July Role Call

[WillK675]

I'll see what I can do about getting some space under the canopy friday night.

[WillK675]

I'll see what I can do. No garauntees.

[Firewa11]

Couple of laps out at Cresson (1.7 mile). For those that haven't seen it. This was back in '07, with myself, Matt, Chris, and Jeff out having fun.

[fixxervi6]

I'm not looking forward to the direction, actually a little nervous about it.

[Firewa11]

It's not my favorite direction, but it's not too bad. There are some key locations to be aware of... corners you are familiar with in the CCW direction, that in one direction are increasing-radius turns, are now diminishing-radius turns. Since they tighten up, just be aware... see the image below. I put red X's in those particular locations to be aware of.

Big bend(1) tightens up now, so you can't open it up as quickly as you could going the other way. The big back corner (2,3,4) is one that starts out fast and you have to reduce speed by turn 4, where in CCW you basically got on the throttle after 4 and kept opening up it up all the way through the straight leading to big bend.

Another spot to keep in mind is 5 (I forget the name), as that is usually a pretty bumpy section, especially going CW. You hit the bumps right at the apex... just something to be aware of. Little bend (6) is a bit faster going CW, and is cambered similar to big bend, so it was pretty easy to open up into the straight before Ricochet (7). Now, this was a tricky bit going this way. CCW, you come out of Ricochet hauling @ss, into the straight to little bend. Now, it's a blind up-hill corner, where you've got to get on the brakes sooner than you might think before going into Wagon Wheel (8).

Wagon Wheel is the tightest corner on the track going this direction in IMHO. This direction is where I learned braking deep into a corner by necessity. It can sneak up on you, because it seems like a nice smooth corner, then when you get to the back side it's suddenly very tight.... going into Rattlesnake(9). Now I actually prefer Rattlesnake this direction, because it's less 'blind' than the CCW direction.

Just take it easy, pay attention in the round-robin, and trust your insticts. And stay hydrated and cool, that's the most important thing.

[Firewa11]

Oh, one other point... I've seen people go down on pit road getting onto the track in this direction. They leave the staging area all excited, get on the gas, then realize too late there's a sharp 90' turn to get onto the track. Just one other thing to keep in mind.

[El Diabro]

Okay, I'm either a nutcase, or just love the challenge, but Dave convinced me to run the 1.3 on Sunday, so I guess I'll be at Cresson this weekend after all

[DarcShadow]

Sweet! I won't be out on my own!

On 1.7 CW, one other thing to make note of is on the left side of the track entering Big Bend, ie the braking zone, there are some pretty bad bumps that if you're not ready for them, or the suspension isn't setup can cause you some serious pucker moments.

[El Diabro]

Sweet! I won't be out on my own!

On 1.7 CW, one other thing to make note of is on the left side of the track entering Big Bend, ie the braking zone, there are some pretty bad bumps that if you're not ready for them, or the suspension isn't setup can cause you some serious pucker moments.

yeah, but I'll be in Lvl 1 and you'll be in 2.....but at least i'll have you there for advice

[dufremle]

After a long, hard day watching people on track, time for a cold one!

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[Telomere]

Nice one!! Fixxer has already cracked open a Woodchuck

[fixxervi6]

One down...

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[Striple]

We just got back in from another amazing track day. The heat index was 107° F, so most of us were taking it easy and not pushing it too hard. Thumbs up to Nick for completing his first track day! Congrats to Rich for winning the smoothest rider award in level one! Welcome back to Don for getting on the track!

And, as always, thanks to Grinner & Ann for letting us crash at the tree house. It is greatly appreciated!

Good riding, good friends, and lots of jokes - CloudyPants and myself had an excellent time!

[Rhino]

I'll be cracking a Woodchuck just as soon as I finish my ice cream.

Firewa11, your advice was really spot-on for the 1.7 running CW. I'd prefer to run it CCW, but once you get the hang of it, it's really not bad. Definitely makes you practice keeping a cool head and not running too fast, there's a lot of turns this direction that you can take too hot.

And congrats to NickS for popping his trackday cherry. And sorry I couldn't stay slower than you.

[fixxervi6]

I'll be cracking a Woodchuck just as soon as I finish my ice cream.

Firewa11, your advice was really spot-on for the 1.7 running CW. I'd prefer to run it CCW, but once you get the hang of it, it's really not bad. Definitely makes you practice keeping a cool head and not running too fast, there's a lot of turns this direction that you can take too hot.

And congrats to NickS for popping his trackday cherry. And sorry I couldn't stay slower than you.

I prefer CCW by FAR for this track, but running CW did teach me something, I did leave the track riding better than when I first arrived. Maybe if it wasn't so damn hot CW would have been more enjoyable. You know its damn hot when you have to pull off the track because your feet are getting roasted so bad that its distracting.

[Telomere]

I did leave the track riding better than when I first arrived. Maybe if it wasn't so damn hot CW would have been more enjoyable. You know its damn hot when you have to pull off the track because your feet are getting roasted so bad that its distracting.

Just be glad it wasn't your nuts roasting

[fixxervi6]

And congrats to NickS for popping his trackday cherry. And sorry I couldn't stay slower than you.

[Striple]

Now we just need to pop 12 Miles' little cherry.

[Telomere]

Now we just need to pop 12 Miles' little cherry.

We? I just got a vivid nasty image in my head. Thanks

[DemonDuck]

Fixer did you have the new vest on?

[Striple]

Now we just need to pop 12 Miles' little cherry.

We? I just got a vivid nasty image in my head. Thanks

Its a group effort.

Fixer did you have the new vest on?

Three of us wore them in the paddocks in between sessions, and they worked pretty well there.

[DemonDuck]

Wow a group effort. Not sure I wanna join in on that one.

[fixxervi6]

Fixer did you have the new vest on?

What striple said, fancy vest off track evap on track, pleased with its performance.

[NickS]

*sorry so many words, I am still processing the day...


Yep, today was a blast! Riding on the track is awesome. If I can have that much fun going the more challenging direction, in considerable heat, as a newb, including an off road adventure....
...well, I'm excited to think it can get even more fun.

From an educational perspective, I found being able to hit the same turns while they were still fresh in my mind gave a good opportunity to recalibrate a bit each time, turning each corner in to a little experiment involving minor tweaks. Of course, not all my experiments were a success. Early in our first real session, I picked a bad place to try and make a pass, entered a turn going too fast and ran off and dropped the bike. Embarrassing, but educational. Lessons learned the hard way tend to sink in the most.

Of course, the very next classroom session focused on passing and drove the points home. We ran another session and I felt there was room for improvent in the suspension department. Roger did my suspension and by golly, made some pretty radical changes from what I had.

Running the next session with adjusted suspenders was a revelation, but I took his advice and brought it back after the session and he tweaked it again while it was hot. Sadly, I only ran this setup for the very brief last session, but what a difference.

Thanks to the entire club for really improving every aspect of the experience, and special props to Grinner and Ann for hosting us and taping the bike up. Shout out to the ladies of the club for holding the fort down and being good sports in the heat.

The addiction sets in as you realize you won't be able to apply some of what you learned until next time....and there WILL BE a next time.

[Rhino]

The addiction sets in as you realize you won't be able to apply some of what you learned until next time....and there WILL BE a next time.

Yeah, that's really the tough part. Especially since you can't do the same track back-to-back in any kind of short timeframe. The biggest challenge for me has been that every track day I've been to so far I've had to spend a lot of time learning the track before I can really start tweaking skills. I'm pretty sure I'm never destined to be a racer--I learn tracks *way* too slow.