So last weekend I did my 2nd trackday.... went down to Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, SC with the Tracktactics crew. Had an absolute BLAST!! I really like the Tracktactics guys.... they seem to do alot of little extras that not everybody else does, and lots of instruction to go along with it, which I really like cuz I'm still very much learning with this kind of riding (I don't ride fast on the street). I've been broke as a joke lately cuz work has been so slow, so I could only afford to do the one day (sunday), but decided to head down Friday after work and spend the entire weekend... at least get to socialize and meet some people the rest of the time, lol
I was debating taking the dogs with, but I think it would have been a little too much for the youngn's and their fear and anxiety problems (all the noise + people + me being away). Piggy sure wanted to go with though.... as I was loading the car up Thursday night, first chance she got she darted out and jumped straight in the car, lol. She sure didn't want to get out either, haha
Got everything loaded up Thursday night and hauled it all into work Friday morning. Got her all prepped at work (nothing better to do anyways) and ready to go
Skipped out of work a little early and headed down.... not too many people there, ate some BBQ and hung out with everybody while I waited for some buddies to arrive who got a late start and wouldn't be there until pretty late. Next morning... everything is set up
Hung out and socialized on Saturday (it rained half the day anyways)... then Sunday... fun time!! Oh yea this track is almost all right turns, as you may notice, lol. The left hander had a dirty spot that kept scaring me all day so all my pics from there are REALLY bad, haha
I still need lots of work on my body position... mind you this was only my 2nd trackday, and the first one I was totally nervous as hell and very tense. This one felt MUCH better and I was actually able to work on alot of the stuff I learned at the first but didn't get to practice as much. I went to the body position class held by the lead instructor and learned ALOT from him, and tried it out each session and it really helped out a ton. I felt much more comfortable on the bike and wasn't 'fighting' it nearly as much as I felt I was the first time.... much smoother and confident. Still far from perfect.... I'm still a little crossed up, need to get my head and chest lower and further out, just for what I can see. But it'll just take practice practice practice.... a perfectly viable excuse to do more trackdays!! hahaha
A few videos I made with the GoPro. I had to break some of them into two parts cuz YouTube won't let me upload anything longer than 15 minutes. It's nothing fast... I wasn't even worried about going fast or hammering it in the straights, I just wanted to go one step at a time and work on my body positioning at a reasonable pace. Once I get that on par, speed will come, but I HAVE to get the BP thing fixed first
2nd session.... I was working with one of the control riders for almost the entire session. And yes, I had a few shifting mishaps, lol. This was my first real time riding with my new Sidi boots I just bought, and the shifter was set a little low, so I was struggling a lil bit with that getting used to it. I did it twice in this vid, went to upshift and accidentally bumped the shifter with the corner of the boot and knocked it down instead. Embarrassing... yes, but s**t happens, right?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHS3dn9cZDM
3rd session (part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL89asv3uGk
3rd session (part 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dtVegWlXdQ
4th session (part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuzmzM1crPc
4th session (part 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXrnopsDz6Q
My good buddy Ryan (rmerchant3) joined us as well on Sunday on his KTM supermoto. This was from his GoPro (I totally forget which sessions)
Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDWZG_A5dSc
Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k71g-9Uy91k
Found out I mounted my GoPro a little lower than I should have....oopsss! Live and learn... glad that suction cup is a beast, lol (and yes Riley was very happy to have his bed back... I stole it for the weekend to sleep on in my little tent, lol. Thing is damn comfy!)
Overall had a fantastic day!! I learned alot, didn't crash, the ol' girl ran absolutely flawless the whole day and didn't miss a beat (unlike me and my missed shifts), and I believe I made some improvements, so that's always a good thing. Now I need a second job to support my new found track habit =-/. I was exhausted at the end of the day... we got everything packed up and headed out. I was so tired when I got home I didn't even unpack the car or unload the bike, I just went to bed and hauled it all back into work Monday morning
Got her all put back in her street attire and ready for the daily commute once again, until the next trackday!
Pics & videos from my trackday last weekend
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