As some of you know, this past weekend I went to Summit Main for two days. The first day I was there, I pitted next to a co-workers brother who happens to be a NESBA CR. He has been riding on the track since 2001. He started racing first and then started doing TDs. We were PMing back and forth and I asked him when his next TD would be and this was his response. Kind of interesting...



Just interesting hearing the different point of view. I doubt I'll get rid of the lap timer, but I agree with him, I tend to set goals for myself in the form of lap times based on what I had accomplished at that track previously. If I do not hit those goals, I feel the TD was not good which is not true since I still had a ton of fun. Just need to keep it all in the right perspective.

i can see his points as well, but i use my lap timer to gauge my progress. if im going faster, then im progressing, if i go slower then im not doing something the way i used to and i have to figure out what that is.
i never thought i would be racing and podiuming and doing tds if you would hvae asked me 2 years ago, so everytimg i roll onto the track i have fun. even if i wreck

_________________

LETS GO PRAIRIE DOGGIN!!!!!!!!!YEEE HAWWWW!!!
WERA & NESBA #45

He makes some really good points. Learning, going faster, making progress, that all really fun stuff for me. I used to race MX and towards the end I was in a rut (no pun intended). Other than where I finished in a race, I placed a lot of importance on being able to do all the jumps on the tracks I rode. There's nothing more nerve racking than doing a double (or triple) jump for the first time, especially if there are big consequences if you screw up. It's not like on a sportbike where you can go into a corner at 60 mph the first time and then 62 mph the next, etc. There's no practice run, there's no "kinda", you either do it or you don't. There were a few that made me want to puke before I did them. I'd be motoring up the face of the jump at speed thinking "why do you do this to yourself". The flip side is that there's nothing better when you land on the downside of the landing for the first time. My favorite years were the ones where I was really learning and I'd always come away from a track having done a jump for the first time. Then I got to the point where I could do all the jumps at the easier and safer tracks. That was fun because the track really starts to flow when you can do all the obstacles. The only jumps left to do were pretty big or complicated combos, all with ugly consequences for a screw up. I just got to the point where I wasn't willing to go any bigger. It got to the point where my laps all started to feel the same and I started to think I could almost close my eyes and pound out laps. I wasn't having as much fun, so I rode less, which resulted in my riding level dropping off a bit, which led to frustration. It was time for a change so I got a sport bike and here I am.

I don't know what the answer is. The lap timer has been a lot of fun because I can see my progress. I have to admit that it's cool when I can come away from a track with a lower time that I did the last time I was there. I also realize that the better my times get, the more difficult it will be to improve on them. At first you can drop 1-2 seconds at a pop but that's obviously not sustainable. I also agree that sometimes I feel like I'm flying on the track and the laptimer tells me differently. I hope I can continue to have fun doing the sportbike thing for a long time, but I know the potential is there for me to end up in the same place I was with MX. I believe it's a bit of a catch 22. The people who excel at things are those that are never satisfied and always wanting to get to the next level. The people who have fun are those that stop and smell the roses along the way. I'm trying to find a happy medium...

Hence why i don't recomend one to anyone who isn't racing, when going to track day i look foward to sitting down and BS'ing with everyone as much as i do riding.

_________________

i dunno - i still have a cycle computer on my bicycle and i'm slower (older) than I used to be. It does not really bother me since I'm not racing and i'm just out to enjoy myself - the cycle computer just tells me how i did for the ride, it's not a make it or brake it sort of thing for me.
i'm sort of the same line of thought on the lap timer. sort of neat to see how fast or slow i went but i don't tie it into whether i had fun or not to it.
if you keep it in context it's just another thing to play with at the track.

_________________


Ἢ τὰν ἢ ἐπὶ τᾶς

www.WickedRacing.com - Go Fast Parts & Gear for Riders and Their Motorcycles
PM me for "TrackWhore" special discounts

This is coming from a guy who doesn't do track days and doesn't care how fast or slow he gets so take it for what it's worth Nate.......

I can see his point totally. Really if you are having a good time and enjoy keeping track of your lap times then it's all good. It's kinda tough for me to put into words but I'd keep doing the timer thing until you stop having fun if you like seeing yourself improve. If it were me, I think once I get to the point where I'm not improving at all or maybe start tapering off then I'd quit timing myself to still enjoy just plain doing what you like to do.

Anymore though even on the street or dirt I don't care how fast i am. I'm with Kyle on just hanging out and BSing more than anything.

_________________
Too broke for track days

Im more about feeling and if you can over take the guy you are trying to chase down, then its a good lap


Plus i have just as much fun chasing joe and nate around, rather then worrying about time


thats just me though

_________________

same here, its another tool to use but i don't really care too much as long as i have fun. if i feel good and i am working on making passes then its a good day at hte track.

Up until the last few trackdays, every time I went to a track I set my new personal best time there. Now its getting to the point where it is harder and harder to knock off time. I realized however that even though I was not setting my best times, at the end of the day I still had a big grin on my face, so I was still having fun.

Looking back at the TDs I've done of the last year or so, my favorite sessions/laps were the ones riding with the other guys in our group and battling back and forth (my favorite was Kyle and I passing each other like 15 times in a 20 minute session at Beaver). And during those sessions, I never once worried about lap times.

So I think I'll stick with the lap timer, with the rule that if I ever leave a TD upset b/c I didn't run fast enough laps it is going in the garbage (or getting sold online).

i too had a great time at beave without worrying about the times. for the whole session i battled with another rider. he passed me into 1 and i got him out of 7. we did this for the entire session. i was trying to figure him out and was almost passing him between 4-5. if i could have got passed there i would have got enough of a run out of 7 and ultimately onto the front straight so he would not have caught me into 1.

it was an epic battle in my mind and after the session we both sat at pit in and BSed. That is what i go to the track for.