Can someone (or a few people) give me some opinions for my learning? This was my 3 o'clock session. Decided to line up on the left side, and try it out to see if it would allow the session to flow smoother. It did.
The whole way through 2:40 (lap 0) I take as a warm up lap.
4:11-4:14. (1:31 into lap 1) I wanted to push up and try to at least make 1 pass, but I wanted to be courteous to the other rider(s) and not force something. While obviously better to err on the side of caution - would that have been OK to push up? There were multiple instances of people pushing up on the right side in that spot. This of course would shuffle me back another spot, and make it difficult to make the pass again later, as I lost that space.
Same around 4:40-4:50.
5:33 I felt it was good for one, but not for the other.
7:37, finally felt I could do it without being a jerk. Overcooked a but though and was sliding the rear tire on decel down the hill. Oops.
Lap 4. Got a lap where any passes felt very black and white as far as being "good". Finally got a relatively clean track, and had my best complete lap. Made a bunch of errors in lines, but got to finally try to put it together.
12:57. Was this pass ok? I didn't feel like passing there was wise as it's right between two turns, but perhaps I'm being too cautious there. If it's legit, that's fine. I'll keep that in mind for the next visit. With that "busy" section, I don't want to startle or cause another rider to have to alter their plans.
14:24 - was this OK? I honestly felt bad making that pass. I felt like it was too close to the corner for the other rider, but in the heat of that run, I did not want to let that other guy go.
3:05 - (way up front) had to be one of the weirder "blends" I've seen coming on track for T3.
4:11 - This is one of my favorite passing spots, but you need a good run out of the last S to make it work. The second rider looked like he was complicating that clean pass some. You probably would have made the rider directly in front of you adjust lines. Don't blame you for being cautious there.
4:40 (and pretty much everywhere else I've seen so far) - You are not getting to 100% throttle. Coming out of the left kink you should be rolling onto 100% throttle and then doing the math on whether YOUR line and pace will get you by cleanly. If not, ease up a bit and adjust. But START with your pace, not just following him. The right hand kink is definitely a no pass zone, so it's good to be a bit patient here, but there's tons of time to get cleanly by someone on that straight with that speed differential.
General note - in addition to not being at full throttle, you're really short shifting gears, especially on the front straight. Now, as others will certainly note, the most important elements to be learning right now are awareness, lines, passing, etc rather than outright speed. But being in the reasonably right gear and getting to 100% throttle at least on the straights are good things to get right. Again, you're in Novice and I don't want you to be overwhelmed working on 10 things out there, but you also don't want to get into bad habits.
5:33 - great job on the pass into T3
6:18 - will be an awesome outside pass in Intermediate.
7:05 - I can see that you were starting to roll on and go for the pass but he started to drift a little left on you. Could have gotten it done staying on the throttle, but I understand the bit of hesitancy.
7:13 - Ok, here we go. Todd always talked about this one and it opened my eyes. Right after you go through the right kink, carry an inside line as the rider in front drifts outside. Your pace is a fair bit quicker and you could have gone right by him with little effort on the right.
7:22 (and other laps) - Do not be afraid of that patch of discolored asphalt in the dry. Plenty of grip there.
Definitely have to work on that turn in the gulch. Being that far off the apex will bite you eventually as you try to turn back towards the track.
10:00 or so - Hey, full throttle and using the whole gear. There we go. 10:50 - And an apex in the gulch!
12:57 - I would have gone around. Personally, seeing how he was a fair bit off your pace through T3 and T4, I would have gone around on the right side exiting T4.
14:24 - Probably fine. Not the end of the world as it probably didn't alter his lines and you got it done, though doing it to just stay with someone is not necessarily the motivation you want.
Summary: Analysis I think is healthy, but over analysis can cause a lot of second guessing too. I think you'll be a good rider. You seem comfortable using the bike, especially on the brakes relative to your peers. You use your noggin and choose to be a bit cautious when presented a choice that is close. With more seat time, working on your lines, and getting used to Pitt, I think you'll find you drop a fair bit of time while decreasing the risk of how you ride. I also have a hunch that you have some work to do on where you're looking. Feels like you're following the rider in front of you more than running your lines and adjusting it as appropriate for the rider in front.