Is racing really worth it? Read after the GNF!

papou
don't stop, carol needs to harass someone at the race track!
your message hit home with me though. this year has been pretty tough on us with carol having three major crashes and me two minor ones. i was ready to throw in the towel after every one of carol's crashes.
but think about it. if we quit racing and go back to street riding. would we all be safer? think not.
most of the time spent at the track is hanging out with friends. i couldn't give that up. now if carol could stay on her bike...

corien


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www.ducatiwomen.com

 

No Papa, we were not plotting against you.. I had to work for that 3rd, when I took the white flag, that darn sv was almost to turn one!
I know Dad is proud, I just wish he could have been here to see it.

 

LOL, isn't that what you call Carol? You're not going straight on me, are you?

Just wanted to comment on one thing: there's no friggin' way I'd give up racing to go to street riding. Hell, giving up street riding for full-time track action was a compromise I reached with my Dad to appease his fears a little.

 

Great thread - it really shows that people that ride/ race motorcycles are not "mindless idiots" like some politicians and big insurance companies portray us...

I too had a big crash about 10 yrs ago at Pocono (in the chicane before taking the big bowl onto the front straight - old track configuration). It was the first time my girlfriend (now wife), friends, and parents came to see me race. I had a major concussion but fortunately nothing was broken. It's an experience I don't want to repeat - for the physical pain as well as seeing the anguish in my loved ones eyes.

However, that being said...

I am a competitor at heart. I thrive on competition. I love the speed. I love the action. I love the pressure to push yourself to improve. There's nothing quite like that Zen moment when you brake, turn, and twist the throttle on, hitting the apex perfectly and getting a perfect drive out of the corner. Everything comes together in that one moment, and it's a feeling I rarely find elsewhere. I live for that - plus the fact that motorcycles represent a fading freedom in a world of increasing sameness and enclosure.

So, let it be said that if I die on the racetrack, I died doing something that I loved. Not at work, not in some traffic jam, not in my bed, not in some stupid terrorist act...

I died happy.

Scott

 

I've read some very eloquent responses to a question posed by someone strong enough to expose his emotions and fears. Papa, you are to be commended for bringing this discussion to this forum.
I want my daughter to know the real me. Not some safe, sanitized version of me. Racing fuels the fire and passion I have for life. To stop would, in a sense, be killing a part of myself. Personality suicide, so to speak.
As I lay in a cheap hotel room last year with several bags of jiffy-mart ice for pillows, I pondered the need for racing. My arm felt like it was barely attached to my body. My knee looked like a pregnant canteloupe. I asked myself a simple question, "are you ready to quit". In that sleepless night I convinced myself that I was one of the grizzled old gladiators of the sport. The stopwatch would tell me when my time had come to quit, not pain, not misfortune, not guilt.
Whatever your decision may be, I think every racer can respect it.

 

Keep it current.

I will not reiterate anything said, this has been a good discussion that is hard to read for most racers. Mainly because it reminds racers of their own mortality, which is sometimes something we had rather forget when racing at 100+. Those of us who race share a great responsibility to keep each other safe on the track. That is why when we see someone riding in a way that we think may be pushing agressive over the edge, they tend to get reamed on the board(see KR's thread). Anything can happen out there to cause you to go down, so there is always risk of serious injury. But, as racers there are things we can do to prevent dangerous accidents.
1) Race on good tires **
2) Make sure you have all your bolts tight
3) Get someone who knows what they are doing to fix your suspension, especially if you are a 'fast' novice.
4) Change your brake pads every once in a blue moon, even if they seem to work.
5) Pick a line and stay on it if you value your own, or anyone else's life.
6) Learn where your limit is, don't go in way over your head, you or someone else might end up on their head. Losing is better than crashing.
7) Think about what you are racing for to begin with. Are you going to go beat V.Rossi next year and make millions? Is racing paying your mortgage? Most of us race because we enjoy it. It might take us a little longer to get fast not going bonzai into every corner picking up the bike and trying it again.

Well at least I got this back on the front page. Race hard at the finals do justice to those who want to be there, and would have been there but can't. Keep your perspective where it belongs, show respect toward yourself and others racing is a serious business. Do your best, enjoy your talent and the time God gave you to spend

 

thiam, life is always somewhat of a lottery. you can not live in fear of the unknown.always look before you leap, and prepare yourself, but never live life on the porch. the porch could cave in and kill you just the same. while these instances should remind us of our mortality, they should not paralyze us to inaction. no racer who has lost his life would want that.

 

I guess the arrival of Miss Piggy at Road Atlanta marks the end of this thread eh Papa?

 

Proverbs 19:21
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."
Live every day to the fullest, my friends. Your time here is limited,but not by you.
Papa...If it had been you, would you want me to stop racing? I don't think so.

 

Have you seen her there? I'm meeting her tonight.

 

Papa...first of all, kudos to you for bringing this subject up...as I know some men have trouble talking about their feelings. On a more serious note, a lot of us are feeling the same way about what you've talked about, and there have been some great points made, and I'd like to say a few of mine.

My mother died of lung cancer three months before I graduated high school. I still smoke. Do I feel guilty that I watched her die from smoking and I still do it? Hell yea. Do I enjoy smoking? Hell yea. It's a double edged sword. We all think it won't happen to us, so we keep on doing it. Since it happened when I was only 17, I thought going to see a counselor to talk about her death would help. My counselor tried to get me to admit that I was mad at my mom for smoking, because if she hadn't chosen to smoke, she would still be here for me. The next words out of my mouth to her..."you're fired." Sure, I'm sad she's gpne, more than I can express, but I'm not going to be mad at her for doing something she enjoyed to do. And I know she enjoyed it. And I wasn't going to let anyone pressure me into being angry *at her* when I truly wasn't.

You're right, if any of us got seriously injured or killed while racing, we would leave behind many sad people, as we've witnessed in the past few weeks...but I think there is good in everything that happens, no matter how bad it is...and I have taken away some positive points.
1. Always make sure those around you know how much they mean to you...always!
2. Don't take life for granted, we always assume tomorrow everything will be the same as it is today, and it won't always be that way.

As for racing, I've had the same fears, and have struggled with them, especially after my first crash. Why am I doing something I could potentially kill myself doing, or even worse, someone's stupidity could kill me? I still haven't found the answer, except that I enjoy racing. These past weeks events have made me realize a few things about racing:
1. we're doing it for fun, not money...so there is *no* reason ever, even if you're racing for first, second or twentieth place, to ever make a boneheaded move that would injure or kill myself, and especially another racer. No plaque or feeble amount of money is worth endangering anyone.
2. We race with our friends, that's what makes it fun. Respect each other on the track, and off of it.
3. Learn from each other. If someone makes a dumb move, let them know so they can learn. If someone tells you that you made a dumb move, don't be an ass...listen and learn from what they are telling you.
4. Remember everyone has different skill levels...but we're all on the track for the same reason. We love to race. If you are even slightly questioning a move you're going to make, don't do it...the consequences could be far worse than losing one or two positions.

All in all, live your life for yourself...your family wants you to do what makes you happy. We all experience death in life, and it's tough...it never gets easier, but we all live through it and good friends help us to do that. Don't keep yourself from doing something you enjoy, because your parents want you to enjoy yourself...just be safe in how you do it. I know that won't guarantee anything, but the more people that start thinking like this, the better off we'll all be on the track.

Laura

 

I have dealt with this racing/death thing over and over myself. It will eat you up if you don't deal with it. I released my fear of losing my husband to this sport 2 years ago. I was out in the ocean swimming and finally set this fear free. It's a long story. I wish I had read this thread before I saw you at the GNF Papa. I would like to talk to you about it sometime.

 

I know what you mean. I have a baby on the way, I have begun to hate the travel and time away from my family yet I love the time on the track. I told my wife before hand that racing would always be a part of my life and that just because we have children or other responsibilities I won't atop doing what I love. I've stopped riding on the street and moved to the 125 class to get away from the "C" nonsense. I will wear better and more gear to protect myself but somewhere deep down inside is that nagging feeling be it guilt or fear or some unknown emotion.

Maybe time off is in order? Work corners be involved in the sport other ways and see where it leads?