In typical format I was up at 4am, the truck having been loaded the night before, then over to my friend Craig's to pick him up, and the bikes, which where loaded onto his trailer the night before, and off we went. It's a 2 1/2 hour drive, but it goes by quickly as we catch up on each others stories.
Once there we where set up quickly, and after a short riders meeting we where out on track.
It was a great day of riding for me. The early sessions I spent reacquainting myself with T-hill as I had not been there in many months. I was stiff, and for some reason not super confident. So I took it slowly, and built up speed as the day went on.
I had some suspension issues in the first session. I had left the settings as what Phil from Aftershocks had preset them at, and it wasn't working. Under braking I could feel the front tire push, and when I checked I could see that I wasn't using all the travel in my forks. I checked my notes from last season, and made some adjustments, and that helped.
The time spent down at Willow Springs definitely changed by perspective of what is fast. I used to think T-hill was, and there are fast parts, but it's not the same. So when I got my confidence up I really started attacking corners that used to spook me.
I know for sure I was going through turns 1, 2, 8, 9, and 10 faster than I had before.
One fun aspect of the day was working with my friend Craig.
I went out in 3 or 4 of his sessions and we worked on things for him. It was fun. I would lead for a couple of laps showing lines through turns, and body positioning, then I would follow him, and see what he picked up. By the end of the day he had really picked up the pace. I think I rode in something like 11 or 12 sessions. I did 7 A group sessions, and I think 3 or 4 B group sessions with Craig. I am sore today!
But my fitness training is really paying off. I didn't get fatigued at the end of the day, but I need to work on my mental fitness so I can stay totally focused for 6 laps. Baby steps
It's a long day getting up that early, driving 2 1/2 hours, riding all day, then driving the 2 1/2 hours back, and then unpacking, but damn is it good fun!
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