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Two weekends ago, I returned to the track with a big whimper. It is not that my ego is not wanting to return with a big bang, but I had a goal to get into a grove with my new bike and not be all twisted up to accomplish something.

As you all know I have a new race bike and I have spent way too much money on it. But that is a good thing, as the US Economy needs my money more than I do. So after almost as much preparation as a space shuttle launch, I headed out for my latest track day.

On a cool (45degrees that is) February 11^th morning, I found myself crossing the entrance to Firebird East, and Phoenix International Raceway. This was the first time I have been on this track and to be honest, I was not all that impressed. The track is flatter than Kansas and the way into the pit entrance is across the feeking track. Ok, I know I am racing low class, but can’t we have a pit outside of the center of the track?

Rolling in at near dawn, the forces of evil had overtaken the whole pit road. After what seemed like a drive way to long, we found a spot at the very end of pit road. While this is not fun for running down to tech inspection, it turned out to be a great benefit, as my space was one of the first spaces and it was a straight drive in.

After a riders meeting suggesting that everyone be careful, I lined up last for the 1^st Intermediate rider session. I decided that I wanted to avoid the “Racing” aspect of my first track day back from my crash. I wanted to just get used to my new ride and focus on riding and not trying to catch people. With my last place start, I figured not to pass a single person and might not have a whole team of crazy riders passing me 6 wide into a turn.

My first laps were very slow and careful, as the track temperature was very cold and my ego was just as cold. The bike worked well and I really just went out and kinda lapped around the track and got an idea where I should be going.

As the day went on, I increased my pace and was faced with the fact that my speed was increasing very quickly. Each new session I had to find new shift points and braking markers. What was first and 2^nd gear track, was quickly becoming and 3^rd and 4^th gear track. The learning curve was steep and I was struggling to change as my ego would allow me to go faster.

At the beginning of my 5^th session, the bike was hard to start. So after a good 5^th session I pulled into the pits and turned the bike off. I turned it back on and the bike refused to even turn over. I did a few things, but in the end my track day was over. It’s a good thing as I was comfortable just packing up the bike and going home. I own this thing now and I have more track days available to go riding at. I need to check my ego and focus on just getting into my groove.

In the end I got to ride my beast and realize it’s really fast. Fast in a scary way, but good because it allows me to avoid being passed on the straightaway. The power is their but it is not too wild and I just could not imagine a 1000cc bike with 165hp on tap.

I had a good time and did not crash. That is good on many fronts, including the wife who is approving all this spending of money on a crazy hobby.

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