In 2003, at the age of 41, I began riding sportbikes after 20+ years away from riding on the street (while our kids were growing up). In late 2003, I did my first trackday (with Reg Pridmore's CLASS) in Portland. I was hooked.

Over the next few years, I did a bunch of trackdays with friends, and in 2004 I did STAR school with Jason Pridmore. In 2006, I did quite a few more trackdays, and went through Freddie Spencer's Riding School - twice! Over the winter months I thought about trying racing in 2007 in the "Masters of the Mountain" series at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah, despite having never raced before, on dirt or asphalt. I'd be racing on a couple of Hondas - a 2002 RC51, and a 2006 CBR600RR.

I've always enjoyed competing, and at trackdays I always seem to have a burning need to chase down and pass the rider ahead of me, so I figured racing would be the next logical extension of my riding enjoyment. I was a little apprehensive, knowing that racing pushes the risks of track riding to another level, but figured with good training and keeping my competitive fire somewhat in check, I could find a way to do it safely.

In March of 2007, I attended Freddie Spencer's "Pro School" to prepare for the season. In April, this gray-haired father of three began what turned out to be an incredibly memorable novice racing season. Through the process, I wrote this blog to share the experience with family and friends. I hope you enjoy reading about bwhip's big racing adventure!

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