LSTD. What is it like?

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mattjmartin
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LSTD. What is it like?

Post by mattjmartin » Thu Jun 25, 2009 1:59 pm

Having only ridden with Ridesmart, I am curious what LSTD offers in comparison to what I am accustomed to with Dave.

What attracts me to LSTD is the fact the CMRA licensing is only obtained through them.

My GOAL is to have ridden in Ty's Level three a few times by the end of this year and have at least ten trackdays under my belt, as well as a well set up bike. Then, come next season, work on CMRA licensing. :cool:

I know I am new to this whole riding thing and am kinda rambunctious, but I ave heard from many people that race that diving in head first will never be a mistake. What can I say, I'm addicted.

So, tell me about LSTD!
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DarcShadow
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Post by DarcShadow » Thu Jun 25, 2009 4:07 pm

They are more of a track day then a track school. They still have a class setup and offer guidance but not quite as detailed as RideSmart.

The big down side in my oppion is if you go to their trackday the Friday before a CMRA event, the focus is mostly on the racers and the day is treated almost like a practice day for the race guys. Not to say you don't get plenty of track time for the lower run groups, you do, but like at MSR the actually run both tracks, the old track is for the race guys and the new track is for the lower levels.

One other thing they don't make real clear is on race weekends there is a entrace fee to get in to the track. If you are only there for the friday track day you get your money back at the end of the day so not a big deal. Unless you didn't know about the fee and don't have any cash on hand when you pull up to the gates.

As for getting your race license, while I haven't done it, from those that have it's pretty easy. So long as you don't wreck on your "race" laps that are part of the test and you got the $100 or what ever it is you get your novice license.
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Post by mattjmartin » Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:00 pm

I forgot all about this thread! Thanks for the heads up! As much as I like ridesmart and what their ideals are, I wanna try another venue just to have more options on dates. LSTD seems to be the other highly ranked organization, plus they have great prices this year and offer Oak hill which would be something different and great for an SV.
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"If you aren't living on the edge, you're taking up too much space."

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Post by DarcShadow » Wed Jul 22, 2009 7:56 am

I have not been to Oak Hill but I hear that it's an easy track to get yourself into trouble quickly. So keep a level head and get a good feel for the track before trying to push it too hard. Granted that's good advice for your first time on any new track.
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Firewa11
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Post by Firewa11 » Wed Jul 22, 2009 9:16 am

Oak Hill is what you'd expect from a track in the middle of nowhere with no facilities. The 'staging' area is a covered polebarn and a concession stand (only open during race weekends I think), the paddock is mostly all packed grass, porto-potties, etc, no electricity available for riders, etc. In the summer there is no place to go if you get overheated. July / August will suck just as bad as the cold sub-freezing temperatures in February sucked for me when I went.

As far as the track goes, Oak Hill has made some slight improvements to some of the inside corners, but in general the track is sub-par. It's old, I'm not sure when it was built, but the track definitely shows it's age. It's earned the nickname "Rock Hill", because of all of the rocks / gravel that gets stirred up all over the track, that chips your paint and turns into ballistic projectiles when you're in a pack of bikes. Keep this in mind when you wonder why your tires are shredded. Here's an aerial view of the track:

Image

If you look at the far left side of that pic, the edge of the track actually drops down significantly (a steep 20 feet drop) down to those cedar trees and a barbed wire fence. I worked that back corner during CMRA sprint races and at least 10 people went off there, most of which had no chance in keeping the bike up right. Ty Howard went on a rant about the safety of the track, requesting that CMRA drop this track from it's venue... (which is unlikely since the track rental for them is so cheap, it's one of their bigger profit makers).

Now, I'll get off my soapbox. I encourage anyone to get out and check out new tracks and such. As DarcShadow said, keep a level head, and don't push it hard. It can be a fun track, as long as you realize it is was not designed with motorcycles in mind. Oak Hill is unforgiving, as there are a lot of places to get hurt, and with the track being so narrow, you can run out of room really quickly. Oak Hill does have some history, you'll see a board in under the paddock with handwritten lap records from names like Colin Edwards, Hayden I think, and of course Ty Howard plastered all over the top of the records.

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Post by DLSGAP » Tue Jul 28, 2009 1:12 pm

yeah.. Hayden listed it as one of his favorite tracks for whatever reason... i like so many tracks beter than OHR.. but i havent ridden it since 92 so i dunno if its any better/worse
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