Get the kids off to school, load the bike, pack the car (hopefully with everything you need) and getting on the road…a practice run of many days to come in the upcoming months. Checking the weather to determine if the takeoffs I just bought would be necessary for the day on the track, making the decision not to take the rain tires because it looks good, lesson learned. My new motto is take absolutely everything you think you need. Went to bed and woke up at the crack of dawn hoping that the sun would peek out only to have your heart drop when you open the curtains to see rain and only dark clouds looming. Plan on things not going smoothly and if they do then just smile, you are doing something right or you are lucky (as was in my case) of having a mentor that took you under his wing.

Upon driving up to the track, that moment of panic occurred, I don’t have an ez-up to pit under. I was fortunate to have Mark allow me to pit with him and Darryl, got there early enough to talk to the Dunlop guys, hearing you are about to drop $550 on rain tires because you made the mistake of not bringing the ones you had, but knowing that not doing it would kill the investment you just made on your bike. There really is so much to be done the minute you get on the track, then you wait and relax for the rider’s meeting and the ride around in the truck to get a first hand view of the track you are about to ride. There is excitement and fear that consumes you as you are listening intently to the driver and the lines he is suggesting you take as you learn the track. A moment of terror seizes you as you think, “OMG, what am I doing?” Then comes that moment when you hear the horn and it is your turn on the track, pulling the warmers off, heading to start/finish and your heart starts racing, remembering your “sissy laps” as your tires warm up and learning the lines of the track. After the first two laps, you speed up and then you realize why you are there, that peace that encompasses you as you ride, hearing the engine humming underneath you, the accomplishment you feel when your session is over and the encouragement of those around you.

It is a dangerous sport, there were many red flags and bikes picked up off the tracks that day, but it is only as dangerous as you make it. Ride within your limits, I rode with the knowledge that I did not know the track well, it was raining and it was the first time out on the tires I purchased, I just wanted to be smooth, I was only riding for myself and I had nothing to prove, but to ride. There were a lot of bad decisions made, some as simple as people riding on street tires, others were going way too fast, reading the lines incorrectly, oh s*#t moments, etc. What is your goal? Stick to it and don’t be influenced by the mentality of others out there with you, there will always be someone faster than you and unless you are in the top 10 and chasing them, ride your own ride. The sense of accomplishment you feel will be enough to bring you back. Ride on Vixens!