FAQ
WHY IS IT CALLED THE MYSTERY SCHOOL?
Rich Oliver's Mystery School is named so for two reasons, one new and one old.
The new reason is that in professional motorcycle racing, no one will help you that really knows how to win the class you race. They may talk to you and be friendly, but they really don't want to help you get better, just so you can go out and beat them!
So in our school we actually pass down the ideas and drills that DID make me a better rider over my 25 year career, and we distill down all this information into a fine tuned program that gives quick results, revealing to our students the best way to go about improving their riding skills as efficiently as possible.
The old reason it's called the Mystery School is that there used to really be "Mystery Schools" in the ancient past, and in these schools the chosen few would be taught things like mathematics, astronomy, reading, writing, philosophy, etc. But, you had to be a special person from a royal family or a special blood line to get the information, the regular riff raff peasants stayed ignorant in these areas of learning. I thought that the idea of a special learning center applied to this school as well. The difference between the ancient schools and ours is we don't discriminate; all you have to do is love riding motorcycles and want to improve! So that's why I named it the Mystery School.
HOW WILL LEARNING TO SLIDE ON THE DIRT HELP MY STREET RIDING OR ROAD RACING?
OK, this is the big question that I always get asked, and at first I wondered how anyone could not understand the benefits of learning improved bike control by sliding a mini bike on the dirt! You see the reason you can go fast on the track is because you really understand how the motorcycle works at its limit. That limit is way beyond having your tires in perfect contact and grip with the pavement! You're never going to win riding like that! A real pro rider is always out of shape to some degree, pushing his machine way beyond the "hooked up" stage, and is backing into corners on the brakes, losing the front in the corners and saving it, power sliding the rear tire off the corners, etc. This is real racing and the Champions are masters of this balancing act between crashing out or achieving victory. Even the riders down the finishing order are able to push their bikes this hard. So if you've ever gotten a scare when your bike goes sideways, you may think that's it, I can't go any faster. Wrong, that's just the starting point to a fast lap!
Look, it's not my idea to ride in the dirt to get better; you've got to credit Kenny Roberts as the biggest influence in this area. It's the main method he insisted his team riders use for bike control practice, and many other top riders from all types of racing would come do the same at his 160 acre ranch near Modesto, CA. Don't know much about World Champion Kenny Roberts? Well let's just say he was the greatest rider of his time both on dirt track and pavement, and I was lucky enough to ride for him for two years. Did it work, hell yes! I went from a top 5 rider to a Champion instantly. I raced so much better and faster it was unbelievable!
BUT RICH, I DON'T RACE OR TRACK RIDE, I JUST RIDE ON THE STREET, HOW WILL THIS HELP OUT THERE?
Have you ever had a car pull out in front of you! Have you ever had to ride in the rain! Got your bike out of shape over the railroad tracks, paint lines, whatever. See, you've got to have some built in reflexes when you get in those situations, and those reflexes better be the right ones! The ones you learn here. The last thing you need is to panic, tighten up and do nothing to save the situation and crash your nice shiny street bike all up! You could have saved it in most cases if you did the RIGHT thing instead of the WRONG thing or NOTHING! These riders are the ones who NEED to know how a bike really works when sliding more than anyone!
So think about it, you practice on a Yamaha TT-R125 mini bike on the dirt, with expert instruction by the owner of the school, and by the way I'm a very experience teacher now with hundreds of improved and satisfied students. This tough TT-R can be dropped, crashed, flipped, whatever. Pick it up and keep going because you only crashed at 15 mph and you and the bike are fine! Ride 5-6 hours a day and make millions of mistakes, but guess what, you've learned so much and gotten so much better its unbelievable!
Massively improved throttle control, better body position control and understanding of your movements, braking abilities skyrocket, and yes, you will learn to back it in sideways! How about power slides under perfect control, line choice, starting technique, gearshift timing, vision improvement, diet and health discussion, a great stretching routine, and don't forget a home made healthy lunch at my kitchen table made by my wife Karin, who by the way, is fast on a TT-R so watch out!
WHY SHOULD I SPEND MONEY ON MY EDUCATION?
Well why not, have you ever thought about yourself, you're the MOST important part of the bike. For what you would spend on an exhaust system or a few tires you can improve the most vital part of the bike-rider equation, YOU! Think of the money you can save and bodily damage you can avoid when you don't have that crash, and think of the enjoyment you will bring to your riding the rest of your life by KNOWING how to really control the bike correctly. Education does not wear out or go out of style, it's with you forever! Your money is well spent.