The Riding Badge of Honor
Perhaps it is my inner adrenaline junkie, or perhaps it is the attraction to speed, but I have been obsessed with going fast since I was a little kid. From racing bicycles, to working on cars to make them faster, to motorcycles and track days, I have always been drawn to speed. Lately, sportbikes have been my poison of choice.
I have been riding sportbikes for the past six years now, three of which have involved track days and competitive riding. Sportbikes are all about speed and are purpose built for the racetrack. “Why buy a sport bike and never make it to an actual track?” I thought, during my third season of riding. I gathered what courage I had and ventured off to my first track day with a group of more experienced friends.
When at the track, all of the normal riding hazards are removed. There are no potholes to watch out for, no absent-minded soccer moms in minivans merging into you, no Priuses driving five miles per hour under the speed limit in the fast lane. There is just you and the track with nothing else to distract you. Only here can you ride to your fullest potential in a controlled and safe environment. The first time all distractions have been removed can be a bit overwhelming, but once acclimated, there are very few thrills that can match it.
Once you begin to get the hang of riding at the track, you want to go faster and faster, while improving your riding ability. The first goal most riders have is to “get your knee down.” All riders at the track are required to wear special leather suits for protection. These suits come equipped with hard plastic pucks on the outside of each knee. The aforementioned phrase refers to leaning the bike over, while turning, to such extent that the puck comes in contact with the pavement while cornering. Sounds insane right? I thought so too.
My first track day consisted of me desperately trying to lean the bike as hard as I could in order to finally get my knee down, referred to as knee-dragging. Needless to say, it didn’t happen. I was going about it all wrong. “The point is to go fast, not drag your knee,” I was told by a few friends. “The knee will touch down all on its own.”
Armed with my new knowledge, I set out on my second track day with the goal to “go faster.” I found that by repositioning my body to hang off of the bike while cornering, I was able to increase my corner speed. This also allowed me to lean the bike over at more extreme angles safely. After a few hours, I had finally done it. On the second to last corner of the lap, I leaned the bike over and powered through the turn. Midway, I felt the pavement come in contact with puck and heard a loud scraping noise. It caught me off guard at first, but then I realized what I had done. I had finally earned my badge of honor.
Works Cited
Condon, Ken. Knee dragging 101: Fundamentals You Need to Know. Oct 02 2014. http://www.ridinginthezone.com/knee-dragging-101/
