Tumbleweed
rollin' right along.....
Our racing adventures this round started abruptly when our buddies DTRides and Hypergirl had some impressive tire issues, resulting in us departing early with 4-new tires for them, jamming a floor jack and other axle holdy-up thingys in with all the rest of the bikes and gear and meeting them at the Redding Costco. A private parking lot tire replacement party ensued…compete with cocktails 
arty
Round three is round one, since we haven’t started racing at BW yet. This was also only my second round on the 450. I was well aware of the multitude of goofy non-450 things I was still doing on the track, and knew I still had many habits from the 600 to ditch :rolleyes. My main goals were to focus on the whole “waaaaay less braking” thing and to be “less lame” in T3 and T14.
Saturday practice for me has always been amusing. I **might** be faster if I went backwards. It used to really cause me stress looking at my very slow practice times, knowing part of it was the traffic in Group 2 (or previously Group 1), part of it was my "unrace mode," and also knowing that I can’t graduate outta Group 2 unless I have better times….round and round it used to go in my brain. I think two years ago is when we just figured out that (at least currently), practice isn’t my thing. I have tried to be the person I am when I am racing, but that chick is crazy and brave... practice Chris is mellow and just happy to be on track, unaggressively pitter-pattering along :ride. Needless to say my practice times (2:25 +/-) were what they were and I knew I’d be faster once gridded up.
Saturday's race was F40LT - Race Two – the “impressive, there are 71 bikes out here, lets all keep our shit together” grid. This particular grid was the one that generated much chatter (on BARF and elsewhere) due to it’s previous five-wave launch. THANKFULLY that was switched up into a four-wave launch. I had really no idea what the “crazy brave chick” would be able to pull off for lap times, and my class was tiny (4). I decided it would be nice if I could finish “not-last” and made that my only goal (the prior goal of being less-lame in T3 and T14 was flung rapidly out the window). I did get a better start than I have been….meaning I didn’t stall, start in neutral, start in third, and I even remembered to shift several times before T1…. improvement!! After my “hey!!! I’m rather impressed with myself” start, I managed to grab onto and hang onto 3rd with a 2:17…essentially dumping 10-seconds off my practice times. (Ya’ll can save your “you should try to practice closer to your race pace,” cuz I’ve heard that a zillion times.). A 2:17 meant I was at least matching the last round I did on the 450 – could be worse!
That evening, Mechanicrazy bee-bopped into our pits and introduced himself :wave – totally awesome chatting with him and listening to his struggles moving up from a 300 to a 450 in comparison with my challenges moving down from a 600. We share a similar attitude of (in his words) “just keep chipping away” at the lap times while wishing the gains were happening faster.
First race on Sunday for me was Race 6, 450SB, again with a grid of 4. I had done my homework, and was aware that in all likelihood I was going to be out-paced by quite a bit. I decided I would hang on to Mechanicrazy’s tail as long as I could, then work on my earlier goal of being less-lame in T3 and T14. While this created some less-bueno lap times (due to my ineffective less-lameness :facepalm ), it was infinitely helpful to be working on these items at more of a “race” pace. I finished with a best lap of 2:16, and was actually happy that I had executed my plan.
Final race was Race 11, 450SS. Again, a grid of 4. Again I did my homework regarding my gridmates. I decided that if I got the best start in my whole-ever-entire-life, that might give me fighting chance. I also decided that I was “just going to bomb” through T3 and “stay off the GD brakes.” I did have my best start, ever, ever. I was up next to a bunch of dudes with white plates for a bit, then I think me yelling “HOLY CRAP!!” in my helmet slowed me down a bit, and by the end of lap one I was in third, and determined to stay there. Yelling “NO BRAKES” in spots and “JUST F’ING GO” in my favorite T3 and T14 helped a wee bit, and I finished with a best lap of 2:15 and a hoarse voice.:teeth
The very best parts of the weekend were helping my friends, DTRides and Hypergirl with their first races. We have been with them along their journey to AFM, and have pushed and nudged and been their constant cheerleaders along the way. To see them accomplish their goals was FAR AND ABOVE the best part of the weekend. Sunday we also had the pleasure of sharing the whole day with family that made the trek over.
Over the course of our travels that weekend, we noticed my doggy Dax seemed not-quite-himself, but weren’t terribly worried because he has always been less-than-thrilled about the heat. He is a coastal doggy through and through. He spent the weekend in the trailer with the AC running full blast. He loves going to the track and hanging with his peeps – his uncle DTRides always has special treats for him. Dax is the nice mellow one, while his 2-yr old sister barks her head off at nearly everyone. He was the debit to our credit (accounting joke, sorry), the yin to our yang. Once we got home, he did not improve with the decreased temps and with the familiarity of home…to the vet we went.
My gloriously happy race weekend was sharply brought to a hault when I had to say goodbye to a creature that has been in my life longer than nearly everyone I know. For many years he was all I had, my buddy, my rock. Forever grateful that I got to spend one more weekend at the track with him, and even more grateful for the people in my life that I consider my family and my friends that have helped me be brave when I didn’t think I could – the ones that have quietly pulled me into their arms for a big hug and silently handed me tissues when my eyes just won’t stop leaking.
This weekend my heart was filled by being the brave chick going faster than she dares on the racetrack. My heart was filled more by sharing the fun of racing with my dearest friends and my family. This very same weekend my heart was broken completely with the loss of Dax.
This weekend put into perspective all that is truly wonderful in my life, and reminded me to treasure every single moment.
Go and do.
artyRound three is round one, since we haven’t started racing at BW yet. This was also only my second round on the 450. I was well aware of the multitude of goofy non-450 things I was still doing on the track, and knew I still had many habits from the 600 to ditch :rolleyes. My main goals were to focus on the whole “waaaaay less braking” thing and to be “less lame” in T3 and T14.
Saturday practice for me has always been amusing. I **might** be faster if I went backwards. It used to really cause me stress looking at my very slow practice times, knowing part of it was the traffic in Group 2 (or previously Group 1), part of it was my "unrace mode," and also knowing that I can’t graduate outta Group 2 unless I have better times….round and round it used to go in my brain. I think two years ago is when we just figured out that (at least currently), practice isn’t my thing. I have tried to be the person I am when I am racing, but that chick is crazy and brave... practice Chris is mellow and just happy to be on track, unaggressively pitter-pattering along :ride. Needless to say my practice times (2:25 +/-) were what they were and I knew I’d be faster once gridded up.
Saturday's race was F40LT - Race Two – the “impressive, there are 71 bikes out here, lets all keep our shit together” grid. This particular grid was the one that generated much chatter (on BARF and elsewhere) due to it’s previous five-wave launch. THANKFULLY that was switched up into a four-wave launch. I had really no idea what the “crazy brave chick” would be able to pull off for lap times, and my class was tiny (4). I decided it would be nice if I could finish “not-last” and made that my only goal (the prior goal of being less-lame in T3 and T14 was flung rapidly out the window). I did get a better start than I have been….meaning I didn’t stall, start in neutral, start in third, and I even remembered to shift several times before T1…. improvement!! After my “hey!!! I’m rather impressed with myself” start, I managed to grab onto and hang onto 3rd with a 2:17…essentially dumping 10-seconds off my practice times. (Ya’ll can save your “you should try to practice closer to your race pace,” cuz I’ve heard that a zillion times.). A 2:17 meant I was at least matching the last round I did on the 450 – could be worse!
That evening, Mechanicrazy bee-bopped into our pits and introduced himself :wave – totally awesome chatting with him and listening to his struggles moving up from a 300 to a 450 in comparison with my challenges moving down from a 600. We share a similar attitude of (in his words) “just keep chipping away” at the lap times while wishing the gains were happening faster.
First race on Sunday for me was Race 6, 450SB, again with a grid of 4. I had done my homework, and was aware that in all likelihood I was going to be out-paced by quite a bit. I decided I would hang on to Mechanicrazy’s tail as long as I could, then work on my earlier goal of being less-lame in T3 and T14. While this created some less-bueno lap times (due to my ineffective less-lameness :facepalm ), it was infinitely helpful to be working on these items at more of a “race” pace. I finished with a best lap of 2:16, and was actually happy that I had executed my plan.
Final race was Race 11, 450SS. Again, a grid of 4. Again I did my homework regarding my gridmates. I decided that if I got the best start in my whole-ever-entire-life, that might give me fighting chance. I also decided that I was “just going to bomb” through T3 and “stay off the GD brakes.” I did have my best start, ever, ever. I was up next to a bunch of dudes with white plates for a bit, then I think me yelling “HOLY CRAP!!” in my helmet slowed me down a bit, and by the end of lap one I was in third, and determined to stay there. Yelling “NO BRAKES” in spots and “JUST F’ING GO” in my favorite T3 and T14 helped a wee bit, and I finished with a best lap of 2:15 and a hoarse voice.:teeth
The very best parts of the weekend were helping my friends, DTRides and Hypergirl with their first races. We have been with them along their journey to AFM, and have pushed and nudged and been their constant cheerleaders along the way. To see them accomplish their goals was FAR AND ABOVE the best part of the weekend. Sunday we also had the pleasure of sharing the whole day with family that made the trek over.
Over the course of our travels that weekend, we noticed my doggy Dax seemed not-quite-himself, but weren’t terribly worried because he has always been less-than-thrilled about the heat. He is a coastal doggy through and through. He spent the weekend in the trailer with the AC running full blast. He loves going to the track and hanging with his peeps – his uncle DTRides always has special treats for him. Dax is the nice mellow one, while his 2-yr old sister barks her head off at nearly everyone. He was the debit to our credit (accounting joke, sorry), the yin to our yang. Once we got home, he did not improve with the decreased temps and with the familiarity of home…to the vet we went.
My gloriously happy race weekend was sharply brought to a hault when I had to say goodbye to a creature that has been in my life longer than nearly everyone I know. For many years he was all I had, my buddy, my rock. Forever grateful that I got to spend one more weekend at the track with him, and even more grateful for the people in my life that I consider my family and my friends that have helped me be brave when I didn’t think I could – the ones that have quietly pulled me into their arms for a big hug and silently handed me tissues when my eyes just won’t stop leaking.
This weekend my heart was filled by being the brave chick going faster than she dares on the racetrack. My heart was filled more by sharing the fun of racing with my dearest friends and my family. This very same weekend my heart was broken completely with the loss of Dax.
This weekend put into perspective all that is truly wonderful in my life, and reminded me to treasure every single moment.
Go and do.
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