Track Trip: Chapter4 - Monday with STAR

Small group with STAR Monday. So small in fact, we ran only one group instead of splitting into two.

I decided to rent a garage at the track with 5 other riders. The garages are only $75/day. That includes power, shade, access to the restroom, and about 400sqft of space to setup. $25 for a garage for 2 days? And the ability to leave the bikes there overnight? (They lock the door and there's overnight security.) No brainer. The bikes are probably safer there than in my trailer in the hotel parking lot.

There are usually a few oddities sprinkled in among the Suzukis and Hondas. Usually it's a Triumph, or a 2-stroke of some sort, or maybe a Hypermotard. Today the exotica was supplied by a Bimota Tesi 3D. Pretty wild stuff.

Saturday I stuck the Daytona in 3rd and forgot about shifting. Monday I stuck the Ducati in 2nd and forgot about shifting. (Trust me, the Ducati can get around the track faster in 2nd than the Daytona can in 3rd.) In some of the later sessions I added a shift into 3rd on the two longer straights, but essentially I left it in 2nd. It's amazing how much easier it is to focus on what you want to do (in my case relaxing on the bike and lean-angle) when you eliminate a variable like lots of shifting. ... I suspect many people think I'm cheating. But those are the same people who I'm passing as they struggle to keep their bike under control as they shift 15 times / lap. ... In other words: the jealous people. :)

My day ended one session early. I was on the track at about 3:45 and I was chasing another rider around the track. In the first few morning sessions she (yes, SHE) had passed me and was able to pull away from me slowly. In this session I was gaining on her pretty quick and I really wanted to pass her. We got into some slower traffic, she passed a rider and if I didn't pass the same rider I'd be held up on the next couple of corners. So I added some speed and went around him too... and was in the corner too hot, stood the bike up, and probably pissed off the guy I just passed quite a bit. About two turns later it dawned on me "Why am I worried about her? I should be focused on my own riding. This is stupid." I pulled off at the next opportunity and then noticed how tired I was. Physical fatigue had led to a mental breakdown.

I decided to end my day. I have all day Tuesday.