Back on the track!

[ffejtable]

Well its about friggen time! I got a slow start on the season due to work complications and lack of health insurance at the beginning of the year, but I finally got back on the track, and it felt damn good!

It's been nearly a year since my last track day (I think Beaver last season was my last day)

It all started with the 4 hour drive Saturday night. I made a scheduling error and got tickets to the Red Bull vs Galaxy game, and didnt get to leave until 10:30pm... I arrive at the hotel at about 2:30am. I am glad I stuck around for the soccer game though. 5-4 Red Bull win!

Gave Gallo and another coach a heads up that its my first day out there in almost a year and my riding has been going down hill, so if they felt I was better off in white that I had no problems with getting moved for now.

My first session on Shenandoah was a disaster. I felt completely lost and overwhelmed at learning another track, even though its pretty short. I was probably slower than ART basic pace, seriously.

Second session felt much better as I was starting to remember what each turn was and how to approach them. I was still awefully slow out there, and probably got passed by everybody, perhaps even twice by some!

By the end of the day I was feeling comfortable out there, although still a little scared, and 2 area were really kicking my butt. The double apex right hander and the 3 or 4 turns after the bridge.

Monday was Summit Main and I was looking forward to returning to this track after 2+ years. I was only here once, and last time I was in white, and was getting caught up in a lot of traffic and being off the line on this track is not a lot of fun. This time it was my turn to be the slow guy!

I remembered most of the track after the first session, but I was still reluctant to fly into any of the turns, I was parking it in most of the turns and was really disappointed for doing this. After watching the guys fly through T10 onto the straight I stopped being a wuss and just eased off the throttle and put it in. I started doing that for T3 as well.

I am still riding much slower now than I did 2 years ago, I remember the front end getting very light driving out of T9 on my old 96 track bike, and I only felt the front end get light there once, a sure sign I was being a wuss.

Lee grabbed me the second session after lunch and helped me with my line, mostly for T2 and the carousel (6&7)....

The weather forecast called for 30% chance of rain sunday and 60% on monday.... Not a drop of rain during any of our sessions, altough the track was a bit wet and muddy on monday morning which delayed our start a little. Within about a minute of the last blue group session it started to drizzle a little bit, and it rained the whole 4hr trip home. Talk about luck!

I also really liked the feel of the Corsa III tires. Last year I ran Racetecs and I didnt have confidence in them. The year before I ran Pilot Powers and loved them.

For the first time in a while I actually enjoyed the track, probably because I felt like I was progressing, even if only a little. Just slowly chipping away my fears, one track day at a time.

I realized I need to be in better shape. My hand was cramping during my second session the first day and all the muscles I havent used in ages were once again in use. Being in better shape would certainly make my track days more enjoyable, and fatigue would be one less thing to battle at the track. Shortly after finishing for the weekend my back muscles began to tighten. When I got home I could hardly move. What an old man I am becoming.

I managed to keep myself out of white. I really didnt want to do Summit Main back in white group again, and I am glad I got to experience that track on my terms. I think a day in white would do a lot of good for my confidence but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

See you guys at Beaver!!!