not trying to pick on anyone. As I stated above, Chris was doing his best. I was throwing in my opinion, because without question, this was the most "difficult" event from a customer standpoint. The event I attended last month had a registration table staffed with 4-5 people. NESBA had 1. And they are from "out of state" too. I understand people volunteer to Control Ride, but they also don't pay to attend either. It's a give/take.

If I am in line to register while the registration session is open, in the appropriately allotted times given by NESBA themselves, then I expect to be registered, period. It also shouldn't take 30min to tech a bike if nobody else is in line, either. You all can take this how you wish. Ignore it, delete it, whatever. I however was a "customer", and for $200+ I expect more. The event was what it was. Any day at the track is better than a day at work.
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You are missing a very key aspect of the NESBA staff, we are all volunteers. So NESBA didn't cut staff to lower costs. Just because the CRs and Directors get to ride for free doesn't mean we have to show up. It is not a job for us. We volunteer our time when we are available. And with NOLA being a new track in a new region that requires time off of work to make the trip. I would love to go to NOLA, but it would require two days off from work and significantly more travel expenses and more time away from my wife and kids.

I understand your frustrations, but at the same time I would also expect someone that has ran their on trackday business to understand. NESBA is taking your comments and using them to improve. I didn't make my comments to nullify yours, but to give you a little more perspective into why the event went the way it did.

And as far as cutting costs to make a profit, I am sure based on the turnout, NESBA didn't make a profit and knew that weeks leading up to the event, but ran the event anyways.
 
2

2k7

New Member
I was also at NOLA this past weekend. To be completely honest I thought everything ran very smooth. Saturday morning I was at the registration table at 7am and i was registered for both days and teched by 7:10am. Everyone was very helpful and layed back. One of the control riders even filmed me and took me in the RV to critique my form. (wish i remembered his name) I really couldnt ask for a better weekend. Thank you guys for all your hard work!
 
D

dragginass

stow;245465 wrote: You are missing a very key aspect of the NESBA staff, we are all volunteers. So NESBA didn't cut staff to lower costs. Just because the CRs and Directors get to ride for free doesn't mean we have to show up. It is not a job for us. We volunteer our time when we are available. And with NOLA being a new track in a new region that requires time off of work to make the trip. I would love to go to NOLA, but it would require two days off from work and significantly more travel expenses and more time away from my wife and kids.

I understand your frustrations, but at the same time I would also expect someone that has ran their on trackday business to understand. NESBA is taking your comments and using them to improve. I didn't make my comments to nullify yours, but to give you a little more perspective into why the event went the way it did.

And as far as cutting costs to make a profit, I am sure based on the turnout, NESBA didn't make a profit and knew that weeks leading up to the event, but ran the event anyways.
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Oh I understand. The reasons you describe are the reasons that Tiger Trackdays were only ever run at NPR, our local track. The volunteers don't have to volunteer, its not a job.....you're right. TTD would have never been what it was, for the years that it was, without volunteers. However, NESBA doesn't have to hold events either. Business decisions are business decisions, and from what I understand this event was not indicative of a "typical" NESBA event. If the powers at be with NESBA are acknowledging that, then great. I was simply relaying my first and only opinion of a NESBA trackday.....which IMHO left something to be desired.

As for the learning curve of riders on a new track, I understand.....sounds like more reason to move fast intermediate riders out of int. group, but thats another whole subject!
 
stow

stow

New Member
dragginass;245470 wrote: Oh I understand. The reasons you describe are the reasons that Tiger Trackdays were only ever run at NPR, our local track. The volunteers don't have to volunteer, its not a job.....you're right. TTD would have never been what it was, for the years that it was, without volunteers. However, NESBA doesn't have to hold events either. Business decisions are business decisions, and from what I understand this event was not indicative of a "typical" NESBA event. If the powers at be with NESBA are acknowledging that, then great. I was simply relaying my first and only opinion of a NESBA trackday.....which IMHO left something to be desired.

As for the learning curve of riders on a new track, I understand.....sounds like more reason to move fast intermediate riders out of int. group, but thats another whole subject!
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I think NESBA may have one or two people on the payroll and those are the guys that run the website and handle bookings, but the guys you see at the track are all volunteers. We do it because we love it. I would do it full-time if it would pay the bills and fund the college accounts, but life happens and I have to work hard to find time for the track.

Everyone of us loves to ride motorcycles and we all love being at the track. I hope you had fun while you were there as it looked like there was a lot of open track time. Sometimes we let the little things get in the way of the big picture.

With your experience and knowledge of the area, you could probably help NESBA improve at NOLA by helping us find the right local people to volunteer on our staff. Obviously they will have to be approved by the directors and I think there is something to do with a goat. Did Adam return the goat? :notsure:

And the moving fast intermediate riders up is another conversation all together. There are plenty of threads that discuss the topic to no end. :D
 
Lonewrench

Lonewrench

New Member
Ok here's an idea, lets get this topic off the board and on a god damn phone line or an email to the regoins director. The only thing that will come of this is a bashing back and forth and nobody wins. By the way if someone came on the board critizing P.C. before coming to us first I would automatically have my guard up for the rest of the time I was dealing with said customer or patron. Even though it's says constructive critisism it's not,you offered no suggestions to make it better you just bitched. Tighten up.
 
stow

stow

New Member
Lonewrench;245473 wrote: Ok here's an idea, lets get this topic off the board and on a god damn phone line or an email to the regoins director. The only thing that will come of this is a bashing back and forth and nobody wins. By the way if someone came on the board critizing P.C. before coming to us first I would automatically have my guard up for the rest of the time I was dealing with said customer or patron. Even though it's says constructive critisism it's not,you offered no suggestions to make it better you just bitched. Tighten up.
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You guys flipped my tires too fast and I had no excuse to sit out my next session. Y'all suck and I am not calling you.

Good luck this weekend at Barber. Tell Dane to put it on the box. :first:
 
stow

stow

New Member
dragginass;245476 wrote: I offered to volunteer to tech. Read the thread...... You're the one coming off harsh

BTW, here is another INT. group session

http://youtu.be/cRu87Af7s0s
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Is the track somewhat bumpy or are you getting front tire chatter on corner entry? I guess it could be the camera mount as well.
 
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