Oops.

Round three of the Masters of the Mountain racing series at Miller this past weekend. The RC was put back together after the header pipe broke last time, and I installed a new airbox for more power. So, I had both bikes ready to go.

Practice day on Saturday went well, with lap times that were consistently at the pace of my best race times from last time on the East track (Round 1).

Sunday morning I decided to run the Novice GTU class, just for some extra practice. I hadn't run it before, because it was very close in schedule to the Twins GTO, which I race on the RC. I figured I'd just go out and work on my start, and on passing, since I'd be starting from the fifth row of the grid, rather than the row 1-3 positions I had in the other races. No pressure, just fun.

Got a very good start and passed a few people heading into turn one, where it got really crowded in a hurry. Once we got through the turn I saw opportunity ahead and really got on the gas. I was just flying by people, really fun stuff, through turns two, three, four and five. Now instead of 15 people ahead of me there were only about five. Down the hill into the double left-hand apex "Agony and Ecstasy" corners, the two guys immediately in front of me drifted out to the right, as most do. I dove up the left side, on the line I normally take, tipped it in to the corner underneath them, feeling good about the pass, when all of a sudden - WHOOSH! The front tucked instantly.

As I was sliding and tumbling and doing somersaults, I was just hoping no one would hit me (they didn't). I was trying to stand up even before I quit flipping, and finally did, smacking my hands together in disgust over what had just happened, my baby blade laying in the dust next to me. I was fine, although my nice new leathers don't look so great anymore, especially with that big hole in the shoulder. Helmet's toast, and I'll have to replace the gloves as well. They sure did their job, though!

The bike got a little bit mangled as well. Initial review indicates broken windscreen, fairing stay, bent left rearset, scraped and cracked bodywork. Nothing too serious, I hope. Tomorrow I'll clean all the dust off and see if there's anything else that needs fixing. The crash truck came out and got me and the bike, and I went back to the pits.

I initially was going to bag the Twins GTO race, but after thinking about it for a few minutes I decided to grab my son's helmet out of my trailer, and my backup gloves, and "get back on the horse," because, other than being bummed about my bike and gear, I really wanted to go out and prove to myself that I could still do it. I didn't want to spend the next couple of weeks wondering how I'll be the next time I'm out on the track.

Second row of the grid - I got a very good start, passed the guy on the Aprilia in front of me into turn one, and never looked back. The three guys in the front were REALLY fast, so I didn't try too hard to keep up with them, just tried to ride smart and at a comfortable pace. It was a little weird every lap going into turn six (where I crashed) and seeing these big gouge marks in the asphalt where the footpeg on my 600 had dug in, but I just tried to ignore it.

I wound up getting passed by a guy on a 1098 in the last lap, who had mad horsepower, but really crappy lines through the turns. He kept going way wide and almost running off the track. I figured if I could just stay close, maybe he'd make a mistake. Deja vu to race one. He goes way wide on the last turn, I duck underneath and it's a drag race to the finish line. Once again I get nipped by a half second. Grrr.... Oh well, it was just so much fun to get back out there. It showed me how much I really enjoy racing. And my lap times wound up being exactly what they'd been in practice, despite the crash just a half hour earlier, so I was pleased. And I comfortably beat my buddy and rival from last time on the Aprilia.

I'm bummed that I couldn't race in my other two classes, but glad that the damage to the 600 is fairly minimal. Time to get to work on repairs and getting some replacement gear.

A few weeks later, I find a deal on Ebay on a bike that just might help me keep up with those 1098's next time...

Next chapter >