Jennings Track Weekend 10/25-26 *56K Beware*
 

Went out this past weekend, had a killer time as usual. Saw marked improvement in myself, to the point of noticeably better technique (form), much better lines and a drastically reduced lap time. Went out to have fun and learned and practiced alot!! Overall, with a group of 15 strong, we only had one major oops, riders ok, and thankfully has planty of spare parts to repair!!

*Most Interesting Highlights*

Learned what "they" mean when they tell you that knee out can save your bacon, sure saved mine in 9. Used my leg down to keep the bike up, a few times, and talk about INTENSE! Scraped off puck plastic, lil bit of leather, and some velcro. Dont recommend, but fun nonetheless! :wink:

Somehow managed to scrape my tail section in 10, without feeling any impact, heard the grinding, no knee down (was having issue with unconsciously tucking), and didnt crash. As yet, still unexplained. :lol: I'm special like that!

For those camera buffs, here's some shots I took this weekend (not of myself obviously), and had a blast and got some great practice with my new (Ebbs old) camera. Hoping to get really good so friends dont have to pay out the ying yang for track shots! Got some mediocre, and then some really good IMO pics...

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...r/SBP_5505.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...r/SBP_5790.jpg

Ybslow...she can post more pics if she wants...she did great this weekend!
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...stShots389.jpg

FirstCherokeeKid Tearing things up on her GSXR, still adjusting to the change from the RC51, but talk about the most beautiful lines!
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...stShots580.jpg

Big brother NYRican on his Aprilia...
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...stShots871.jpg

Me chasing him down...
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...stShots604.jpg

Buddy of mine killing it on the RC...
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...stShots832.jpg

His REAL ride! :lol:
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...stShots735.jpg

The Stig in all his glory...
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...stShots434.jpg

More pics...

Fiddy Race, this ws some FUNNY stuff!! Btw the guys cutting across and cheating and the lil tiny pocketbikes trying to keep up, it was good stuff. They also let my nephew on the track with his, his very first experience on the track!!
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...stShots631.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...stShots636.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...stShots653.jpg

My buddy JS
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...stShots438.jpg

The Stig and JS pitting after a Duc wrecked
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...stShots539.jpg

The Duc that wrecked, mostly back together and back out the next day!
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...stShots034.jpg

Duc Dave on his Kawi, guy has an INCREDIBLE life story...31 yo with over 70 broken bones, and ppl call ME crazy!
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...stShots104.jpg

JC our sponsor for the event, and as a CR he is allowed to look behind him!
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...stShots256.jpg

Probably my fave shot I took this weekend, theres just something about it, have no idea who the guy is, but he makes a great model!
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...stShots393.jpg

This guy is LITERALLY #1 in either WERA or CCS, cant remember which or his name, but a GREAT rider. Also had Rob McClendon, the Triumph rider out of Pcola you may have seen in the Daytona 200 and a few other races, but no pics of him...
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...stShots428.jpg

The Sarge and Duc Dave, aww how cute!
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...stShots914.jpg

Practice Start expert guys...
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...stShots768.jpg

Nice Pics! Glad you didn't lowside! Your body position is looking better! :dthumb:

Was Duc Dave from Atlanta? I think he used to live here in Jax and I used to ride with him.

Awesome report Chi! Glad you had fun...I am sooooo jealous of your track time. Thanks for sharing the pics!

Yep, he is one and the same. Guy is a total trip! :lol:

Holy crap, here's a killer shot a new friend of mine took, hopfully he'll stop by the forum, I was picking his brains for camera advice and help. He took this in the afternoon of Sunday, after the photog quit taking pics, you can see the difference in the confidence and positioning in the afternoon sessions. For some reason the photogs always quit before everyone gets really warmed up...:idk:

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n..._1280_0011.jpg

rae>drewpy

youll be poof to me next year

Oh yeah, he is a trip and a half, I wish I had known he was going to be at JGP, I would have rode up, I haven't seen him in more than a year.

Nah, I still get owned on the street, I just dont see the point in taking chances. Im a helluva lot faster than I used to be, but track and street are 2 different animals! Now, come play at the track with me and we can have some real fun! Jenna has to come too tho! Her new baby is a track beast!

You should have!! :lol: Come see a guy and not me, jeez! J/K He was super cool as were many of the new people I met this time around! His stories about the patches on his leathers were both funny and terrifying!

I'm the same way, I'm a chicken on the street now.

Um, yeah, I meant so I could finally meet "the Chi" :lol: You always meet the best people at the track! Did he tell you the story of the Pepsi Can on gate parkway? Or Ed getting pulled over on his racebike?

Hey all, it was nice to meet the Baskin Robbins Racing team. :)

He was one of my favorites as well.

http://optimus.incorrect.org/images/...26_800_005.JPG

He looks good off the crash truck too.

http://optimus.incorrect.org/images/...26_800_014.JPG

Rae you and the infamous assh*le were doing great!! I was soooooo proud of you guys. You guys were just getting better and better. I just cant wait till we go back...............:rockout:

Im already dying to get back, why even take my plastics off right?! :lol: You get my text message?

And thanks, alot of that is due to you!!

No he didnt, just the volvo, truck and foot in facemask episode!! YIKES!

SWEET!! This is Matt I presume?

Gawd I want to be as good as you with my camera! GREAT pics!

Rae what was Ebbs Old Rig???

You just gotta go out there and practice...Learn the Aperature/Shutter Speeds/ISO and Panning...Obviusly shooting a Moving Bike is gonna be tougher than Still photography.

Great pics! Looks like you had a blast. I wonder how long it will take me to get my track confidence back up after I finally break down and buy a bike.

Ebbs old camera, the rebel 350 with a 70-300mm lens. I fell in love with it at Indy and I am buying it from him. Got "Sanchez" if its who I think it is, to hook up the settings, played with alot of different features and settings this weekend, but this is the first time Ive taken the camera out to really play with it...Im pretty pleased with my medipcre results, I can only get better now!

I was just wondering if that's who she meant!! WOW, there's a name from the past... Gotta love that loony guy. :lol:

:rofl: All I can think is "giggity, giggity!!!"

Got ya.

Well They say Practice Makes perfect!!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Yeah, I remember that.

Oh hell yeah.

it's a XT not a 350... not sure the difference though.

Pics look good... glad ya got a real photographer to help ya with settings and what not... I'll be asking you advice when i get down there :lol: if not before

You look good there Rae!

Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe. Ok, yes.

Just keep shooting. I dunno how many motorcycle shots I've taken, but it's in the 10's of thousands, and I still learn new things all the time. Oh, and prepare to be poor because good lenses are expensive, and you WILL want one ... or two or three. :D

:lol: yup... sorry rae... but you've just got addicted to a hobby that's ALMOST as expensive as riding.



One thing you can look into though... is RENTING lenses for your track day... rent a 400mm L lens for the weekend... the onlything is then your limited by the XT...

Very nice. Only if I was single and living in Florida...

and Rae was single :lol:

Rae, that looks nice and smooth. Sounds like you've been going strong since Little Tally. The bike looks awesome too.

Hahaha...I think its a safe bet Photography is probably MORE Expensive than Track days.

I miss you guys, looks like a BLAST. I'm glad you had fun, and you're looking even better than before.

I'll have to find a ride and tear it up the next time Im in the states. And don't count on me getting any better while I'm out here, I'll be lucky to just be able to ride.

no... no way. you don't have to spend 250+ every three or four trips... even the initial cost is less... unless your going with professional shit

The photography stuff seems more expensive because you have to spend cash in large chunks. E.g. I have two lenses that each cost me about $1200, and I've never spent $1200 on any one part for my track bike. All told, I "only" have around $4k in my camera gear, though, and that wouldn't even cover the cost of the bike itself.

Thanks Dlit, very sweet of you.

Awesome, appreciate the compliment Dim, I've been working hard, and not planning on slacking off now. Got those plastics on like nobodys business, ghetto style, everything zip tied together! Didnt really notice a difference btw that and running nekked tho. :idk: Either or works for me!

And I have to go with Ebbs and Sanchez on this one...$300 for a weekend at the track, plus hotel costs at around $75-150, plus tires $300 +/-, plus gas for the bikes and trip out there at least $100 usually more...and then repeat every couple months, PLUS the initial costs of plastics, spare rims if you can afford them (which i need if anyone wants to sell some cheap!), the list goes on and on...

my camera aint got nothing on the several thousands Ive already spent on track days and the money I know I will be spending in the future! :lol:

Is it riding/track season year-round in Florida?

Pretty much, riding season moreso than track season. But it does get pretty cold at 70mph at 3am in January in the panhandle, but you can still ride (I know 'cause I've done it, with no windscreen, on a cruiser). Southern Florida, you can ride all year long with nothing more than a mesh jacket. Sorry for stealing your thunder Rae.

Yeah, they do track days in January and February I know at Jennings as well as all the warmer months. Supposedly the winter ones are pretty awesome, but I cant stand even being chilled and without tire warmers, Im not up for it...

Yep, it's all good, you covered it! :dthumb:

She's not single!!!! http://www.floridasportbikers.com/im..._overreact.gif

You're welcome. And I can agree with the camera equipment but don't forget to add all the editing software.
I am going to try making it to a JGP track day in January. But I am probably going to find some sticky takeoffs and borrow some tire warmers for the track day.

Nice pics rae, you're getting much better!

That 848 is nasty.

And yes, I also dislike how the photogs get tons of shots of you in the morning when you're still trying to get back up to your old pace...

Awesome pictures. I really need to get into this track day stuff, but I fear I will get instantly hooked. I can't accept that but I would rather have the funds first. :rockwoot:

Not to mention the track was wet in the morning. Saturday was my first time back at Jennings since I broke my collar bone there in April, and it was my first time riding a wet track as well. My best lap the first session was a 1:58. :lol:

I understand why the track photographer operates that way because trying to make money any other way is an exercise in frustration. In order to sell shots, you have to sort them out and have them ready to burn by the time the riders get off the track. Still, it irritates me that he only got one freaking shot of me with my knee down after the sun came up. :rolleyes: I need more photographer friends. :)

Winter Trackdays rock! When else can you have a snowball fight in the morning and drag knee a few hours later! :lol:

There's nothing like seeing the mist rising off the ponds in the infield while listening to race engine's warming up!

Hey Dim, if you need 'em I have a set of Tire Warmers you can barrow! :dthumb: They're standard single temp chickenhawks.

Riding in the cold is OK. It's camping in the cold that I hate! It got down to 28 degrees at Little Talladega in February this year. We kept tripping the breaker on the generator with our heaters, and no one wanted to go outside and reset it.

Yeah, I like to do it up right! I have a little pop-up camper that I set-up, it's got a nice heater, a/c, the whole 9 yards.

Hmmm, I am interested in doing a January Track day, if anything, juct to check out the cooler temps...maybe I'll see you there, keep me posted if you hear of anything going on that might be fun!! But not camping. Screw that. Hotel, nice shower, space heater under tent. I am cold blooded and dont need any more ice in my veins! :wink:

Sanchez, I'm working on it!! We did get some video of you!! Passing in 11 going into 12 & 13...Hopefully when we meet again I can help with the pictures issue! :dthumb:

Look'n good Rae! :dthumb:

Will do!

Well, I wouldn't describe the Scottish Inn as "nice," haha! The one and only time I stayed there, I found a huge roach waiting in the bathroom to greet me. I hear they remodeled it, though, so maybe it's better now. Or maybe the roaches are just happier.

Ooooh!! Video! Post it up!

We stay over in lake park i think, where they have all the hotels together...Days Inn offers Jennings discount!

And I will, I dont have the camera, they are going to be editing it, there is ALOT of footage of the weekend!!

I know they need a balance of time taking the pictures and then presenting them... however I would personally be more prone to give them money if they would just SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT all day...

If I KNEW they were out there every session in various turns taking tons of pictures of me, I would buy their CD of photos from the whole day, even sight unseen.

I would rather that than have them only out there in the morning, and then in the afternoon have me perusing a bunch of pictures of me trying to get back into my rhythm and picking the one that's the least shitty.

You also don't want to say opinionated things like this, telling them how to run their business, because very often a certain photographer has a monopoly on a given track/trackday and if you step on their toes you might find yourself getting less lens time :lol:

Bottom line: Most track photogs suck. For various reasons...mostly b/c they shoot only in the morning.

Videoooooo!!!!1 :lol:

Thanks for the reminder...i'll get with my peeps and see what the status is!

*poke*