Tangled
Thursday, February 09, 2006
WSIR 2/6
Well, we had a great time at WSIR. It's really quite a different track than Streets. Much, much faster and a bit intimidatiing at first. We loaded the bikes Sunday evening. The trailer worked out very well for transporting our bikes. We headed out Monday morning at 5:30 am. There was a surprising amount of traffic so we did not arrive at Jim's until around 6:30. For some reason, April did not jump out of bed to come out and say hello :)
We arrived at the track around 8 am. After we found a place to pit, O and I got registered and got our bikes through tech. The riders meeting was at 8:30. This was followed by the orientation meeting for riders new to track riding or new to this particular track. Attendance allowed us to have two orientation laps before the street group started. The instructors went over the flags and each of the turns. During the orientation laps, we followed the instructors around the track.
Then we were on our own. It was a blast. After the third session, one of the Trackdaz guys I knew from CC, Gil, came over and asked me how I was feeling about turn 8. He had been following me and noticed that I took a different line each time I went around. He was right. Nothing I tried in turn 8 felt right so I kept trying something else. He wasn't too thrilled about how I was handling turn 2 either. He had me follow him around most of the fourth session. He asked me to stay in second gear the whole time.
While I was following Gil, O swooshed by leaned way over and and going fast. Less than a minute later, the red flags came out indicating that someone has crashed. As we passed the downed rider, I target fixated a bit to make sure it wasn't O. I think it's just one of the issues you have to confront when a loved one is on the track with you. Fortunately, the downed rider was not seriously hurt. I think his bike was though.
After the session, Gil asked me what I thought of staying in second gear. I think his goal, by asking me to stay in second gear, was to help me understand the feel of the bike. I told him it was fine except the bike frequently made a bucking motion that was disconcerting. He asked me how often I was near redline. I told him the entire time. He said to ride in third gear next time.
Before the fifth session, Gil and I went up to the classroom and went over each of the turns in detail. Then, Gil adjusted the suspension on my bike. It made quite a positive difference in the handling of the bike. After Gil's help, both the bike and I were smoother and I think a bit faster.
Thank you Gil!
We had a great time. We ended the day with a yummy dinner at El Chollo with April and Jim. I can't wait until next time.
Well, we had a great time at WSIR. It's really quite a different track than Streets. Much, much faster and a bit intimidatiing at first. We loaded the bikes Sunday evening. The trailer worked out very well for transporting our bikes. We headed out Monday morning at 5:30 am. There was a surprising amount of traffic so we did not arrive at Jim's until around 6:30. For some reason, April did not jump out of bed to come out and say hello :)
We arrived at the track around 8 am. After we found a place to pit, O and I got registered and got our bikes through tech. The riders meeting was at 8:30. This was followed by the orientation meeting for riders new to track riding or new to this particular track. Attendance allowed us to have two orientation laps before the street group started. The instructors went over the flags and each of the turns. During the orientation laps, we followed the instructors around the track.
Then we were on our own. It was a blast. After the third session, one of the Trackdaz guys I knew from CC, Gil, came over and asked me how I was feeling about turn 8. He had been following me and noticed that I took a different line each time I went around. He was right. Nothing I tried in turn 8 felt right so I kept trying something else. He wasn't too thrilled about how I was handling turn 2 either. He had me follow him around most of the fourth session. He asked me to stay in second gear the whole time.
While I was following Gil, O swooshed by leaned way over and and going fast. Less than a minute later, the red flags came out indicating that someone has crashed. As we passed the downed rider, I target fixated a bit to make sure it wasn't O. I think it's just one of the issues you have to confront when a loved one is on the track with you. Fortunately, the downed rider was not seriously hurt. I think his bike was though.
After the session, Gil asked me what I thought of staying in second gear. I think his goal, by asking me to stay in second gear, was to help me understand the feel of the bike. I told him it was fine except the bike frequently made a bucking motion that was disconcerting. He asked me how often I was near redline. I told him the entire time. He said to ride in third gear next time.
Before the fifth session, Gil and I went up to the classroom and went over each of the turns in detail. Then, Gil adjusted the suspension on my bike. It made quite a positive difference in the handling of the bike. After Gil's help, both the bike and I were smoother and I think a bit faster.
Thank you Gil!
We had a great time. We ended the day with a yummy dinner at El Chollo with April and Jim. I can't wait until next time.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
WSIR Fun
So, tomorrow O and I are going to the big track at Willow. April's Jim is coming with us. O loaded up the new trailer with very few problems. I'll post a picture with both of our bikes loaded. I did all the bike prep myself including removing the front and rear signals. Since I am not mechanically inclined, this was quite an accomplishment for me. I'll post up a ride report when we get back. Even though I'm not sleepy, I know I should try and get some rest. Weather report says it'll be 33 degrees when we get to the track. Brrr!!!
