| Author | Message | ||
     Blublak |
Ok, just for those of us that have something neat happen while we're out on the road.. Or things that make you go Hmmm.. Or laugh.. or whatever.. Please, add them here.. for everyone to enjoy..  | ||
| Blublak |
Ok.. Just after posting pics of my Blue and Black Buell Firebolt.. I headed out onto some roads and had a little fun. Somewhere in there I ended up with a guy on a Hyabusa foolin' with me. On the highway he would rocket past me, then slow to check me out a little more.. It was annoying, but I knew that on the super slab there was no way I could play with him. Maybe I should have tried,  but I didn't. Finally he got tired of me and ran away over the hills and I lost sight of him. After a little while, before heading into the deep woods twisties in the foot hills of the Shenandoah I stopped for fuel. As I was finishing filling the tank, in pulled the 'Busa. He and I chatted a little. Why would I pay all that money for something with nowhere near enough power? Was I satisfied with something that would never run with the big dogs? (ok, he was pissing me off). I defended my ride and my pride a little but obviously not to his satisfaction. Once I got underway again, I saw him coming up behind me again. He was riding my tail section like he was getting ready to pass, but then he didn't.. Now I'd watched him a little on the highway, he was one of those straight, almost rigid kind of riders.. I don't think he was up to the bike he had..(I am a pretty relaxed rider normally and don't push it near as hard as a lot of you guys.. but sometimes..) Once I'd entered the real twisted sections of road, I let loose. Winding up the revs and pulling the slipping off the seat to guide the 'Bolt through the various curves. I just let the bike run up, easily running somewhere above that 100% of legal posted limit. Finally I got to an intersection and was forced to stop. I looked over my shoulder and could barely see where this guy had gotten too  . I made the turn and threw myself up the mountain, the over and down the other side. I'd gotten into maintaining that nice 6000rpm in 4th gear run then decided as the road evened out, I pumped it up too 5th and of course kept the revs up there.. hehehehe.. God I love this bike... A short while later, I'd pulled into the town at the end of the road, stopped at a gas station, gotten relaxed and was drinking a soda when the 'Busa came screaming into town. He slowed when he saw me, looked over then road on past as though I didn't exist..  Sometimes, it's good to be different.. Sometimes, it's nicer not to have to say anything.. Who cares what others think about my bike.. I know.. it knows.. and now.. That guy on the Suzuki.. well, he knows too... Life is good like that.  | ||
| Blake |
I like stories like that. Thanks for sharing.  | ||
| Blublak |
CLASS RIDING SCHOOL – V.I.R. 23 JUNE 2003 -----------Part One------------- The day started a little hectic for me. Got up at 5:30am and spent the time showering, dressing, compression pants and CoolMax Tee shirt under jeans and a black Buell ‘pit shirt’ or whatever they call it. Hauled my gear (one piece leathers, boots, helmet, gloves as well as some other stuff, like digital camera, video camera, water etc.) Drove from the hotel to the track. If you’ve never been to Virginia International Raceway, you should go. They have multiple tracks of varied lengths and styles. This is a place where going fast is the name of the game, no matter what you want to do it with. Side note, it’s kind of interesting that to get there, you have to drive into North Carolina then turn back into Virginia to get to the entrance.  Once I was there, I parked in the fine gravel: very fine and somewhat well packed so it’s easy to maneuver around and of course there are paved lanes that encircle the area, park your truck/trailer and unload onto the paved area. Once the bike was off the trailer I wasn’t really sure what to do next. It seemed a little odd, but at first, never having done a ‘track event’ before I had no idea what was next, so I kind of wandered around and tried to figure it out. The staff at CLASS started things off with an announcement and we all lined up to register. You get a nice info packet and a name sticker for the back of your helmet. Then, it was back to the Explorer to strip off my jeans and pull on my one piece, my boots and get ready. I rolled the bike over to the tech inspection area, they looked over my ride, brakes, tires and gear then gave me a sticker for the bike to indicate that I was safe to ride with. Derek, one of the instructors, whom as one of the students, you get to know each of the instructors more by what they ride and such, so here is an image of Derek on his Suzuki GSXR 1000,  even gave me some really good advice about tire pressure. Basically, it goes something like this. With the heat of the day, and the heat we’re going to generate in our tires on the track, you don’t want them pumped up to ‘full pressure’ instead, try a few pounds lighter, the heat will cause the air inside the tires to expand and increase pressure for you without risking a blowout. I did as he suggested and I think it’s one of several things I would learn today that would help me improve as a rider as the day progressed. One guy didn’t seem to get it I guess and he got turned away at tech. For what I’m not sure, but I understand they told him if he corrected the problem, he could come back the next day. Now this may not seem so odd on the surface, but long before the date of our class we all received information on what was required to participate: 98% or better (New is what they mean right?) tires. New brakes. Tape over or remove your mirrors (don’t want you looking in them and getting distracted). Disable or tape over taillight (keep someone from freaking out when you hit the brakes at speed and they panic grab their brakes). Full face DOT/Snell approved helmet (no older than 5 years). One or two piece leather or cordura/ballistic nylon riding suit (not the mesh type and no chaps or jeans). Full boots that cover the ankles and gloves that cover the wrists. Oh well, that’s life when you don’t follow the rules. I then moved into ‘the barn’ a covered area giving me some shade for when I wasn’t on the track, not everyone could get in there, but the XB9R is small and slips into some spaces where the bigger bikes just wouldn’t fit.  Next there was the riders’ meeting. In this meeting three time AMA champion and chief instructor Reg Pridmore, introduced us to our instructors, and went over the rules with us regarding signals, flags and rules of the ‘road’ that will be adhered to .. Or you could go home early. It was made perfectly clear that they were most concerned with safety, you will not be pushed to go beyond your abilities, this will be a safe and fun, educational experience. Then the class, a rather large group (this session was sold out) was broken into two sets, called “A” and “B”. The “A” group consisted of people that have experience at these types of events, racers and those that feel their skills are up the challenge of the faster pace set by the instructors during their riding times (actually the instructors would let you go as fast as they thought you could handle). “B” group was the rookies and those that didn’t feel they were up to the hard race type pace being run with the “A” group. Being a rookie at this, I chose to ride in the “B” group feeling it would be better to not try and push myself into a dangerous situation. “A” group took to the track as “B” group got some hints and was led by Reg to some of the trickier part of the track and given the low down on the best way to handle each of these sections. Then it was back into the classroom for us while the other group went riding. I’m not going to tell you everything that was said, I’m going to try and avoid it, however I do want to tell you a few observations I made. Reg has this really down to earth, straightforward method of delivering his information. It’s kind of funny that one could be looking at a subject that could mean pain, expense and even death, yet his approach still makes it sound like it’s going to be alright, all you need to do is listen to papa Reg and his merry band of red white and black clad instructors. Another comment on Reg’s delivery of information. It’s clear and concise yet simple to understand. He could have used a ton of technical and racing terminology, but instead, he kept it simple and descriptive without making it seem either boring or as though he were talking to a group of people that had never seen a motorcycle before, let alone ridden the thousands of miles most of us have under our belts. For this, I thank Reggie and his staff. Then after twenty minutes, it was our turn out on the track. What can I say? Yes, we were slow at first. I made a few mistakes and was working on my understanding of the road and how my bike could handle the various challenges it presented. They had told us to keep it slow, so we did. For the time being. Now to talk about the North Track at VIR. On paper it really doesn’t seem like all that much of a challenge.  Until you really look at it.. Then, you start riding it and realize that there is so much more to it than just the 17 turns they list. The track has several elevation changes, and some very deceptive turns that can fool you into thinking one thing when you really should be thinking something else. As “B” groups twenty minutes continued, I felt more confident and able until I saw Gigi (Mrs. Pridmore) facing us from off track giving the ‘Bring your bike in’ signal. I rolled back to the barn and headed inside for the next classroom session. Lucky for us (all of us) there was cold water and Gatorade there as well as some light food if you wanted it, this helped in the 90 degree heat we were enjoying that day. Once again, Reg gave us more information, adding to what he had already told us, giving us tips and advice that would prove to heighten our collective skills, providing us with comfort at even faster speeds. Gigi (she of the yellow Honda 600) came in and gave us some of her observations. And then the twenty minutes was up. This would be how the first half of the day would go, with other instructors stepping in after the lunch break to give us their insight and show us a little more of what was going on ‘out there’  Now a few words about stickers. They had several actually; there were the name and tech stickers that I already mentioned. There were two others I should mention. I’ll call them ‘Atta Boy’ and ‘Bad Boy (or girl)’. If you got too many of the latter, you were off the track, your day was over. This was another thing they did regarding safety. Like I said, all of the staff was really concerned with us and our well being on the track. I didn’t get a ‘Bad Boy’ but I did make a mistake, and they saw it as such. More on that later. Let me talk some more about VIR North. Yeah, they say 17 turns. But it goes a bit differently when your there.. Or at least it feels that way. Turn 1 is at the end of a LONG front straight and it exits right into turn 2 so you end up taking it as one long sweeping (slightly decreasing radius) turn. Coming off the straight you can have way too much speed to make the turn and need to make sure to get your entry speed down. I would finally have it down to a third gear, 40+ mph entry with solid and continuous acceleration throughout both parts of the turn, exiting turn 2 at somewhere above 70. This leads you into a left sweep that sets you into turn 3. This too is deceptive, since the sweep (it’s not numbered) is increasing radius, allowing you to build a lot of speed if your not careful, then it’s right into the turn. You really have to watch it here, because the slingshot effect (as I learned) can set you WAY too fast for the turn and that means you’ll never make.. Turn 4, which is a tight left that exits into the sharp right hand turn 5. They have to be taken as a unit if you hope to do it quickly. And that is all technique; brute force will put you off the track either into a hill or into the trees. Depending on which turn you hit too hot or out of position.  This is followed by turns 5a and 6. See, told you they only called it 17 turns, but with three ‘a’ turns that brings the number up to 20 right? 5a is another right that you are usually accelerating into. Now here I kind of differed from a lot of the folks in my group. Most people let centrifugal force push them to the outside of the lane as they exit turn 5 then swing back in for 5a. I on the other hand held my line, keeping ‘tight’ in and riding as though it were all one long turn. This allowed me to hit turn 6 faster (for my group) and get into 6a and the ‘snake’ (a short chicane) and the back straight at higher speeds. Often, this made it necessary for me to bleed off some speed if one of my fellows is out of position and unintentionally blocking my path. Now you can hit the ‘snake’ almost as a straight and it extends the back straightaway, causing you to gain even more speed than you think you would. Turn 7. Wow, turn 7 is a sharp right hand up hill section. I would end up taking this at around 60 by the end of the day, but initially, I had to bleed off all that speed from the straight before trying to make that turn, with high speeds, you of course end up with your momentum pulling you out to the opposite side of the track, if you time it right, your almost going straight as you clear through turn 8 and only need a quick and very slight correction to finish through turn 9, once again changing these turns into a faux straight.  Still going up hill, you want to set up and get into the rapidly approaching turn 10. They taught me to hit that just so, allowing me to slice the apex (center of the turn) as I came out and set up right into turn 11 and flowing through turns 12 and 13 (yes, I’m still going up hill). You finally crest the hill at turn 14 with a sharp right-hander that is sharp going in and then opens up allowing you’re bike to pick up speed again. Oh and when I said crest, I meant it! The next section of the track is a downhill run. After the light left turn 15 you have a gently curving section that allows you to pass (if your line is right and the person you are passing is holding theirs correctly).  -------To Be Continued------------- | ||
| Blake |
Awesome! Thanks for sharing! If you get the pics from the 2nd part of your tale to work you can repost and delete the original.  | ||
| Blublak |
 Know what went wrong.. I lost my connection while posting.. Some of it got a little jumbled, but I'll try and get it posted later (once I'm home again).. Thanks for the comments... Later, | ||
| Blublak |
CLASS RIDING SCHOOL – V.I.R. 23 JUNE 2003 ---------------Continued------------- Then it’s into a great combination; turns 16 and 17. 16 is a left turn that you want to cut close in, right at the apex setting you up for the bottom of the hill and the short right, turn 17. This set I took as one long ‘grouping’ once again coming out of 17 I held my ‘turn’ position and made the slight right hand cut at 17a as a single continuous close in maneuver. By ‘close in’ I mean that I’m hugging as close to the inside of the track as possible, letting me ‘swing’ through the next bend. As you come out of 17a you are back on the front straight and able to build up your speed on your way back to turn 1.  For safety sake, on the front straight, if your going 100mph or higher, stick to the outside of the lane, under, puts you on the right hand side of the lane. Wow. Once again, as I got to know the track, the techniques they were teaching us and the way my Buell handled each task I got progressively faster and finally found myself averaging at least 75 – 85 mph for the whole track, this is an aggregate not an absolute so don’t think I was traveling at world class race speeds. However, you have to understand that this is really fast if you’ve spent most of your life riding on the street and not racing around a track. So what about that sticker thing? Well, coming off the back straight, heading into turn 7, I was traveling a little hot, so was going to start the turn a little later than I had previously, allowing me to bleed off some speed with a little braking. A slower bike was there and not giving me much room, so I rolled on a little more throttle and cut hard around them. One of the ever-watchful staff instructors saw the maneuver and signaled me into the pit lane to talk about what I had done. I hadn’t seen how close I was to the other bike, but felt that I was far enough away to do it safely. The instructor had seen it and let me know that I was a little too close for comfort, and while he knew he could handle the situation, the other rider may have panicked and hit the brakes, upsetting their bike and possibly endangering their safety and those behind them. I understood what he meant once he’d explained it (remember, Reg and his team are very good about being specific without loosing you in a bunch of technical mumbo jumbo that would have just gone in one ear and out the other). I didn’t get a ‘Bad Boy’ sticker, since it was nothing I had ‘planned on’ it wasn’t intentional. There were others on the track that did get the ‘Bad Boy’ but they have their own stories to tell about it.  Later that day, I was pulled over by Derek, who complimented me on my lines and then suggested some ways to make them smoother. Derek gave me an ‘Atta Boy’ sticker, and would later help me with a few other things. In my opinion, his up attitude and positive way of correcting mistakes or helping you to understand how to improve your performance is perhaps only second to Reg. This is another thing that helped me with the course, and in my opinion went toward making me a better rider overall. Later in the day I had my only ‘mishap’. Going into turn 3 I was closing on a BMW that was on the inside of the curve. I spent a little too long realizing it and then tried to back down. Nope, didn’t make it, took my eyes off my line and slipped off the track. Once off track I did exactly as instructed. That means that I had no problem getting right back on and picking up where I’d left off. One mistake like that also taught me something about the track and my bikes’ tendencies in such situations, as well as my own loss of concentration and how easy it was for me to loose everything I had gained (albeit only for a moment). Ok, concentration back in place. I started to ride again.  Originally we (the students) would fall in behind an instructor and try to match their lines. Kind of like, follow in their tire tracks and life will be good. After a while, some of us started to check out what the other students were doing and trying to see if it would work for us. At one time I even saw a couple of people try my really tight line through turns 5 and 5a. Most of them didn’t seem to like it too much; maybe they felt they were fighting their bikes to make that line. The ‘Bolt didn’t have any problems with it though and as long as I kept my body, bike and mind set as though it was a long turn, remember my lapse of concentration on turn 3, I was fine. If I tried to straighten out, as though that little section was a straight away, then I think I too would have had problems with this tactic. Here’s a great example of what I mean. In my group there was quite a variety of bikes. From a GSXR1000 to a Ninja 250, even some that you would never think you would see at a ‘track event’, but as I’ve stated, this is a school and they are really teaching you to ride the roads better, not become the next Nicky Hayden (whom Reg & Co. trained by the way). Anyway, at one point in time I found myself up close with the GSXR, from seemingly out of nowhere he passed me on the front straight, I wasn’t surprised with all that power on tap that Suzuki should be able to run down just about everyone there that day. Now, he entered Turn 1 with me just behind him. I took an outside line through the turn and swung around him, by the time we exited turn 2 I was still accelerating and passing him as we headed through the sweep and into turn 3. He didn’t get by me again until we were on the back straight, but by the time we reached turn 12 I was almost on top of him and could have passed him on the inside going through turn 14 since he was a little wide, but passing on the inside of a turn isn’t safe, so we didn’t do that. As stated numerous times before, they wanted us to be as safe as possible, so we can leave the really trick riding to the pros. Once we went through the 15/16 – 17 series I was almost passed him again and could have if this were a race and we were passing on the inside of turns. Of course, this put us back on the front straight where he pulled hard to the left of the lane and vanished around the slight bend that you can see in the map above.  Another point that I really liked about the CLASS Riding School was that they allowed, actually almost openly encouraged ANY type of bike and rider to come out and learn. Take a look at this next series of pictures.  This guy on the Gold Wing was practically flying around the track by the end of the day and at times, I was watching in awe as sparks flew off his mufflers in some of the turns. Then there was the little lady on the Ninja 250. Not what you would think of as a ‘track bike’ but hey, they race them in Europe all the time. But she wasn’t racing, she was learning more control and better handling techniques. Of course there were some other bikes you may not have thought you would have seen there. Like the couple that arrived on their V-Star and RoadStar. Husband and wife of some years up all the way from Florida just to take the class and learn more about how to handle their large bikes. While I’m talking about other bikes, let me tell you about the rest of the cross section of motorcycling that we had there, riding together and having a great time. There were several makes in attendance that you may not have expected. I kind of related to these guys, a Moto Guzzi, a Triumph, they were both as rare to find it seemed as my Buell. Then there were the BMW’s. Not just the big sporting types either; there were the crossbreed bikes as well. In addition to that, there was the Lady on the Suzuki SV who was welcome next to the guy on his Yamaha R6.    All these bikes were out there with me and I got a charge out of seeing everyone having so much fun. To tell the truth, there are very few places where you can find all these different makes and types of bike running together without a lot of ‘mine’s better then yours’ type of talk going on. No, there was very little of that, most of what was discussed, when we had the chance had to do with the track, the techniques and of course, how were each of us dealing with the various problems that crept up each time we circled the track. We did a braking exercise in the pit lane, Reg and Stuart gave me some really great advice on making my braking smoother and more controlled. I’ve mentioned braking earlier and I’m sure most of you are saying ‘So what, grab some brake and stop already’. Well, at the speeds we were traveling, that would have been a disaster in the making. I think I’m starting to get the hang of what they were talking about, but with as with all things, practice is really called for. And then we broke for lunch. The staff at VIR was good and fast with our food (as with everything at a venue like that it was a bit expensive, but decent food none the less). Then I needed to get gas. The North track has it’s own pumps that operate off credit cards. I found a pump that listed 286 OCTANE GAS!!! Ok, at like $12 a gallon, that’s a bit much. The 93 octane that I was feeding the Buell was over $2 a gallon and I couldn’t imagine putting that leaded (yes, you read that right, leaded) fuel in my machine. Then it was back for more classroom sessions, and more track times. Reg got out his camera bike and started to run the track with us, the whole time making comments and observations about the riders he was either following or leading (he has forward and rear facing cameras on board).  Somehow, my timing must have been just so, since he never got my Firebolt in his lens. But I’ll have to say; I guess that means I was fast enough and making the right decisions (for the most part) on the track to stay out of his ‘all seeing eye’. I have to admit, by the time we got over our lunch blahs. You know that feeling of just wanting to sit around once your belly is full and your feeling just a little lazy. Maybe take a siesta? Well, not at CLASS we didn’t. Once we were back on the track we all started to speed up again rather quickly. Personally I knew that I was running hotter than I had ever ridden before in my life. Now, before you think I’m a long time old lady rider, I’m not. But, high speed on a long straight super highway where there is nothing there but space is a far cry from working your way around all the turns elevation changes and other little quirks at a track, and doing it safely. This in the end is what makes you feel so much of a rush by the end of the day, a high that just doesn’t want to go away. I’d only ridden about 170 miles in the whole day, but it was the most exciting and instructional day I’d ever had on a bike. At the end of the day, there was a simple closing ceremony where they handed out your completion certificates and Reg made some requests and said his official farewell. Ok, let’s look at something. Look at your tires. I mean it, go look at them. I’ll wait. Now, how many miles do you have on that set? When people talk about how hard track runs are on things like tires and brakes, as well as the kind of beating your bike could be taking. Look at this.  It’s my NEW rear tire after 170 miles of track time with the school. I figure, if I’d gotten to take a second day (job requirements said no way) I probably would have been just about done with this set of rubber. What does that say for the pros who must generate much greater heat and stress on their gear? Oh, in case you’re wondering, this was a top of the line Dunlop 207 tire, it’s not junk to start with. I guess it’s also another reason to use only quality products on your motorcycle, I mean, what do you think this would have looked like if I’d gone for the ‘bargain basement’ tire that I’m sure I could have found somewhere for a lot less than I paid for this and it’s brother on the front that’s in equally rough shape. Another valuable lesson learned, huh Reg? I hope everyone was taking notes. The little stones you see are actually from the parking/pit area away from the track and stuck to the half melted rubber as I rolled back to my truck at the end of the day. Oh yeah, I mentioned that I’d taken my cameras along with the water and what not. Well.. As you may or may not realize, I had a very full day. So. Nope, didn’t really get much with my digital camera. Uh, battery died. Couldn’t get much with the video camera since it’s actually a very tight day, without much time to chat, and just hang around. Don’t get me wrong, I have some images as these pages attest to. There was a pro photographer there named John Robinson, John works for Branam’s Photography and is to thank for the pictures of the bikes on the track that appear here. John (with the help of his little dog Boomer) got a bunch of pictures from my earlier sessions.  I can tell they were the early ones just by looking at what I was doing. That’s one of the great things about the way Pridmore has his curriculum set up. The alterations to your riding are gradual, so each step is easily incorporated into what you are already doing and you don’t find yourself trying to make multiple changes that only leave you confused and more out of control then either you want to be, or should be on the track or the road. Well.. I think I’ve written enough about my time with CLASS and Reggie Pridmore and Derek and Gigi and Stuart and the rest. I couldn’t have asked for a better set of teachers and lessons. Now, if only I could find a way to do this more often.. Hmmmmm.. Later,  | ||
| Az_m2 |
Peter, great writeup and pics. Thanks for sharing! | ||
| Philip |
that sounded like a fine way to spend a day! i hope i can do a track course some day. great writing by the way. |
