Today we’d like to introduce you to Keith Code of the California Superbike School.
Keith, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way? We’d love to hear the story.
While establishing the school (1979/1980) I ran into a very interesting phenomena: no one had any idea why I would take riders to race circuits for training. The attitude at the time was ‘race tracks were for racing’. It was a classic double edged sword: doing track based schools for the masses had not been done so it was new, new, new but no one understood the logic behind it. (Now there are dozens of track schools and track day providers).
Initially, finding and recruiting sponsors met with the same quizzical looks of apprehension.
To be honest there have been very few real struggles aside from the day to day problems of running an international organization (we have branches that cover 18 countries this year and collectively we’ve have done schools in 31 countries at 126 race track facilities).
The real struggles have been to discover, research and develop an actual technology of riding. You could say that was a big part of the original establishment. At that time there was no meaningful or effective rider training. Riders passed around ‘good advice’ from one to the next, most of which we know now was actually misleading and factually destructive. Bringing the idea that there were right and wrong ways to ride did not immediately meet with popularity.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about California Superbike School, Inc. – what should we know?
We teach the art of cornering motorcycles by breaking down the core technical skills into simple exercises. We are known for our curriculum and its effectiveness in improving riders’ skills and confidence. We are quite well known as educators through our 3 texts and two DVDs on the subject of rider improvement. We are the number one school in the world because our program works, uniformly.
We are most proud of our coaching staff and their abilities to improve virtually anyone’s riding, no matter how much experience the students already have.
Our extensive portfolio of in house developed riding technology and our coaching quality set us apart from other rider training organizations.
I have developed, and in some cases patented, rider training devices for use at our schools.
CSS has put more riders through its training programs (and first time on the track) than all of the other schools combined.
CSS has a 70% return student rate. They return to take part in their next level of training with us (we have 4 levels). Hundreds of our students have been through our programs scores of times with the record of 116 days attended by one person.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My wife Judy and son Dylan were there at the first schools we ran in the Spring of 1980. Their support through the decades has been invaluable. But truly, there are many on our regular staff as well as our contractors that have contributed in so many ways.
My mentors have been people from other fields such as my design school instructors who inspired me towards greater things and endowed me with a keener eye as an observer. My inspiration and mentor in the field of education I’d have to say was Ron Hubbard. I’ve used his study technology to unravel the mysteries of how people learn how to learn.
Many artists from the early 20th century also had a profound influence on my thinking. Marcel Duchamp and Alexander Calder being two of them.
Pricing:
- Prices range from $390 a day to $1,225 per day.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.superbikeschool.com
- Phone: 800 530-3350
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/californiasuperbikeschool/
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
