Can it ever get too hot for a track day? Well... almost.

I cut most of the afternoon sessions a little short and called it an early day. 105 just seemed like a bit too much. No amount of water or gatorade seemed to help keep my head temperatures down.

This time out we had a more family friendly plan for my track day. We left early Friday morning and headed to a bed and breakfast in Granbury. We got there around 10am, unloaded the trailer, then headed to the downtown area to wander around and get some lunch. We even spent some time at the beach in Granbury. Apparently they trucked in tons of sand to make a beach on the lake. It really was a nice area but it was soooooo hot. The day overall was very relaxed and the girls all had a good time. Around 6 or so, we headed out to Cresson so I could go ahead and get my easy up out so I could sleep in a little bit longer on Saturday.

When I woke up Saturday morning it still felt like I was getting up too early even though I had called it an early night. The dull headache sure didn't help matters any. Regardless, I grabbed a shower and was at the track by about 7:15. I unloaded and while I went to register and go through tech inspection my wife was kind enough to go grab me a breakfast sandwich and some drinks and ice for the ice chest.

The day itself was really interesting. Having run that track several times but always counter clock wise, I knew it would be different going CW, but I had no idea HOW different it would feel. Sections that had grown to be my favorites gave me fits all day. Gradual uphill turns that before gave me a great sense of the track ahead of me, were now blind sections. Portions of the track eventually started to make sense like wagonwheel through the rattlesnake, but others like tombstone - boot hill - horse shoe never completely came together.

Next time I get out and run the 1.7 CCW I'm going to have to really look closely to try to determine if it really is much less of a mental challenge that CW or is it just that I'm that much more familiar with it. Even with the impossible heat, cutting my afternoon sessions short and calling it an early day, I still enjoyed the day and feel like I learned some things and improved my confidence with technical right hand turns which have always been a weakness.

Chris (sp?) from DFWSportBikes.org forums stopped by at one point. He was planning on doing the lunch time parade laps. I lost track of him after that but hope he enjoyed it.

Below are some pics from Hart Photography, http://www.hart-photography.com/. They do such a great job. The only flaw I can find with their pictures is that I'm not anywhere near as good of a rider as their pictures deserve.











  ¶ 5:23 PM 1 comments

  Add an SV650s to the mix.. So no, it wasn't my SV but I did get a chance to ride it for a bit.



This last Saturday Peter and I went out for a morning ride so he could get some saddle time on his latest aquisition, a 2003 SV650s.

We had a slight mix up in communication on where we were meeting but still got on the road by about 8:30. We wandered across Grapevine lake then headed north. Pretty soon we were lost in the burbs somewhere North of Flower Mound. Luckily at one point we crossed an FM road that sounded familiar so we double backed, and caught FM 407 headed west. We got to Justin then headed north on FM 156 then stopped in Ponder, TX for something to drink and to visit for a while.







After our break, we snapped some pictures then headed on up FM 156 until we hit FM 2450 just North of Krum. We took that up to Bolivar where we caught FM 455 West to Forestburg where we caught a group of cruisers and stopped for lunch.

After lunch we headed up to St. Jo. But right as we got out of Forestburg a couple of foxes (no not that kind) ran across the road. Since I was on the FJR with the ABS brakes, I really just grabbed a handful and waited to see what else might happen. Once they had cleared the road, I checked my mirrors and saw Peter had locked up the rear on his SV. After a few moments of watching the back go back and forth, Peter got her straightened up and we continued on to St. Jo where we stopped for another drink and to cool off a bit. Given the heat we decided to call it a day and head back home. So from there we headed straight back to Gainesville where we picked up I-35 and headed South.

It was a hot, hot day, but fun nonetheless. Reminded me how much I like cruising some of those roads up there.  ¶ 8:31 AM 1 comments

  Track days, track days, track days!!! Gosh there is nothing like finally getting back to the track after any kind of prolonged absence.

This time around I talked a friend of mine, Peter, into joining me at the track and experiencing his first track day. His travel plans were less than ideal since his flight didn't land until about 9:15pm the night before so he didn't get to my house until after 10:30pm. We quickly loaded his bike on my trailer and called it a night.

Maybe it was the anticipation of the day, or maybe it was all the work stuff that I couldn't seem to get out of my head, but for whatever reason I just couldn't get to sleep and saw 1am roll around -- with an alarm set to go off in a little over 4 hrs.

Saturday morning was about as perfect as you could get. We rolled out of the house by about 5:45 and arrived at the track a little over an hour later. Thankfully a couple of guys from the G-Town Squid Squad had gone to the track the day before and setup an area we could share with them. I really can't say enough about that group, extremely helpful and friendly.



We quickly unloaded the bikes and went to work on prepping Peter's bike.





Before you knew it, it was time for the track ride, rider's meeting and first sessions. Peter seemed a little anxious at first, but as the day progressed I could tell he was feeling a little more comfortable.

Pit area:




Doesn't that british blonde bombshell standout in a crowd?


Peter and I:


Helmets:


We both wore out by early afternoon and decided to cool off and call it an early day. I never felt like I ran as well as I did late last fall, but it felt good for my first time back after a few months of a break. I'm hoping that by the next track day on June 27th I'll have a bit more of my mojo back.

Thanks again to the Squid Squad for letting us share a pit area and helping us pack up at the end of the day.

Blair Photography pics:










Peter:




  ¶ 2:28 PM 1 comments

  Lunch in Paris and Free Range Dogs part 2 4/19/09

Lunch in Paris... sounds sorta fancy schmancy doesn't it? This entry was supposed to be one detailing the latest exploits of the Hombres Malos and our run to Deal's Gap. Unfortunately the best laid plans of mice and men sometimes go out the window. Suffice it to say that this hombre ended up in state. Luckily someone from FJRForum.com offered to organize a local ride on 4/19. So Sunday morning at 9:30, four of us met up and wandered north east of the metroplex. Fuzzy led us on a route that roughly followed this google map:

Map Link

It turned out to be a great day though a bit cloudy and cool the closer we got to Paris.




A hot cup of coffee at McKee's and an order of pancakes helped to take the chill out though and provided an opportunity to talk about all the turtles in the road, the constant cross-wind, the dried mud on the road in the middle of tight turns and the crazy free range dog that decided to cut through the group to get from one side of the road to the other. Thankfully everyone made it through without any problems.

I'm not sure exactly how much distance we covered but it was in the ballpark of 250-300... enough to let me know my tush had grown a bit soft over the winter.  ¶ 7:19 AM 0 comments

  January 18, 2009 Frame and Axle sliders... gotta love 'em Details and pics coming of proof why bikes need to be ATGATT too...  ¶ 9:41 AM 0 comments

  November 9, 2008 RideSmart Track Day I really need to do more posting. A few things here and there have happened.

Catching up with a video I did of the Nov 9th, 2008 trackday.

  ¶ 9:24 AM 0 comments

  Hello November 84 degrees, mostly sunny skies... the kind of stuff that makes you glad to be a bike guy in Texas.

Pics follow. (Write up and route map pending)



  ¶ 2:09 PM 0 comments

  MotorSport Ranch Cresson, Trackday - 10/05/2008 So yes... this is starting to become a habit. :D




So here is my write up on my 2nd track day with Nina.

The highlight of the day was having my girls there for the first part of the day. They were so good about getting up and sleepily walking down the stairs to load up around 5:15 a.m. After they had settled in, I finished the last bit of loading and we headed out in the cool predawn. When I'd catch a glimpse of them in the rear-view mirror dozing peacefully, I'd remind myself that I really needed to make sure I was conservative during the day and made sure I brought myself and the bike home in one piece. I only wish I had remembered to leave my ego at home.

We arrived at the race track around 6:30 am and I set about getting our pit area setup. The wind was starting to pickup so I made sure to use straps to hold down the canopy.

Once I had setup the area I started to make sure the bike was ready for tech inspection. I got some great assistance from one of my girls while the other snuggled under a blanket and read. My wife also huddled under a blanket in the van. (Note to self: remind pit crew to bring layers as well)



As I was leaving the tech inspection area, I saw that Brad had made it out. I said hello and asked him to join us.




Now to the actual riding. Motorsport Ranch really is a great track. The surface is very smooth and just seems so predictable. There are a couple of complex turns but really its the kind of track that lets you focus on improving your lines. This was quite different from Eagles Canyon with all the patches and double apex turns.

The early sessions with low tire pressures, cold road surface and cold tires were a little squirrely every now and then but I could tell it was going to be a fun day.


The Daytona is so light that even the Rattlesnake that left me a little unnerved the first time I was here seemed like a cake walk. I'd hit corner entry on the first turn and it seemed as soon as I started even thinking about the next turn, the bike was already starting to transition. It was in the Rattlesnake section that I really decided I needed to consider moving up to the next level since I repeatedly had to dodge or adjust for riders checking up or blowing those turns.


Little Bend got to be another favorite section of the track by about the 3rd session. It's a 90+ degree right turn at the end of a nice high speed straight. Thanks to those great brakes, I'd be able to scrub off speed pretty quickly and pick almost any exit point. This opened the door to some quick passes on exit of Little Bend.



It really was a toss up between Big Bend and the Rattlesnake as far as my favorite portion of the track. Big Bend is a big ole honking sweeper that just seemed to get faster and faster each lap around. It really got to the point that I'd scrub off a little speed, drop a gear and start rolling on the throttle earlier and earlier all the time. Coming out of Big Bend like that it felt like a sling shot into the long front stretch.

So... about that ego I forgot to leave at home. If you go down to the entry dated 9/21 and look at the session pictures, you'll see a shot of my coming around the outside of a yellow Ducati. The riders name a came to find out is Carlo. Anyway, ego being what it is, one of the highlights of that day at Eagles Canyon was catching Carlo on that turn, looking for a late apex, and motoring by on the outside of him. Each time I'd do that I couldn't help but grin. Now, fast forward a few weeks and there was Carlo and his Ducati in my group again. I'm not sure what he had done in the intervening weeks, but he seemed to be moving quite a bit faster this time out. Well in one of the mid morning session, I came out of the Ricochet and passed up a couple of bikes and had my eyes on a third but backed off when I decided I couldn't get by him before Little Bend. As I got in line behind the rider, out of the corner of my eye I saw Carlo come up on the right side and then back off and fall in behind me. I didn't want to press the rider in front of me before entering the Buzzard Neck so I stayed behind him and entered a series of left handers trying to figure out how to quickly get by him and keep Carlo behind me. As corner entry of Tombstone came into view, I decided to move to the outside of the SV in front of me and I could hear the twin of the Ducati spin up to the inside of the rider in front of us. In my minds eye I could see the arc of the line I had taken was going to run out of track somewhere up ahead. A subroutine somewhere in my head said I should back off the throttle and adjust my line. Unfortunately, the Ducati had triggered super_eg0_master routine and I stayed in the gas and tried to correct my turn.

The result? I ran out road surface, hit the curbing, stood the bike up and went for a brief off road excursion. I only ran wide about two feet and quickly got back on the track, but as the Ducati flew by with Carlo shaking his head, I felt pretty stupid for any number of reasons. Carlo, sorry I was an idiot.





Thankfully that was the only hair-raising experience and I managed to keep the ego routines in check the rest of the day. Brad had a near miss as well that after talking about it several times seemed to likely have stemmed from a missed shift. We compared notes on the day and both agreed that it was likely time to go be the slow guys in the next level at the next track day.

The girls really seemed to enjoy it. One got lots of good pictures and even put together a video, the other got lots of reading done (surprise). Around noon, Mom took the girls into Granbury to shop around the square and that seemed to be a good balance.





And a first time movie maker's video:


On a scale of 1-10, I'd rate the day an 8.5.  ¶ 6:44 AM 1 comments