redbean
Tue 11/29/05, 12:33PM
http://www.socaltrackdays.com/socaltrackdays/BIGtracksmaller.gif
Raw neck, sunburned face, wind burned lips and aching joints. Not the way I was expecting to end up after my 4 day thanksgiving weekend of sitting around the house by myself but as we all know things in SoCal never turn out as we expect.
The plan was to spend this glorious 4 day weekend hanging out around the house catching up on “Me Do's”. Lord knows I don’t have any money after a year of racing and Xmas and Taxes right around the corner. So after doing some volunteer work hanging Xmas decorations at a military hospital with the Warrior Foundation Friday morning I get an invite to do some corner work in Pahrump NV with SoCal Trackdays. I’d never done corner work and thought it would be fun hanging out with Alex # 255, Kevin #813 and VJ #323. Besides, I like the guys at SoCal so I said sure. Cool thing about Socal, besides the no sessions, is if you corner work you get to ride. I’m thinking, COOL, I can work on some problem areas that need improvement before next season and not thinking about much else. This would turn out to be a big mistake. VJ told me to load my bike and get over to his place I could go with him. So that’s just what I did.
We roll into Pahrump around 11 or so that night and I get out of the truck. That’s when it hit me like an ice cold pale of water. It’s late Nov in Pahrump, IT’S COLD AS HELL. I didn’t bring any warm stuff. I loaded my normal track day gear and forgot anything that might keep me warm except a pull over. Well I’m tuff I can handle a little cool weather, besides the sun will be up and it always warms up when the sun comes up right? WRONG! We get to the track around 7 the next morning and start unloading and setting up the station on the back straight. I’m looking at the sun trying to get it to hurry up and get up. I need warmth! After the riders meeting we head out to the station and start working. I pretty much settled on the idea that I’m going to be cold and I was going to have to suck it up. It was just about this time that the wind picked up as if to say “Ah Ha and you didn’t think it could get any worse.” It was going to be a really long day.
Around 11 o’clock I took a break and headed out onto the track. For the first time in a long time I didn’t feel comfortable on the bike. I guess the combo of the cold, the wind and my chattering knees just didn’t make good bed fellows. I do about 6 laps and come in thinking that was not the best riding experience I’ve ever had. I put my tire warmers on and get back to work. At least I wasn’t cold anymore.
Other than it being cold, windy and dusty the track conditions were good. Care needed to be taken because it took forever, if ever, to get your tires up to temp. Even after tire warmers, a pound less in each tire and 15 to 20min of riding my tires only got warm. No edge buggers this weekend. I kept going out every hour or so and each time I felt better. By the end of the second day I was going at a fairly good pace and got a lot of opportunities to play cat and mouse with my friends and work on my weak areas. Number one of which is my control of the clutch. I have a bad street riding habit of quickly releasing the clutch after a down shift which really upsets the SV. I don’t blip and after talking some with Jason Pridmore during his Star School and a couple of his riders I decided their technique of multiple down shifts followed by one smooth release of the clutch in sync with braking was a much better option. It’s kind of like trail braking but with the clutch. Hell if it works for the AMA guys why not me but old habits die hard but I get little better every time I go out. Another problem I’m struggling with is body position in the lean, especially when I’m not comfortable in a turn. When I’m uncomfortable I tend to let the bike move under me instead of leaning over with the bike which translates to more than needed lean angle. I discovered this after looking at pictures of me racing at Firebird West in Nov. It was clear from them that I still need to improve on the basics of head in the mirror etc.
As you might guess Sundays’ work conditions were no different from Sat except it was colder and winder. At least I was better prepared. I went to the Wal-Mart and got some warmer clothes. Over all I had a really good time. The guys and girls at Socal Track days always run a good event and if I had the money Id never miss a chance to ride with them even in the cold.
Lessons from the weekend:
1. If you ever get a chance to do corner work , DO IT. Even with the cold it felt really good knowing that when someone went down I was the one who saw it and got help to them ASAP. Props to the corner workers of the world.
2. If you’re going ride, always fully prep your bike. Not a problem for me but VJ didn’t replace his sprocket nut lock clip after a tire change and lost the nut somewhere on the track. He was done for the weekend and was very lucky nothing happened to him while he was on the track.
3. Always check the weather before you go to the track or on a ride. ALWAYS. It could be raining, sunny or cold and they all require different gear. Had I taken 5 min to check I would have been feeling much better Monday morning that’s for sure.
4. When you’re sharing a room with loud breathers (Alex and Kevin) bring ear plugs. Some of the people I go to the track with (Alex and Kevin) are definitely breathing impaired. And why is it when you say “Dude you snore loud as hell” they never believe you.
5. Wal-Mart. Why in the hell didn’t I get stock in the store that has everything when I was young, stupid and broke? Ummm I guess I just answered my own question. They have warm stuff.
6. Lastly – Any chance to ride, be it cold, wet, hot, dry, alone or with your buds is always a good thing. Riding is one of those pleasures in life that can easily be taken for granted. Savor each ride be it on the way to work or the weekend ride in the canyons.
Raw neck, sunburned face, wind burned lips and aching joints. Not the way I was expecting to end up after my 4 day thanksgiving weekend of sitting around the house by myself but as we all know things in SoCal never turn out as we expect.
The plan was to spend this glorious 4 day weekend hanging out around the house catching up on “Me Do's”. Lord knows I don’t have any money after a year of racing and Xmas and Taxes right around the corner. So after doing some volunteer work hanging Xmas decorations at a military hospital with the Warrior Foundation Friday morning I get an invite to do some corner work in Pahrump NV with SoCal Trackdays. I’d never done corner work and thought it would be fun hanging out with Alex # 255, Kevin #813 and VJ #323. Besides, I like the guys at SoCal so I said sure. Cool thing about Socal, besides the no sessions, is if you corner work you get to ride. I’m thinking, COOL, I can work on some problem areas that need improvement before next season and not thinking about much else. This would turn out to be a big mistake. VJ told me to load my bike and get over to his place I could go with him. So that’s just what I did.
We roll into Pahrump around 11 or so that night and I get out of the truck. That’s when it hit me like an ice cold pale of water. It’s late Nov in Pahrump, IT’S COLD AS HELL. I didn’t bring any warm stuff. I loaded my normal track day gear and forgot anything that might keep me warm except a pull over. Well I’m tuff I can handle a little cool weather, besides the sun will be up and it always warms up when the sun comes up right? WRONG! We get to the track around 7 the next morning and start unloading and setting up the station on the back straight. I’m looking at the sun trying to get it to hurry up and get up. I need warmth! After the riders meeting we head out to the station and start working. I pretty much settled on the idea that I’m going to be cold and I was going to have to suck it up. It was just about this time that the wind picked up as if to say “Ah Ha and you didn’t think it could get any worse.” It was going to be a really long day.
Around 11 o’clock I took a break and headed out onto the track. For the first time in a long time I didn’t feel comfortable on the bike. I guess the combo of the cold, the wind and my chattering knees just didn’t make good bed fellows. I do about 6 laps and come in thinking that was not the best riding experience I’ve ever had. I put my tire warmers on and get back to work. At least I wasn’t cold anymore.
Other than it being cold, windy and dusty the track conditions were good. Care needed to be taken because it took forever, if ever, to get your tires up to temp. Even after tire warmers, a pound less in each tire and 15 to 20min of riding my tires only got warm. No edge buggers this weekend. I kept going out every hour or so and each time I felt better. By the end of the second day I was going at a fairly good pace and got a lot of opportunities to play cat and mouse with my friends and work on my weak areas. Number one of which is my control of the clutch. I have a bad street riding habit of quickly releasing the clutch after a down shift which really upsets the SV. I don’t blip and after talking some with Jason Pridmore during his Star School and a couple of his riders I decided their technique of multiple down shifts followed by one smooth release of the clutch in sync with braking was a much better option. It’s kind of like trail braking but with the clutch. Hell if it works for the AMA guys why not me but old habits die hard but I get little better every time I go out. Another problem I’m struggling with is body position in the lean, especially when I’m not comfortable in a turn. When I’m uncomfortable I tend to let the bike move under me instead of leaning over with the bike which translates to more than needed lean angle. I discovered this after looking at pictures of me racing at Firebird West in Nov. It was clear from them that I still need to improve on the basics of head in the mirror etc.
As you might guess Sundays’ work conditions were no different from Sat except it was colder and winder. At least I was better prepared. I went to the Wal-Mart and got some warmer clothes. Over all I had a really good time. The guys and girls at Socal Track days always run a good event and if I had the money Id never miss a chance to ride with them even in the cold.
Lessons from the weekend:
1. If you ever get a chance to do corner work , DO IT. Even with the cold it felt really good knowing that when someone went down I was the one who saw it and got help to them ASAP. Props to the corner workers of the world.
2. If you’re going ride, always fully prep your bike. Not a problem for me but VJ didn’t replace his sprocket nut lock clip after a tire change and lost the nut somewhere on the track. He was done for the weekend and was very lucky nothing happened to him while he was on the track.
3. Always check the weather before you go to the track or on a ride. ALWAYS. It could be raining, sunny or cold and they all require different gear. Had I taken 5 min to check I would have been feeling much better Monday morning that’s for sure.
4. When you’re sharing a room with loud breathers (Alex and Kevin) bring ear plugs. Some of the people I go to the track with (Alex and Kevin) are definitely breathing impaired. And why is it when you say “Dude you snore loud as hell” they never believe you.
5. Wal-Mart. Why in the hell didn’t I get stock in the store that has everything when I was young, stupid and broke? Ummm I guess I just answered my own question. They have warm stuff.
6. Lastly – Any chance to ride, be it cold, wet, hot, dry, alone or with your buds is always a good thing. Riding is one of those pleasures in life that can easily be taken for granted. Savor each ride be it on the way to work or the weekend ride in the canyons.