ill dispense with my normal full report detailing, in minutia, all of the day-to-day events associated with going to the track. Instead, i will start at the good stuff.

Saturday morning was breath condensing cold and after a nice hot shower (the new facilities at BeaveRun are quite nice, albeit seemingly unfinished), a quick breakfast, the usual registration/tech inspection and tire pressure check, we had the riders meeting. same meeting as always: dont crash, flag definitions, photo guy introduction, etc. the advanced riders were let loose to prepare to start the day. as i walked away from the crowd that was now missing the advanced riders, i noticed that the group wasnt much smaller. my suspicions were confirmed at the hot pit where only about 10 riders were present.

the first couple of sessions were cold. and i was rusty. this was my second track day of the season and the first at BeaveRun this season so i was still a little shakey. no records were broken and no heros were made.

i think it was late morning or easrly afternoon, irt started raining. not a consistent rain, or even a drizzle, but more like light squalls. at first the rain didnt even moisten the track. but a few squalls later, the track was barley damp in a few places. although i was running my rear tire backwards (to try to even out the wear rate) i wasnt worried as there was not enough water for the tread pattern (which is there to disperse water) to be effective, or ineffective as would have been the case for my backwards tire.

during one of the heavier squalls, the pavement in the pit was noticably damp and out we went onto the track. i had arranged to work with Mary that session to try to get her over her mental barrier that was preventing her from riding to her full ability. the squalls were very odd. the first half of the track was completely dry, but it was raining on the second half. odd, but not anything to be too concerned about. we were trading positions on the track, i would ride berhind her and watch her form, then i would pass to show her how i was managing certain parts of the track, when we came up on the last set of turns before the straight (three turns total. the first two create an almost 180 degree right hand uphill arc and the third is a left kink around an armco barrier onto the front straight). i was in front of her showing her my line through those corners (my line doesnt differentiate between the frist two turns. i attack them as a single arc instead of two turns) and as i was rounding turn 11, my rear tire spun up and the bike went sideways. as Mary tells it, she saw me in the turn, she looked back to her line, and when she looked for me again, i wasnt there. instead i was about 5 feet farther to the outside than i should have been. at that point i put up my hand and we both pitted so i could catch a breather for a moment. soon after the session was over so we just went back to our pit. the rear end stepping out like that, although certainly not common, normally doesnt phase me. but the combination of the bike sliding, my backwards rear tire and a damp track stacked the odds to high away from my favor to want to risk it.

soon after, there was a particularly heavy squall that had people running for shelter and moving various pit area ammenities out of the rain when all of a sudden, the rain got hard. noot that it was raining hard, but the rain had turned to hail. yes, it was hailing. luckily it only lasted about two minutes and i dont think anyone was on the track at that point. soon after the hail, the storm gods just gave up and let the sun gods win. the weather warmed up, the clouds passed and the riders got happier.

i am not sure what my previous track record for that track is. i think it is 1:06. so i will continue assuming that until some freakish memorizer who is infatuated with my riding progress tells me differently. As usual, i was having problems with my lap timer. at my last track day at Summit Point, WV, my laptimer fell off the bike and got a bit banged up before i could get off of the track, so i was wondering if the lap timer was damaged, again. i played around with different mounting angles and even rode past the beacon more to the middle of the racetrack, but my results were intermittent at best. i would get maybe two times for an entire session. my best recorded time for Saturday was a 1.05.72. there was a session in the afternoon that felt great, my speed felt up, i made nice clean passes, but alas, the lap timer didnt work so i have no idea how i was actually performing.

towards the end of the day, my fatigue was starting to show and i began making mistakes. i would turn in too early, i wouldnt be looking far enough down the track and my braking points were eratic. so i started taking it easy, not trying to push myself, and my laptimes only dropped about 1-2 seconds. i was able to identify where i could pick up speed and set my goals for the next day.

after changing and such, Mary and I went to Denny's with some friends. not a very good meal, but it could have been far worse. the day really took its toll because as soon as the sun went down i was in my tent and sleeping soundly.

The weather for Sunday promised clear skies and at least 70 degrees and we were not disappointed. after a slightly warmer sleep, i was up around dawn and took care of my morning duties. with the chores out of the way, it was time to sit and wait. its always nice to take care of business early rather than try to rush around.

After the riders meeting we suited up and i told myself that i was going to take it easy for the session, work on being smooth and increasing my corner speed, all in an effort not to get too tired too early and to make my quickly wearing rear tire last till the end of the day. That idea lasted a whole three laps. before i knew it i was passing everyone i could find and hauling ass. or at least it felt like i was hauling ass. typically, the first session is a rather slow session, but since i was there the day before, i was already comfortable with the bike and the track allowing me to immediately go fast. i didnt have my lap timer on so i am not sure how fast i was actually going, all i know is that it felt fast.

it seems that at the beginning of each session, i told myself that i was going to start out slow and slowly build my speed. however, that didnt happen. even when i told Mary and Sean that i was going to work up my speed slowly so they could follow me, i ended up getting passed by a a faster rider and suddenly i had to chase them down. this was causing me to get quite tired by the middle of the sessions and a couple times i pulled off to take a short breather in the hot pit.

During my lunch time i watched some of the Intermediate and Beginner groups from on top of the new structure. it affords a wonderful view of 10, 11, and 12.

After lunch i made an effort to stick with Mary and Sean to show them lines and help get Mary back up to speed. in doing this, i have a brand new respect for control riders. it was not easy for me to match their pace while staying in front of them. i was constantly looking over my shoulders only to see them either quite a ways back, or not at all only to have them scream by me on my other side. i finally worked out a pretty good system. i would not accelerate hard on the straights, maxing out at about 115 mph. but i would use my normal speed in the corners. this afforded me the pleasure of the exhileration i get from the corners, but without losing the others.

it was great seeing their lap times or form improve and i hope i had a t least a small part in that. when they were in front of me i got a chance to work on passing lines and anaged to be able to pass people between turns 3 and 4, and on the inside of 11. although i could get outside of other riders in turns 1 and 6, i was never able to get a strong enough drive to complete the pass.

i would work with them for the first half of the session and then i would walk away and have my own fun seeking lower lap times. again, when i tired to go fast, my lap times were 1:06 - 1:05. When i tried to relax and be smooth, my lap times were 1:06 - 1:05. i think i can find the speed i am looking for by using more gears (i have a tendency to not upshift for part of the straight because i dont want to have to downshift that extra gear for the upcoming corner), trail brake even more and twist the throttle harder (when i twist the throttle to fully open, it actually isnt. to get to full throttle, i nneed to contorty my wrist to twist even farther). i managed to get through turn 1 really well and accelerate hard from turn 2 to turn 4 (feeling the tire on the edge of traction while leaned over and accelerating as much as possible was a common occurrence there). i was constantly finding my self almost ass packing the guy in front of me because my corner speed was much faster than theirs. turn 5 is another place i would gain on people, but i just couldnt get around people there because they were constantly blocking y drive up the hill to 6.

i felt quite tired from Saturday, but with my combination of working with other riders and then going my regular pace, i was able to maintain my concentration longer and not exhaust myself. the limiting factor was my back. but that was "solved" by not putting my knee out in corners. instead i would use it to help brace myself against the bike frame. it allowed me to take the pressure off y back, although it felt strange, and maintain good body position.

alas, the weekend had to end. as usual, the last session was more empty because people always leave a little early. i enjoyed my last few laps and then took my sweet tie packing up to leave. we finally got on the road at about 7:15 and i made it home around 12:30 (only to wake up the next morning at 4:30 out of habit)

i cant wait for the next track day at BeaveRun (Memorial day). i have a few places where i think i can make up some speed and hopefully i will be able to break into the 1:04 time, or better. i just need the balls to keep accelerating HARD.

Day 2 >>

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