gotta follow the rules (pt. 1)

this past weekend was the culmination of a few of these here blog topics over the past couple months. i did indeed manage to get the track bike back together and get myself to north Florida for a long speed weekend with my buddy Brian, among others. i managed to forget a few things, but i was pretty well covered. i hope to have some photos of some on-track action in a week or two, so check back.

first of all, i had to break-in my freshly rebuilt engine. with new rings, new rod & main bearings, and having been all the way apart for the work, an engine needs some specific treatment for the first few miles in order to make good on the repairs. of biggest concern is making sure the rings seat properly so that compression isn't compromised. the best way to do this is to run the engine at varying loads and RPM for several heat cycles, avoiding the extremes - ie keep her from idling too long, and try to keep her from running near redline. i decided the best way to do this would be to run with the "I," or intermediate, group for the first half of the first day. this would also give me a chance to show Brian and his friend Trey around the track.

the sun rose in a clear sky, already at least 15 degrees warmer than back here in the mountains of NC. the overnight low had been around 35, so the track surface was cold - important to realize. the first session went well, the bike running cleanly & feeling fairly well-sorted at "I" pace, as if i had put her back together correctly - always a good feeling! i was able to relax & re-learn the lines, occasionally pointing out the apexes to Brian & Trey as they followed. the next two sessions were similar, easing into the speed, gently working thru traffic following the "outside-passing-only" rules of the group. the day warmed to the point i had to ditch my base layer. during the last session before lunch, one of the "control riders" gave me a sign-language scolding for looking back, waiting for Bri and Trey to catch up. i put my head down & turned in a few faster laps, gapping them all by the time the checkered came out.

at lunch i changed the oil & filter as i finished the break-in protocol. the bike seems to be working as it should, running better than it ever has, shifting cleanly, so out with the "dino" break-in oil, in with the synthetic. two tiny little flakes of metal on the drainplug, which i would expect with a bunch of new components rubbing on each other, not to mention the impact of tools on internal engine parts during the repair work.

after lunch i headed out with the "A," or advanced group. i had never ridden with this particular group of people, so there's always a nagging bit of trepidation that somehow i'm not going to measure up, always unfounded. i had the advantage of having ridden the track a few times in the past, so i was among the faster half of the "A" group on day 1. i was passing more people than passed me, and feeling pretty good on the track.

right up until the point i dropped it.

it was the second session after lunch, and i was starting to rail around the 2-mile track pretty good, working through some traffic. i had just gotten thru a group of three or four bikes & had my head down again, feeling good about my lines & gear choices. left through the T5-T6 complex, tight to the apex of 6, then a short fourth-gear straight, bang down to third (no brakes), and toss it right into T7 on a late apex, then down i went - losing the front end very soon after tipping it in. it happened too fast to try to save it, so i let it go & flattened out on my back, sliding off after the bike with my feet out in front of me, willing it not to flip when it hit dirt. bikes will usually slide along pretty well and can remain relatively unscathed in a lowside. if a handlebar or footpeg catches the curbing at the edge of the track or digs in when it hits softer ground, suddenly all that sliding momentum can be transformed into flipping, rolling momentum, and shit gets really broken when that happens. luckily, it did not.

i popped up as soon as i was moving slow enough to run it out, quickly hoisting the bike up on its wheels to check for mortal wounds, also trying to keep the corner worker nearest me from throwing the red flag. too late - she was already waving off the session before she saw my thumbs-up. i hate to be the cause of a red flag! the bike was in surprisingly good shape - some grindage to the end of the footpeg, but serviceable. some damage to the fiberglass & brand new paint job, and a little scuff on the end of the brake lever. it could be (and has been) much worse. i cycled the kill switch, found neutral, and it fired right back up. by the time the crash truck rolled up, i was ready to ride it back to the pits. the corner worked double-checked my assessment & gave me the go-ahead to ride it in.

--- at the rider's meeting that morning, the race controller had specifically said that upon wrecking, one should let the corner workers make sure the bike is rideable, rather than making an adrenaline-addled judgement for ourselves. as i stood there checking the bike & waiting for the corner worker to make it over to me, i realized my heartrate wasn't even elevated from having done that bit of 60-mph pavement surfing...it was then that i accepted i may have a problem.

it's a good crash when you can ride it back to the pits! i shook the sand out of the bellypan, checked my tire pressures (they were a bit high), and had the bike re-teched by another "A" rider just to be safe. by the time the next session rolled around, i was geared back up & ready to go. it was the last session of the 1st day (of three), and i had just thrown it down, so i tentatively built speed, easing back into it, admittedly tiptoeing thru T7. no further unpleasantness came to pass, which was good for my confidence. it sucks to have an off and have no idea what happened or why, which is where i thought i was. happily for me, the answers would become clear fairly quickly.

...TO BE CONTINUED...