I got my motorcycle license!!!

[LoDownSinner]

This weekend, I went down to Alabama and got a license to ride a motorcycle as fast as I want without getting a ticket.

After completing Ed Bargy's Racing School and making it through a weekend of practice and racing without crashing or being a hazard on the track - I've earned my Novice motorcycle roadracing license.

Despite being the slowest person (by several seconds) in my class, I actually ran in the Lightweight Twins races this weekend on my SV650. Throughout the weekend, my times went up at least a couple of seconds per session on the track.

I'm writing up the events of the weekend and will post them or link up to them once it's all done...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/lodownsinner/WERA/Talladega%20Feb%2006/Friday/IMG_2294.jpg

[Missy B]

Very cool, LDS! Cant wait to see the write up and more pics.

I'm green with envy.

[spotbeagle]

Congratulations!!!

One of the things Curtis likes about racing is that it really gives him something to push for in dropping his lap times more so that just doing track days.

Have Fun!

[sanglant]

Cool, Dewayne! I thought it was you on the mylaps.com site, but I didn't remember your last name. With the freezing temps (literally, overnight and in the morning), I wasn't sure you made it, and I didn't see any practice times over Saturday (you would have been in only group 5, right?).

Are you going to be making the Barber round?

[LoDownSinner]

I sat out Saturday altogether. Ran, cold, sore clutch hand -- too many negative factors.

A lot of firsts this weekend. My first time really trying to ride a sportbike, first time on a track, first race, first time on real race tires -- all kinds of inknowns waiting to reach up and smack me down.

I sat down with Mongo and Ed before the first track session and told them I wasn't going to ride hard, wasn't going to be fast and to tell me if I was dangerously slow.

If the truth were to be know, I probably turned much better lap times in the school on Friday than I did on Sunday. Friday it got up into the 50s, so the tires could get at least a little heat in them. On Sunday, there was literally snow flying about avery time I set wheel on the track, and if the temp got into the 40s, I'd be surprised.

There were way too many cold tire related crashes on both Saturday and Sunday. I was determined NOT to be one of them.

As far as Barber - I really plan to be there.

EDIT -- I don't know what's up with Sundays practice times. All the groups had two sessions, and I know I did more than 3 laps in each session.

[sanglant]

I sat out Saturday altogether. Ran, cold, sore clutch hand -- too many negative factors.

A lot of firsts this weekend. My first time really trying to ride a sportbike, first time on a track, first race, first time on real race tires -- all kinds of inknowns waiting to reach up and smack me down.

I sat down with Mongo and Ed before the first track session and told them I wasn't going to ride hard, wasn't going to be fast and to tell me if I was dangerously slow.

If the truth were to be know, I probably turned much better lap times in the school on Friday than I did on Sunday. Friday it got up into the 50s, so the tires could get at least a little heat in them. On Sunday, there was literally snow flying about avery time I set wheel on the track, and if the temp got into the 40s, I'd be surprised.

There were way too many cold tire related crashes on both Saturday and Sunday. I was determined NOT to be one of them.

As far as Barber - I really plan to be there.

EDIT -- I don't know what's up with Sundays practice times. All the groups had two sessions, and I know I did more than 3 laps in each session.


Smart move. The first race at Tally also tends to draw a lot of guys out, where the summer round isn't as heavily attended. I saw there were 41 gridded for the meatgrinder, but heard it was like 35 or so that took that flag. Three times. :sad: Looks like all the wrecks were minor, though, even the chopper transport and Dave's "sandwich" ride in the bowl.

Tally is a bad track for that many people on it. Barber, RA, even RRR and Jennings spreads them out more, and offers a few more places to pass (not so much at Jennings if your speeds are comparable, but you can set up the straights and nip a couple).

Did you chat up the FBR's there? Henry won V6Lt and Ryan won D/SB and placed well in other events. David Pool was out on his old EX500, too. Scott and Jeff got bounced around in the C class, but they were cranking some fast times. Look for better performances from them both as the year wears on. Tally isn't a great place for starting from the rear, and neither one had points in C from last year. Bryson Stephens, the owner of Bogarts, was running around out there, too. He's an FBR guy, but I didn't know he was going to be running and haven't looked up his times. He was in the heavy twins classes as a Novice entry.

[LoDownSinner]

I was hanging with Tom and Charlie all weekend. Not sure what an FBR is. I did talk to Ryan I think on Sunday, and he obviously lapped me.

Amazingly enough, even though I wasn't pushing hard at all, I got a really good start in race 13, but backed off before going around the other Novice LWTs and then some more going into 1 so the guys would go back around me. I wanted as many people as possible where I could see them.

I was watching the 600 Novice race from the tower, and it was ugly. But like they said over on the WERA board, it wasn't the shirts that were causing ay of the issues, it was the faster more experienced novices pushing the limits of the cold tires. It sucks that Dave broke his toe, I offered to help Jason load up but he had it covered.

I guess it also didn't help that the entrance to turn 1 got oiled during practice. From what I understand, Chad Reed's old supermoto bike lost a rear seal going into 1 in practice.

[Zixxer10]

This weekend, I went down to Alabama and got a license to ride a motorcycle as fast as I want without getting a ticket.

After completing Ed Bargy's Racing School and making it through a weekend of practice and racing without crashing or being a hazard on the track - I've earned my Novice motorcycle roadracing license.

Despite being the slowest person (by several seconds) in my class, I actually ran in the Lightweight Twins races this weekend on my SV650. Throughout the weekend, my times went up at least a couple of seconds per session on the track.

I'm writing up the events of the weekend and will post them or link up to them once it's all done...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/lodownsinner/WERA/Talladega%20Feb%2006/Friday/IMG_2294.jpg
Hey, good for you. :thumbsup: Sanglant had initially intended to go to that school too, but he's got a couple other irons in the fire right now. His mother went up at his house last week to help him.
How did you like the classroom part? I think Ed does a really good job of explaining things. It was a little "chilly" at Little Talley, wasn't it? I think I've probably had my last crash at the track. We'll see. Maybe I'll change my mind.

[Greg]

Very cool. That sounds like it would have been a blast.

[LoDownSinner]

Ed is an amazingly good teacher. I like teachers that can give you tiny pieces of complex information in a way that makes you go, "duh!!! that's obvious!!!" Ed is one of those.

Well, that, and when you think you're really railing around a curve, going faster than you ever though humanly possible, he'll casually come up your inside on a stock street bike, using the last available inch of pevement and dragging a knee in the grass while he's turned around pointing...

Humility I know thee well...

[A_Pmech]

Looks like fun! I'd like to do that at some stage, but it isn't going to be this year. hehe

Keep us posted.

[Zixxer10]

Ed is an amazingly good teacher. I like teachers that can give you tiny pieces of complex information in a way that makes you go, "duh!!! that's obvious!!!" Ed is one of those.

Well, that, and when you think you're really railing around a curve, going faster than you ever though humanly possible, he'll casually come up your inside on a stock street bike, using the last available inch of pevement and dragging a knee in the grass while he's turned around pointing...

Humility I know thee well...
Yeah, he's been around some tracks before. :notworthy Did you happen to notice his street bike on the track is a ZX-10R? They work pretty good!! Keith Code uses Kawasaki 6Rs for student use and several of the instructors use 10Rs.

[LoDownSinner]

Yeah, he's been around some tracks before. :notworthy Did you happen to notice his street bike on the track is a ZX-10R? They work pretty good!! Keith Code uses Kawasaki 6Rs for student use and several of the instructors use 10Rs.
Yep. With lights and mirrors.

He used the brake lights to demonstrate trail braking...