Folembray started out with a great session (all of the really cool pictures come from the first session)
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Again a theoretical session on proper form, then we hit the track again. It's been drizzling, so the track is slightly damp. The first corner I take ... I end up on my back in the grass. It was a lowsider, so no serious damage to bike or rider, except that I'm missing a footpeg. I'm angry at myself for falling, I'm agry at the weather for not being perfectly dry, I'm angry at the tires for giving up without signalling, I'm angry at my bike for loosing a footpeg. I miss the entire run, while me and a mechanic try to convert one of the passenger pegs to a front peg. It doesn't work. Fortunately -for me-, someone else dropped his bike and screwed up his entire shift set, EXCEPT the footpeg. And it fits! Yay!
The rest of the day alternates between dry and semi-dry, but my confidence is gone and I don't feel like putting my knee to the ground anymore. I'm tired and whining like a little spoiled kid.
Next day, after a restful night it's raining. It's really pouring down, and there's no sign it will ever stop. I think of yesterday and decide I don't feel like riding in the rain. Half an hour later, I change my mind and buy rain tires. While they are being put on, I miss the first riding session.
Next item on the agenda is a duo-run. This means for 10 laps, it's just me and my instructor following me, talking to me through the radio. This is a great feature and one of the reasons I prefer this riding school over others. The moment we hit the track, the rain is pouring down harder than ever. This is my first time ever on rain tires, and I'm extremely nervous. The bike feels equally nervous. After two laps, though, the tires seem to have warmed up and I'm gaining confidence. Once every while, I can feel the tires search for grip, but never anything really alarming. Riding in the rain is a lot more fun than I anticipated! I really nail the throttle, although my lap times remain at about 5 seconds over the dry lap times. I decide I don't want to try a kneedown in the rain just yet.
Next session I miss out, because the sun momentarily breaks through and I'm still on rain tires. The two laps I did were enough to warm up my tires beyond what is healthy. I decide not to switch back to semi-slicks (BT-002), because I was promised more rain.
The promise was kept: for the last session, it's raining again and I'm happy to try my recently purchased rain tires for the second time. I pass a lot of people who were faster than me on the dry. There's one guy I can't keep up with, though, and he's riding on semi-slicks! I guess I'm not on the limit of the rain tires yet, and I push a little harder.
I enter my favorite curve, a 100 MPH left-hand sweeper. I go full-throttle and try to put my knee down. Suddenly, the rear tire breaks loose! There is time to react, though, I really love how these rain tires give signals. Unfortunately for me, I release the throttle too quickly and I'm experiencing my first-ever full-blown tank slapper at 100MPH. I'm scared as hell, I let go of the handlebars so the bike can sort itself out. Somehow, I don't fly off the bike, I manage to go through a slight right-hand curve with my hands off the handle bars, and I've slowed down enough to go into the tight S-curve. I grab a hold of the handlebars again, lean into the first tight curve, and (gently!!!) twist the throttle again. Nothing! Somehow, I manage to pick up the bike without throttle, and coast to the side of the track. It turns out I must have hit the circuit breaker while the handlebars were swinging back and forth. I flip it over again, wait for some bikes to pass, and hit the track again. I'm a little shaken though (pun intended), so after a few laps and a few more missed apexes, I decide I've had enough excitement and call it a day.
But, as they say: all's well that ends well. I've had plenty of excitement, learned a thing or two, and I'm able to walk and talk about it
9th of August @ Francorchamps, I just can't wait!
Trackdays
I decided since I had an almost-brand-new, race-ready RR, I needed to do some serious track time, and spent $1000+ on different tracks and courses.
The first trackday was a disaster, in the sense of extremely bad weather, many forgotten items (including racing boots), and no saddle time at all. Thanks to the bad weather and so many other riders crashing, I didn´t feel too bad about not riding, but it´s no fun to flush 250 euro down the toilet.
The next trackday started lousy. Wet weather, little confidence, and a low-sider to top it off. After the failed brake test and this latest lowsider, I decided I didn´t trust the tires anymore and mounted BT-002´s. The rider next to our booth laughed about it: "you crash, and as a result you mount racing rubber. Now that's the spirit"!
The rest of the weekend went terrific. I gradually got to know the track layout, gained confidence and speed. By the last run of the first day, my knee was skraping again. That was such a relief! Next day was a lot more relaxed, and we got oodles of tracktime because of the relatively low number of riders. I was faster than some guys (and gals), but slower than most, even in the rookie group. But I was having fun in the fast sections, and at least I didn't pucker up in the slow sections. At the end of the day, an instructor followed me on his bike, with
my camera strapped on his tank.
The weekend hadn't been as good to my ex-colleague and friend, who's battery decided to die on Sunday, but I went home tired and satisfied.
Catch-up
The entire winter was a matter of trying to get used to the bike, and wondering why it didn´t go as smoothly as I wanted. Slowly, though, I was gaining a little confidence. Enough confidence to try some slow-speed manoevring on an empty parking lot, and -why not- do a brake test. Of course, I had to try and brake harder and harder, until finally ... the front tire gave way. Doh! Nothing major, except my hard-won confidence was all down the drain again.
So the bike had to go to the repair shop anyway (even if I continued to ride it for a while, because there was nothing really seriously wrong with it), and I asked the mechanic to also check out the geometry of the bike. Hey, if I can blame something other than myself for my lack of confidence, I won´t pass the chance!
Next day I plan to quickly ride my bike home, store it, and start on all my other plans for the day (responsible things like cleaning, shopping, polite visits, ...) but on the ride home, the bike felt absolutely fabulous and I was enjoying myself so much, I immediately ditched all other plans and I have been riding for the entire afternoon. It feels like I got a completely new bike for the small cost of a suspension setup! Woohoo!
Since my vest was torn up after this minor crash, I also had to buy myself some new gear. I started with a new vest to zip onto my pants, but they didn't fit as snugly as I would've liked (especially on the track). Fortunately, I've found this wonderful 1 piece perforated leather suit on eBay! And to top it all off, I also got myself a new helmet with a color scheme to match my bike: red and black. Gotta look fast AND good! :-)
new bike!
I got me a new bike, and I'm as giddy as a kid with candy in his pocket. I've bought myself a red-and-black Honda CBR 600 RR from 2003, with 10000 kilometers. That's 9000 kilometers less than my previous bike, and slightly cheaper, too ;-)
The ride home was only 20 miles, but it was the scariest 20 miles I ever rode! The bike is so different from my old, trusted Hurricane, I really didn't have any confidence whatsoever. The rain and the dark didn't help either.
What caught me by surprise, is how different the two bikes are. Moving from the RR to the Hurricane didn't feel like a big jump. Moving from the Hurricane to the RR, however, has got me feeling like I need to take MSF again. Even the counter-steering doesn't go as smooth as I would like it!
As soon as I got home, I took a bunch of pictures, and the next week my hard disk crashed. So I lost all the pictures except this one:
I hope the hard disk crash is no omen of any kind ...
winter coming closer
I ride my bike less and less often, and I find I'm not having as much fun as I used to have, when I ride on public roads. During the winter, I can ponder my options for next year:
- go overboard, buy brand new '07 RR. It sure looks nice!
- sell the old bike, buy a used RR, buy better gear. If I do this, I would probably ride the bike exclusively on the race track. If I ride it at the street too, I feel it's not worth the risk of putting her down.
- buy RR, buy helmet, keep old Hurricane. The RR would be for racetrack, the Hurricane is plenty fast on public roads. Most expensive option, but I'm not missing out on anything. Then again: how much would I miss public roads?
- don't buy RR, keep Hurricane, buy some gear. Cheapest option, and it'll still be possible for me to change my mind. Hurray for keeping your options open! Extra advantage: this is cheap enough so I'll be able to afford a few extra trackdays. Possible problem: after a few trackdays, I might get fed up about the lack of ground clearance. It was pretty bad on Folembray, it'll probably get worse as I go faster.
2nd reminder: check oil levels UPRIGHT
If I am checking the oil level, I had better do it with the bike in an upright position. It's no use panicking and throwing a liter more oil in, and making an appointment with the garage, just because the oil level seems lower when you put the bike on its sidestand.
The most tangible result of that, is me not riding my bike for a few days, and me making a complete ass of myself.
Bah.
reminder to self: check oil levels
Huh. I must've ridden at least 500km with the oil level WAY too low. I added a liter, and the oil level is still not maxed out. This would explain the crappy behaviour of the engine lately. I'm amazed it didn't just seize.
Look ma, I dun it! Finally! ;-)
On my first day of the training, I felt my knee hit the ground very briefly. From then on, I knew it was possible and I kept searching for it. I could drag my knee pretty much whenever I wanted, after that. I'm so happy I finally did it! And it feels so much safer than dragging my footpegs. When my knee touches the ground, I can sense pretty accurately how much ground clearance I have left.
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