Well, I finally got to my first track day. There's an organizer in SoCal called TrackDaZ They do a program for riders who've never been on a track where you come out, get tech'd, sit through the riders meeting, then you have a separate orientation to go over all the basics of track riding. You go out with just the new orientation guys and instructors for two very slow laps to see how to enter the track, see the lines of the track, and how to exit the track. You come back around behind the C group, and go out for the first session. After that, you go back and meet with the instructors to discuss. All this for free. If you decide you want to stay the rest of the day, it's only $100.
Needless to say I stayed and had an incredible time. For my first day I stayed in C group. But I was passing quite a few people and only passed by a very few in the group. Passing in C group is difficult because you're only allowed to pass on the outside. No out braking moves in that group. So trying to pass riders who are really slow in the corners, but they're on 160+ hp bikes and pin it once they get the bike upright can be a pain. One really cool thing was Melissa Paris (AMA Pro SuperSport racer and wife to Josh Hayes) was there riding an FZ8 in my group helping a new female rider learn to ride the track. You'll see me passing her a couple of times in this video. In the second session I passed her on the outside in the "bowl" once side by side. It was pretty cool.
Obviously she wasn't riding fast but still kinda cool to do that.
I can't emphasize enough how much I learned in just a few sessions on the track that will help me be a better, safer rider on the street. I recommended it to anyone, no matter what speed you are. As you'll see, there's every speed rider you can imagine and in C group, you get a lot of different riders out there. But it's so much easier, safer, and less stressful than riding on the street.
Unfortunately my day was cut short because my neck just couldn't handle that much hard riding. I started having spasms on the track which was making me tense up and make some mistakes, and that's not a good thing. I was able to get some video of that last run. This first link is just a long raw footage video. Unfortunately the battery died 3/4 of the way through the session. But that was about when my neck started having trouble and I started tensing up and not riding properly. So I came in early. I'm going to put together a cut up shorter video with music. But for now, enjoy the raw footage.
Chuckwalla 10/21
Usually » CaliPhotography Motorsports is there taking tons of pics. I was told they were there but never saw where they may have been taking pics. So if they were and they got me at all, I'll post up some pics.
Needless to say I stayed and had an incredible time. For my first day I stayed in C group. But I was passing quite a few people and only passed by a very few in the group. Passing in C group is difficult because you're only allowed to pass on the outside. No out braking moves in that group. So trying to pass riders who are really slow in the corners, but they're on 160+ hp bikes and pin it once they get the bike upright can be a pain. One really cool thing was Melissa Paris (AMA Pro SuperSport racer and wife to Josh Hayes) was there riding an FZ8 in my group helping a new female rider learn to ride the track. You'll see me passing her a couple of times in this video. In the second session I passed her on the outside in the "bowl" once side by side. It was pretty cool.
Obviously she wasn't riding fast but still kinda cool to do that. I can't emphasize enough how much I learned in just a few sessions on the track that will help me be a better, safer rider on the street. I recommended it to anyone, no matter what speed you are. As you'll see, there's every speed rider you can imagine and in C group, you get a lot of different riders out there. But it's so much easier, safer, and less stressful than riding on the street.
Unfortunately my day was cut short because my neck just couldn't handle that much hard riding. I started having spasms on the track which was making me tense up and make some mistakes, and that's not a good thing. I was able to get some video of that last run. This first link is just a long raw footage video. Unfortunately the battery died 3/4 of the way through the session. But that was about when my neck started having trouble and I started tensing up and not riding properly. So I came in early. I'm going to put together a cut up shorter video with music. But for now, enjoy the raw footage.
Chuckwalla 10/21
Usually » CaliPhotography Motorsports is there taking tons of pics. I was told they were there but never saw where they may have been taking pics. So if they were and they got me at all, I'll post up some pics.
Last edited:
