I'm in the paddock on my laptop using the wireless network here at Thunderhill! OK, so here's a quick update on aciurczak's laptimes for the morning:

Session Avg Laptime (mm:ss.x)
1 2:23.6
2 2:19.0
3 2:17.7
BEST lap in the AM:
2:16.7

Looks like our Alex is improving! BUT, we'll have to see how things go in the afternoon since he did eat lunch and we all know about his post-lunch drag coefficient :D.

2:16, wow, that's a big step from the 2:23s!

do we have a "touchdown" yet for a knee puck?

how difficult is it dealing with the heat?

we'll be heading out to join you around 2:30ish.

OK... here's the updated graph of Alex's lap times!

http://aciurczak.smugmug.com/photos/29670474-O.jpg
Alex's times are looking better with each trackday... although the Sunday afternoon times are not as good as the rest of the weekend, but the heat and fatigue of 2 days were getting to Alex. Plus, he tells me his rear tire is going.

BEST lap for the weekend:
02:14.3 !!!

Saturday

Saturday’s track day was pretty quiet as it was just Alex and I, but we had fun as there weren’t too many people so Alex got some really good quality time on the track. Here are some highlights for the day:

Alex’s ride around the track:
http://aciurczak.smugmug.com/photos/29656079-L.jpg

Annie’s ride around the track:
http://aciurczak.smugmug.com/photos/29654641-L.jpg

Side by side rides:
http://aciurczak.smugmug.com/photos/29653785-L.jpg

Alex taking a rest between sessions:
http://aciurczak.smugmug.com/photos/29653345-L.jpg

Full gallery here (http://aciurczak.smugmug.com/gallery/683830).

Sunday

Sunday brought out the MSMC crowd, which added to the fun, excitement, and friendly competition.

Resting before the start of the sessions:
http://aciurczak.smugmug.com/photos/29653744-L.jpg

Vicki and Colin just before one of their sessions:
http://aciurczak.smugmug.com/photos/29654288-L.jpg

Lunch!
http://aciurczak.smugmug.com/photos/29654336-L.jpg

Alex and Mark Eastwood… don’t be fooled by the fact that Alex is in front! Mark’s pace was a bit faster than Alex so think of this shot as the one just before Mark passes Alex.
http://aciurczak.smugmug.com/photos/29656868-L.jpg

Group shot at day’s end (Mark, Vicki, Jonathan, Colin, Mike, Kim, Annie, Alex):
http://aciurczak.smugmug.com/photos/29655248-L.jpg

Full gallery here (http://aciurczak.smugmug.com/gallery/683831).

What a great day! Although the heat my have been a bit high, it did not detract from the fun.

Big props to Alex for back-to-back track days! I was wiped out after 1 day! :thumbup :bcrazy :bow

And a big thanks to Annie for recording our lap times! She is accurate to 100th of a second! :cheers

Colin and Vicky were very patient picking their way through the morning carnage. Each of their sessions were black flagged due to minor offs of their co-riders. It cleared up after lunch and they were afforded an unfettered track for the 3 whole afternoon sessions.

The new Monster S4R was awesome. No more ground clearance issues. I improved my lap times by 5 seconds right out of the box, and it was easier (2:12.4)! Ususally I am very sore after a track day, but I woke up Monday feeling very normal. Faster and Easier...yaaaay! Very pleased with the new bike. :dancecool

ALEX ! 2 DAYS
UNREAL HOW DO YOU DO IT?
congrats to you all for braving the heat

especially that boy Mark, Railin', no wonder there is a #1 on your bike

great form Mark now if we could only get Alex to stop saving his knee pucks!

caio

now if we could only get Alex to stop saving his knee pucks!


Those things are expensive! I'm just trying to keep them nice and shiny. :bounce

OK, so I was tired last night and only got to work on Alex’s lap times. So here’s a quick summary of the other folks I stalked :) :

10:20 am Session
Mark
2:16.355
2:16.824
2:13.370
2:12.390 !!
2:14.354
Avg 2:14.658

11:20 am Session
Mark
2:14.232
2:22.865
2:54.150 (traffic, went in/out)
2:16.755
2:14.039 *
2:14.812
Avg 2:22.808

1:20 pm Session
Mark
2:15.795
2:16.037
2:16.638
2:12.590 !!
2:13.064
Avg 2:14.824

Jonathan
2:29.904
2:25.752
2:22.146
2:18.810 *
2:20.309
Avg 2:23.384

2:20 pm Session
Mark
2:13.713
2:15.311
2:22.586
2:12.879 !!
Avg 2:16.122

Jonathan
2:20.890
2:21.442
2:20.164
2:24.630
2:21.800
2:17.196 *
Avg 2:21.020


3:20 pm Session
Mark
2:14.562 *
2:16.524 (black flag)
Avg 2:15.543

Jonathan
2:23.079 *
2:25.846 (black flag)
Avg 2:24.462

The above data is “raw” data, unverified, and not graphed. After kickboxing class, I’ll try and scrub the data into something more presentable.

I think I spend too much time on this stuff :D, but here's a pretty cool looking graph of Mark vs. Alex vs. Jonathan.

http://aciurczak.smugmug.com/photos/29785679-L.jpg

Alex, that post-lunch stuff is really killing your time...:p

Vicki and I had another great experience.

The "night before" tradition of Mexican food and top-shelf margaritas continues...mmm...jalapeno poppers and Herradura....ohhh...stomach cramps and a headache in the morning. Why do we do this? It's tradition!

It was very hot, but not as miserable as I'd feared, though modesty and vanity aren't high on anyone's list of priorities after the flag drops on the first session.

As Mark mentioned, the patience of the C group was tested early, as every session before lunch was delayed or black-flagged due to crashes. Hard to find a rhythm when you only get to do 2 or 3 laps every 20 minutes. But it's just bad luck and thankfully nobody needed an ambulance. And it gave us a chance to ensure we knew the location of all the flag stations.

Vicki and I rebelled and skipped the mandatory classroom sessions this time, we'd just done them in May and the lessions were still fresh. This gave us the opportunity to hang out in the paddock with our MSMC mates between sessions. Shootin' the breeze is half the fun...ask Alex about his custom, built-in air freshener! Heat activated!

After lunch our sessions proceeded uninterrupted, though the heat did start to become a little oppressive. Vicki, I and even Alex pulled in a lap or two early on some sessions, the air was just too hot to think when out on track.

Alex and Mark posted some impressive laps, Mark on his new bike and Alex progressing rapidly since spring. Me? <ahem> well....<cough>...I, uh...you see...I'm approaching this cautiously. Ride your own ride!

We all elected to skip our last sessions and get a jump on the 3 hour drive home...which took us a bit longer, because I missed the only real turn off, the one that connects 505 from I-5. Guess what? I-5 is deserted out there, with no off ramps for miles for us to turn around. And coming back, there's no access to 505, so we had to turn around again. That little mistake, in the heat, after a long day, cost me a an extra order fries to console Vicki when we stopped for dinner in Vacaville....yep, I know how to treat a woman right...

When Alex discovers that dragging that piece of plastic attached to his knee on the ground makes him faster, he will be uncatchable! Let's encourage him to sit up as much as possible! :D :D

Annie I love the graphs! All this information is really making Jonathan re-think the max velocity of his current motorcycle! (check out his daily averages...) :hitself

All this information is really making Jonathan re-think the max velocity of his current motorcycle!

Don't tell him a 12 year old girl did 2:08s at T-Hill recently on a 125 2-stroke.....