1/4 mile at a time

I did it! I'm now officially a drag racer! I made my racing debut at the AMRA finals in Bowling Green Ky last weekend. I had been practicing and preparing most of the summer, but I had never had a real race until then. What a way to initiate myself! The AMRA finals, tons of spectators and record numbers of competitors. Talk about go big or go home! Another 'big dog' moment completed for me. (The kind of moment where I feel I'm pushing the limits of my ability & I tell myself "you wanted to run with the big dogs, don't get back on that porch now!")

The details: Going up to the registration booth not knowing who, what, where I was supposed to be was the start of my baptism by fire. Fortunately I had good friends to guide me. Studied the schedule, which may as well have been in latin, then had a whole night to make myself a mental case about it. Saturday morning I had about 2 hours to run test & tune. I delayed until I couldn't get away with it anymore, then got myself together and rode up to the line. My first trip down the track was nerve wracking, but when I got my times, I was fairly ok with it. I'd done better, but I've also done much worse. I managed to delay myself enough to only get a couple more passes in, I needed to take baby steps. Qualifying rounds were next. Lots of classes, I was participating in two. I spent a lot of time waiting in line, sitting in the sun wearing a helmet and leather sweating. Not a good hair day, to say the least. I managed to consistently run average times, and it frustrated me that I couldn't do better. I knew I was capable of a 12.3, but for the life of me I couldn't break 12.5 the whole weekend. The track was slick, and I had trouble with my back tire spinning too much. Sunday is race day. Do or die! I got a few test & tune runs in, still getting 12.5, but my last run was the best, a 12.53 (as opposed to the 12.56, .57, .58 i had done before) So, I set my dial in time for 12.53, my fastest time, figuring I hadn't gone faster than that all weekend, so why not. (For those of you not versed in drag racing, I raced in a division where basically, the rider that comes closest to their fastest time, without going over wins.) Mind you, I'm not all that much in the know yet either!
I got nervous again awaiting my very first REAL race. Another self talk...stay off the porch and run with those big dogs! I lined up, lit the staging lights, and GO! I gave it my best shot, and it felt pretty good through the whole run. I couldn't tell if I beat the other rider or not. Got to the turn off lane, rode to the booth, took my ticket, can't read it until I get to the pit, what torture! I get to the pit and the 'crew' I was with was smiling. I won??? Really? No way! How cool was that. I get to race again! Round two I was less nervous, gave it my best shot. I knew I beat the guy next to me. I broke out (went faster than my set time). Oh well, ya win some, you lose some. My mental win was, I just beat a bike that had a 1 second head start!
All those days of practice boiled down to two 1/4 mile trips down the track.

Now I just need to work on the 'game' aspect of racing. Watch the guy next to you, if you're going faster, pace yourself so you don't break out. It's a gamble, and a strategy kind of sport. I'll get there with experience, 1/4 mile at a time. I made measurable progress. It was a slick track, and I spun that back tire a LOT. I used to freak out and let off the throttle when that happened, and now I'm able to keep on it and ride it out. :)

Post race experience I had some time to reflect. I was amazed at the camaraderie of the racers at the AMRA's. I got a lot of thumbs up and fist bumps from perfect strangers and fellow competitors. I didn't know them, but they made me feel at home. I definitely want to go back! I also reflected on how fortunate I truly am. Not just in material things, but in physical ability, in the people who love me, and the fortunate opportunities. I have some awesome guardian angels up there, and I've witnessed proof of their existence. I had my key velcroed under my seat so the alarm wouldn't go off, and after putting it back up on the trailer, I noticed it had fallen down, and almost fell through the frame. If that had happened during a race it could have had some awful results. In questionable weather forecasts, I've been able to successfully get practice and racing in without weather being a factor. So, for all my blessings, thank you to God, the Universe, and to my wonderful Guardian Angels. I will do my best to keep learning and improving, one 1/4 mile at a time!

Racing Your Own Race

I’m not really sure where this blog post is going to lead, but let’s find out together.



I’m learning how to drag race with my motorcycle. I’ve always been the kind of girl that has seen something the boys are doing and said to myself, I can do that! Or if someone said you can’t do that, it’s just made me more determined to try it. Earlier this summer I visited my first motorcycle drag racing event. I saw some women having a great time and doing well holding their own. The little voice inside my head said ‘If they can do it, so can you!’ And so, the gears began to turn.
I’ve had 2 whole days experience at test and tune at the local drag strip, and several days practicing launching down the back roads in corn country. I’ve always been a chronic over achiever, determined to be good at what I do right from the start. I’m always looking for that nod of approval that indicates I’ve impressed someone. It’s a deep seated need for acceptance and admiration, that I’ve recently attributed to the ‘daddy issues’ many women carry. (I’ve had little contact with my father since my parents’ divorce when I was 6. Dad has his reasons for not staying in touch with me, and because he’s a volatile selfish person, I know I’m far better off, but it leaves a need within me nonetheless.)

I’m blessed enough to have several people that I know and talk to on the net who are experienced in drag racing, and qualified to give plenty of advice. I’m trying to absorb all that I can in as little time as possible. The problem with that is, there is too much of a good thing. Drag racing is something that you can only practice on a track. You can try things on the street, but it isn’t the same environment. The road isn’t sticky like the track, you have more things to be aware of for your safety on the road too. Practice makes perfect, but that’s hard to do when you’re limited. When you go to a test and tune, you’re in line waiting, so you only get so many tries to get it right. This weekend was my 2nd official real track experience. I did pretty well on my first go round. I was fairly pleased with myself. But this time, having had more input, and having someone there with me, helping me become aware of what I’m doing and what I can change, it made me totally conscious of all the elements I needed to work on. It’s great to have that kind of knowledge, but when you have half a second at the lights, and 12 seconds down the strip, all of that information going through your head tends to make things more complicated. Then add to all of that, the brief thought that all the power that you’re about to unleash is dangerous and could result in major disaster if you’re not careful, and it makes for one heck of a nerve wracking experience. So much to focus on, so much to put out of my head!

I did worse on this second attempt at the track, and it really frustrated me. Not terrible, but not better, and I had it fixed in my head that I did well the first try, so it should be nothing but improvement from here, and I expected it. The truth is, I was trying to do it all at once, take it all in, fix it all now, get better fast. I was trying to implement all the advice and knowledge at one time. Then, when things started going wrong, I had no foundation for knowing which thing was the issue with my poor performance. Because I was trying too many changes all at once, I was unable to pinpoint which thing was causing my trouble.

I got to thinking about how this can be applied to life as well. Lots of advice and opinions coming at me from all sorts of directions can be helpful and useable. However, if you try to do it all, and do it all now, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll see improvement, in fact, too often, that can lead to painful screw ups and lessons learned. It's best to focus on one thing at a time. It’s easy to do when you have unlimited time to try it all one thing at a time. But if you’re in a race to the finish line, you tend to be in a hurry to try as much as you can, and sometimes, that doesn’t have the results you were looking for. But, that being said, just because something doesn’t improve, doesn’t mean you should give up and stop trying. Tweak the changes, cut them down to manageable chunks, and be patient and look for improvement. Even the slightest improvement can be motivation to continue. And if you don’t see improvement, don’t give up, and don’t obsess, and by all means, don't compare yourself to anyone else. Analyze what you did, think about how it can be altered, or try something completely different, and watch for changes again. Life, like drag racing, is a learning process. Just because someone else beat you to the finish line, doesn’t mean that they’re better. For all you know, they didn’t do their best either, and they could be trying new things to make changes to get them in the right direction too.
Race your own race!