V-day? Track Day!

Today was my first track day. Yep, Valentines day, me & Mr. J rode our bikes fast on a track. As far as exciting things to do on a day made for pink hearts and red roses goes, this beats all that stuff.

If you've not heard, a "track day" involves riding your motorcycle on a track as fast as you like (as long as you aren't reckless and a danger to others). There are bike, gear and behavior requirements, control riders to keep everyone in check, and you're put into a group of riders with a similar skill level.

For me, it was a chance to push the limits in corners - not something I'm willing to do on the road. On a track, if I mess up, I'll most likely slide, scratch up my pretty bike, and watch in agony as somebody carts it off to the pits. On the road from Jerome, if I mess up, well...I envision cliffs, medi-vac, EMT's...yikes, I don't wanna know!

Bye-bye chicken strips. Achievement of the day.

But I would like to know what it feels like to really lean in a corner? Well, today I found out, and it was so much fun! Ok, ok, I wasn't MotoGP leaning, but I got my chicken strips scrubbed off and that's leaning to me!

I could care less about top speed (I didn't see much over 100 MPH), and I usually eased up on the straight and used it as an opportunity to let someone who was itching to pass go on through. I'd rather have those guys where I can see them. The thing I was most scared of going into my first track day was other riders! But nobody acted like I was in their way, and I taped up my mirrors so I couldn't see anyway!

The worst injury I suffered was a bump
from bending to get my gear out of the car.

This may sound like some kind of speed-freak excuse, but I think riding fast on a track can make a person safer on the roads. For one, I got to push the handling limits of my bike. If I make a mistake on the road (go into a curve a little to quick or need to make an aggressive emergency swerve), I will at least know what it feels like and will be less likely to panic and bail out of the maneuver (also known as "just lay it down"). Also, if a person is a natural adrenaline junkie, riding track days gives those types a safe, controlled outlet. There's nothing wrong with wanting to ride fast on a motorcycle, but there is something wrong and irresponsible with doing it on the streets.

So you wanna ride your bike fast? Spend a couple hundred bucks, go to the track, and speed your heart out. (I'll catch you in the corners). Even better, join a group who can teach you how to be good at it!

Oh...and there's usually a pro photographer on site, so you walk away with proof of a couple of truths, depending on how you look at life: "Damn, I'm a bad ass!" or "I though my knee was closer to the ground!" You get to decide.