Have2BeFree, how was the Track Day?

[JJP XX]

H2BF,

How was the track day and did you get a lot out of it?

I'm proud of you for stepping out and doing what many will never do.

[FZ1inNH]

I rode with her today. We, Reiobard, Keira, myself, Dennis, Cheryl and her friend (forgive me for not remembering her name), took a country tour all over central NH. I'm not going to be the spoiler though and tell you. We'll let her tell all about her day in Loudon.

[Dennis in NH]

Originally Posted by FZ1inNH

I rode with her today. We, Reiobard, Keira, myself, Dennis, Cheryl and her friend (forgive me for not remembering her name), took a country tour all over central NH. I'm not going to be the spoiler though and tell you. We'll let her tell all about her day in Loudon.

OT: And a great ride it was. I got home, ate, drank, and plopped on the couch. I think that was close to 6 hours of riding.

I hope to do a track day myself someday and would love to hear about the details.

Dennis

[JJP XX]

Glad to hear that she was in good company and I appreciate you two looking after her and Michele too.

I have the details and pictures of the weekend but out of respect for her, I'll let her decide if she wishes to share.

[Have2BeFree]

Originally Posted by JJP XX

H2BF,

How was the track day and did you get a lot out of it?

I'm proud of you for stepping out and doing what many will never do.

Hey everyone - meet my good friend John. This is his not so subtle way of getting me to post about my experience at the track LOL.

Track day at the Loudon Speedway in NH was an awesome experience. I learned a lot and it was absolutely a rush - right up until about 3pm.....

My friend Michele and I rode up the night before and stayed over so we could be well rested on Thursday morning. We woke up to pouring rain and were totally soaked by the time we got there.

rain, rain go away:

Picture 072.jpg

Michele prepping her bike:
Picture 071.jpg

My bike all taped up and ready for the track:
Picture 070.jpg

We were both started out in Group C (beginners) but with different track leaders/instructors. After the second track section we were switched because Michele needed to go slower and I need to go faster

As my new group was lined up and waiting to go out on the track the instructor (Guy) told me that he was going to lead the first lap and then rotate us each to the front and if I could keep up after four laps then I could stay in that group He obviously didn't know me - not only did I keep up but was climbing up on the ZX14 in front of me on the turns. When we got back to the garage he told me I did good and that he was moving us all up to the B group because we were way too fast for the C group.

I have to say I was feeling really good - especially considering how hard it was raining and how wet the track was. I was having a blast! A couple more track sessions with Guy and then he sent us out on our own. I did a couple of laps and was doing great in the turns, accelerating the on the straights and was really in my groove - and that's when IT happened. I was leaning into turn 2 thinking it was feeling good and the next thing I knew I was sliding across the track on my left side and the bike was nowhere to be seen. My first thought was "this sucks" followed by "crap, my cell phone is in that pocket", then reality settled in and I thought "please God don't let anyone run over me!". We were told that if we went down we needed to stay down until help arrived, which I did - besides I bumped my head and it was feeling a bit heavy anyway.

track worker: are you ok
me: where's my bike? Is it ok?
worker: nevermind the bike, are you ok
me: yeah, is the BIKE ok?
worker: did you hit your head
me: yeah, but it only bounced once, is my bike ok?
worker: just stay down until the ambulance gets here

emt: hi
me: hi
emt: do you know your name?
me: Cheryl - is my bike ok?
emt: nevermind the bike, do you know where you are?
me: track in Loudon NH and I just crashed on turn 2. Where's my bike, is it ok?
emt: does anything hurt
me: yeah my hip and my hands are tingling, where's my bike?
emt: hands are tingling because you hit your head?
me: no because they slid down the track
emt: can you sit up?
me: yeah - sat up (there's my bike way over there - and it doesn't look bad)
emt: will you ride back to the garage in the ambulance if I walk you over to see your bike first?
me: (finally someone gets it) yes

So, a few scratches and cracked plastic but it runs fine thanks to the frame sliders:

Picture 073.jpg
Picture 074.jpg
Picture 075.jpg
Picture 076.jpg
Picture 077.jpg
Picture 078.jpg

Next session I was back out and riding again. And before anyone comments, I was not riding too fast or beyond my ability - the turn I went down on is known to be the slickest spot on the track in the rain. I did learn to lean into the turn on the back side though where it is not as slick.

As for me I have bruises and some soreness but my gear held up well; and yes I can't wait to do another track day!

[Have2BeFree]

Not to worry though, Rob (Reiobard) "fixed" my bike tonight!

IMG_0446.jpg



































IMG_0447.jpg

It looks much better now, Thanks Rob!

[mstewar1]

Thank you so much for sharing about your day and mishap. IMHO, I think if anyone comments on it they just don't get it. Granted, no one wants anyone to go down, ever. But if you're going to, it may as well happen on a track, in a relatively controlled setting. You probably learned a whole lot from that little get-off.

I'm really glad that you are fine. The bike bits can be fixed easily enough.

That was a really funny bit about the track workers/emt.

Thanks again. Good stuff.

[dean2287]

H2BF - I really appreciate your post as I have been tooling with the idea of a track ride, and would be a complete newbie.

[JJP XX]

Originally Posted by Have2BeFree

Not to worry though, Rob (Reiobard) "fixed" my bike tonight!

Attachment 18888
It looks much better now, Thanks Rob!

I see a parts bike in front of yours!

Glad to hear that you're ok and that you're spirits are up.

One thing about Cheryl and Michele is that they're great at listening and following those who have done what they're talking about.

Before Cheryl ever rode her bike, I recommended frame sliders and that is when she turned to the FZ site to get lots of valuable info from you guys.

Rob and the gang, thanks for looking after Cheryl and Michele today as I really appreciate it.

[xgrafcorex]

Glad you're alright Cheryl!

I don't think I'm ready for a track day yet, but it sounds like a lot of fun.