Oh for Christ's sake. there's nothing I hate more than "Verizon Pix Place." Forgot the camera but took my phone. getting them from it to here is a nightmare. I'm sure there's an easier way, but I don;t know it.
Anyhow, my times improved, not tremendously but predictably. I'm into consistent level 2 times, so I guess I'll take that plunge next time. Level 2 at this track is anything between 1:50 and 1:35. My best time so far is a 1:41. The last 3 sessions I didn't have any times over 1:49. I dragged my foot on the ground a few times and it startled me, so I tried to keep them in more. Got the feet out of the way & then got the knee down once which startled me even more than the feet so I pulled it up before I thought about it. The tiny little scrape marks are barely perceptible on the puck. I forgot the camera at home, these are from the phone- crummy, but what the heck.
Here's the bike - bone stock 04 honda cbr600rr with all non-essentials removed & the light, signal, mirror & passenger seat holes filled & shaped. Flat black to hide the imperfections from my impatient sanding.
yup, that's me.
That's Joe, the middle bike is his Hyabusa. He's a real nice guy I hung out with at the last track day as well. We're riding pretty even times, when we happen upon each other on the track we pass each other in spots, neither of us ever seem to pull away from the other, (well aside from him on the straights, but a turn or two & I'm back behind him) but we don't really hold each other up much either. I got my biggest improvement by following him through a long sweeper at the end of the back straight. Faster guys in the higher levels (on 600s at least) won't even let off the throttle through it, they can be wide open near the limiter in fifth through the turn. (dunno what their gearing is though) I was just approaching the limiter in 3rd on the straight and letting off & scrubbing some speed before I would turn in. My head was telling me "you're going way too fast to make it" so I'd slow and then once I was leaned over I'd realize I could get back on the gas, hard even. So following Joe who was taking the turn a lot faster gave me a reference and I stayed relaxed enough to keep the speed up. By the end of the day I was hitting the limiter mid turn, start easing on the brake in about a second, so I didn't bother shifting, just eased up a hair early. Next time I hope to shift into 4th before turning in. Work on my drive out of turn 4 a little & that'll happen.
The next bike over and yellow truck is some whack job who was spooking the shit out of me all day. He was very hyper & jumpy, almost to the point where I'd question possibly on meth? With "Nouveau Hip Edgy Jesus" stickers all over his bike. When asked what level he was in he said he had been riding in level two for a while, but figured he'd just try out level one again for the heck of it. (I'd bet he was told to last time). He brought his little dogs & kept them hidden although there's no dogs allowed. There's a 5mph speed limit for bikes everywhere except on the track, but he kept taking his bike over on the other side of the parking lot and screaming up and down in first gear to test the rev limiter which he said was acting up whenever he tried to pass someone. He kept telling me how fast he went that last time in turn five (the fast sweeper I was talking about earlier)
Him: "135 in turn five that time man!"
Me: "didn't they tell you in tech to put tape over your speedo?"
Him "135 man, 135!"
Me:"____________."
The last session out I kept seeing one corner worker show someone behind me that he had the meatball flag ready. The meatball flag is black with an orange circle & is used to tell a rider that there is something wrong with him (as opposed to black only when there is something wrong with the bike) and he needs to go talk to the gentleman at the pit exit. First time around the corner worker just had the flag in his hands, rolled up with a little orange showing so you could tell which flag it was. Next lap a little bit more showing, next lap he had it very plainly in sight, but still not actually waving or holding it out. I heard the guy behind me a couple times, I knew someone was back there, so I was very deliberate with my lines - giving plenty of space for someone to pass in the good spots for passing. Probably it would have been best to slow up & let him by but I was feeling real relaxed & knew I was going to pull some good times without pushing for them, so I just kept riding like I felt like riding. Next time the corner worker did bring it up just as I past him, so I was a little concerned about whoever was back there not getting the message and I thought "could that have actually been for me maybe?" I signaled to pit and pulled off the line and guess who flew by me and got full meatball flag from the next corner worker?
I'm packing my shit up & here he comes.
Him "Hey man, you really must have improved!!! I was trying to get by you the whole time!"
Me "They meatballed you huh?"
Him "Yeah, I dunno. Man, I kept getting so close! I'd be just coming up past you and then you'd turn in & I'd have to drop back. Man, you almost took me out once."
Me : "I almost took you out huh? Is that when they meatballed you?"
Him: "Damn I had fun today! That was a great session, we were really flying!"
Me: "You know that six foot of space between riders rule? You make it twelve feet for me or we're going to have a problem."
Him "Ok man, hey. no sweat really. I just thought you were right there with me man, you know. Ok, cool man."
Here's Norvin who can now be trusted to sit without a leash in the open. sometimes. This is taken picking him up from the folks after the trackday. He's excited about going home and hanging out so he doesn't think about bolting down the street, but still it's the start of great things. I can't wait until he can be trusted to join me on the mountain bike trails without a leash. Other well minding dogs do it, and nobody makes a fuss. Speaking of the trails I took this the last time out in case anyone hasn't seen a cactus blooming, they're lovely:
Oh hey. I just went to the site for the guy who takes pictures at the track, dig:
Anyhow, my times improved, not tremendously but predictably. I'm into consistent level 2 times, so I guess I'll take that plunge next time. Level 2 at this track is anything between 1:50 and 1:35. My best time so far is a 1:41. The last 3 sessions I didn't have any times over 1:49. I dragged my foot on the ground a few times and it startled me, so I tried to keep them in more. Got the feet out of the way & then got the knee down once which startled me even more than the feet so I pulled it up before I thought about it. The tiny little scrape marks are barely perceptible on the puck. I forgot the camera at home, these are from the phone- crummy, but what the heck.
Here's the bike - bone stock 04 honda cbr600rr with all non-essentials removed & the light, signal, mirror & passenger seat holes filled & shaped. Flat black to hide the imperfections from my impatient sanding.
yup, that's me.
That's Joe, the middle bike is his Hyabusa. He's a real nice guy I hung out with at the last track day as well. We're riding pretty even times, when we happen upon each other on the track we pass each other in spots, neither of us ever seem to pull away from the other, (well aside from him on the straights, but a turn or two & I'm back behind him) but we don't really hold each other up much either. I got my biggest improvement by following him through a long sweeper at the end of the back straight. Faster guys in the higher levels (on 600s at least) won't even let off the throttle through it, they can be wide open near the limiter in fifth through the turn. (dunno what their gearing is though) I was just approaching the limiter in 3rd on the straight and letting off & scrubbing some speed before I would turn in. My head was telling me "you're going way too fast to make it" so I'd slow and then once I was leaned over I'd realize I could get back on the gas, hard even. So following Joe who was taking the turn a lot faster gave me a reference and I stayed relaxed enough to keep the speed up. By the end of the day I was hitting the limiter mid turn, start easing on the brake in about a second, so I didn't bother shifting, just eased up a hair early. Next time I hope to shift into 4th before turning in. Work on my drive out of turn 4 a little & that'll happen.
The next bike over and yellow truck is some whack job who was spooking the shit out of me all day. He was very hyper & jumpy, almost to the point where I'd question possibly on meth? With "Nouveau Hip Edgy Jesus" stickers all over his bike. When asked what level he was in he said he had been riding in level two for a while, but figured he'd just try out level one again for the heck of it. (I'd bet he was told to last time). He brought his little dogs & kept them hidden although there's no dogs allowed. There's a 5mph speed limit for bikes everywhere except on the track, but he kept taking his bike over on the other side of the parking lot and screaming up and down in first gear to test the rev limiter which he said was acting up whenever he tried to pass someone. He kept telling me how fast he went that last time in turn five (the fast sweeper I was talking about earlier)
Him: "135 in turn five that time man!"
Me: "didn't they tell you in tech to put tape over your speedo?"
Him "135 man, 135!"
Me:"____________."
The last session out I kept seeing one corner worker show someone behind me that he had the meatball flag ready. The meatball flag is black with an orange circle & is used to tell a rider that there is something wrong with him (as opposed to black only when there is something wrong with the bike) and he needs to go talk to the gentleman at the pit exit. First time around the corner worker just had the flag in his hands, rolled up with a little orange showing so you could tell which flag it was. Next lap a little bit more showing, next lap he had it very plainly in sight, but still not actually waving or holding it out. I heard the guy behind me a couple times, I knew someone was back there, so I was very deliberate with my lines - giving plenty of space for someone to pass in the good spots for passing. Probably it would have been best to slow up & let him by but I was feeling real relaxed & knew I was going to pull some good times without pushing for them, so I just kept riding like I felt like riding. Next time the corner worker did bring it up just as I past him, so I was a little concerned about whoever was back there not getting the message and I thought "could that have actually been for me maybe?" I signaled to pit and pulled off the line and guess who flew by me and got full meatball flag from the next corner worker?
I'm packing my shit up & here he comes.
Him "Hey man, you really must have improved!!! I was trying to get by you the whole time!"
Me "They meatballed you huh?"
Him "Yeah, I dunno. Man, I kept getting so close! I'd be just coming up past you and then you'd turn in & I'd have to drop back. Man, you almost took me out once."
Me : "I almost took you out huh? Is that when they meatballed you?"
Him: "Damn I had fun today! That was a great session, we were really flying!"
Me: "You know that six foot of space between riders rule? You make it twelve feet for me or we're going to have a problem."
Him "Ok man, hey. no sweat really. I just thought you were right there with me man, you know. Ok, cool man."
Here's Norvin who can now be trusted to sit without a leash in the open. sometimes. This is taken picking him up from the folks after the trackday. He's excited about going home and hanging out so he doesn't think about bolting down the street, but still it's the start of great things. I can't wait until he can be trusted to join me on the mountain bike trails without a leash. Other well minding dogs do it, and nobody makes a fuss. Speaking of the trails I took this the last time out in case anyone hasn't seen a cactus blooming, they're lovely:
Oh hey. I just went to the site for the guy who takes pictures at the track, dig:
VIEW 7 of 7 COMMENTS
None for you means more for me! HAW HAW HAW!
Seriously, though, I think I might've bruised my liver last night. I was pretty beat up this AM, but Action Man volunteered to take the couch and I slept in the inky blackness of his sound-deadened bedroom. Kitty got in bed with me, and when she wasn't attacking my feet with her exquisitely sharp little kitten teeth & claws, she snuggled up so sweetly next to my head, warmly purring.
Nothing beats a hangover like kitten love.
You know, the big Four Oooh really is deserving of two parties.
You know how I am with holidays... I don't think you should wait until xmas to treat people decent or do something nice for them, you shouldn't wait for easter before you eat a chocolate bunny, and every day is a good day to dress up like a pirate or robot or space alien. Why wait for your birthday before you have a party?
Feeling better yet?
Yeah, haha, I soaked my head last night...