Managing amateur track day risk | Page 11 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Managing amateur track day risk

Not riding today is managing risk. Phew, it's a scorcher.
 
Fiery254 said:
Not riding today is managing risk. Phew, it's a scorcher.
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Eh, not too bad. I ended up skipping 3-4 sessions because I didn't want to push myself too much in the heat.
We ran two groups, 20 minute sessions, so still lots of riding time.

Lots of wind at Cayuga. Broke my canopy actually.

Protip:
Put a soft gel ice pack between your chest protector and body. Makes a world of difference.

But yeah, when I felt myself fading, I would pit out for a minute or so, and that was enough to refresh me and i'd go back on the track.
Also I ended up going out later or pitting earlier for a few sessions.
 
Panici said:
Protip:
Put a soft gel ice pack between your chest protector and body. Makes a world of difference.
Click to expand...

^^^^and if you crash the medics will think you've burst blue blood all over the place.

My tip;

throw half a dozen bottles of water in the freezer the night before. Ice cold water all day long.
 
Fiery254 said:
^^^^and if you crash the medics will think you've burst blue blood all over the place.

My tip;

throw half a dozen bottles of water in the freezer the night before. Ice cold water all day long.
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Clear blood?
Also yes a cooler with ice is great! :)
 
Again, thanks everyone for the feedback. Your posts have left me with the impression (possibly naively or wishful thinking) that if I do my part, the risk on the track may be different, but no greater, than street riding. "My part" includes riding within my ability, learning and sticking to proper lines, and being considerate of others - all things which apply, in different ways, to street riding too. Granted, when something goes wrong on the track, it happens at a higher speed and the consequences probably are greater. But then again, no one on the track is talking on their cell, running a red light, or drunk.
 
Geeser said:
Again, thanks everyone for the feedback. Your posts have left me with the impression (possibly naively or wishful thinking) that if I do my part, the risk on the track may be different, but no greater, than street riding. "My part" includes riding within my ability, learning and sticking to proper lines, and being considerate of others - all things which apply, in different ways, to street riding too. Granted, when something goes wrong on the track, it happens at a higher speed and the consequences probably are greater. But then again, no one on the track is talking on their cell, running a red light, or drunk.
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That's a good synthesis of the conversation here. You've definitely got the gist of it. At the end of the day, in motorcycle riding, you're responsible for everything that happens, because it's your body that's going to hit the pavement, and pointing fingers after the fact doesn't change much.

I will say that, despite these recent fatalities and everything we've talked about, riding on the track is still generally safer than riding on the street, as long as you ride within your abilities. This particular accident sounds like a high-speed one, but I would say that the vast majority of accidents at the track happen at relatively low speeds, in corners or coming out of them. This is in contrast to street accidents, which often happen when a rider is going in a straight direction of travel through an intersection. Even collisions with other bikes will happen at lower closing speeds than on the street, where there's potential for head-on collisions.

The only reason there *could* be increased danger on the track, is because people are more likely to push their abilities, and the abilities of their brakes/suspension/tires, than they would on the street. But if you control for this one factor and ride well within your abilities, there's no need to have a mishap on the track. It's probably the safest place you could ever ride your motorcycle.
 
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still won't fit!! what i have done is put a thin towel from my shoulders and down my back and before i put my helmet on, i dump a bottle of water over my head and let it run down my back
 
spinto said:
still won't fit!! what i have done is put a thin towel from my shoulders and down my back and before i put my helmet on, i dump a bottle of water over my head and let it run down my back
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You don't have ~1cm of extra space? And I thought my suit was tight!
 
spinto said:
Don't know how many times you've crashed and a what the circumstances were...but a loose suit leads to torn skin on the inside!!
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Yeah, my suit is definitely tight enough. Don't worry. ;)
I think you are just overestimating the size of the ice sheet.

But I digress, we are dragging this thread off topic.
 
Panici said:
Yeah, my suit is definitely tight enough. Don't worry. ;)
I think you are just overestimating the size of the ice sheet.

But I digress, we are dragging this thread off topic.
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you're right i have no experience at all....what was i thinking!!
 
spinto said:
you're right i have no experience at all....what was i thinking!!
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I think you've just misunderstood me. I did not mean to discount your experience.

Lets put it this way. My suit fits tight enough that I have trouble zipping it up sometimes.
The ice pack fit mainly between the belt for my back protector and chest protector, where there was just enough room for it.

I agree that a loose suit is asking for trouble. In my crashes i've broken bones and torn things, but never a mark on my skin :)
 
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