I am sorry to report that I can't in good faith recommend Soft Science of Road Racing Motorcycles. Again I try, and again I fail to get through it. I guess I was expecting a lot more, well, science, given the name, but it seems to focus on the premise that you have to THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING OR IT WON'T WORK. Well, at the risk of sounding pedantic: no shit, Sherlock. I have heard lots of positive things about Code's other books, and he's clearly a very well-respected riding instructor, but this book just doesn't seem valuable to me.

Try as I might, I just can't manage to get my mind around inside-arm-only steering corrections. I'm still doing a lot of my maneuvering by shifting my weight ("body english") and I know it's not very effective, and my countersteering usually seems to take the form of pulling with my outside arm, rather than pushing with the inside. When I consciously remind myself to do it right, I have a much crisper turn response; I just need to internalize this process, so that I'll do it right when I really need it. I'm making progress refining my riding position; scooting my ass back to the rear of the seat and keeping my upper body canted forward, so that my arms can relax a little bit. It's not quite there, but it's getting better.

A nice day today - a bit of a surprise. No rain!