Mark and Mario took the Yamaha Champions Riding School Sunset Clinic last month, joining us at Pueblo Motorsports Park for the four-hour street-riding clinic. Their wives tagged along and listened peripherally, then watched the riding action from the fences. About an hour into the clinic, things were going great and Mark and Mario’s wives were sitting in the bleachers where I was coaching the U-turns. I yelled over a hello and asked their names. “Lucita and Debra,” Lucita called back. I asked if they also rode motorcycles. “No, on the back sometimes.” The clinic continued and about 30 minutes later the girls were at the fence just before we took a little break. I sent my group back into the paddock for the downshift/blip demo and rode my FZ1 over to the fence. “How do you two feel about your boys riding motorcycles?” They both shrugged and Debra said, “Well, we really wanted them to come to this school…I do worry when Mark goes out for a ride.” Lucita nodded. She worried about Mario too. I liked these two ladies. Rather than wringing their hands and asking Mark and Mario to quit riding, their worry pushed them toward Sunset training. Then they came along and supported their husbands who were both on beautiful new BMWs. We all know riders who have stopped riding due to family pressures but I liked Lucita and Debra’s solution much better: If you’re gonna do it, do it well. “Okay, so do you want to help keep your boys safe?” I asked. Of course they did. “Next time and every time they’re going for a ride, rather than say something lame like Be careful out there or don’t go too fast or take it easy, I want you to say only two words, and you can say them as often as you like because it will keep them safer and happier, okay?” Both girls were kinda laughing because I was saying the italicized words in the above paragraph in a higher sing-song voice and my voice is already high. They were looking at a skinny gray-haired guy they’d never met before and I was making fun at the inane words that obviously do not work to keep riders healthy. If Be careful out there or don’t go too fast or take it easy actually worked, our sport would be vital and growing. And yes, I editorialized a bit verbally on lame advice not working. Lucita and Debra were nodding their heads. We all knew they had used those exact words before their husbands went for a ride. We have all heard them, we have all used them. They are completely useless, just wasted lip flapping. “Okay,” said Debra, “so what do we say?” I replied, “As they’re rolling their bikes out, getting on their jackets, cleaning their faceshields, all they should hear from you is: Trailbrake Damnit.” I then had them say it out loud a few times. Then with gusto. Lucita asked, “We heard you talking about that, so what is trailbraking exactly?” “Well, I’ve heard three definitions,” I replied. “One is you are trailing brake pressure into the corner. The second is that you are trailing off brake pressure as you add lean angle. The third is goofy and came from a goofy guy, but I kinda like it: You are adjusting the rake and trail, the front-end geometry of your motorcycle, with brake pressure.” Their eyes glazed over a bit on the third one, but the first two made sense. I had them say Trailbrake Damnit one more time and zipped over to where Ray McPeek, Louis Ferrari and Mark Schellinger were showing downshift techniques. 
I understand if you are not a fan of swearing, but it can be a great punctuator. When you’re a short skinny gray-haired conservative-looking person, dropping the swear bomb is pretty funny and fairly memorable. It snaps people’s attention back to what you’re saying. I needed Lucita and Debra’s attention because those two words will make Mark and Mario much safer riders. Saying Be careful out there or Trailbrake Damnit gets back to what YCRS chases hardest in our riding instruction: Techniques, not advice. Advice would be, “Don’t enter the corner too fast.” Technique is leaving your brake light on past the tip-in so you can continue to adjust speed and geometry. Advice is “Be smooth.” Technique is practicing initial braking and initial throttle every moment of every ride so when you find yourself in the rain, gravel, or at the lap record you’ll have the feel. Advice: “Don’t grab the brake lever.” Technique: Rolling your bike across the garage with 1 percent brakes on…learning with no drama so you’re awesome under pressure. I can go on but you get the idea. So did Lucita and Debra. As the Sunset group got ready to head back onto the racetrack again, I stopped everyone and turned to the girls. “What would you say to a rider heading out for a ride, girls?” “Trailbrake Damnit” they shouted in unison. Everyone laughed. The Clinic continued to go well. Mark and Mario will ride well for a long time.
“Hi, what do you ride and where do you ride it? Oh, that’s nice…let’s trailbrake.”
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