Monday, June 22, 2009

Just Waiting

I found a near-perfect track trip:
- Sunday and Monday : travel 1100 miles
- Tuesday and Wednesday : track days at Streets of Willow
- Thursday : travel 250 miles
- Friday : Vegas baby!
- Saturday and Sunday : track days at Pahrump
- Sunday night : travel 650 miles
- Monday and Tuesday : track days at Thunderhill
- Wednesday : travel 700 miles
- Thursday : fall down in my own bed
Well, okay, maybe 650 miles in a night between track days isn't really feasible. But it still looks like fun on paper. Unfortunately it's in early October and I doubt I'll be allowed out of the house then.

My friend John is buying an oxy-acetylene welding rig. (He and I took the welding class a few months ago.) Personally I'd opt for a MiG but his needs are different from mine. Regardless, I'm hoping to mooch some fire-time from him once he gets setup.

Project #1: a tripod bench for a vise.

FIRE!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Hello? Is There Anybody Out There?

Two track days at ORP this weekend.

Apparently the track day crowd is out of money or got lost on the way to the track. There was hardly anyone there. A typical track day has about 100 riders. Saturday there were 21. Sunday there might have been 23.

That's rough for NESBA's finances but it makes for a nice open track.

I couldn't find anyone to split the gas and hotel costs so I decided to bring both bikes. (I figured if I got there early enough on Friday I'd take a ride on the Triumph.) Turns out it was a good plan. The Ducati was a pain in the first track session on Saturday. I just couldn't sort anything out. So I quickly converted the Triumph and took it out for a few sessions. Hoping to find a clue.

It worked well. The Triumph is alot easier to pilot. The ergonomics suit someone of my ... um ... magnitude a little better. Or maybe I'm just more used to it. The Ducati was out in the afternoon Saturday and I split time between the bikes on Sunday as well.

Based on the videos from May I was turning laps in about 2:18 on the Triumph. That's me, in charge, thinking I know what I'm doing, going to the whip.

Based on the data collected this weekend I was turning laps in about 2:18 on the Ducati. That's me, scared out of my friggin mind, hoping to survive, trying the rein the bike in.

I guess I need some more practice.