Ponocno FUSA
08.13.06: SportBike Track Time
i was supposed to have a free day to ride instead of working, but it seems that the day was overbooked and understaffed. so i when i got to the track, i removed my rear wheel to have the tire changed and brought it over to Dave (who had my new tire) and volunteered for tech inspection. i figured i would help  out in the morning and then be free for the rest of the day. well, there was some confusion about my tire, but i finally worked it all out when i found the right tire. so with my wheel and new tire at the tire changing guy, i took my post at tech inspection.

tech went smoothly, there were a few Moto Guzzis, and MZ thumper and an old cafe racer that i failed for a sticking throttle. Many of the bikes in the intermediate group were using the standard antifreeze, which is not allowed in the intermediate or advanced groups. i asked teh head honcho if they would pass he said "this time. but tell them to change it before their next event." This was to be a sign of thinkgs to come. then the late comers startedt to pour in. many of these people rode to the track (never a good idea) so their bikes still ahd turn signals, mirrors, etc. nothing was even taped up.i had a good time failing these guys, but they all managed to get their bikes "ready" for the day.

i chose not to attend the riders meeting. instead, i teched my friend's bikes so they wouldnt have to wait in line, teched some other coaches bikes and started to put my wheel back on. i really hate the design of the GSXR rear wheel. I think that there may be a process that involves ritual sacrifice, spinning around 7 times and opening a vein to get the wheel on. when the riders meeting ended, i enlisted my friends to help because six hands are better than two, right? well, even with their help it wasnt working too well. the task seems simple enough, but everything was going wrong. it didnt help that i was trying to rush it either. the more i rushed, the more difficult it got which made me very frustrated which made me rush more, etc. Steve was telling me to take a couple of minutes and step away from it, but i couldnt as i needed to get back to tech more bikes and i needed the wheel on so i could ride. finally, after some raised voices, uncouth expletives and more than a bit of sweat, the wheel was finally mounted.

back at tech inspection, there were even more latecomers and these guys were the worst. since they rode there, they didnt want  to prep their bike because then they still had to ride home at the end of day. and everything i said was met with an argument. dollar bills tied to bikes, radar detectors, tank bags, tail packs, etc. all had to be reomved, but no one wanted to take them off. finally, after some arguing and threatening to fail them, they complied. i didnt even ask about antifreeze.

so finally, i dropped my tech inspection duties and suited up for my first session. it turns out that i already missed the first session of the day due to the multiple debates i engaged in, but that isnt too bad. i decide to go out with the intermediate group as my first session to get used to the track layout (the last time i was there was last year). Wow. that was an eye opener. this intermediate group was the worst group of riders i have ever seen. it felt like they were just a bunch of street riders who have never been on a track before but thought they were too fast for the novice group. in fact, they could probably use some instruction on street riding too. normally the intermediate group lacks corner speed, so go as fast as possible on the strights, only to slow way down for each corner. i have come to expect this. but these riders were at a whole new level of bad riding. not only would they slow way down for the corners, but they would even slow down more in the corner. then when they are at their comfortable grand ma pace, and the corner has ened, they would give it a lot of gas only to discover that they are in the wrong gear. so, they would downshift a couple of gears (which slows them down even more) and then launch themselves towards the next corner. it was like eatching a bunch of drag racers on a road course. this erratic riding almost caused me to rear end a couple of them before i learned to give them LOTS of room, but then i settled in and got a decent rhythm going. and i found it very easy and quite enjoyable to pass them on the outside of ANY corner. i would just lean the bike over and give it some gas as they were still slowing down in the middle of the corner.

it seemed like there was at least one bike that went down in every session, but luckily there was only one accident that required a trip to the trauma unit, as a precaustion. at Pocono, the nearest trauma unit is over an hour away, so they are very quick to call in the helicopter. there was another accident, that was very odd. a very fast and talented rider was coming back into the pits, but did not see a temporary fence until the very last second. so at about 20 mph, he gets hard on the brakes and the bike does a rather nice stoppie. but the bike then falls over onto its side on top of the riders leg. his bike was fine, but his leg was broken. all this at 20mph and in the pits.

the next session was the advanced group, so i went out with the track layout fresh in my head. to my dismay, i could not keep up sith Steve. he jsut has this natural ability to go really fast, not to mention he has about 40 more horsepwer than i do. not to worry though, i am still getting my track legs back. since i have spent alot of time instructing the novice group, my personal pace has suffered and i am still not quite back to where i was a couple of season ago.

i then went out in the intermediate group only to find the same problems as before, but this time i was ready for them. i did happen to see many people looking behind them. this is a big no-no at the track because usually, as the person turns around, they also end up turning their bike. at the end of the session i noticed another rider look behind them so i decided to follow him back to hte pits and tell him about it. well, me telling him this immediately put him on the defensive and he argued with me about it. i basically told him that the circumstances are irrelevant and we dont want anyone looking behind them (except coaches) ever. finally, he just stormed off. this got me all worked up. but my advanced session was up so i gathered my friends nad headed out. while in the hot pit, i was pulling up next to Steve and he suddenly swerved and almost crashed into me. since i was pretty hot headed at the time, i screamed at him about it. right after i yelled at him, i realized that i should not have. but off we went. a few laps into the session, i was chasing Steve on the back straight and wanted to see if i could get 178 to show on my speedometer. as i glanced one final time at the guages, i passed by my braking marker. once i realized this, i got ahrd on the brakes and saw Steve's bike getting closer and closer.knowing full well he was about to start turning his bike, and that this would bring him into the path of my speeding bike, i bagan slowly drifing my bike towards the corner while still hard on the brakes and hovering my rear tire off the ground, luckily, i managed to get the bike slowed enough and i fell into line behind steve. it was at this point that i realized i was far too emotional to be on the track, so i came off early and tried to relax.

after that session, i apologized to Steve for shouting at him, and he apologized for swerving (he's good liek that). i started talking about my frustrations with the day and the corwd that we were sharing hte track with and Steve gave some good advice. "Just take that jersey off (my coaching jersey) and ride. Youve worked enough for today." So for the most part, i took his advice and proceeded to have a much better, stress free day. I have always considered myself a laid back person. but after this day, i ahve realized i am not as laid back as i thought.

So for the rest of the day, i worked with Scott on his riding and enjoyed my race tires. i am still not carrying enough speed into the corners, but i am having a great time accelerating through the corners. i can feel the tires gripping, and the suspension settling and everything is in balance.

generally, the people who showed up for this event, did not respect us as an organization, us as coaches, or even how dangerous this can be. there was a lot of people riding in classes they were not signed up for, blatanly breaking the rules and doing whatever they wanted. i got tired of feeling like the police. i would much rather spend my energy helping the people who want to become better riders.		 

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