...That i figured i'd share another. Better late than never!!
For my 27th birthday, my dad bought me a trip to the River City Beemers Skills Improvement Track Day. They did an awesome job putting on a very nice, well-organized event. We camped out at the track and met some really nice people, it was an all around great weekend. Some pictures for your enjoyment...
We went to dinner in Willows on Saturday evening (June 14th), and were driving back to the track into a beautiful sunset. There are sunflower fields that seem to go on forever out there, so some of those are incorporated in these shots as well.
Check it out:
My dad wanted to show me what it's like to separate wheat that's ready to harvest from its chaff and eat the kernels inside. they're crunchy, and taste like bread (shocking, i know!).
Here's the field...
And here's my dad...
And here's some kernels of wheat separated from the chaff.
We got closer and closer, i wanted some photos of the signs.
Ahead 1/4 mile lays an intense test of woman and machine. Woman is giddy with excitement.
We went back to the track, i had a few beers, we chatted with the folks that camped next to us. It was a nice night, if a little warm, and we went to bed around 11 pm. Hard to sleep!
Morning came, and it was cool and beautiful. Originally slated to be 100+ degrees, it looked like the weather would defy prediction and actually be really temperate and nice. Remembering Tim's (pashnit) words of wisdom, i grabbed my camera and started taking pictures as the bikes soaked in the sunrise.
Here's the VStrom and the FJR, ready to "GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
p.s., you know how you know i was at the track? because the garbage cans are covered in checkers! Even the trash here is fast!!
A lovely close-up of the FJR.
Dad and i split up- he went with the B group, and i went with the novices. After some rider's meetings, some classroom instruction and some slow laps behind the instructors, i got to really ride! I was proud of myself, by the time they opened the whole track i was very much feeling the rhythm. It was hard work- i would come in from every session dripping sweat. I got passed like i was standing still a few times when i went out during "open track," but i didn't get lapped!
Funny, every time people would talk to me about the turns and the course at T-Hill i would nod and say "uh-huh, uh-huh..." now, i could probably draw you a picture of the course with my eyes closed and number every turn and describe exactly what they were like. Neat how that happens. anyway. here's some pictures of me going "fast," or at least faster than i had ever gone before!!
All the photos of me and dad on the track were taken by Joe (com3) of https://www.4theriders.com. What a pro! He runs a great operation, and his photos were tops. I hope he makes a million dollars.
Here comes the Vstrom, ready to pass!
Gettin' my lean on... incredible how it felt all day like i was going to touch the ground, and seeing pictures suggests that i was barely leaning at all! oh well, i'm content with the fact that i dragged the pegs more than a few times!!
The other riders in this shot give a good sense of the elevation change coming out of The Cyclone (miniature version of the corkscrew) on turn 5. Boy, was i glad i had an instructor to show me those lines!
Well, i wasn't going to take any checkered flags, but at least i went fast enough to blur the background!! :lol:
Trying to keep up with dear old dad was a foregone conclusion. we only rode together a couple times, but the big bike pulled me on every straight, and i ran out of experience before i could catch him in the turns. What fun! Here's some shots of dad trying to achieve his goal of dragging a peg on the FJR (he did it, BTW!!)
For my 27th birthday, my dad bought me a trip to the River City Beemers Skills Improvement Track Day. They did an awesome job putting on a very nice, well-organized event. We camped out at the track and met some really nice people, it was an all around great weekend. Some pictures for your enjoyment...
We went to dinner in Willows on Saturday evening (June 14th), and were driving back to the track into a beautiful sunset. There are sunflower fields that seem to go on forever out there, so some of those are incorporated in these shots as well.
Check it out:
My dad wanted to show me what it's like to separate wheat that's ready to harvest from its chaff and eat the kernels inside. they're crunchy, and taste like bread (shocking, i know!).
Here's the field...
And here's my dad...
And here's some kernels of wheat separated from the chaff.
We got closer and closer, i wanted some photos of the signs.
Ahead 1/4 mile lays an intense test of woman and machine. Woman is giddy with excitement.
We went back to the track, i had a few beers, we chatted with the folks that camped next to us. It was a nice night, if a little warm, and we went to bed around 11 pm. Hard to sleep!
Morning came, and it was cool and beautiful. Originally slated to be 100+ degrees, it looked like the weather would defy prediction and actually be really temperate and nice. Remembering Tim's (pashnit) words of wisdom, i grabbed my camera and started taking pictures as the bikes soaked in the sunrise.
Here's the VStrom and the FJR, ready to "GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
p.s., you know how you know i was at the track? because the garbage cans are covered in checkers! Even the trash here is fast!!
A lovely close-up of the FJR.
Dad and i split up- he went with the B group, and i went with the novices. After some rider's meetings, some classroom instruction and some slow laps behind the instructors, i got to really ride! I was proud of myself, by the time they opened the whole track i was very much feeling the rhythm. It was hard work- i would come in from every session dripping sweat. I got passed like i was standing still a few times when i went out during "open track," but i didn't get lapped!
Funny, every time people would talk to me about the turns and the course at T-Hill i would nod and say "uh-huh, uh-huh..." now, i could probably draw you a picture of the course with my eyes closed and number every turn and describe exactly what they were like. Neat how that happens. anyway. here's some pictures of me going "fast," or at least faster than i had ever gone before!!
All the photos of me and dad on the track were taken by Joe (com3) of https://www.4theriders.com. What a pro! He runs a great operation, and his photos were tops. I hope he makes a million dollars.
Here comes the Vstrom, ready to pass!
Gettin' my lean on... incredible how it felt all day like i was going to touch the ground, and seeing pictures suggests that i was barely leaning at all! oh well, i'm content with the fact that i dragged the pegs more than a few times!!
The other riders in this shot give a good sense of the elevation change coming out of The Cyclone (miniature version of the corkscrew) on turn 5. Boy, was i glad i had an instructor to show me those lines!
Well, i wasn't going to take any checkered flags, but at least i went fast enough to blur the background!! :lol:
Trying to keep up with dear old dad was a foregone conclusion. we only rode together a couple times, but the big bike pulled me on every straight, and i ran out of experience before i could catch him in the turns. What fun! Here's some shots of dad trying to achieve his goal of dragging a peg on the FJR (he did it, BTW!!)
