Last Christmas, my wife bought me a voucher for a track-day, and after changing my mind a lot I finally chose Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire for my initiation- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadwell_Park. I booked it a few months ago, but I'd been looking forward to it for the last 25 years or so.
I'll let you decide whether I enjoyed it or not......
The day started with registration and noise testing from 07:30 so it was an early start - and I was glad we were staying just down the road,in a great little pub - "The Green Man".
(Digression - not a typical English pub - very bike friendly. My wife and I turned up at ten o'clock at night, in all our gear, and within 5 minutes we had a drink in our hands, and I was roped in to play pool for the pub team. Sadly we lost.)
Back at the circuit my bike passed the noise test with embarassing ease, and I joined the other newbies for a safety and track briefing in the clubhouse. They talked us through the various flags and what to look out for on the circuit etc. Then, while the more experienced riders were getting ready for their first full session, we went out for a few sighting laps. This was strictly follow-my-leader, behind an instructor and definitely no overtaking. I was fortunate enough to be only one bike away from the leader, so got a great view of the right lines etc, which proved invaluable later on.
Then we went back to the pits to wait while the older kids (advanced and intermediates) went out to play first.
Each hour of the day is split into three twenty minute sessions; advanced, then intermediates, and finally novices. So forty minutes later we were sat in the pit lane with engines at tick over, and butterflies at maximum.
Here is my posse of beginners in the pits for the first novice session. I'm way, way towards the back, and barely visible. You'll notice that every single bike here is significantly faster than ours. I was seriously worried that I would struggle to keep up.
Not everyone was a novice though.....my wife saw this guy amongs the novices...looks familar?
So off we went. For the first few laps I held my position near the back of the pack. I'd promised myself that I wouldn't crash on the first session, (or any other hopefully) and I was determined to learn the circuit before doing anything too rash. It soon became clear that none of us knew what we were doing - but I wasn't the worst by a long way. The session finished after 20 minutes, which felt like 2, and I'd manged to overtake a few guys in front. Sadly, I was being passed easily on every straight, but I didn't care, and it didn't stop me grinning like a loon all the way. What a hoot!
After this first outing we had a debrief/training session in the clubhouse, where one of the racing instructors told us what we'd been doing wrong- in short, everything. He went through each section of the track in datail, explaining where to brake, turn, overtake etc, and we all nodded and grinned some more when he asked had we enjoyed it so far. And then suddenly we were due out on the track again. Yee haaa.
My second session was better, and worse. Better because I got my lines sorted, and found that I could carry way more speed into the corners. Worse because I was being held up in the corners by bikes that had just passed me on the straights. For safety we'd been told strictly no overtaking in the corners - only on the straights or under breaking, and then only if we could get past safely. It was a frustrating session.
My fellow throttle jockeys were dead keen to open up and pass me on the straights, but were less keen to stay out of my way on the brakes. Fortunately I found a couple of places where I could basically ride round the outside of the riders in my way, without causing them any problems. I didn't get black flagged, and managed to get sufficiently far ahead of them that they couldn't reel me in and pass me again on the next long straight. Problem solved. I ended the session with another huge grin. I could get addicted to this.
Here's another couple of pics:
Down the start/finish straight - approx 100 mph, (max 115 for me):
Long right hander:
A tricky left:
My favourite:
I had another four sessions in all, and each one just got better and better. On the third session I started dragging my hero blobs after carrying too much speed into a couple of bends. Up to this point I'd left my bike exactly as I normally ride it on the road - except for the mirors and lights - but after this I tightened up the suspension to the max and my problem went away. I also realised that I needed to start shifting my weight more into the corners - like Ves does. I spent the next session going more slowly, while I practised hanging off and trying to get my knee down - not something I ever do on the road. The photos will show that my knee sliders finished the day in pristine condition - but I pretty much mastered the trick of hanging off. (Sadly, my wife/photographer didn't get any good shots of me hanging off, for which she apologises).
I now need to practice hanging off AND going fast - but can't imagine surviving long on the road if I do this. Oh well, I'll have to book another track day then.....
All in all it was a fantastic day. Great weather, great circuit, great organisation. I can't recommend it too highly.
A couple of other pics:
Not my best wheelie, but the only one caught on film...
Here's a guy who wasn't so lucky - kept the throttle open too far on his wheelie (same spot) and basically went over backwards. He was Ok but the bike wasn't.
I like this one - it's a good shot considering how far away I was.
For those of you who've done track days, this probably all seems very tame. But for those who haven't, it's honestly the most fun you can have with your leathers on. If you've ever thought you'd like a go - do it now - you won't regret it! Don't blame me though if you get addicted, I'm already getting ready to book again.
Here's a pic of me and the bike, in the pits, after one of the sessions:
I expect to stop grinning soon.
Hope you like the pics - my wife took them, (she took loads but many were blurred due to the awesome speed) and she had a great day as well. This is the first time I've tried posting pics so I just hope they look ok on the board.
Cheers
You will also see toward the end, I tried a little too much to exploit the advantage of making time on the others in entering the corners.
