Cutting through the air, the closest to pure flight that a human can feel while not inside a plane, I was various types of birds in flight. A seagull diving down looking for prey at the apex of the corner that can be devoured on corner exit. 
A phoenix once I hit the straight trying to become a human dart, praying that I will burn up as pure fire, wings spread wide as I hit my braking markers. I realized then and there what I loved and appreciated most about track days:…the feeling of being pure avian.
Riding a bike, specifically on a road course, is a thrilling experience for me. If I can get a good pace and not see anyone directly in front of me for 15 minutes of a 20 min. session; I’m in heaven. Riding a motorcycle is typically a solitary activity, at least in comparison to racing where you have a team of guys working on your suspension and bike to help you beat others to the finish line. For me, the opposite of that would be track days where you riding purely for yourself. Some people are out there to get a faster time and some are just trying to be faster than the guy in front of them or faster than their friends. However, my motivations are more…..spiritual with roots in Buddhist or Tibetan philosophies; I’m looking for inner peace and enlightenment. Runners get Runner’s High, Gearheads get high on C16 and I get high on going over 120 mph on a vehicle that weights about 415 lbs, wants to stand upright in a turn at 80mph and will protect me from nothing if we crash.
Some people call me crazy for riding a motorcycle period without even counting riding on the track. Worse still some people give me funny looks because I don’t like to be competitive on the track. But when dismemberment and death are a foot, or less, away at Turn 5 (or Turn 6 depending on how you take Turn 1) of Formula USA, you realize something: no one really matters except for you when you are out there. With all of the forces going against you, most of them rooted in nature and physics, your only option is to just be in the moment; friends and enemies be damned. Track days are an exercise in patience, focus and dedication. You have to be patient waiting to find your moment. You have to have focus to keep yourself upright and alive. And lastly you have to be dedicated to yourself and to your machine. That’s all that’s really involved. If you lose faith in your machinery or yourself, you will either learn to hate it
or crash. Unfortunately, I’ve seen both happen right in front of me.
But the patience, focus and dedication are what get me closer and closer to feeling like I’m a part of everything; my little Zen moment, even if it only lasts for a few turns.
I was reading the latest AGV Backmarker on Road Racer X and it got me thinking about this hobby, as well as all of my hobbies, and how dangerous they can be. This grabbed my attention and, honestly, it inspired me to write this article:
..didn’t mention (or perhaps was not aware) that another rider was killed at that meet….But I know that he “got” Riding Man and since the whole book is, in large measure, a meditation on the nature of risk, I know that he was fully informed. I know that, like me, he understood that the decision to race motorcycles is meaningful precisely because the consequences of an error in judgment can be disastrous.
This is a point that I think most outsiders must take into consideration for those that like to get involved in potentially dangerous sports like track days, drag racing or drifting or even less dangerous sports like skiing or snowboarding; we all take risks and we all must be able to deal with consequences.
I personally do what I do BECAUSE there is a level of skill involved to protect oneself from harm while also having fun; I actually find that fact VERY exhilarating and calming. Death is inevitable and it’s what makes us human. I believe we were all put here to purely for the purpose of experiencing and enjoying life so I just that. I’d much rather pass from this world doing something I enjoy with all my heart instead of growing old, unfulfilled and regretful.
On the flip side of that, I can be competitive, I just don’t like to mix some of my hobbies with competition. I 
enjoy riding a bike on the track, connecting corner after corner, pushing my body to the limit. It can make you feel like Iron Man or the Nicky Hayden of the Marvel universe; like everything is right and perfect in the world. However, formal competition has a way of taking you out of that internal experience and instead you end up focusing on winning or being better than someone else. This has never been a good motivator as there is always someone who is better and, for me, that just means I would end up like a hamster in a wheel. Being a better me has always worked wonders on me and that can’t be judged my anyone else.
And if I am to pass away as the result of my hobbies, I hope I go out like the phoenix in a bright flash, figuratively and literally. At least you’ll know I passed on from this life knowing I did what I could to better myself and not because I was trying to prove something or to get a trophy. But if/when I do pass on, make sure you have a few shots of Southern Comfort and do a few burnouts (in car or bike) in my honor and not in that order please.
Photos courtesy of:
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