I'm relatively new to riding and track days but over the last year, Oregon Raceway Park has become one of my favorite tracks around! I have a tight-knit network of friends here in the Seattle area who I do all my track days with. This is a write-up I did from the last event MotoFit Group held at ORP, Sept 24 - 25... Hope you enjoy!
Friday night at the guest house was hopping! Like the trackdays, we were sold out! We had some cool new people kick it with us and most of the usual suspects. Add those together and you have a recipe for a kick ass bbq, lively conversations, good-humored ribbing, and lots and lots of laughter.
Friday night bbq:
Trackday Fuel:
It’s always difficult for me to sleep right before a track day and Friday night was no exception. I was experiencing total anticipation and excitement for the following two days. I went over in my head how I want the turns to feel, how hard I want to brake and where, what that will feel like, the feeling of getting on the gas, and of course, fine-tuning not only my ability to listen to my bike but my ability to give the proper input(s) at just the right time. But most of all…I laid there in my bunk bed thinking about how much fun was in store for all of us!
Going to a MotoFit weekend at ORP is like going home for me! There I’m surrounded by some of the coolest, nicest, most considerate, helpful, and generous people I’ve ever met – staff, instructors, students, significant others, family members, and spectators alike truly encourage and foster some of the best times you can have around motorcycles. There’s a positive vibe in the air that just can’t go unnoticed; the paddock is filled with smiles and laughter, coaching and guiding, bikes that are ready to be ridden, and riders who are ready to ride.
Saturday: CW
Not my favorite of the two directions, but I ended up learning the most and riding the best this day. It’s no secret MotoFit was sold out for this weekend, which meant the groups were full. This frustrated me at first. It was an obstacle to my day until I spoke with a particular rider who helped me put things into perspective. My mind wasn’t where it needed to be. Instead of “being stuck in traffic” I was going to learn how to pass and manage traffic effectively. Saturday presented that as my lesson. It’s funny how things change for you, whether you like it or not but somehow it always works out whether you think it will or not. I learned a lot this day, about my bike and me. I learned how important it is to be consistent and smooth on the track, so that others can predict where you’re going and what you’re doing. I learned how important those things are because I was the one making the passes and getting to where I wanted to be on the course…all the while changing and correcting my lines to get around someone. It became a fun challenge sort of…to see how many people I could get by in one stretch. I felt like my bike and I were working as a team and we both had the same goal: get ahead!!
Sunday: CCW
Favorite direction, not-so-favorite weather!! It was cold and windy Sunday morning in Grass Valley. I went out first session but immediately pitted. I decided to wait until lunchtime when it would hopefully warm up, and warm up it did. First session out after lunch, second lap…coming down the back straight and wham! there’s a tumbleweed the size of a lawn chair exactly where I’m pointed. Now, for most of you this probably wouldn’t be a big deal. But I’m not from the land o’tumblies so it may as well have been a concrete block that dropped down onto the track directly in front of me. I didn’t know what was going to happen if I hit it. Would it get tangled in my bike, in the wheels, in my chain?? I had only a moment to process what was going on and thought holy shit, was I not paying attention? Was I about to hit something, someone, a bike, an animal, or whatever the fuck that thing is?? Got that worked through in my head and decided to stay low, stay on the throttle, and just go. Thankfully it cut right in half, but not before jamming some of the branches into the controls on both sides, my air intake, and my chain. I survived that and after I picked all the pieces out of my clutch and brake levers, I decided to go another lap. At that point though I was fairly unnerved, slowed down, made mistakes, lines all over the place, blah, yuck, blech! Not my style… Pitted and re-grouped…
I headed back out the next session but not before asking for a control rider escort, MotoFit’s Rob Burch. Rob and I rode together a couple laps, showing me the lines, where to get ready for each corner, and where to turn in. I’m waiting too late…so I’m too busy just before entering a turn which makes it feel very rushed and unsteady. Rob backed that up for me…explained how I should really get my body position settled early (first), get on the brakes and choose my gear (next), then get on the gas and assertively get through each corner. Hhmmm, I’ve heard this all before. Oh yeah, Rob and his crew have been saying it for the past year! I guess I can be dense sometimes…
Ok, so two of my best laps of the day with Rob are done. I’m now focused and practicing: body, brakes, gear, gas. It’s working… I’m going faster and it feels good; feels easy. Some of the traffic from Saturday was present Sunday too. This was my chance to apply my newly-acquired passing skills (which I think I’ll be working on for a long time). I usually exit turn 1 CCW in third gear but this time I really wanted to get around the bike in front of me so I stayed in second and pinned the throttle. **MotoFit/ORP staff, please look away and skip to the next paragraph.** There’s a nice little tabletop on the front straight that apparently if you’re really on the gas when you hit it, your front end will come off the ground, and you may or may not be passing someone at the time. My first wheelie on the track, done and fun!!
What an incredible season this has been. I’ve learned an extraordinary amount about riding. I’ve had some major breakthroughs. I’ve met some of the greatest people and made some of the best friends of my life. I can’t imagine where I’d be right now in respect to riding if it weren’t for them. I have so many fond memories…there are just too many to list...and they keep getting better! I can look back at my weekends with MotoFit, the MotoFit family, and my friends and truly feel satisfied, yet inspired to continue on. Can’t wait for next year!!
Love my zx6 even more now!!
Goodnight:
And a few of me:
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