First time back at Calabogie since August of last year.  Wow has this place changed!  There’s an entire new building and what was the main paddock is now the back paddock..and what used to be nothing but pavement is now the main paddock and the main building.

Weather was perfect for a track day, sunny and warm but not too hot.  It felt nice to be able to stretch out and experiment with the TZ on such beautiful and wide track, with lots of room to rev out the engine.  Having slightly lower gearing then what was on the last time I rode the bike also helped and made the bike feel much more ridable in the slower corners at the beginning of the day.  I soon found myself going faster and gradually feeling more comfortable with the bike.

Thanks to the Zumius timing system used by Turn2, I got to know exactly how fast (or slow) I was going.  My best time of the day was a 2:46, so I was off my best time on the 750 by some 15 seconds.  It would have been nice to have sectional comparison of the times to know for sure, but I think I was going at similar speeds in the corners, just not as fast in between some of the more spread out sections or on the straights.  The other bikes in my group that were in the 2:30′s were going around the same speed in the corners (some slower) but would walk away from me on the exits and run away from me on the straights

Over all, I had a fabulous time on my new bike.  I’m absolutely loving just how light and nimble it is, and how much easier it is to lean into the corners then the 750.

This weekend was the SOAR practice day on Saturday followed by the first Racer5 day of the season on Sunday.  The first half of Saturday the track was ran in the reverse direction, I took the TZ out during the last session of the reverse run as I really wanted to get a feel for [...]

It was some what unexpected, but by chance and really without looking I found a buyer for Whitey.  I couldn’t pass on the opportunity.  Whitey got a new coat of paint, the suspension was reset, and Whitey went off to his.. her.. new home.  So what am I going to ride now?  Well it just [...]

As much as I love this bike and it is a blast to ride, I just don’t have the time to ride it.  With our focus being on roadracing, it’s been tough scheduling in any time with the dirt bikes.  Considering we’re planning on attending more races this upcoming season and have a few exciting [...]

Final round of the season for SOAR and my second visit back to Cayuga. This time I had entered in the women’s race.  I wanted another shot at the Rookie grid, but with the way the schedule ran this weekend that would have meant 3 races on Sunday, 2 of them back to back which [...]

Friday: Max Mercier Fund track day organized by Golo with all proceeds going to the riders safety fund Sat: Long Sun: Pro Too much rain

My first race weekend!  I did the practice day on Friday since I did not know the track.  Technically, it wasn’t my first time at Cayuga.  I did ride it once on my CBR125R pretty much exactly 2 years ago, but I had no recollection of the track layout plus riding it on the 125 [...]

We spent the August long weekend at Bogie, could there be a better way to spend time off work? Johnny got to go up early again, I made my way up Friday night, rode Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Riding a track 4 days in a row, that was a first. It wasn’t quite as [...]

Weekend of July 11 and 12 we were supposed to follow the HotLaps and Golo crew out for a track day at Mirabel. Didn’t happen. Instead we attended the 3rd round of SOAR. I wasn’t up for riding considering the suspension and clearance issues I’ve been having with the bike. Not to mention Johnny made [...]

Hot Laps and Golo Sat Jun 27 SMP Pro Sun Jun 28 SMP Long The weekend had started off some what frustrating with the bike bottoming out each time coming into Allens. I felt held back, wanted to go faster, and the little voice in my head cried it’s not fair. I adjusted my style, [...]