Seriously...when is it time to quit?

I don't know that you can "unfocus" on that. If the thought that you're going to be racing the next day doesn't overshadow that feeling that you'd rather be making bad music with your buddies than load up your trailer, you're probably due for a break.

 

Our last race was an indoor flattrack in January of 2015. It was a perfect race weekend. I was happy to go out on a high note. A lot of people stay one race too long.

 

I raced to the bathroom just yesterday.

 

I'm guessing that the conscious choice to stop racing is similar to the choice to retire, or even quit a job in that some people walk away and never look back - zero regrets and no real desire to scratch that itch again and others can't quite move on and long to get back at it to varying degrees.

I stopped 5 years ago and have had ZERO desire to return to it, which is quite shocking for me considering it was 7-8 years of some of the best times of my life.

I had a stretch of 4 years with no crashes then two of them within 2 months - neither were serious or physically taxing other than a collar bone and couple ribs but I think it was enough to flip a switch in my brain somehow.

While recovering from crash #2 I bought a well prepped SV thinking my issue was more that I was on a 10 year old literbike with a tiny budget and expecting to be in the hunt for podiums which given my talent - wasn't gonna happen. I took the SV to the track, and by lap #2 I knew I was done. Finished the race in 2nd place, entered the pits, got out of my gear, and walked right over to race control and pulled myself from the rest of the weekends races - it was that clear to me my heart was no longer in it.

5 years on and I did a track day this past summer as a litmus test - nothing has changed, same feelings of being totally over it.

 

when the costs of time, energy and money overshadow the fun factor. once it becomes a job and not fun, i am out. i miss the people at the race days and track days A LOT. i dont miss the outpouring of energy and funds, to get me to that "happy place".

I am finding more fun in riding, and now racing offroad cycle events. it is cyclical for me, started as dirt, then street, then dirt, then street, then supermoto, then sportbike track days, then racing wera sportbikes, then trackdays, then snowbikes, then and now dirt/offroad. i am one of those addictive personality type people, where i go ALL IN, then get burned out, and move on, & look for the next rush, excitement, adventure.

good luck with your decision, and quest. and know, there is no wrong or right answer for you to make. Ski

 

As a kid MC's were verbotten for me. After college and when I got some extra cash I decided to scratch the itch. Through the 80's and 90's I was on the bike everywhere then got bored. Tried finding solace in old bikes of my youth...nope. In the 00's I found the track and relit the fuse. After 15 years of that and progressing through the ranks MC's are again kinda boring, I even sometimes have trouble wrenching on them. I find the best times coaching and hanging out in the paddock. I miss having a fire under my butt but have found buying the latest techno wizard bike doesn't really do it. Looking for the next match to light a fire.....

I'll add that I think the key is to have a few close friends of comparable skill to ride with is a big plus. Most guys my age have quit already and the young'uns are just too damn fast!

 

@rd400racer
For me it was when getting the truck loaded became a chore and tedious, instead of an event filled with anticipation.
I started NOT having fun on the track, and really not enjoying my time out there.

Then, my eyes went to shit without me knowing (I now have to wear progressives), and I lost health insurance, all when I wasn't having fun anyway.
The confluence of those events put me on a path where after 6 months, I didn't miss the time at the track, nor on the bike.
That forced time (due to insurance) made me realize I was done.

4 years later, I miss the people & personalities associated with club racing, but I don't miss the prep & cleanup and I have more time to hike, walk, bike, shoot, etc.

 

This is all just a bunch of "if" questions that you'll never answer by simply continuing to ask more "if" questions. Buy a bike. Sign up for one race. Grid up and go for it. You'll feel one of 3 ways after the race. You'll either wish you had registered for more, you'll be satisfy with your one race but realize that's all you need, or you'll realize the racing itself isn't fun anymore and you just wanna pit bitch for someone, work corners, volunteer for WERA, spectate, or stay home. But I suspect one race will answer your question. If it is time to call it quits, sell the bike when you get home for what you paid. The trip might cost you some money but I imagine if that's the cost to answer this question, it's probably worth it.

 

I've raced since 1975, only missing four years in that time, I still love everything about it, working on my bike etc. I even don't mind the travelling too much. I'm not looking forward to the day when I stop, I know that one day I will have to.

 

I hate road racing the entire week before a race due to the stress, prep, time away, etc.

As soon as I pull into the pits that completely changes course and when I hear that first race motor the next morning blast down hot pit I’m all the way back in.

I'm a pretty dumb animal, though.

 

I got married and had kids. Arrive and drive karting still gets me most of the way. It doesn't cost any less, but it doesn't take up near as much time.

 

My wife said I couldn't have my allowance any more.

 

Oh Jeez stop it. LOL

 

It's time you earned it.

 

Couldn't you just sell some of those bikes in your basement?

 

They got removed when I was used as slave labor to finish a basement.


Oh...wait I meant earned my right to be allowed to sleep in the house. Unfortunately I couldn't afford the hammer or saws to complete the work so I had to drive the nails in with my head and chew the wood to length.

 

Come the apocalypse, those skills will be in high demand.

 

I knew I was done racing when a guy made an absolutely ridiculous attempt at a pass in 2010 and caused a gnarly crash putting me in the hospital and him without a spleen. Switched to trackdays after that (a lot of them!) and haven't looked back. I do miss the great races where you're cutting it up with a few guys, but I don't miss the red mist that comes over me on the out lap to the grid and I love the money that went back into my household.

You're definitely correct that trackdays are in no way close to racing! Good luck with your decision!

 

Ive retired 3 times. Getting hurt makes it tough, but you heal and start missing the track. Trackdays just arent as fun as racing. Even for the simple fact that everyone else around you race weekends has similar pace and you dont come across so many "speedbumps". I took almost 2 years off, most of 2019 and all of 2020 (except this coming weekend!) but just renewed my license. I switched to a smaller CC bike this time, and may put most of my focus on the "senior" class depending on how things go. The desire never goes away. I will continue to race until the body says no more.

 

I have found that unloading at high speed is usually quite inspirational when it comes to the point of taking a break.
The older a body becomes, the longer the recovery from crashing takes. It is a question that has a different answer per racer.
Whatever you decide make sure it is the best decision for you. All the good luck to you that goes with it.