1651 miles – track school at Thunderhill
First and foremost, my photos are here. Pictures of Kevict are here. These are all from day one and the first half of day two, which mean that the pictures of me were taken before I actually learned how to get off the bike. Cool pics nonetheless.
Now the lengthy part. In an effort to bolster my confidence as a rider, and to learn what a motorycycle feels like as it approaches its limits (and therefore how to avoid doing just that on the street) I went to a two-day novice rider school at Thunderhill. My goals were met: I am both more comfortable and more confident on the bike after having attended this school. Of course, I now have new goals; one of which is to attend as many motorcycle track events as time and budget allow. You see, I have been back from the event for a week now, but I haven’t yet had a night that wasn’t spent dreaming of the track. I am hooked. Credit card company executives the world over are chest-bumping with glee.
I focused most of my efforts on proper riding techniques and body position. Having driven cars at Thunderhill a number of times, I figured I would pick up on lines and reference points quickly, and could then focus on the more physical aspects of riding a motorcycle. In two days I went from grinding footpegs through many of the turns, to drifting the bike comfortably, using the throttle to alter my lines, and confidently hanging off enough to keep the pegs in the air and my knees on the ground.
Though I didn’t rent a lap timer, I was able to measure my times based on the session countdown timer at the starter’s tower. My lap times improved from roughly three minutes at the beginning of day one to about 2:20 at the end of day two. That’s what happens after 177 miles on a track. (That’s a lot of laps.) If I could enter my SV650 in a spec Miata race, I would have a chance at a top ten finish. That’s something. Something sad, I guess. Further schools will surely bring me to at least the levels of faster cars. I am not so proud as to think I could actually get good motorcycle times. Not soon at least.
As far as the Keigwin school goes, I can’t say enough good things about the school. The instruction was top-drawer, and the instructors were seemingly all actual racers. There was none of the “track day junkie” instructor garbage that you often receive at car events, in which each instructor only knows “the line” and can offer you nothing once you too have learned that there is no such thing as a good early apex. The instructors at Kegwin were happy to discuss alternate lines, and encouraged all of us to ride everywhere on the track, to gain experience in a wide line, or on the outside edge of the apex. Their theory is that it is good to know what the surface is like everywhere, because someday, you will screw up, or get passed, or push yourself, and you will end up in an unexpected place. Better to be as prepared as possible! I fully agree.
If you have read this far, you are likely skimming, looking to see if I fell. Well, I didn’t. Of the two categories of rider, those who have been down and those who soon will go down, I am still in the latter camp. I hope to keep it that way for some time. I think this school went a long way to helping me meet that goal.
I now have to buy new knee and toe sliders. And higher rearsets. And clip-on style bars. Oh God. I have been here before. Anyone want to buy a 1600-2?