Round 6 from the cheap seat...

[dtrides]

First off, this is my first year (third round) I have participated in the AFM...

Some back story:
I have been riding for nearly 50 years, first dirt as a kid, then street starting in 1975.
Always pretty casual about my riding until my mid 40's when I tried a more sport orientated bike and the joy it brought me.
I realized I had ridden on the street for 25 years and never really thought about what I was doing...just riding.:wow
My new found love of riding twisty roads pushed me to learn how to ride allover again.arty:ride
Folks always said "come to the track! You will love it!" Please, all you do is go round and round the same old corners. :hand
"The street is where it's at!" I would tell them, mile after twisty mile of ever changing scenery that filled my soul to the brim.

I did some schools at the track but the bug just didn't bite.

Fast forward to meeting HyperGirl:love
Hyper sunk her teeth in to riding and eventually wanted to do track days with friends wave Tumbleweed and Dusty).
So..I did a few track days...just didn't get it...I felt lost, no trees , large rocks or guard rails for reference points . Not even a YY line for christ sake! How do I do this track thing?!
Well, sometimes I can be a bit slow to see past my perceptions.:x

Hyper suggested we get some track bikes ... Ok I said, maybe you should look at a sv650 I saw for sale on BARF, it looks to be nearly track ready for a great price!
"Nope, I want a R-3.." ok says I, go for it.
We found a low mile R-3 and on the way she asked what I liked about that sv (full disclosure, I had a 03 SV 1K when they first came out so I already had a soft spot for them). So I blathered on about why I thought it would be a good choice for the track.
We pick up her R3 north of Redding and on the way back she is on her phone texting away and I figure she is just chatting to friends about her new bike...nope, she is making arrangements and surprises me that she just secured that SV 650 I had been watching on BARF! :wowarty:

I spent the winter setting up our two new to us bikes for the track and Hyper couldn't wait for the new year and track season to start.:ride
The season stared out...wet and cold. :laughing(maybe next year we wait just a wee bit longer before hitting the track.)

Several track days in, Hyper says "maybe we should do the NRS, you know, just for fun.
Hyper confesses she would like to at least do one race and see what it's all about, would I like to join her?:wtf
OK, fine I said, let's do it!
So a few more track days and NRS later , you know what? I am having fun!
I don't feel lost on the track anymore ( even if I might look it..:rofl)

Now, here I am 61 years old and three race weekends under my belt on my budget racer having a blast....and back to learning how to ride once again in a whole new way.

Ok, blah, blah, blah: ROUND 6!

Saturday practice went well and bike felt good. Ready for race 1!
I get out in time for my sighting lap and find my grid position..I find neutral and wait for my grid to fill out (..I had a picture in my mind of where all the riders should be and there were some empty holes yet to be filled).
I look up and the nice man in the tower is waving the green flag...fauk!
I get in gear and hammer the throttle open realizing a just made a rookie mistake of taking my eyes off the starter!:mad
First few corners are going well and my speed is coming up.
Turn 6 exit I spin up the rear and it steps out and startles me a bit (maybe my rear was a bit past its prime? Hmm, only 4 races and and a few track weekends on it, should be still good , right?).
So I note I might be down on rear traction and get on with it.
Hyper is having her own race and I catch her on lap 5 towards the end of the front strait , should I go for the pass? "Negative ghost rider, do not engage!":gsxrgrl
I wait and go around her in two for a nice clean pass for both of us.
I have the track pretty much to my self for most of the race, only a few of the faster small bikes come around me and I only pass a few of the AFEM novices so I just concentrate on hitting my lines and working on my speed until the checkered flag .
I roll back into my pits and Dustin says " you got first in your class!":wow
Then I find out I was literally racing in class by my self..
The good news was I had a new personal best lap (in the 2:10's):thumbuparty
As I headed down to pick up my Trophy I heard a new version of Billy Idol singing in my head "Oh oh, Racing with a-myself,
"Oh, oh, racing with myself
Well, there's nothing to lose
And there's nothing to prove, well,
racing a-with myself"......:laughing
Thanks to Hyper, Tumbleweed and Dustin for all the support this year!
Next: Round 7!
DT

 

[MR662]

That’s awesome!!! I raced in 2005 a few races and crashed pretty good with a high side. Took a long break and returned in 2009. Got in 4 or 5 races and had a blast. Took an even longer break taking on dirt biking and supermoto along with career path change. Finally returned to AFM this year at Sonoma on an R3. I was smiling and giggling every lap of every race. Can’t wait for the last round and the start of the 2020 season.

With any racing I’ve done, you meet some of the greatest people. People will give you parts of there cars, bikes, whatever type of racing your doing to help you out. You need a ride to track, people will bend over to help you get there. It’s one of my happiest memories in life and road racing with the AFM in my opinion tops all the other forms of racing out there. See ya in a few weeks at Thill. :thumbup

 

[Maddevill]

I retired from racing in 2007 Still miss it. I may be looking at a track bike in the future.

Mad

 

[hypergirl]

First off, this is my first year (third round) I have participated in the AFM...

Some back story:
I have been riding for nearly 50 years, first dirt as a kid, then street starting in 1975.

Fast forward to meeting HyperGirl:love
Hyper sunk her teeth in to riding and eventually wanted to do track days with friends wave Tumbleweed and Dusty).
So..I did a few track days...just didn't get it...I felt lost, no trees , large rocks or guard rails for reference points . Not even a YY line for christ sake! How do I do this track thing?!
Well, sometimes I can be a bit slow to see past my perceptions.:x

Hyper suggested we get some track bikes ... Ok I said, maybe you should look at a sv650 I saw for sale on BARF, it looks to be nearly track ready for a great price!
"Nope, I want a R-3.." ok says I, go for it.
We found a low mile R-3 and on the way she asked what I liked about that sv (full disclosure, I had a 03 SV 1K when they first came out so I already had a soft spot for them). So I blathered on about why I thought it would be a good choice for the track.
We pick up her R3 north of Redding and on the way back she is on her phone texting away and I figure she is just chatting to friends about her new bike...nope, she is making arrangements and surprises me that she just secured that SV 650 I had been watching on BARF! :wow


Hyper confesses she would like to at least do one race and see what it's all about, would I like to join her?:wtf
OK, fine I said, let's do it!

Now, here I am 61 years old and three race weekends under my belt on my budget racer having a blast....and back to learning how to ride once again in a whole new way.

Ok, blah, blah, blah: ROUND 6!

I roll back into my pits and Dustin says " you got first in your class!":wow
Then I find out I was literally racing in class by my self..
The good news was I had a new personal best lap (in the 2:10's):thumbup
As I headed down to pick up my Trophy I heard a new version of Billy Idol singing in my head "Oh oh, Racing with a-myself,
"Oh, oh, racing with myself
Well, there's nothing to lose
And there's nothing to prove, well,
racing a-with myself"......:laughing
Thanks to Hyper, Tumbleweed and Dustin for all the support this year!
Next: Round 7!
DT

Awesome write-up! :thumbup Just the right amount of background info and mentions of your wife. :love Well done, sir arty

 

[MR662]

I retired from racing in 2007 Still miss it. I may be looking at a track bike in the future.

Mad

I don’t know what you raced in the past or what bikes you like riding, but I was always a liter bike guy because I liked the power and the speed, plus power made up for my lack of corner speed, but as Ive gotten older I want to slow down a bit and I never had the talent to run up front in Open Twins or Open Superbike.

Anyways, having raced a 636 and a 1098s, along with many GSXR 1k’s for track toys, I’ve never smiled as much as my return to racing on the R3 last month. Id highly recommend to anyone returning or wanting to start racing, grab a R3 for 300 class or Ninja 400 for 400 class. Cheap, low maintenance and great tire wear. The racing is really close and a blast. I’m on the little bike bandwagon now.

 

[trent]

I’ve never smiled as much as my return to racing on the R3 last month. Id highly recommend to anyone returning or wanting to start racing, grab a R3 for 300 class or Ninja 400 for 400 class. Cheap, low maintenance and great tire wear. The racing is really close and a blast. I’m on the little bike bandwagon now.

:thumbup

 

[Holeshot]

Next: Round 7!
DT

Great write up! 3 more weeks Duncan...

I retired from racing in 2007 Still miss it. I may be looking at a track bike in the future.

Mad

Yup...you should DO IT Steve! Duncan and I have proved out: old guys CAN ride bikes.

Awesome write-up! :thumbup Just the right amount of background info and mentions of your wife. :love Well done, sir arty

Missed seeing ya last weekend...see ya in 3 Sara!

 

[2wheelmaniac]

It is great to see you and Hypergirl getting after it on the race track! Nice race report too. I didn't know that the SV was a surprise. That makes it that much more awesome. Always great when the family and friends support and join in on the passion.
Jason