As I noted in my previous posts, I would get back on the track and I would give my track practice another go.
As they say, there's the good news and there's the bad news and my experiences this past weekend are no exception
After suffering a bad day of work on friday and dealing with the boss, I slept through my alarm clock and got a late start and missed my first session. My garage mate thought I had stood him up (don't blame him) and gave space someone else - we agreed to exchange contact info for next time. Then I got tire pressures checked and was turning around to head back to my new garage space and fell over with bike on top of me. Bruised right femur and elbow as a result. I felt like someone had posted "klutz" on my back 'cause I sure was looking like one. I then flipped bike over again trying to get stands under it. Bike over twice before even going out was not forecasting very good odds for me.
Egads! What was wrong with me. It was turning out to be my worst day ever.......
After making some of the officials from the track day organization concerned for my well being, I told them I would be ok and sat down to clear my mind and get my senses back on track (no pun intended).
From then on I had a really good day
(except for the very end). Eventually turned a 1:58 something from 2:12's earlier in the day and previous track days. Granted I have a ways to go to get to the 1:39's and 1:40's that are seen on this track but I feel my improvement was noticeable. I asked a control rider to follow me and then I followed (more like chased) him. He said I was doing much better and just gave me a couple of things to work on. I admitted I was a little off my mark, partly due to the fact that I had one eye on the track and one eye on a thunder storm about two miles away and wondering if I was going to become a lightning rod. When our thunder shower came through, I didn't want to risk high speeds and skidding out of control and instead used the session after the rain stopped for slow speed "line practice." Eventually the track dried out and I went back to normal speeds.
Last run of the day I was pushing pretty hard. I was trying to smooth out transitions and get my posture more where it should be. Came out of the last turn before the long straightaway and didn't lean over enough and instead the bike leaned over to much, rear tire lost contact; rear regained contact, flipped me upright (thought I was going to high-side); knew I couldn't save it and proceeded to ride out into the dirt and try to get stopped. I Was fine until I hit the 1' deep pea gravel trying to get stopped about 25' off the edge of the track. Rear slid out and over I went at about 10 MPH with bike on top of me. Ever tried to get a 300lbs+ bike off of you in 1' deep pea gravel?
Not easy.
Finally got out from under the bike but I couldn't lift it up. Front tire was buried in gravel. I finally got it upright just as the owner of the track day came and helped me. I couldn't decide wether to keep serious or start laughing. I was fine and the bike was fine except for the five pounds of gravel in my lowers.....
I guess it was the highlight of the afternoon as I was asked about it a few times while packing up. I even got a couple of good laughs out of it with some fellow riders.
What a blast! Even with the spills and late start I think it was best day, riding wise so far. Yea, I went out in the dirt a couple of other times (upright) but I learned so much.
A few weeks ago I think I would have given up completely had this happened but everyone, especially pbandj19, knocked me back into reality. What fun I would have missed.
I have to thank the guys from
APEX Track Days. I can't say enough about these guys. For the money, you can't beat it and these guys bust their butts for the riders and will do anything to keep them happy. The owner (who's absolutely awesome) is a fanatic where safety's concerned as a result, we enjoy very little, if any downtime due to accidents. The
track is one of the best (or so I've heard) since I've never been to any other tracks. If you've ever wanted to do a track day on MMP, talk to APEX. You won't be disappointed.
Well I've rambled on enough. Great day overall and I'm looking forward to the next track day,
Now if you'll please excuse me, I've got to go clean out and figure out what to do with five pounds of pea gravel in my lowers......
SD
The good and...the not so good
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