Re: [ST] I think I'm done... long,

[Matt Knowles <matt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Jun 19, 2006, at 6:54 AM, John Ulizzi wrote:

> And
> you have assholes on the track as well. There is
> always gonna be a Johnny racer who is mixing it up
> with one of his buddies and you happen to be in his
> way.

My one and only crash during my short two season racing career came 
during my first lap with my brand new GS550ES that I bought for a track 
bike. During  a WARM UP lap for PRACTICE, some bozo went directly into 
race mode and passed me in the inside of the carousel at Sears Point. 
Maybe he didn't understand what the big yellow square on my leathers 
meant, but being a rookie on a brand new bike taking it for it's first 
lap, having someone's knee right next to mine while leaning through a 
curve un-nerved me enough that I totally lost concentration and ended 
up running the bike off the apron. As I found out, the GS550ES didn't 
make a very good dirt bike and I went down in the dirt at about 40mph. 
No harm to me other than a bruised hip, and only some minor scuffing on 
the bike's fairing. Still it was the worst injury I've had in 27 years 
of riding motorcycles and it really sucked that it happened to a brand 
new bike.

I also found that starting in the back of a 60 bike field will open 
your eyes. Every race there always seemed to be one or two bozos up 
front that would almost lose it doing wheelies off of the line.

I found track days to be a much safer way to enjoy the benefits of a 
race track because it's much easier to ride your own pace and not get 
caught up in the competition aspect. Also passing is using limited to 
the outside.

One other option on the "I think I'm done..." choice is to get out of 
the rat race and move to somewhere where life moves a lot slower, not 
just the traffic. Maybe not everyone has this option, but I'm sure glad 
I did. The last few years I was living in San Jose it was getting to be 
a pretty regular experience dodging and avoiding distracted cell phone 
drivers. Now my commute is .5 mile so I walk to work when I can, and my 
riding is out in the country on weekends.

Matt Knowles - Ferndale, CA - 
http://www.knowlesville.com/matt/motorcycles
  '99 Sprint ST - for going fast and far (2CZUSA)
  '01 KLR650 (A15) - for exploring the North Coast backroads
  '97 KLX300 & '01 Lakota - for playing in the dirt
  '79 KZ400 - just because it was the first vehicle I ever owned

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