AFM Round 6 – Infineon Raceway August 8/9

Dealing with Debilitation and Downtime

photo by Matt Taylor for 4theriders.com

Well, I wish I could say I was actually racing this round, but unfortunately, I will be out until next season.  It has been 4 weeks since the last AFM round and my right shoulder dislocation. I couldn’t get in for an appointment with the surgeon for two weeks following the injury, but I spoke with him on the phone about a week after… he had seen my x-rays and was planning to do surgery right away.  Over the phone he told me to use my arm as much as possible and keep the strength up.  So I ditched the sling immediately and went back to using my arm, and I found that riding my bicycle was not painful and has allowed me to keep active for the last few weeks.

30 mile bike ride at Monterey, CA 08/30/09 (Camera date not set)

Upon exam at my appointment on July 24^th, Dr. Hu, my orthopedic surgeon, discovered that the injuries were much more extensive than he saw on the x-rays.  He decided to postpone surgery and schedule me for an MRI, which was another week later.  Friday, August 7th was my MRI follow up exam with my surgeon.  Many of the AFM racers, including Jason, were already at the track on Friday for a test & tune track day.  I was getting the news… based on the X-rays and MRI; I have a near complete tear of the rotator cuff with fibers displaced into a Hill-Sachs deformity (a dent in my shoulder bone), a torn labrum, a ruptured supraspinatus tendon and a complete (Level 3) AC joint separation.  “This is too much,” Dr. Hu says, “Too much for one surgery.  I will not do it all at once. You will have to have two surgeries.”  Dr. Hu had warned me at my last exam that because of the nature of my injuries it was likely going to require two surgeries.  Oh, if you had seen my face then, I asked him to reconsider and talk to other surgeons to see if there was a way we could do it all at once, ya know, get it over with and into recovery so I can ride again soon.  How long is this going to take?  But this time, when he says it will take two surgeries, I agree – without argument.  I do not want to have on-going problems with my shoulder, I want the repairs done correctly and to give it the proper time for surgery and recovery.  Dr. Hu tells me, “The humerous head is still quite badly bruised and you have fluid in your shoulder, we need to give it a couple more weeks to heal before I can schedule the first surgery.” I leave his office and head to Infineon with Sam, to join the racers at the track. 

Over the last few weeks, I have been keeping in shape and working on increasing the strength in my right shoulder.  I started off just going for rides on the bicycle, but then made a couple trips to the MX tracks for some laps on my dirt bike.  First, at Riverfront MX track in Marysville on July 28^th.  This was a fun evening at the track because Nikki and Sam joined us at the track for their first time.  Ricky Brown showed up with his supermoto bike and my friends Cat and Mark came out that night as well.  I just had to try to ride with all my friends.  I rode well below my limits and was careful since I knew a fall on the shoulder could cause another dislocation, but surprisingly it was not painful riding the dirt bike, even managed to clear a few jumps and have a lot of fun. 

My dirt bike after riding.

The next week Jason and I decided to meet Sam over at Hangtown MX track.  I have a love-hate relationship with this track, it is extremely difficult and technical, but it is so fun to ride and so rewarding when you accomplish sections of it.  Both of my first 2 shoulder dislocations occurred on the dirt bike at this track, so I will admit it… Hangtown scares me a little.  I was sitting in the truck trying to decide if I should ride, then I just geared up and headed out, thinking, I will just roll around the track a little, after all this could be my last time on a motorcycle for a very long while.  I went out and did several laps just rolling (no jumping) the whole track.  Then I decided to focus on just the front section working a couple small table top jumps and a couple easy corners.  At the end of the night as the traffic cleared I went back to running the entire track and just couldn’t contain myself anymore.  I jumped most of the doubles, but kept it well within my safety zone.  And I was extremely careful in the corners where I knew I could actually risk taking a fall.   Overall, it was a great afternoon at the track and I am glad I went… even though we all know dirt bikes are dangerous. LOL! It felt good to be able to go out there and ride one last time before going in for surgery. 

Of course all this dirt bike riding got me dreaming of putting on my shoulder brace and attempting to race AFemme on Saturday.  However, I hadn’t pre-entered for any of the races and I didn’t take any of my gear (or my bike, for that matter) to the track so that option was pretty much out the window.  Ahh, well, probably for the best since my shoulder decided to dislocate in my sleep on Saturday morning… with me waking Jason, Sam and Lollipop (our guests in the trailer) at 5:00 am, with a scream of, “*Expletive!* It’s out!”  Jason and Lollipop remained calm(ish) and reset my shoulder using the technique I learned from my last trip to the emergency clinic.  Luckily, this time it actually worked and my shoulder snapped back in.  Kyle, thank you for not throwing up on me, ‘cause I know you were grossed out. : )

I spent the rest of the AFM weekend at Infineon Raceway watching my good friends and my husband race.  They all did a fantastic job, and Jason is really starting to come to terms with his bike.  It was fun to watch him finish with a 6^th, then a 5^th, then a 4^th in his 3 classes.  Nicely Done Jason! I took some video footage of the weekend and hope to get something edited out of it and posted next week.

Jason!

<

AFM Round 5 – Thunderhill Raceway July 11/12

Recovery of the Soul

re·cov·ery (ri kuv′ər ē)
noun
The act or power of regaining; restoration from sickness, faintness, or misfortune.

soul (sōl)
noun
An entity which is regarded as being the immortal or spiritual part of the person and, though having no physical or material reality, is credited with the functions of thinking and willing, and hence determining all behavior.

The Sunday morning air is warm, the sweet smell of race fuel as the motorcycles roll into pre-grid ready to take to the track for Race 1.  I stand on the pit wall, as close to the action as I will get this weekend, and watch my peers in the 650 Twins class head out for their warm up lap.  My disappointment in not being able to make the race causes my eyes to well up with tears.  Racers Race… and so I wonder, shouldn’t I be racing.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

The weekend started off so fantastic… Friday morning we pulled into the pits from our overnight spot outside the gates and set up quickly.  I was determined to make first practice and set a good pace.  I headed out on track following David BenJamin and we went right to work, a couple laps of warming up the tires then we were off.  He would gain distance on me in a couple sections on the Yamaha FZ1, and I would reel him back in on other sections.  The session felt smooth, controlled and I was focused.  I constantly reminded myself to look up and through the corners, which helps to slow everything down in your head.   According to Michelle’s timer we were clipping off 2:06’s, which was a really good sign since my best time at Thill is 2:04, and I was hoping to improve on that by a couple seconds this weekend.  The next session was better than the first, I felt like I was going a bit faster as I was able to pull away from David and started making some passes on other riders in the group.  I had confidence in my CT Racing, Pirelli Tires (which were still clean from the last round) and my bike was handling like a champ. 

The next session I made was after lunch, I had taken a nice break during lunch and wandered through the pits saying hello to several of my racing friends.  Then I went over to see Ken Hill, we had decided to video a couple of my sessions, so I grabbed his camera and mount and went back and secured them to Nikka’s fairing stay to get a view through the front windscreen.  David and I headed out for the practice session and I took the lead onto the track.  I didn’t mess around and got right up to a pretty good clip.  On the second lap or third lap, I started to gain pretty quickly on a group of riders, probably 7 or 8 bikes.  I passed them carefully, but tried not to spend too much time following and losing my pace.  Coming over turn 9 I could see one of the USGPRU Kids in the front holding up a couple of other, larger bikes and knew they would be looking to make the pass.  I got around one of the followers, 515(?), heading down the hill into turn 10.  Going into turn 11, I decided to slow more, back off the Kid and Craig Grantham, who was the rider right behind him, and set up for a run coming out of Turn 13 onto the straight-away.  As I came through Turn 12, I noticed I had gained much quicker on them than I had timed, as I transitioned to the left of Turn 13 I could see the Kid was having a mechanical of some sort and he had checked up and was barely moving.  Craig moved left to try to go inside him but then the Kid shook his bike left and Craig was forced to take evasive action and moved right, which is where I had just decided to go.  The kid shook his bike back right, forcing Craig even further into my path.  I was going to hit them both, splitting them like bowling pins, this is going to hurt.  I grabbed a handful of front brake skipping the front tire, as I was still well into the left lean of turn 13, there was really no hope of saving it.  The front went away and Nikka spun clockwise, her rear tire coming up the inside and pushing me off the track.  My body took a straight line off the track and I hit the dirt hard on my face and stomach.  The front of my helmet and my body skipping off the ground like a flat stone thrown low and fast over smooth water.   I could not get my arms tight to my body and I was certain I would have injuries from this crash.  My bike hit the straw bales (put at the exit of 13 as a soft barrier before the concrete wall) broadside, exploding 1, then 2, then 3 bales… a cloud of straw billowed into the air.   I stood up, and gave a quick wave to the turn-worker before I realized that my right shoulder was dislocated, I needed a medic.  I sat back down, looked over the wall and saw a group forming at the fence line, a familiar face, Joy, peered over at me…  I gave her a shout, “request they get me a medic.”      

This is now my third dislocation of my right shoulder, compounded by my AC (acromioclavicular) joint separation, and the duration that it had been out (4 ½ hours) made it extremely difficult to get the shoulder back in socket.  It took three try’s and finally with the local emergency clinic getting a new protocol to use a muscle relaxing drug they were able to put me back together again… partially. : ) I cannot thank Shawn Reilly enough for taking me to the clinic and waiting sooo patiently for my repair and release. 

I continue to ponder the accident and wonder what I could have done differently to avoid the crash.  Was it ‘casus fortuitus’  – a matter of chance – or could I have stood the bike up straight and run off, would that have caused me to hit the air fence or the concrete wall… what might have been?  Unfortunately, it seems Ken’s camera did not survive the crash and the video data was lost, but from all accounts by Craig, the Kid (who, by the way, had run out of gas and was trying to shake the bike to get it to re-start), and 515 who was behind me when I went down, it seems I made the right choice or the only choice. 

And so begins the painful part of my journey, the recovery. 

The bike recovery will hopefully be accomplished over the next couple of weeks.  Gerry of GP Frame and Wheel took some measurements on Nikka and surprisingly the frame and swing arm are straight.  The front end is a bit twisted, the forks will be pulled and sent over to Phil at Aftershocks to see if they are able to be fixed along with the rear shock which broke off, but can likely be rebuilt.  The front fairing stay broke into 3 pieces so a replacement will be ordered.  My beautiful bodywork ripped in half…. *cries* so new skins will be ordered and handed off to Sam painting.  StuckonMaui will be getting an order from me for another set of chrome flower stickers, which I had just put on and was so proud of.  Unfortunatley. I don’t think I got any pictures of Nikka before the crash with the new stickers on.  And the engine top end will be checked out to make sure she didn’t suck in dirt and straw through the open flat slides carbs.

My physical recovery will most likely require shoulder surgery, after seeing the follow up x-rays on Monday I am sure of it.  I was hopeful that I would be able to, ha ha ha, patch it together enough to race the last two rounds this year and then get surgery over the winter, but that is looking less feasible.  I hope to get in to see my orthopedic surgeon this week and get on a path to recovery soon.  The surgery and pain and rehab are all manageable.  This process I have been through before.

And last the recovery of my soul; racing fills a void in my life that I, strangely, did not know existed until I started racing.  Or maybe I had filled it with my other activities and adventures before.  So for me, the most the most difficult part of becoming injured is taking the time off racing, essentially quitting before the season is over.   Losing ground on accomplishing the goals I have set for this year and waiting for my arm to be better… It is difficult to watch my friends and competitors making gains in their racing and lap times and being forced to sit out and watch.  I would rather be riding, its heart-breaking.   And so, just like I planned out every aspect of this season (well… except for the crash part, LOL) I will begin planning for next year.  Watch out 650 racers, I am determined to come back stronger and faster. : )

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The 650’s come sweeping out of Turn 15 onto the front straight, there is a battle at the front with Wil, David, and Dan.  Ricky and Scott are fighting it out for 6^th . Christie is in a pack a little further back battling out the slots between 14^th and 17^th she was leading the charge and riding great.  In the end she let them by but turned an awesome lap time of 2:01.5 (her times for the whole race being 2:03’s and faster, except for the first lap) Christie Cooley has made huge gains since the last month at THill, congrats to her for the new consistently low lap times!  Wil won the race and (unconfirmed) set a new 650 THill record at 1:56.254, Congrats to Wil Fox!   David Raff was right there with Wil, pushing  a 1:56.558. 

In my pit… the results for the other racers were also great; Kathy Reilly came out and raced the AFemme Class on a bike unknown to her (Zoran’s SV650), it was great to see her out racing again.  Shawn Reilly took Greg’s 2007 R6 out to a top 10 finish in F40, then finished strong in F1 turning a 1:56.1 lap time, coming from the back of the grid to a 16^th place finish.  David BenJamin rode his FZ1 in F40 and finished 18^th, we believe he set a new personal best lap time, but his times were not recorded.  Vik Anderson led the 500Twins race for the first half, eventually losing the top spot to Allen Erkman, with Jon Foreman coming in 3^rd after coming back from a wrist injury.  It was fun watching them at the podium celebration.  Greg McCullough came in 6^th in 600 Production turning consistent 1:54’s through the race.  In 600 Superbike, he got a great start and ran the first 3 laps in 2^nd position, giving chase to Lenny Hale while holding off Liko Miles, eventually losing a few positions and finishing 6^th,  but in the process dropping his personal best to a 1:53.7.  Congrats Greg on a fantastic weekend!   Jason rode strong, finishing top 10 in 750 Superbike after making a mistake and dropping back from the 5^th position that he held for the first 3 laps.  Also, finishing 9^th in 600 Production with a best lap time of 1:55.5.   While it was unfortunate that I could not be racing, it REALLY was a lot of fun to watch all my friends and pit mates racing so well and having such a great weekend.  Congrats to you all!  And HUGE thanks to Sam, Kyle and Michelle for the race support this weekend.  You guys/girl are the best!

 
Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

Good Times at RFR!

It is Monday, June 22, I just got back from a weekend at Reno-Fernley Raceway with Z2 Trackdays.  Oh boy, that track is exhausting with the 20+ turns and rippled pavement.  Even as I am tucked and pinned down the front straight my chin would bounce off the tank as I crested each bump. 

Jason, Greg, Dave, Blaise, and many others I normally ride with at trackdays opted out of going to RFR because the track conditions and facilities aren’t great, it is a bit of a drive getting over the Sierra’s, and we don’t race at RFR so it is not really necessary to practice there.  I decided I wanted to go anyway!  For me, RFR trackdays with Z2 are a reminder of why I like doing trackdays and even started racing in the first place, for the FUN!  Until this weekend, I have never run a lap timer at this track, I didn’t even know what a respectable lap time at RFR was.  (Yesterday, one of the locals said the track record is 2:17, ha, that guy must have been riding a rocket.)  But, I was not there to turn my fastest laps or work on drills and corners, it was not a race practice for me… I was there to ride with my friends and have a good time. 

I had a blast watching Sam pull a gap on me on his 750, pinning my SV for everything it had trying to keep up. 
Back and forth playing with Lolli-pop (Kyle), he would get me into 2 and I would reel him back in on the hoot-n-holler until he changed up his line and kept me off his tail.  Following Dimitry and showing him how to ride like a girl, LOL , dicing with Alan with his home track advantage.
 Chasing Shawn while he was riding Greg Sahnds SV, being absolutely exhausted at the end of the sessions, and having new people come and introduce themselves to me after spotting me on track, (Hi Ilya.) Oh yeah, and the race practice starts were fun too, since I got the holeshot and lead the pack on one of them. *giggle* I beat Ricky!

The BBQ after riding all day was great, I totally won at beer pong, ha ha, and maybe had a little too much to drink (damn car bombs!), kind of like a camping trip at road racing track.  My huge extended track family was there and everyone was so awesome for checking in on me since Jason wasn’t there.  (Yes Jason, Greg and Frosty made sure I was safe on track and off.)  Zoran helped me out with a brake line when I broke mine changing my front tire (don’t ask.) D. BenJamin bled my brakes for me after I got the new line installed (with supervision and assistance from Sam and Jason Hahn.)  Sam Richards and Greg Sahnds let me ride up, stay with them and helped me out at the track.  And Michelle B. and Phil each let me use their RV’s as a changing room.  It’s the people and the environment at the road race track that make it fun!  Well, pinning my SV in 6^th gear on the front straight and trying not to brake for turn 1 is pretty damn fun too, but you get the point.

For all you road racers out there who have been chasing bike set-up and trying to find tenths of a second to pick up one more position at the finish line, For those of you who don’t do track days because it is a waste of fuel and tires if it doesn’t make you faster, For the frustrated mid-season racer who is not meeting your goals and for those whom racing is no longer fun…  Try a Z2 weekend at RFR; yeah the track sucks and it gets worse every time we go, yeah my lips are burnt from the desert wind and I’m not sure I will ever get the sand out of my eyes, yeah I am exhausted from the ridiculous number of body transitions to get through the 20 turns and no this weekend of riding did not make me faster, and I must admit I missed my husband.  But, WoW did I have a good time!

Thanks to 4therider for the sweet pics! love you guys!

AFM Round 4 – Thunderhill Raceway June 13/14

It has now been over a week since AFM Round 4 at Thunderhill, but my racing high has not yet subsided. I am exhausted but also re-energized from my track weekend at RFR and really looking forward to Round 5 next month. I learned some things since the last race by watching the videos and reading the other race reports posted on BARF by my competitors in the 650 and F4 classes. I can see where they are gaining on me and also where I have strengths, I am putting together my plan for Round 5 and really just can’t wait to get there and give it a try. I guess I could say I am having a great season. So now on to the action…

Well first of all, doesn’t Nikka look good in Z2 Blue?

Saturday afternoon, Formula AFemme, I am on the front row, in grid position 3, fantastic! The only time I have been on the front row is doing practice starts at Z2 Trackdays. During these practice starts I always get a good start, so I tell myself, and anyone else in my pits that will listen, that I plan to think of this start like a practice start with Z2.

And it works; I get a smooth launch, make my up-shifts through 2nd and 3rd and pull up beside Joy as we lay into the first turn.

Just then I glance to my right and see Shelina coming around the outside for the holeshot… damn that girl is good at starts! Shelina leads the first lap with Joy on her flashy, gold, PTT600, hot on her heels looking for a way past. Zoe, who had an atypical bad start, gets by me with an “unladylike” (ha ha) pass on the brakes at the apex of turn 9, standing me up and giving us each a little scare that we were both going to hit the dirt. She sits up gives me a wave and lets me back by, then proceeds to school me going into turn 10. By the 3rd lap, Joy is well out front, Zoe has passed Shelina and I am tight to Shelina’s rear wheel. As the next 4 laps click off in this running order, I continue to push and stay close to Shelina.

I find myself next to her and showing her a wheel in several corners, but never able to make a pass stick. I would then just tuck, pin it and try to stay in her draft on the straights, trying not to loose too much ground with her Kawi600 out powering my Z2 Vanderkitten SV650. I try a few new lines and really don’t loose much ground, but never find a clean pass either. Then in the last lap, I am caught by surprise as Kristy Miller brings her Suzuki 600 past me on the brakes into turn 9, (hmmm, starting to think I have a weakness here.) Kristy Miller is a fast girl, but I had forgotten that she was racing with us this weekend, until she went by me, that is. I hung on to 5th position across the checkers… and after looking at the race photos a couple days later saw that Christie Cooley also on a SV650 was right there on my tail section hoping to find a way by me at the line.

The AFemme class is turning out to be pretty competitive, entertaining for the spectators and we are having a blast racing it. I have a feeling we are going to see a couple new faces on the grid next month…

Sunday morning I wake up from a good nights sleep and get some coffee from Greg (thanks.) Formula 4 is race 1 again this round, but I am not worried about it this time… I have been focusing on getting up closer to race pace in the early practices since last month and have stuck to my new ‘no more skipping morning practice at the track days rule.’ After going out for my morning practice session I spent a little time stretching and listening to some music to prepare for my first race, I reviewed my notes as a reminder of the things I had been working on with Jay at the Z2 trackday last week and was ready to go when first call came. I took my grid spot Row 7, position 28 on the outside. 2 board… close my visor, 1 board put the bike in gear, sideways… rev to 6000 rpm and 4.3.2.1 green flag!!! My launch wasn’t great I pinned it on the straight and tried to maintain my position as we folded into turn one, but as Brian Bartlow turned in tight to my right side fairing he forced me to hold my lean angle and wait to get on the gas. Ha, here is a new lesson for me, next time I will lift my right knee just a little to get my bubble back. I am a little hesitant staying tight in the pack as there is quite a bit of dicing from turn 1 all the way through to turn 5 where we start to fall into line. I slot in behind Conan Dooley with Alan Cunningham just behind me (with video cam on board) Sorry Alan, that looked a little tight as I came across his front for the inside line in turn 2. Alan finds his way past me around the outside of turn 2 on the 2nd lap, then goes on by Conan into turn 14. I stayed with Alan until we got to Conan, but didn’t make a pass on him until the 3rd lap, there getting by him with a tighter inside line into T1. Conan and I dice it up for a couple laps, allowing Clive to get by us both in the 4th lap, Conan gets the better of me going into turn 2, I need to drive a little longer out of T1 into 2.

I spend the last couple laps latched onto Conan’s tail section and see that we are gaining ground on Will Wickersham, we can’t quite catch him before the checkers, but Will is usually finishing in the top 20 so I felt pretty good about where I was at in the race. I averaged 2:08 lap times but turned a solid 2:05 on the last lap, which was a new best for me at Thill. Then I checked the results and was a bit disappointed to find out I was well outside the top 20, finishing 28th out of 35 starters. I decided I just had to get a better start for 650 Twins. 

Video of F4 from Alan’s bike

 

For Race 9, 650T, I am gridded on row 6 on the inside. I get a good jump off the line and just stick my elbows out, Ben Spies style, if I want to finish in the top 20 I am going to have to charge the starts, no matter how uncomfortable it might be going into turns 2 and 3 in midst of the wild mid-pack. When I saw an opening I put myself in it. I had a bit of a bobble going into turn 3 when I had to brake a little harder than I had planned as another rider came in from the outside. The top of 5 was a tight fit, but we made it through the first lap without incident and I slotted into 15th place. I stayed in 15th behind James Strauch for the first couple of laps, until Andrew Patterson and Scott Reavey got by me in the 3rd lap.

I didn’t make it easy on them though, Scott thought he had me, but I took an outside line in Turn 10, to get back in front of him. He got me back going into 14. Brad Woods made his way in front of me on the 4th lap, I can’t remember where he got by me… Then Zoe passed in T1 at the beginning of lap 5, I stayed with her dropping my lap times down to the 2:04’s (my new low time) for the last two laps, I guess I owe her a “thanks” for the tow. We went by James Strauch inside on 14 at the end of the fifth lap. (Thanks to all the time I spent working that corner with Jay and the tip from James Randolph I now am learning to love T14.) On the final lap Mickey Fimbres got close to making a pass on me, but I held him off getting a solid drive out of 9 onto the downhill straight and again out of 15 onto the front straight.

I finished 17th out of 32 starters, I am pretty stoked about this race, I made huge gains in my starts, passing, and a new low lap time.

Mickey also had an on-board camera, so there is some pretty good footage of me from this race as well.   

 650T from Mickey.

Next month we will be back at Thunderhill for Round 5.

Preparation for Round 4

Last night I arrived home at 10:30 pm from a work conference where I was a member of a discussion panel. I was exhausted from my full day at the jobsite working on 2 projects; one in the final stages of close-out and the other a proposal for a new project we are hoping to get. Both important and both time consuming, thus the last few weeks have been hectic and stressful for me just dealing with work. I have spent no time working on my bike prepping it for Round 4. I am so grateful to my husband Jason who has been picking up the slack for me and working on everything to get ready for this race weekend. When I pulled into the driveway last night Jason wasn’t there… I called to find out where he was and he said I’m picking up your bodywork from Sam Richards, it’s done. Sam, with a little help from Jason, has been prepping and painting my second set of bodywork at night after his day job to get it ready for Round 4. And it looks beautiful!

That’s right, I will be sporting a new look for this race weekend. Nikka will be wearing Z2 Blue skins, since Zoom Zoom Trackdays has agreed to provide me with racing suppoort for the rest of the season. I can’t thank them enough and I look forward to more focused riding with my Z2 coach, Jay Kinberger.

For the first 3 rounds of this Season, I have been pitting with the Twin Works Factory team and riding a yellow bike. This was a new arrangement for Jason and I, and I have found that being in a separate pit area from my trailer makes it logistically difficult at the race weekends (Infineon is the only exception since TWF and Z2 pits are adjacent.) Jason has been pitting with Z2 being that he is a Z2 sponsored racer and the trailer and shared tools and equipment are near his pit. So me being with Z2 will make things much less stressful. The racers from TWF have always been great and it has been a pleasure and an honor to pit with them for the first part of the season. They are all top notch racers and people – Jon Foreman, Jeff Frost, Ricky Ford, Tom Dorsey, Shandra Crawford, and of course Zoran. My back up bike will still sport the yellow skins (it will be ready by Round 5, thanks again to Jason for putting it together for me) and I will continue to promote, cheer for and hang out with these awesome people.

So here is a picture of me riding with Coach Kinberger (LOL) and Nikka wearing her yellow skins at a Z2 Thunderhill trackday last week, June 4, 2009.

When I post my race report with new pictures, she’ll be in Z2 Blue.

AFM Round 3 – Infineon Raceway May 23/24

I arrived home from the track on Sunday evening, exhausted from our 3-day weekend at Infineon Raceway. Since then I have been motivated to write this race report, yet for some reason struggling with putting on paper the words to describe the ups and downs of this weekend. On my Facebook page, I posted that the weekend was good, I had a new personal best lap time and I am making significant progress towards my goals. Yet, I only felt that the weekend was “good,” not “great.” My feelings of disappointment simmer in the knowledge that I have some significant areas for improvement in my riding, yet I can’t quite figure out how to make it happen. I know I am losing time in the carousel, and at the fast left-hander in the 8’s, also at Turn 10, but the more I tried to work these issues out, the slower I felt. Another big problem for me is inclement weather…

Sonoma Valley is known to have foggy mornings as the ocean breeze pushes the moisture inland and this Saturday morning is no exception. It is a cold, damp morning and as I prep “Nikka,” my SV650 for AM practice I am already dreading heading out onto the track for Practice Group 2. My head is hanging low and I am complaining about the weather and how slow I am going to be before I even have my Spidi Leathers zipped up. I have defeated myself. I roll onto the grid for my first session planning to just stretch and warm up a little with no worries about my lap times, but once best lap times for the session are posted I am taken aback by how slow I actually went, 2:08 best lap, you’ve got to be kidding me. I need to figure out how to get comfortable on a cold track. From this day forth…. No more skipping first session at track days! As practice went on and the fog began to lift, my lap times slowly came down, but still only getting to a 2:00 minute lap time had me concerned for F AFemme. Fortunately, the sun broke through the clouds before we gridded up and my day, literally, looked brighter.

Saturday Afternoon – Formula AFemme
Race 2 of the day, we are 2nd wave behind Clubman Lightweight, with Vintage gridded 3rd wave behind us girls. I am on Row 4, in grid position 14, 2 spots to the right of the inside wall. I really want to get a good start, I concentrate on the starting techniques I have learned from my MotoCross racing days; scoot forward in my seat and get my body up over the bars to keep the front down, rev to 6000, feather the clutch and keep that shifter foot in position to get it into 2nd quickly….The 1 board goes sideways, I count to 4 and the green flag waves, I get a great launch off the line and as I have my foot positioned under the shifter I pull my toes up to bring her into 2nd gear, it won’t go!!! Oh shit! GP Shift!!! I am flustered and it takes me far too long to get my foot out from under the shifter so I can press it down, not up. I get her into 2nd, but by then the entire class has gone by me. I charge up to turn 2 and dive under Denise and make my way to 3 and up to 3a, I am caught up with the pack, but am going to have to work at it to make some passes. The race seems a lot shorter than it was, and I am not really sure which laps and where exactly I made my passes, we were running in a bit of a cluster, with Zoe, Cassie, Kristy Miller, Lisa and I… I remember getting by Lisa Kinberger on her Ninja 250 on the inside of 3a, and I think I passed Cassie and Kristy down into turn 4 forcing Kristy to check up and wait for me.

I railed through 5 up to the top of the carousel and I think this where I got by Zoe, but it would not last. Zoe and Cassie both made a charge back by me in the middle of the carousel, I had better drive up to 7, but I would not be able to make a pass stick at the exit of 7. Zoe led Cassie, who was right in front of me. I was so close I could taste it and I kept reminding myself to ride my own laps, use my own references, don’t let them dictate my line. This went on for a couple laps and as we came around on the white flag lap I knew I was going to have to make a charge to get by Cassie and maybe even catch Zoe. As we came out of the carousel and down the back straight to T7 I caught a glimpse of Christy as she tucked the front and went sliding, as we came by she was still tumbling… bummer. But racing is still ahead, I had been faster than both Zoe and Cassie down the hill to Turn 9 and I was hopeful I would get the drive to make a pass happen on this last lap. As we accelerated out of the 8’s and down to T9 a vintage racer was just about to enter the first right, Zoe managed to squeeze inside, bottling Cassie and I behind. I noticed that Cassie was tight to the vintage bikes tailpipe and she was following the typical line through 9a, this was going to kill her drive on that Kawasaki 600. I backed off and squared up 9a and came around the outside of both bikes on the entry to Turn 10, I had better drive to 11, and as long as I held my line tight and clean through 11, I had Cassie covered. Smooth on the brakes, smooth on the throttle and hold her pinned to the line. I finished 5th of the 10 ladies gridded up and turned my best lap time at Infineon, 1:54.555. I love this AFemme class!
Special thanks to Ken Hill for the two up ride on Friday, I observed his better lines, as well as acceleration and braking zones. When I ride two up with Ken, I am able to look down at where we are at on the track or look at his hands to see how he is using the controls, without having to watch where we are going, it is quite educational. I am proud that I was able to get the line through 7 right every time all weekend, now I just need to improve my breaking into 7, I am still too hard, too soon on the brakes. I would also like to thank Vik Anderson, Z2 Trackdays, for riding with me on Friday and helping me find a couple places where I could carry more speed. This opened up the door for my lap time improvement on Saturday and was one of the highlights of my weekend.

Sunday Morning – I am again faced with my fear of riding on a cold track, not only for morning practice, no, no, today I have the great fortune of riding Race 1 – Formula IV.
We are 2nd wave and I am in grid position 28, on the outside of Row 7. This is a great grid position and I am singing my starting ballad in my helmet, “trailer park girls go round the outside, round the outside, round the outside, daa daa dada” as I pile into turn 1, not backing off from the crowd, but rather enjoying being in the midst of the pack. I come through T2 tight to the inside, I see Christy on my left and she is getting a great drive, this encourages me to keep on the throttle to 3 and I settle right behind Zoe who is right behind Christy headed up the hill to 3a and down into 4.

On the next lap Brad Woods and Ben Swigett capitalize on my weakness in the carousel and put their bikes between Christy and I, as Zoe makes her way in front of Christy. Christy, Brad, Ben and I continue in this formation for a couple laps, I see each them making little mistakes, but instead of following my program and putting myself into position to take advantage, I deviate from my plan thinking I can rush a corner and I end up making mistakes of my own, costing me precious tenths here and there. Brad and Ben eventually find a way past Christy beating her to the checkers and I come to the line half a straight behind her, finishing 24th of 36 starters, with a best lap of 1:55.049 coming on the last lap, and I am pleased with the consistency of my lap times in the last 4 laps of the race.

Sunday Afternoon – 650 Twins
Race 9 – 2nd Wave – Grid Position 32, outside of Row 8
Over the lunch break, I talked with Greg McCullough, www.RideMerchant.com, about the carousel, he had been struggling there too and had some insight as to what I could do to set myself up better for the drive out. As we talked and watched video, what he said was logical, but for some reason I struggled with trying to figure out how I was going to apply it on the track. Later that afternoon, when Race 9 comes around I am starting to feel tired from the weekend. I grid up and get a decent start and again end up behind Christy heading down into Turn 4. On the 2nd lap, Zoe goes by in turn 2… she is on a mission, as she came by I thought I would latch on, but I am trounced by her. I can’t run her pace and I am exhausted and panting, I back off and Christy begins to gap me out as well. On the 6th lap, again in the carousel, a black bike with a yellow plate goes by, a Novice!

No way, I struggle trying to find a clean pass to get back by him, there are several places that I am faster, but not better, since I couldn’t get past (from Christy’s race report… never underestimate your competition) I get my second wind in the last lap and he runs wide in turn 11, I am able to hold it tight and get a better drive to the checkers taking Rick DePena at the line. Rick, why do you still have yellow plates, anyway? Ha ha. I finish in the top 20, on track for my season goals. However, my best lap time for 650 T was a 1:56.104. I went slower. Dang it! I will be focused on getting more time on my bicycle before the next round to work on my endurance, besides I love wearing my new Vanderkitten riding kit.

Diligence is the mother of good fortune, and idleness, its opposite, never brought a man to the goal of any of his best wishes. – Cervantes

Thank you to those who provide me support and instructionat the track; Jay Kinberger (my Z2 Trackday coach), Shawn, David, Kathy and the rest of the Z2 crew, RideMerchant.com, Vanderkitten, Zoran, Jon Foreman and Twin Works Factory team, CT Racing-Pirelli Tires, Ken Hill, and Blaise, Dave, Ricky (best pit mates ever) and Justus (my carrot on the track). Congrats to Ricky Ford for his first podium taking the top spot! We want to see more of that.And of course, Joe 4theriders.com (for all these awesome pics.

If I am crippled when I’m 60 I might be lucky.

This is one of my first race reports, written in my Novice Season 2007 and posted on Kneeriders.com.  I found it while cleaning up files on my computer and thought I should share this on my blog.

If I’m crippled when I’m 60 I might be lucky.

My right shoulder is hurting again today. That easy-off, low side in Turn 4 in the Clubman Lightweight race at Infineon last weekend found me hammering down on it one more time.  That makes for 4 crashes ending with my right shoulder taking the brunt of punishment for my novice moves as a motorcycle racer.  Although, these are not all road racing crashes, a couple of them were from the exciting challenges of catching air in motocross. 

The first injury; a right shoulder dislocation occurred when I over-jumped the front double at Hangtown, I bounced off my line (that can happen when you don’t land on the down ramp and accelerate.)  Another bike jumping the triple came down, foot peg hitting the top of my shoulder, knocking it down and out of socket. 

Number two; NRS day at Thunderhill, it rained.  I had never ridden a street bike in the rain, hey, what better way to learn than on the track. J First lap out and it is slippery, hmm, I’m just going to take it easy.  Coming out of turn 13 onto the back straight I roll on the throttle, oops, too soon, the rear tire slides right.  I make another mistake and roll off the throttle and it comes back to the left. Back on the throttle and it goes right then comes back left and I am off, a slow, high-side onto my shoulder and sliding to the gravel, bruised and swollen. 

But hey, I’m not done, just a couple of weeks later I am working the uphill, double-double at Hangtown.  Each time I attempt it, I land the first double and lose all forward momentum to clear the 2^nd double.  My friend Cat offers up some advice, “When you are in the air on the first jump, blip the throttle, then land on the gas.  C’mon” she says, “I’ll tow you over it.”  No problem, I do just as she says and yes, you bet I had forward momentum when I landed it that time.  Too bad I came off the first double a little sideways, tucked the front end on landing and down I go, dislocation and separation of the right shoulder.  WTF? 

And that brings me to the recent low-side at Infineon and hopefully to my point. 

So today at work, I am hurting, but don’t have any Ibuprofen at my desk.  I am forced to go searching.  I ask a few people and finally succeed in finding some pain meds, but not without the becoming the topic of conversation yet again.  It goes like this, “Jenn, I just don’t understand why you keep riding motorcycles, it’s just so dangerous and crazy.  If you keep up at this pace you will be crippled by the time you are 60.”  I hear this from people constantly, like 60 is some magic age at which I will suddenly become crippled from my injuries.  And please, my list of injuries is not restricted to motorcycle related incidents.  No, I have snowboarding, rock-climbing, horse-back riding and even drunken-stumbling related injuries to add to the list. 

But let’s skip over the obvious response that includes listing all various activities you can get hurt by participating in and get to the point of their question.  “Why do you keep riding motorcycles?”  Short answer… because it is fun. 

It’s hard to explain to people my philosophy of living life to its fullest, and as I am typing this I find myself fumbling with the words to explain why I love what I do.  Most of my co-workers and friends from college are consumed with filling their lives full of tangible objects such as expensive cars or big houses, designer clothes and $600 purses.  And there is nothing wrong with that, but it does not interest me.  Yet, I find myself having to explain over and over the choices I make in my life. 

I believe that life is meant to be experienced, the feeling you get when you know you have pushed your limits; physically, mentally, even emotionally.  The satisfaction of setting goals, achieving them, then superceding them.  And the disappointment when you fail, because let’s face, everyone fails once in awhile.  But doesn’t that make it that much sweeter when you succeed.  It does not take a motorcycle to understand this, just a sense of adventure and good medical insurance. : ) 

So on Saturday, just before I crashed in Turn 4 on my last lap of the Clubman race I had just turned my fastest lap on that track, I was making personal gains, and I was having so much fun.  I came down to T4, late and not hard enough on the brakes, I turned in and felt my knee touch, then my toe touch, then the rear tire slide and I was down and sliding, then rolling and thinking, “stupid, stupid, stupid.”  I picked myself up and as I pushed my bike all the way back to the pits (because apparently the crash truck had to pick up the turn workers) all I could think about was how much fun I was having and getting back out there again. 

And so today my shoulder hurts, but I get a smile on my face when I explain why it hurts.  If I am crippled when I turn 60 then I might consider myself lucky.  Lucky to have a lifetime full of moments like these that made me feel alive.

AFM Round 2 – Infineon Raceway April 25/26

Well I had a bit of a delay in getting this race report written and on line… I have been BUSY, between my day job, track days and motorcycle repairs it has taken me a little too long to get this posted, but alas… here it is.

Boy-o-boy had I been looking forward to this race weekend.  As you may recall, Round 1 at Buttonwillow did not go as well as I had hoped and I went into this weekend not only hoping for, but expecting better results. 

I enjoy riding at Infineon Raceway (aka Sear’s Point) the shorter, but more technical track is perfect for the SV racers, where horsepower is not necessarily the deciding factor.  A good suspension set-up and the ability to maximize drive out of the corners is what will make the difference for you at IR. 

Friday evening after the track went cold, the garages were opened and we were able to set up pits for the weekend.  Jason and Greg, along with David BenJamin, would set-up Z2 Team pits in Garage 3.  I would set-up next to them in Garage 4 with TwinWorks Factory, joined by Jeff Frost, Jon Forman, Tom Dorsey, Ricky Ford, and Shandra Crawford.   Throughout the evening, many of my other racing friends continued to arrive, I be-bopped around the paddock saying hello and giving hugs to everyone.  One of my favorite things about racing is seeing all my friends, we spend so much time together and AFM racers are so supportive of one another, it really is like one big family. 

Saturday morning…. Oooh, ooh, ooh, it is race day for the women signed up to run the new Formula AFemme class, as well as the Novice Clubman, and Formula 40 races.  All the ladies are buzzing about the good grid size we got for the first round, there were 12 entries on the AFM website when we last checked it on Friday.  Not a huge grid, but decent considering it is a new class to encourage more women to get involved with road racing.  Check out my separate post for Saturday’s events… where you will learn about how my bike died.

I have borrowed Ricky Ford’s B-Bike again for Sunday’s races. I am able to get one practice session on it first thing in the morning following registration and tech inspection. Morning practice went well and I was ready for the races, however I was not going to find myself on the track again until after lunch since 650 Twins was Race 6 and Formula 4 was Race 11. There were some delays to the day with a couple of bad accidents in the morning races requiring heli-flights for the injured, my best wishes to them for a full recovery.

The remaining races were cut from 8 laps to 7 in order to complete all the races scheduled for the day prior to 5:00 pm when the track “goes cold.”   So during the down time I got my grid positions for 650T and F4… I guess it really did pay off to race BW last month and now I am happy I did it.  650T – I am in position 14, on the 3^rd row, out side.  This is a fantastic grid position for me; I could see a clear path to and through turn 1.   I would focus on getting a good start and then ride clean, smooth lines; there were quite a few faster guys (and girl – Zoe) gridded behind me.  I got a good launch and held a decent position up into Turn 2, where I gave it up and let a couple racers pass because I am not yet willing to bang bars in that corner.  It’s just a little too sketchy there for me.  Scott Lesnewski came past me at the entrance to T3, I ride with Scott on Z2 track days occasionally and am confident using him for a tow up and over 3A.  Then Gator came barreling in on the top of 3A and I thought for sure he was going to hit me, but he managed to hold his line and block me down the hill, nice move Gator!  He held his line and made a clean pass, so I couldn’t help but give him a hard time and congratulate him at the end of the race.  Gator (Christian Sommer) is one of our good friends and pitted with us most of last year, until he broke his collarbone skate boarding in the pits and took himself out for the rest of the season.  It is good to see him back out there this year, although he is no longer using the skate board as pit transportation.  The next 3 laps continued in a similar fashion, I ran very consistent lap times and was feeling comfortable on the loaner bike from Ricky, as the faster racers would come by I would try to latch onto them and learn better lines.  It was pretty cool to come out of turn 7 and look to the right to see half the class still behind me, this is a huge improvement for me from last year.  In the last couple of laps, I had a little battle with Tom Short and Mickey Fimbres as they made their way past me, then on the last lap in Turn 8 I came up on a Formula 2 lapper, not realizing there was anyone coming up behind me I decided to wait to make a more courteous pass on the straight down to 9.  William Wickersham was tight on my tail with better drive coming out of the 8‘s and he flew past me down the hill and beat me to the checker flag.  I gave up 9 positions from my starting position, but still managed to beat my buddy Justus to the finish line.  My result was 23^rd out of 48 starters, well on my way to my goal to get in the top 20.   

The F4 race is next to the last race of the day, I pulled up to my grid position18, on the 4^th row, outside again.  This should be another good start, but… Brad Woods has a mechanical on the launch apparently losing oil from his engine, he is a bike length ahead of me and to my left as we make our way thru the fast turn one, Woods rear wheel gets oil on it and he goes for a bronc ride bouncing right, then left, then right again… I am sure he is going to end up on the ground directly in front of me so I check up until I see him ride it out and off to the right side of the track.  I now have no drive up the hill to turn 2 and I have dropped to the back of the pack.  Throught the course of the 7 lap race I manage to work my way back up a few positions, but can’t quite catch Tom Short and Justus Hoffman who are in my sights, but just out of my reach.  The drive to come back from such a bad start helped me get to my best lap time of the weekend and I finished 24^th out of 33 starters.   Side note: It was a real bummer to see Christie Cooley sitting on the inside of turn 4 with another blown fuse on her SV.   Hope she can get the mechanical sorted out before Round 3 next month.

Racing Formula AFemme with the AFM

It’s 2:30 in the afternoon Saturday, April 25^th 2009, my right knee lightly scrapes for a moment over the blue and yellow curbing at the exit of turn 7.  I am extremely pleased because the ride height adjustment Phil Douglas of Aftershocks made before this final practice session of the day seems to have worked.  Nikka (my bike) is no longer pushing us off line as I roll on the throttle to the stops.  My line through the turn 8 esses has been consistent and clean since I spent the better part of Friday working on it.  Each transition of my body from left to right is smooth, my feet properly positioned and weighted on the pegs…. but this time through something is not right.  Nikka is low on power, she is not pulling even though the throttle is pinned and a quick glance at my RPM gauge tells me I am in the power band.  I decide to try my normal up-shift over wheelie hill before dropping down to turn 9 and hear a load clunk, 2 down-shifts under braking and more clunking from Nikka’s belly.  This sounds similar to the noise she made when I blew the transmission last month.  I coast through turn 9 and 9a with my hand in the air to warn anyone approaching from behind that I am having difficulties, “Please don’t hit me.” 
As I roll on the throttle exiting 9 she still doesn’t want to pull, we limped off the track at the exit lane, and she stalled.  I dismounted and pushed Nikka back to my pit, heartbroken with the thought that I won’t be able to grid up for Formula AFemme which races in about an hour. 

Jason and Greg are in Greg’s toy hauler writing notes of what they have learned today when I rudely interrupt them requesting assistance with my bike.  This is not the first time and it certainly won’t be the last, sorry guys.  They both raced raced SV’s our first two years in the AFM, but they made the move to the mighty R6’s this year, maybe secretly hoping to get away from the little problems that SV’s often present.  The SV’s are fun to race, plus they are lower budget race bikes than most of the others in the paddock.  I prefer the Generation 1 SV650, which means my bike is old, a 1999, and when you race a bike that old you are bound to have problems from time to time.  So I recruit their help to diagnose my problem.  Jason tries to manually push through the gears and can’t get rotation, but a few moments later Zoran (the SV God, owner of Twin Works Factory and engine builder for a large percentage of the SV grid) gives it another try.  I tell Zoran that my bike is set-up GP shift (up is down, down is up) and he has no problem getting her through all the gears and back again.  So it looks like my problem is maybe not the transmission… but at this point she is not going to run right and I am going to have to miss the 1^st AFemme round. 

As I turn away from my bike, Ricky Ford is rolling into our garage from his last practice session of the day, on one of the two bikes he brought this weekend.  *light bulb* As soon as he has removed his helmet, I am in his face asking if he will please, please let me race one of his bikes in AFemme.  Yes! Really! My emotions are like a roller coaster, I just want to race with the girls!

Ricky’s bike that I borrow is a Gen 2 and there are several differences; tire brand and size, the bike shape and seating position, regular shift not GP, and a quick shifter which I have never used before.  This should be interesting with no practice sessions left… I decide to go out for the hot lap for race one and make sure I am comfortable, my hot lap went ok and I remembered the correct shifting pattern.  I decide I am not going to stress about race finish position or lap times, I am going to go out to race with the girls and just have fun.  I realize that with no practice on this bike there is a very low probability that I will run my normal pace.

Just before the race, Berto Wooldridge comes over and gives me a pep talk.  I tell him about how I am not on my own bike and he says, “Well now that you have your excuse all ready, go out and kick some ass!”  Thanks for that Berto! 

We take the hot lap for our race and I am still comfortable as we grid up.  I am on the 2^nd row, I haven’t been this close to the front since racing clubman two years ago, what a great view into turn 1.   My visor is down, the bike is revved, I am watching the 1 board go sideways and waiting for the flag to drop.  In that instant, something that Ken Hill had told me during my coaching session flashed through my mind… I can’t tell you what it was, if you want to know get your own session with Ken (ha ha) but I was determined.

 

I got a good start and I rode a pretty good race, my lap times were within my normal range although I had been hoping for better.  In Valentino accent “I make-a good rhythm, I try to puussh, but I just not have it today.”  I wish I could tell you that I didn’t miss a shift, but I missed quite a few.  Many-a-time when I wanted to make a down-shift I would make an up-shift, and baaahhhhggg…no power. And I really should have asked more questions about how a quick shifter works, because apparently when you roll off the throttle a bit with a quick shifter it really doesn’t work at all; each time I came down the front straight everyone in the grandstands got to watch me try to figure this out.  But I kept going, I gave it 110% effort (that’s for you Jason,) I didn’t give up just because I missed a shift or lost a little time.  I wanted to do my best to show appreciation for all the people back in my pit that helped me that day and many times before.  I just laughed and laughed in my helmet each lap as I crested wheelie hill and the little 113 bikes’ head shook for an instant as it got light from the acceleration, you just wait… soon I’m going to be doing a full wheelie over that crest.

Beginning of an Addiction

Track days are an addiction, once you do one you will keep going back for more.  It is a common joke among those of us who know and when we recruit our friends to sign up for their first track day, we try to warn them of what they are getting in for. 

 

My first track day, was actually a two day novice school, August 20 and 21 of 2006.  I had owned a street bike for a little over 2 years, but with limited time riding, maybe a total of about 4000 miles.  I really just didn’t ride that much on the street; Jason and I were racing dirt bikes on the weekends and I was working out of town and had long freeway commutes during the week.  Riding the bike to work was fun at first, but then grew boring as the freeway was straight and the scenery along I-5 from Sacramento to Modesto is mostly feedlots and flat farm land. Instead of riding more, I opted for the comfort of my cage vehicle, with heated seats and a stereo to help pass the time.  

 

When I went for rides on my bike I wanted to go to the canyons where there is beautiful scenery and twisting, challenging roads, but I did not possess the skills to ride the canyons safely.  I wanted (and needed) to get more comfortable on the bike and improve my abilities to negotiate tight turns and carry more speed.  I had already taken the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) class for new riders and that was great for picking up the basics, but I needed more advanced training.  My husband, who had a year’s experience in road racing in 1994, was ‘in the know’ about track riding and was knowledgeable about the skills that could be gained and applied to street riding.  As an anniversary present for our second year of marriage, he bought me the two-day novice school with Zoom Zoom Track day (Z2) providers at Thunderhill Raceway. 

Z2 Instructor Brian Zimny teaching us proper body position.

When he told me I was excited, but extremely nervous.  I had never had my bike up to 100 miles per hour, EVER!  (I don’t like to break the law. LOL)  To help me prepare for the track day and calm my nervous, Jason took me out to a remote road with a long, straight stretch and we went back and forth up this section with me just practicing getting the bike up to 100 mph.   

 

2nd day of the 2-day novice school, butt off to the side and almost dragging knee

Z2’s novice school was a great experience, I was given one-on one track instruction, plus classroom lectures between each track session.  The track was divided in half and we worked on it in sections, we had drills with cones and learned all about reference points and proper use of the brakes, and body positioning.  After the first day, I knew I had much to learn and I was hooked.  When Jason came to pick me up after the second day I asked him if we could sign up for the next Z2 track day at Reno-Fernley Raceway (RFR) two weeks later. 

 

The next track day with Z2 @ RFR, my husband on his CBR600 behind me.

The funny thing, was at the time, Jason didn’t have a bike that he could take to the track.   Hello…..  Craig’s List, Jason quickly found a used CBR600 which he bought so we could make it to the RFR track day.  By November of 2006 we had each purchased race ready SV650’s and signed up for the New Racers School at the end of that month.  Fully Addicted!

Jason and I, first day on our race ready SV650's.

Fast forward, it is April 12, 2009 and the beginning of my 3^rd season of road racing with the AFM.  More importantly, my 3^rd year of having a season pass with Z2, which is our access to ride every Z2 track day for the year, typically over 20 track days.  Did I mention… its addicting?   

 

Racing is fun because I like competition and I like tangible measurements of my progress and success.  Track days are fun because I like riding.  I enjoy being on the track and playing with my friends, passing and giving little waves and being passed back.  No pressure, just pure fun.  Everyone has their something that makes them smile and enjoy being alive.  Actually I have a few “somethings” but track days are at the top of my list. 

 

Yesterday was one of those days that put a big smile on my face.  I could have been caught laughing out loud in my helmet several times in the day.  It was a wonderful spring day at Infineon Raceway; blue sky, butterflies, the rolling green hills with a few sheep that had been on the track last night, just making their way over the crest and disappearing from view. 

 

 

In my pit area the bikes were lined up in front of the truck and trailer; Ricky Ford, Blaise Camp, Greg McCullough, my bike, then Jason, and Dave Zavatson.  Jeff Frost, Jon Foreman, and Greg Sahnd in the adjacent pit areas and my female racing friends, Cassie Gaddy and Christie Cooley joining me on the track for some fun.  I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my Easter Sunday, I was surrounded by good friends and celebrating life in the best way I know how.

Some quality time with my husband.