Parking Lot Training Courses

[BonesDT]

Anyone know where I can find some training "course" ideas I can mock up in a parking lot with cones?

 

[LesPow]

We had a mini track here in NJ that we occasionally visited on Sundays for some fun, it was at the DMV. But really it was just enough for horsing around and quick fun. I would say skip the parking lot itch and develop your skills at a track day, that was where it really came together for me, not at the DMV. Take into consideration the surface of said parking lot and all that effort youll be putting in for little skill development. But then again if you really want to pursue this parking lot TD, just ride in circles and keep your eyes to the center of the circle, while hanging off and relaxing your arms. Have fun!!

 

[dlockhart5x]

Lee Parks has several parking lot drills and cone placement/ drill diagrams in his book Total Control.
I highly recomend the book and have found some of the drills to be very helpfull.

 

[Tony A]

+1 on the Lee Parks

 

[rk97]

a figure-eight is pretty much the smallest 'road course' you can make. 2 cones, as far apart or as close together as you want. Right turn, straight-away (length is up to you), brake, left turn, and repeat.

but i can't think of any parking lots I'd trust enough to really have very much fun... Bring your broom

 

[stephenjpauls]

I thought this was a great idea. I have a church with a Huge parking lot less than a mile from my house. So I set up a mini track just to work on getting off the bike. This parking lot was very nice and clean... no sand or other debris, very few tar snakes as well. Unfortunately the surface had a sealer that was much slicker than I thought it would be and on my second lap I pushed the front, dropped the bike and walked away with about $1000 in damage + a sore back. I just feel very lucky that I went down where I did... the next corner had a concrete planter that the bike and I would have hit and with no medic around, and no one else to see that I'm in the parking lot that could have been bad.

Most parking lots are private property so be aware that the owner could call the cops on you unless you make an arrangement with them ahead of time. If you’re going to play in a parking lot, remember your tires most likely are not warm enough, the surface is meant to park cars, not race bikes so could be slick. Also make sure you are with someone who can call for help if required. Someone warned me of this, I wish I had listened, but you live and learn.

 

[Bubba Zanetti]

+3 on Lee Parks's

The class was fun and a good clean parking lot works very well for the exercises.

Don't forget to drop you tire psi to 30 front/ back BEFORE you start exercising.

BZ

 

[meanstrk]

I use to train Marines at Camp Lejeune in parking lots. Not the safest environment really, but if you find one that is wide open and limited paint lines, you can do something with it. I use to start with slaloms, then offset slalom to work body positioning, then braking drills, throttle control, cornering lines, etc... I finished up with a full road course to tie it all together.

Here is a clip of my son riding at one of my courses... It can give you an idea of what you can lay out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBY1AgzkZ6I

 

[BonesDT]

stephenjpauls;43171 wrote: I thought this was a great idea. I have a church with a Huge parking lot less than a mile from my house. So I set up a mini track just to work on getting off the bike. This parking lot was very nice and clean... no sand or other debris, very few tar snakes as well. Unfortunately the surface had a sealer that was much slicker than I thought it would be and on my second lap I pushed the front, dropped the bike and walked away with about $1000 in damage + a sore back. I just feel very lucky that I went down where I did... the next corner had a concrete planter that the bike and I would have hit and with no medic around, and no one else to see that I'm in the parking lot that could have been bad.

Most parking lots are private property so be aware that the owner could call the cops on you unless you make an arrangement with them ahead of time. If you’re going to play in a parking lot, remember your tires most likely are not warm enough, the surface is meant to park cars, not race bikes so could be slick. Also make sure you are with someone who can call for help if required. Someone warned me of this, I wish I had listened, but you live and learn.

Wow! $1000 in damage, injuries, medics.... And we're talking about 2mph figure eights. Imagine riding on public roads at highway speeds? Wait, people do that ... I do that.

Yea, this just sealed the deal for me to stay off the streets.

This is why I have chicken strips.

 

[stephenjpauls]

I wasn't doing 2mph figure eights... I was doing about 35 to 40 when I went down... like I said I was being stupid and made a "track" for myself.

 

[PARedVFRRider]

dlockhart5x;43118 wrote: Lee Parks has several parking lot drills and cone placement/ drill diagrams in his book Total Control.
I highly recomend the book and have found some of the drills to be very helpfull.

I also would place my vote for a Lee Parks skills course or simply getting his book and going to a big parking lot and practicing on your own. Which is what I did. I did about 4 to 6 hours of parking lot practice before my first Nesba track day and while you can no where come near the speed of the track in a parking lot, you can work a lot more on your body position on the bike in a parking lot then on a track. In the parking lot you can experiment with what feels right with hanging off and what doesn't with your bike and particular body style....it's much more difficult doing that on a track at full speed with other bikes flying by.

So I say +1 for parking lot practicing...just pick a parking lot with good asphalt and not near any place where people would complain. I happen to have my son's middle school as a place here. It's out in the middle of nowhere, off the road a bit and it's only 2 years old, so the asphalt was perfect.