The 10 Track Day Questions Everyone Asks

"So what'd you do this weekend?"

After spending a day or two at the track, this becomes a surprisingly complicated question to answer. I'm not yet fast enough to go racing, so my weekends (or as likely weekdays) at the track are only for track days. They amount to skill and test sessions, for myself and my machine. Track days are not joy rides, for me. I'm there to learn about the track, the bike, and my riding technique. I'm there with a strategy to further polish my skills, until the speed and the budget come together to go racing.

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But explaining all this to the uninitiated public, who already think that riding a motorcycle is crazy, can be a bit tricky. Here are the top ten questions I end up answering, after I say I've been at the track.

So... you were at a race?

No, it was a track day. It's more like practice. I'm not fast enough to race, yet. It's a very rare rider who can go straight from riding on the street to being competitive (or safe, for that matter) in a race environment. I'm not one of those riders, so I stick to track days, for now.

Well if it's not a race, why do you go?

To get better at riding. To hang out with my friends who share the same passion. And mostly, because it's an insane amount of fun!

Driftiing wide between the two apexes of Turn 1 at JenningsGP. Photo by Joseph Hansen, electriceyeimages.com

How do you keep from falling over?

Physics. Newton's first law would have my bike going in a straight line forever. When I force the bike to turn, that inertia pulls the mass of bike and rider toward the outside of the turn, meaning I have to lean to the inside to counteract that force. The faster I go, the more inertia I have, the more I have to lean. There is a maximum limit to the lean angle on my bike before the tires run out of sufficient surface area, which limits the speed I can carry through a corner. But it's that inertia that keeps me from falling to the ground.

How fast do you go?

Most of the time, I have no idea. I'm usually way too busy to look down, except for the occasional, fleeting glance at the tachometer. I can make an educated guess, based on the engine RPM and gear I'm in on the fastest straight, but really it varies by the track. Some tracks are so tight that I'll never see 5th gear. Some tracks I'll be topped out in 6th, which on my bike is somewhere north of 160 mph. But speed on the race track is more often measured in minutes and seconds, rather than miles per hour. And the real answer to your question? Not fast enough.

This is how to apex. GoPro capture by Pete Hitzeman

Isn't that scary? It looks scary.

Not really. I'm covered in thick leather and body armor, with a really good helmet, and boots and gloves. Most places, if I crash, I'll just slide a bit and maybe roll. Injuries at the track do happen, but they're surprisingly rare, and severe injuries are rarer still. I'm far more scared on my bicycle, where all I've got between me and pavement is a little lycra!