Enzo and I bought two trackday packages with Keigwins at the Track waaaaaay back in January. We had scheduled to do two before the wedding (because I was so fond of saying "Casts and lace don't mix...) and the last three after. Our last trackday was back in April and the thought of dusting off (literally) the trackbikes and heading out there had us both a little nervous. Both DATV and Tigre were instructing which helped to ease my fears. They're always good for tips and a tow around the loop.
The day started off pretty much as expected. My head was still in a fog from sleeping in a strange place the night before, work, you name it... The riders' meeting was packed and I assumed that there were more than a few guys and gals in there who had been to the track several times by now who had signed up in my group. They had been getting faster and probably wanted to move up and couldn't. That meant that the little 400 and I would be a rolling chicane for these near-A-pace folks while it and I got dialed in again. To complicate things the track had recently been repaved--good news for traction, bad for using old reference points.
I headed out with the slowest group of riders for a couple of sighting laps before my own session. My eyes searched for anything to use as turn-in points. Once in a while a cone would be laid out, a small mark of white paint would be down. Most of the time I glimpsed a seam in the pavement or a recent skid mark from someone's get-off as a decent marker. They'd have to do for the time being. I pulled in after a couple of laps to gather myself and make some mental notes. Not 60 seconds later the announcement that the B+ group was set to go out. It was sooner than I was prepared for, but out I went.
My tires were brand, spanking new. People flew by me as I scrubbed in my Pirellis bit by bit, leaning over more and more with each corner, and tested my reference points. It was tough to be patient while the rubber came up to temperature and I tried to nail apex after apex. All I could do was be smooth, predictable and consistent and even at what seemed like painfully slow speeds it was a struggle. I came back in and prepared for session 2. I was feeling better by now. The butterflies in my stomach had settled down. My mind had nothing on it but 15 turns.
I often find that I feel best during the morning sessions and this time was no different. I was discovering my right wrist and feeling good on the bike. I dove into corners and gassed it hard coming out. Once or twice during I'd notice that I'd run a little wide...I'd commit to the turn, lean in a little further past my comfort zone and make it with plenty of track to spare.
...and then it happened.
I was rounding the track near the end of my session and hit turn 7 too early--again. It seemed like I was heading fast towards the curbing as I ran wide, but I didn't flinch, gassed, leaned and went for it. My mental commitment to making it through the turn didn't do anything and I hit the right curb as I was leaned over to the left. The impact tipped the bike upright and into the dirt. I let go of the throttle and didn't touch the brakes, hoping to ride it out for a bit. I felt the front tire dig into the rocky soil initially, but the bike stayed upright! I was convinced that I was going to crash, but figured that if I could control the bike for as long as possible I'd get to choose where I fell and at what speed to a certain extent. My hold on the bars was loose and the bike felt like I was riding a bull instead of a Yamaha as I plowed through the lumpy soil. It felt like the bike was settling a bit so I gently coaxed it back to the pavement.
Oh my god...I actually made it!
I stayed way to the outside and slowly got up to speed. I kicked my left foot out to let anyone behind me know that I was having issues--in case they hadn't seen my little off-track excursion. I also wanted to get the dirt off of my tires and not drag it onto the race line on the track. A quick glance back as I got moving revealed that I had clear track. I went through the next few turns cautiously and decided that I should go back in, check out the bike and just take a breather while I pin pointed exactly what went wrong. The checkered flag came out just as I'd made that decision, so in I went.
For the rest of the day went I made a choice to slow down and get apexes right. I'm gradually getting a little quicker (not sure because I haven't run a lap timer in several trackdays) but at the sacrifice of accuracy. As my speed increases my reference points for braking and turn in are changing. It's hard to keep up with it sometimes as my improvements were coming in 5-10 seconds off my laptimes (back when I was running a timer.)
I narrowed down my problem turns to 2 or 3 of my worst curves and checked up enough to work on those. It didn't feel like I sacrificed that much in overall time, but I definitely noticed a confidence and a better drive as a result of hitting the apex correctly. Towards the end of the day I was getting a lot of corners "right" and getting a much better drive out of them. I wasn't using up nearly as much track as before. I was able to use this to my advantage a couple of times as I sharked guys down the track, hung back enough to give myself a running start, waited for just the right moment and then outgunned them on exit. Passing is half the fun, but one has to do it just right on a little bike.
By the end of the day I was running mid-pack of my group (I think...) I was passing a lot more people than in the morning. I still had lots of energy left, both mentally and physically. I definitely feel like my time on the Trek has been paying off. I work on turning and breathing on the bicycle and it totally translates to the motorcycle. The fatigue and pain I used to feel on the moto is nothing compared to what I do to myself on the pedal bike, so perhaps it's all just relative.
I was sad to not be able to stay at least another day. So much is gained when one can do back-to-back days on the track. Fortunately Enzo and I have another weekend scheduled out there next month! I think I'm going to reward myself by renting a laptimer just to see how I'm doing. I want to check for consistency mostly but, yes, I'm really curious to see how quickly I can get around. My best time last time I was out was a 2:24 IIRC and I was working rrrrrrreally hard for that. I was shooting for a 2:15 by the end of the season, but a few things are clicking for me right now and I don't mind sacrificing some seconds. I'm going to readjust my goal: I'm hoping to be somewhere in the 2:20-2:25 range, but with more comfort, accuracy, and consistency.
Thanks again to Tigre and DATV for sharing their knowledge and pit stuff with us once again!
