Retiring after 24 years. Time to get to the track!

Whatever.

 

At this point I'm to invested in the bike, and really have been having fun. I have met allot of good supportive races at the track. My laptgmes keep coming down with every visit. It was a really stupid line I took. Just plain dumb.

 

Don't kick yourself too hard about the crash. We've all been there. The important thing is that you know what you did wrong and learned from it. That's a positive step, believe it or not.

You might consider a school, or at least some homework (Ken Hill Podcasts or Nick Iensatch's book) It's normal to have big improvements when starting out (or making a comeback in your case), but if your laptimes are varying that much, you probably are not being very technical with your riding- i.e. using reference points- brake markers, turn in points, etc.

It's a lot harder to find the limit when you don't really know what you did one lap ago.

I'm making some assumptions about your riding, I may be way off, but I'm going off what you said earlier about not being able to go fast all day until you get in the heat of battle, then your times drop. Being more technical will help that.

You seem to have a great attitude about your riding and racing, and as you see, crashing sucks, and we need guys like you to keep on coming back. This sport isn't going to grow itself!

 

Ive heard this, too. And, unlike footpegs, if the frame sliders bite, they can tweak the motor mounts to the frame, rendering a colossal problem.

 

The bike is almost ready for racing in at the end of Feb. CVMA. I have two more rounds. I called M4 and they sent me the right rivets snd bands for my canon can. I shortened it by 4". The body work has been rebuilt. Stiff as hell. I have to commend all the manufactures of bodywork on how they make it so flexible.

As far as my body goes I'm not in the gym. My ribs hurt every time I do anything still. I am a blue collar worker, and turn a wrench for a living. Wrench and software logs. Have a CT I might have fixed it. Please always make sure it is at least a 64 slice CT.

On a personal note I was treated very badly by my reserve command on my exit. almost 25 years and they shit on me. Hurt more than the crash. My active command treated me like well an old man that did his time and deserved the respect due his years. I was blown away in tears. I was truly blessed by them.

I am truly blessed I can race with CVMA. I am not religious just happy for this community.

Thanks fellas.

 

Hey fellas,

This will be my last post on this thread. I appreciate all the support. Not one mention of cornering low. I'm really disappointed in you guys. I am almost fully healed the bike is almost back together. I spend my time at night sanding and applying, fiberglass, and Bondo to fill cracks. The bike flipped three times. I'm at 220 grit sand paper now. I still can't do ten pushups but I'll get back to the fitness I was before with time.


I hit the day of retirement 2/1/2020 I joined active duty 2/14/1995. It is hard to explain how much the Coast Guard made the man I am today. I was as we put it in the CG a shit bag before they sorted my ass out. The end was difficult. I had a very bad reserve command that sent me off in a less than honorable way. But the active command sent me off with just the most honorable way you could hope for. Just very good people said you're a good dude and deserve to be recognized after 24 years. I am blessed to have mattered to the guys at the ESD I retired at.


I Love the Coast Guard the Coast Guard loves fucking me.


End

Thank you Ed Hannigan for being my mentor with the Coast Guard and in the science of racing.

 

Wait a minute! Don't you still have two more races to go? I want to hear!

Congratulations on your retirement after 24 years of service. Thank you!

 

Find you an older Aprilia Rs250. I had a blast at track days on mine. 55 hp I think I had and just some valving and spring work. That bike taught me to corner.
Just realized this is an older thread lol

 

Thanks for your service Repeater. I’m 15 yrs into an active duty Air Force career, it’s been great to me. I’m in Okinawa now, which is a freaking paradise except for no tracks on the island, so I’m taking a 2+ yr hiatus from racing. I raced at Chuck and Arroyo in NM until I moved away in 2018, I had a lot of fun out there. High-sided myself to the moon on a January race day, first race of the morning, cold tires and too much throttle after a long time waiting on the grid for everyone to get lined up right. So I sympathize with your crash woes, the open desert is probably almost always better to crash in than somewhere with obstacles or walls, but that desert dirt also isn’t forgiving, and asphalt is hard everywhere. Keep at it man, I didn’t line up for my first race until I was 11 yrs into my career, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

 

What she said. Youre not off the hook.

As for services, shitty commanders suck, they suck even more when theyre ego takes over. Trust me, I know.

And as I see it, you should be enjoying retirement.

 

CVMA#210 2 more races last or first. And thank you Gentlemen for your service. I'll post the results so far I've been last each race when folks don't crash so last in my book. Weird thing is I'm up there in Quali. I just don't seem to take the first lap as fast as I do when I do Quali. I'm really happy I am doing this. I'm actually looking to rebuild my 1974 Suzuki T500 to do a few classic races.

I'm very blessed to be able to race at this age and be supported by a great ORG like CVMA. I have no buisness doing this at my speed and ability.

I'll keep posting if you fellas are not annoyed by it. I don't want to keep a thread alive for my vanity.

V/R

Dennis

 

Race report..... Last both Amateur Middleweight races. I lost allot of fitness and just was happy to finish the weekend safely. I was pretty down due to my lap times then stopped looking and started having fun. I worked on finding markers and looking at other riders lines. I also had the opportunity to talk to a couple guys that ride these GSXRs. Not may out on track.

Also pitted with a Kid (19) that I did my new racer school with Ryan Fritz. Remember that name. He has raced with you folks. HE is taking names and doing it the right way. His dad "POPS" is a great guy and fully supports both his boys. Watching Ryan crash then not qualify then start from the back and take the lead before the end of the first lap was inspiring. Humble guy and no ego to speak of.

Thanks POPS for breakfast in the am.

I'd post a pic of my fixed bike but not sure how to convert from apple to here.

Thanks fellas.