I think this should be retitled "The Track Day That Never Was"
At least they gave us a half day credit. They should have never even had anyone on the track....

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Guess a bit more summary: The track day from hell

Anyway, I rode in the honor guard for Evan's cousin who was killed in Iraq and that ran a bit later than I expected but it was a worthy cause so no worries there.
I wanted to get rolling by 3 but I did not get back to my place from the escort ride till 2:45.
Tried to start the Gix after having it sit on a trickle charger all night since it was dead the night before and no dice.
Spent like an eternity trying to get into the chuck on my trailer, dropped it on myself, etc. for like a half an hour. Still had to pack everything so did not roll till like 4. Too late to try to make it help with the air fence as I had said I would. I had to stop at AutoZone to get a new battery so I never got out of Altoona till like 5.
Started raining about half way there. Did not stop till I got to right around Breezewood, TODAY.
Joe and Lee were already there, looking miserable under the easy up. We set up a couple more, I charged the battery, bullshitted for a while and then Joe and I left to go get some grub, hopefully catch the end of the game and then crash at the Knights Inn.
Note to self, do not stay the Knights Inn. Room was sort of OK, price considered. But WE HAD NO FUCKING HOT WATER in the morning...
Looked out the window and it was still raining. We took a look at the weather radar imaging, and since I'm glad to trust Joe's reading of a radar, I was not at all confident having heard his assessment. So we hit Sheetz and when to the track.
Got to the track and all of us pretty much thought they would not run. Wet, sloppy mess. Silv and his dad showed up and so did stevedave. NESBA called for tech pretty much as always but probably more than half of the bikes were still sitting on trailers and in trucks. Silv did not even bother getting his bike out of the trailer. The rest of us went through tech.
All the CR's had rains mounted and NESBA had people riding around in cars "checking" the track. They started the rider's meeting almost an hour late. Using a red marker they highlighted the patching that was at issue around probably 70% of the turns. Pretty much stay off that or enjoy the slide. Confidence was really building in the meeting and a few people spoke up about why NESBA was even planning to run in these conditions. Everyone was at best uneasy, including the CR's that did not say anything directly but many of whom looked and acted pretty damn unhappy.
Meeting broke up and they called for the A guys at 10. NOT A SINGLE A rider showed up, actually I don't think a single A guy ran before lunch and I only remember seeing 1 or 2 in the first session after lunch. About 3 or 4 I guys went out. We were watching from above T10 and a few has some pretty interesting moments. Only about half stayed out the whole session. B got a better crowd. Maybe 10 riders. Most did the whole session. The I guys barely broke 2 minutes, one went down tossing a red flag. The B guys were in the 2:20 range. Just crazy to even be out there.
In the infield people were packing up and leaving or just sitting around and bitching. Some were getting an early start on lunch and drinking.
For a sold out track day, the paddock looked like deserted. Probably less than 20% of the space was taken.
Stevedave packed up and so did Silv and Paul. They left before lunch leaving just Joe, Lee and me to continue the misery.
We got some lunch and pretty much all decided to toss in the hat. In the first I session after lunch a guy went down in T2 and his bike dropped fluid all over the track. Not sure if it was oil or antifreeze but apparently because the track was one large puddle whatever he dropped spread very quickly across a large section of the track. The track was still closed at 3:30 when I finally left, which was about 20 minutes after we helped Joe pack up and he bailed.
Lee called me at a little after 5 to tell me that NESBA in its infinite wisdom had decided to give us all a half day credit - better than nothing but they should have never even started the day in the first place. This is one of the reasons we pay for NESBA memberships and somewhat more per event with the them. Honestly this is the first time I've been at all pissed at the organization.
Oh well, mother nature is a bitch. It's still better to hang out at the track than sit at work and it's always great to see the guys.
Hope the next one bodes better (Nelson anyone?)

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Good write up Mike.

The conditions today would have been doable yet still uneasy at a good grippy track like Beaver. I talked to one I rider after he came off after the first session and he described the track as "terrifying".

wow...good write up Mike, and sorry you guys didnt get the good weather. Atleast ya got half a day credit! Sorry fellas

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That sucks! You should have done the Euromoto day instead. This is one of the reasons I have a hard time with NESBA. Their events sell out so quickly that you have to commit in advance before you have any idea what the weather will be like. I understand from NESBA's perspective, they have to pay for the track either way so if I were them I wouldn't want to ever cancel a day (that's a pretty big loss to take on the chin). Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm thinking Nelson will not sell out nearly as quickly, if at all...

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you should still do nelson...

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