My first track day report

[Betty Rage]

Ok, so I know it's not a race report per se, but I thought I would write up a little something about how my first track day EVER went.

I didn't get much sleep Tuesday night, I was nervous about what to expect and I was also reading Total Control to try to brush up on my skills and have a fresh mind on Wednesday. That and a baby that woke up 3 times that night didn't make for a fun evening. 

Wednesday morning rolled around and since Rowan decided to wake me up at 5am, I decided to stay up and start preparing for the day. After a mad rush to pick up the babysitter and get home in time to leave, Mo and I rolled out on our bikes and headed to the track.

Once we got there, I was so amped up I immediately started looking for something to do. Mo helped me channel my energy by having me tape my bike up and help get the pits set up. Once I was finished with that, I had nothing else to do but ride the scooter around and say hello to everyone I knew. Bike tech and registration were all uneventful, except for the fact I got an "A" (fast group) sticker by accident. EEK! I changed that pretty quickly.

Ok, on to the more interesting stuff.

First session of the day, first lap. Mark's voice was echoing in my head, telling me to stay on the inside of the turns through turn 3 because of the faster bikes trying to pass, just for the first lap. I took that to heart and did a face-peeling 30mph around the whole track, never leaving the inside! As other bikes passed me doing at least twice that in the corners, my expression was a little something like this: 
On the second lap, I became a little bolder and sped up to a screaming fast 60mph down the front straight, still scared out of my mind and not wanting to move left at all for fear of the bigger bikes rear ending me. I kept lining the inside of the track because of that fear. Much to my relief, Pat O Connor appeared in front of me on the third lap and signaled for me to pass him. I followed his lines as best as I could, and I knew he was going super slow, probably parade speed really. But I still couldn't keep up.

For the most part, the day was pretty awesome. It seemed I was improving with each lap, finally opening it up all the way down the front straight. My little ninja only gets to about 95 at full throttle, but it was still pretty damn fun. I shifted down too quickly at one point going into one and was still carrying too much speed, so when I let out the clutch my rear end got really squirrely and threatened to dump me but I didn't panic, I pulled in the clutch and rode through the turn. I will admit I screamed a little. Ok, a lot. But the important part was I learned my lesson and completed the turn without further incident. The highlight of my day was going through four and hearing my peg scrape. I didn't know what the hell it was so I stood the bike up for a second and looked down to see. I could almost hear David Lane laughing at me from behind.

All in all, I had a great time. The 2Fast org is a great track day org, very organized and professional. I thoroughly enjoyed the Performance School and I probably would have taken a lot out of it if my mind was jumping in a million different directions. I think I'll have to take it again to really digest all the information. I had plenty of on-track instruction, with instructors both behind and in front of me to help me with my lines. Thank you Pat, David, Do, and Mo for giving me really good advice and encouragement.

I want to thank my loving husband, Mo, for getting me this track day for my birthday, and subsequently creating a new addiction for me. I'm already planning for my next time out.

[tufty]

Welcome to the habit. 

[ZLTFUL]

  Neenja!

My first track day back inquite some time was the Road America one last week...
And I know what you mean about opening it up...especially when you have a bike capable of 170+ on the front straight and turn one comes at you FAAAAAAAAAAAAST!. It took me 2 or 3 sessions to really take turn 1 the way it is supposed to be taken.

One of the things I found that helped me in later sessions was taping over the speedo. Looking at the speedo while braking for certain turns, my brain kept telling me "YER GOING TOO FAST AND WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!". Slap yer brain in the pie hole. It don't know shit! Brain off, balls on.
Once the speedo was taped over, I started having control riders talking to me not about carrying more corner speed but body position and lines. Shut the brain off...stupid brain always overanalyzing things and using it's built in risk management software!

And tufty is wrong. It isn't a habit...it's a horrible addiction!

[ducpainter]

Way to go Neenja

<snip>
And tufty is wrong. It isn't a habit...it's a horrible addiction!

actually you're both right.

It begins as a nasty habit...

then becomes a horrible addiction.

[gm2]

...but it's the best kind of addiction.  

[ducpainter]

...but it's the best kind of addiction.  

no argument here.

[Spidey]

Congrats, NM.  Sounds like you had a blast.

Scraping footpegs on a Ninja is easy to do.  The stock pegs are pretty low and the stock suspension is really soft.

You'll get more comfortable with the speed with more track time under your belt.  A couple of things help a lot with that feeling of approaching the turn thinking you're gonna die:  (1) don't charge the turn and brake hard.  Instead, roll off the throttle early, set your body position and try to brake a bit less; (2)  look through the turn rather than at the apex.  If you look at the apex, it comes up really fast.  If you note the location of the apex, head for it, and then look through the turn, everything feels like it slows down.

Don't worry as much about the bikes behind you.  They should be able to get around you quickly and without incident, especially since they have a lot more power than you.  Think about your own riding rather than paying attention to what is going on behind you.  If you're not worried about others, you'll enjoy yourself a lot more and get comfortable even faster. 

Got any pictures?  We looooove pictures.    I'm lookin' forward to the next installment.   

[Betty Rage]

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!






I love the looks on my face, I look terrified!!  I think these were from the first or second session of the day, so I'm still completely clueless at this point. I'm wearing a blue vest to indicate I was a performance school student.

Thanks for killin my buzz about the pegs man, HARSH!! 

In all truths I didn't even drag it out of skill, I actually entered that turn WAY too hot and had to really dip in to complete it. That's the only reason why it happened.

As for the apex, the school put up apex cones to help us judge where they were, but it made it harder to look away IMO, I caught myself focusing on the cones, waiting to see if I'd hit it. I got much better about looking through the turns as the day progressed.

[Jester]

You need to toss some pucks on those knees!  You know, just in case!      I bet you're ready to get out there again.   

[Spidey]

Woot!    

Thanks for killin my buzz about the pegs man, HARSH!! 

In all truths I didn't even drag it out of skill, I actually entered that turn WAY too hot and had to really dip in to complete it. That's the only reason why it happened.

Oh, sorry.  I wasn't trying to be mean.  You generally want to avoid scraping pegs, so I was trying to say that you shouldn't worry about it because Ninjas scrape easier than other bikes.  Didn't mean to harsh your buzz.  

[Betty Rage]

Woot!    

Oh, sorry.  I wasn't trying to be mean.  You generally want to avoid scraping pegs, so I was trying to say that you shouldn't worry about it because Ninjas scrape easier than other bikes.  Didn't mean to harsh your buzz.  

Ha, no worries. It wasn't really that great, and you are right. I was just acting butthurt anyway.

[DesmoDiva]

Great to hear you had a awesome first time out.   

I can only echo what the other have said about the habit/addicition, riding for you (not those behind you), and taping over the speedo.

Who care how fast your going anyways, as long as you're having fun.   [moto]