Went to Pacific Raceway yesterday for an Advanced Street Skills course. It was great! I even learned a few things: The Guzzi can lean waaaay over and not drag things. At least it seamed like it was way over and I didn't hear anything drag. I should probably check the pegs because I wore ear plugs most of the day. The track surface was not near as smooth I expected. It was very like a moderately old black top road. But in a way that added to the realism the training. I now understand why TJ likes track days so much. It is really quite different on a track. You only have to think about getting around the curve. In the course, since it was focused on cornering, there was no passing in the corners. So it was even better in that respect. I am not the slowest thing on the road but close. I think I only passed someone 3-4 times all day. But I wasn't there for the speed. But now I know I can do corners faster than I am comfortable doing them.
There were about 60 riders, a couple of dozen instructors. They split us into three groups so we had 20 minutes of classroom instruction, 20 minutes on the track and a 20 minute break every hour. I manged to go 64 miles on the track in that time. There was quite a mix of bikes; probably a dozen Harleys, a couple of them were full dressers, a lot of BMWs, and mix of the other brands but only one Moto Guzzi. The bikes were mostly sport touring style.
There was a photographer there taking pictures. At some point the pictures are going to be on their web site and I assume I can buy some. I will post some and or the link when I find them.
It was great. I really think I may do it again. I still don't think I want to do the kind of track days that TJ does but I understand why he does them. If you get a chance to do a course like this do it. Its worth it just for the track time.
Heres the place that put it on http://www.pugetsoundsafety.com
2 comments:
Glad you had a good time.
If you had dragged anything metal you would have felt it and heard it. Earplugs or not. You should check your tires to see how close to the edges you've gotten. (I forgot to mention marking them with chalk at the beginning of the day. It's an easy way to gauge lean.)
Hurray for Ray! More details would be nice, like what did you learn? I get that riding on the track would be great experience, but what of what you learned is applicable to the street? Further more, what did the full dress Harley riders learn that would translate to the street? Also, did anybody exceed their traction limit and crash?
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