jadeblue1
Wed 7/26/06, 12:13AM
i actually had a good round at wsmc this month, despite crashing in my 2nd race on sunday. i learned a couple of things, and had a new personal best for time-1:38!
friday practice was the first time i had set tires on big willow in over 2 months. i was hoping to look at the track through fresh eyes and maybe figure out where to squeeze a few more seconds off my laps times. all the seat time at other tracks was finally paying off-big willow felt like an 8 lane freeway, and i have never felt more comfortable in 3,4, &5 than i had this weekend. towards the ends of the day, robbie dowie, one of the resident KFG’s (known fast guys) was breaking in a motor & let me tag on behind him to help me with my line through 3 & 4. i only got to ride behind him for 2 sessions, as it was the end of the day, so i was hoping to hone the new lines on saturday.
saturday was new racers school, and because of the order of the practice rotation, i only got one session of practice time-the rest i was helping with the school & couldn’t really do any practicing. i was a little disappointed, but i figured i still had to practice sessions on sunday morning to make thing gel.
sunday morning-i start off with a tire check & find out my tires are shot. what? i’ve only had them on for 3 days-how can that be? (they were fresh on saturday the last weekend at buttonwillow) so i ask dale (the michelin guy) how can they be done already? & he was showing me the wear bars & explaining how the track heat was affecting the tires. from riding at thunderhill, i knew a tire could overheat while it was being ridden on, but i hadn’t been going that fast on saturday, so i was a litttle in denile about going fast enough to kill my tires. so i asked him for a rear & he suggested i change the front also. i asked him for a take off, as i still didn’t think it was that worn. so i start out with a 2-tire change & miss my first round of practice. i got out on the 2nd round & felt fine, turned a few quick laps & came in & got ready for the races. i was in race #1 & race #4, so that didn’t leave alot of time for recovery between.
on the warm up lap for race #1, i felt calm & relaxed, got into my groove quick & as we gridded up, i dropped into position & got ready for the flag. as i launched on the start, i saw 2 bikes just ahead of me come together & then the 2nd bike-an fzr400 shot straight acroos the grid & missed my front tire by inches. the fzr pulled it out & recovered right beside me as we all went barreling into T1. i felt something ram into my back tire & push me wide, but i stayed on the gas & kept up with the pack going into t2. there was a little more jostling as we went into t3, & then it was about a 5 bike battle, me, charlie c, dan devry, richard stitely, and john wood. i got feel for the pace & settled in & just started picking riders off. i would pace them, set up, & then pass- i got dan devry on the outside going thru t2. i got charlie c under brakes going into t1, he got me back going into t8, i passed him again in t2, & this time made it stick. i got richard stitley under brakes going into t3, and was right behind john wood when i saw the starter holding a white flag. as i went into t1, a big twin glided by me & i realized the first wave had caught up, but i had managed to stay on the lead lap. my front tire slid a little bit in t2, so i backed off just slightly to finish the race.
afterward, i asked dale about the slide, & he asked me if it happened anywhere else. i said no, & he said the track temp was making the tires greasy, so be more careful in the turns. i said ok & got ready for the 2nd race. this time i got into 5th place on the start & stayed there, & i was pacing 4th & working on catching him. the starting lap i didn’t notice anything unusual, but on the 2nd lap of the race, as i went into t2, i was having a hard time getting the bike to go where i wanted it to. i was steerng it, but it was going wide & as i entered t3, the same thing-it went wide. i was also a little wide in 4, but i figured it was just the heat from the pavement. the 3rd lap i was gaining ground on john wood-as i entered t1 & was looking for him & trying to see the line to him & around him. i went into t2 & the bike went wide again, but i passed it off as a greasy tire & continued my pursuit. wide into t3 again, as i leaned it over into 4b, the front end washed out & my face was suddenly an inch from the pavement. i reached out & shoved my bike hard away from me & pulled my arms in as best as i could & just went with the slide, then tumble, and when it felt like i stopped moving, i could see the edge of the track kind of close to me, so i rolled away from it. i wasn’t sure if i was still moving or not, so i waited a second to make sure my limbs felt intact. they did, so i got up on 1 knee, that seemed to work ok, so i stood up completely. my left hand hurt, & i felt like i’d been tumbling in a dryer, but other than that, i felt ok, so i waved to the corner workers that i was alright. i saw dixie laying in the gravel a good distance off the track, so i walked over to her & turned her key off & then wen & sat on the side on the hill & waited for the crash truck. i could feel blood pooling in the thumb of my left glove, so i decided i’d let the ambulance guys take that off.
results of the crash: my woodcraft frame sliders & footpeg were ground down 50%, my exhaust can slider was ground down 50%, my fork slider was ground down 70%. i broke my brake lever, and my mount for my windsheild. i bent my exhaust hanger and put a dent in the pipe, but the can slider saved my m4 can, and my bodywork got just a little scratched. the tank got a couple of scrathes in it too, but because the sliders did their job, my bike had less than $200 worth of damage. the only other thing i had to replace was my gloves-i wore a hole through the thumb on the left one, which is how part of my thumbnail got ripped off. (that still kind of hurts)
observations: radiant track heat will destroy your tires-a 100 degree day will give you a radiant heat of 140-150 degrees on the asphalt. also, when your tire guy advises you that your tires are bad, LISTEN! i had never felt a tie “push” before, but that weird thing my bike was doing when i was trying to turn it & it wasn’t turning is pushing-now i know & if i ever feel again, i’m immediately getting off the track.
also-everything i’ve ever been told about what to do when you crash was absolutely correct. my bike & i were sliding the same direction-that’s why i pushed it- & when your bike is moving, it responds to a push very easily & that way you won’t get tangled up with your bike or get your leg caught under it. secondly, the pulling in you arms & raising your head up a little also works-other than my thumb, nothing else got too beat up. lastly, taking a moment to be sure you’ve stopped moving before you try to stand up-it does take some effort to lie still for a moment, because our natural reflex is to jump up right away whether we’re hurt or not. taking that extra moment to assess your situation will prevent you from getting injured further.
thanks to my garge mates for helping me with my bike, & to troy & eric for helping me load it up at the end of the day. also thanks to my sponsors: graffiti pala ce, crago racing, socalsvriders.org, and twin works factory for all the help & support.
...’til next month
friday practice was the first time i had set tires on big willow in over 2 months. i was hoping to look at the track through fresh eyes and maybe figure out where to squeeze a few more seconds off my laps times. all the seat time at other tracks was finally paying off-big willow felt like an 8 lane freeway, and i have never felt more comfortable in 3,4, &5 than i had this weekend. towards the ends of the day, robbie dowie, one of the resident KFG’s (known fast guys) was breaking in a motor & let me tag on behind him to help me with my line through 3 & 4. i only got to ride behind him for 2 sessions, as it was the end of the day, so i was hoping to hone the new lines on saturday.
saturday was new racers school, and because of the order of the practice rotation, i only got one session of practice time-the rest i was helping with the school & couldn’t really do any practicing. i was a little disappointed, but i figured i still had to practice sessions on sunday morning to make thing gel.
sunday morning-i start off with a tire check & find out my tires are shot. what? i’ve only had them on for 3 days-how can that be? (they were fresh on saturday the last weekend at buttonwillow) so i ask dale (the michelin guy) how can they be done already? & he was showing me the wear bars & explaining how the track heat was affecting the tires. from riding at thunderhill, i knew a tire could overheat while it was being ridden on, but i hadn’t been going that fast on saturday, so i was a litttle in denile about going fast enough to kill my tires. so i asked him for a rear & he suggested i change the front also. i asked him for a take off, as i still didn’t think it was that worn. so i start out with a 2-tire change & miss my first round of practice. i got out on the 2nd round & felt fine, turned a few quick laps & came in & got ready for the races. i was in race #1 & race #4, so that didn’t leave alot of time for recovery between.
on the warm up lap for race #1, i felt calm & relaxed, got into my groove quick & as we gridded up, i dropped into position & got ready for the flag. as i launched on the start, i saw 2 bikes just ahead of me come together & then the 2nd bike-an fzr400 shot straight acroos the grid & missed my front tire by inches. the fzr pulled it out & recovered right beside me as we all went barreling into T1. i felt something ram into my back tire & push me wide, but i stayed on the gas & kept up with the pack going into t2. there was a little more jostling as we went into t3, & then it was about a 5 bike battle, me, charlie c, dan devry, richard stitely, and john wood. i got feel for the pace & settled in & just started picking riders off. i would pace them, set up, & then pass- i got dan devry on the outside going thru t2. i got charlie c under brakes going into t1, he got me back going into t8, i passed him again in t2, & this time made it stick. i got richard stitley under brakes going into t3, and was right behind john wood when i saw the starter holding a white flag. as i went into t1, a big twin glided by me & i realized the first wave had caught up, but i had managed to stay on the lead lap. my front tire slid a little bit in t2, so i backed off just slightly to finish the race.
afterward, i asked dale about the slide, & he asked me if it happened anywhere else. i said no, & he said the track temp was making the tires greasy, so be more careful in the turns. i said ok & got ready for the 2nd race. this time i got into 5th place on the start & stayed there, & i was pacing 4th & working on catching him. the starting lap i didn’t notice anything unusual, but on the 2nd lap of the race, as i went into t2, i was having a hard time getting the bike to go where i wanted it to. i was steerng it, but it was going wide & as i entered t3, the same thing-it went wide. i was also a little wide in 4, but i figured it was just the heat from the pavement. the 3rd lap i was gaining ground on john wood-as i entered t1 & was looking for him & trying to see the line to him & around him. i went into t2 & the bike went wide again, but i passed it off as a greasy tire & continued my pursuit. wide into t3 again, as i leaned it over into 4b, the front end washed out & my face was suddenly an inch from the pavement. i reached out & shoved my bike hard away from me & pulled my arms in as best as i could & just went with the slide, then tumble, and when it felt like i stopped moving, i could see the edge of the track kind of close to me, so i rolled away from it. i wasn’t sure if i was still moving or not, so i waited a second to make sure my limbs felt intact. they did, so i got up on 1 knee, that seemed to work ok, so i stood up completely. my left hand hurt, & i felt like i’d been tumbling in a dryer, but other than that, i felt ok, so i waved to the corner workers that i was alright. i saw dixie laying in the gravel a good distance off the track, so i walked over to her & turned her key off & then wen & sat on the side on the hill & waited for the crash truck. i could feel blood pooling in the thumb of my left glove, so i decided i’d let the ambulance guys take that off.
results of the crash: my woodcraft frame sliders & footpeg were ground down 50%, my exhaust can slider was ground down 50%, my fork slider was ground down 70%. i broke my brake lever, and my mount for my windsheild. i bent my exhaust hanger and put a dent in the pipe, but the can slider saved my m4 can, and my bodywork got just a little scratched. the tank got a couple of scrathes in it too, but because the sliders did their job, my bike had less than $200 worth of damage. the only other thing i had to replace was my gloves-i wore a hole through the thumb on the left one, which is how part of my thumbnail got ripped off. (that still kind of hurts)
observations: radiant track heat will destroy your tires-a 100 degree day will give you a radiant heat of 140-150 degrees on the asphalt. also, when your tire guy advises you that your tires are bad, LISTEN! i had never felt a tie “push” before, but that weird thing my bike was doing when i was trying to turn it & it wasn’t turning is pushing-now i know & if i ever feel again, i’m immediately getting off the track.
also-everything i’ve ever been told about what to do when you crash was absolutely correct. my bike & i were sliding the same direction-that’s why i pushed it- & when your bike is moving, it responds to a push very easily & that way you won’t get tangled up with your bike or get your leg caught under it. secondly, the pulling in you arms & raising your head up a little also works-other than my thumb, nothing else got too beat up. lastly, taking a moment to be sure you’ve stopped moving before you try to stand up-it does take some effort to lie still for a moment, because our natural reflex is to jump up right away whether we’re hurt or not. taking that extra moment to assess your situation will prevent you from getting injured further.
thanks to my garge mates for helping me with my bike, & to troy & eric for helping me load it up at the end of the day. also thanks to my sponsors: graffiti pala ce, crago racing, socalsvriders.org, and twin works factory for all the help & support.
...’til next month