First Time on the Track

In Louisiana, February’s weather is a crapshoot. It can be warm and sunny. It can be cold. It can be cold and wet. It can be cold and over cast. On those rare occasions it can freeze (I’m looking at you 2018). You get the idea. On February 7, at 7:00 AM, it was cold (54F) and overcast. This would set the stage for my first time ever riding a motorcycle on a racetrack. 

I have been toying with the idea of spending a Sunday at NOLA Motorsports in Avondale, La. They are “the Gulf South’s Largest motorsport facility.” As part of their complex, they have a racetrack with 16 turns and stretches 2.75 miles. Since working at Moto Julia, several customers have encouraged me to try a day at the track. I genuinely enjoy talking with these customers and have been spending a lot of time thinking about it. However, my first (and strongest) worry is the fact that when I get into a hobby I do it to excess (not as bad as some other people, but bad). The next worry was renting all the equipment. Luckily all I really needed was a bike, as I could put together gear for the day. I did use this opportunity to buy the new Shoei RF-1400 (and that is a topic for a different day). I borrowed a track suit from Max Materne as he had several. Side note: his suits are pretty banged up (including one that had black duct tape holding the left leg together because he is a mad man. I used my Sidi Adventure Boots. One event worker noticed my boots and told me, “Wrong sport,” with a wry smile. Completing my mishmash ensemble were some Rev’it Cayenne Pro gloves.  

My third worry was the people putting on the event. You never know if an event planning group is going to have their stuff together, be ok at it, or be downright awful.  Let me put your mind at ease. This group led by John Cook was phenomenal. Track Day Winner is a great group from a customer perspective. Everything ran smoothly. There was consideration about riding levels and experience. They had coaches that led the groups. I felt safe and in good hands. 

Arriving at the track with Drew (I roped him in as a spectator to elicit a jealousy response and push him to join me as a rider at the next available opportunity [spoiler: my plan worked]), we checked in and John showed me the Yamaha R3 that I had rented for the day. It was taped up, lubed up, and ready to go (this is not entirely true, but I’ll explain this later). Waiting around, I could feel my excitement growing. Seeing the different riders, hearing the glorious sounds of motorcycles, I was elated. I had my gear, I had my bike, and now it was time to get on the track.

At 8:15AM, John held a safety meeting to discuss rules of the track and the different meanings of the flags they use, and how we communicate with them. Next, we broke into Advanced, Intermediate, and Novice groups to have our own light to more detailed meetings. In the novice group, we get more instructions on expectations, and we get broken down into three more groups. I was in group 3, the group that had the least experience on the track. Basically, the slowest of the slow. Each group would be led by a coach. You followed your coach. They were there to teach you the lines to take on the track. The first time out you followed him for the duration of your time. Subsequent runs, you follow for a few laps and have the option of taking off on your own. 

At 9:00AM, the track goes live. The first group are the advanced riders. These people have been spending hours, days, and years at the track. It was really cool to watch what we could. There were a couple of Ducati’s out there, especially a V4S with the termignoni exhaust and dry clutch that sounds beautiful- musical even. After twenty minutes, the intermediate people line up in their respective groups and have their turn. Each group gets about 20 minutes of time on the track. As the intermediate group begins their time, I get ready. 

The excitement is increasing. There is also a touch of fear. Geared up, I pick up my bike, and head to the staging area. I park amongst my other group 3 members. I see the flag notifying the intermediate to start heading off the track. My energy is building. I’m trying not to get too excited. Simmer down butterflies, simmer down. First group takes off. The other two groups move up. The second group takes off. We move up. I’m about to enter a different world. My adrenaline is starting to give me a little boost. The go signal is given. The coach takes off followed by two more people, the third person stalls, so I take off. I’m on the track.

I watch the coach. I see the first turn to the right. Turn 1 flashes by and immediately we are at turn 2 to the left. We go through it and head to the outside, slow down, and take a hard left at turn 3. I lean my little 300cc bike over, pushing the counter steering, and roll some throttle. Lean, lean. That was inten . . . We are on turn 4 to the right, and I’m looking through the turn. Focus. A short straight shot with standing water to our right. We hug the left and give it some throttle. Braking as we hit turn 5 to the right. We roll through to the outside and hit turn 6. Outside to inside to outside we are at turn 7. Let’s go! Giving it some gas we head down another straight to get to turn 8. We lean right. I try to keep conscious of my coach’s body movements- when he leans, the line he takes. Now we are in the ESSES. Turns 9, 10, 11, and 12. Left, right, left, right. We hit another spot to open the throttle. My heart is racing. STOP TENSING! Relax. We are at turn 13 to the right. Immediately we lean into a tight turn 14 to the left. Look through the turn. Counter steer. We are at turn 15 to the right in a blink of an eye. Hold the outside, and we finally hit turn 16 to the right. I did it! My first lap! Yep, I’m hooked. Now we can open it up on the straight to go back around again.

The twenty minutes zoom by, and we are flagged to come off the track. The cycle of advanced, intermediate, and novice continues. The novice riders get a lesson in body position from some coaches in between sessions. I found this to be very helpful in my coming laps around the track. I spent a little time off the coaches tail, but found that spending the majority of lapse behind him helped me ride better. Throughout the day he kept pushing me to ride harder in the turns. The day becomes beautiful. The overcast is gone. It warms up. I’m comfortable in my leather suit. This is glorious!

I did have one mishap after lunch. I was looking and noticed that I had the ‘E’ light blinking. I knew I was low on gas, but thought I could get another heat and then find John to top me off. When I got the bike from him he did say that there should be enough gas for the day. Waiting in line, I was a little nervous, but this is not my bike, and maybe I’ll be fine. I get through a couple of laps behind the coach. No problems. He waved me past and I took it on the long straight. I get through turn 12 and I start feeling a little lag. I gave the signal that I was heading off the track. I was just hoping to get to the pit entrance just before turn 15. Nope. It completely died just before turn 13. Fearing that I did not have enough momentum and not knowing who was behind me, I just rolled off to the right at turn 13. I was off the track. I sat and waited as they cleared the track and sent a truck to come and get me. One of the other riders told Drew that I had crashed. He was worried. It was cute. I was fine, just a little embarrassed. One of the coaches, Sal (who is also a customer), gave me some gas, and some advice. I was out in the next heat. 

Riding on a track is definitely a different experience than any other riding I have done. I had so much fun. I learned many new things about riding. I have already signed up for Sunday in May. I’m looking for my own suit, boots, and in the not too distant future, a track bike. I’m hooked and I’m ok with that.