Saturday, June 27, 2009

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.

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Monday, June 15, 2009

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.

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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.

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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.

Monday, June 01, 2009

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.

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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:
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Doesn't that british blonde bombshell standout in a crowd?
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Peter and I:
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Helmets:
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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:
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Peter:
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