Velocity Racing's 'Honey Badger' Blog

2014 track season has officially started for me! After making a few small modifications to the Triumph 675 (such as new brake pads and the switch to GP shift) I was ready to go. It worked out that Pacific Track Time had a trackday that worked with my schedule, so I signed up and got prepared. This was a Monday trackday, so I spent Saturday and Sunday prepping, packing and then Sunday afternoon picked up my carpool buddy and we headed up to Thunderhill. Upon arrival, I went to see If I could sneak in for a baseline prior to Monday morning with Jason Hauns at JPH Suspension, my go-to suspension guy. I love his work, and have been VERY happy with the results. He had room, so I ran over and unloaded the bike, hooked up the battery, turned it on - and nothing. Well, almost nothing. I had backlights on my display, but that was it.Try to bump start it, but no go there. One of the very nice gate guys at THill lent me his battery charger to us, so, figuring that was the issue, threw the bat...

While the race season for me is still a little ways off, the preparations have seriously began. I ended 2013 with a very strong desire for a newer bike - still far from needing a fancy bike, but something a little newer that worked a little better with my riding was becoming more of a need if I wanted even a remote chance of being competitive. This had me perusing the classifieds in search of "the" bike that fit what I wanted. Of course, my heart was kind of set on the Triumph 675 after riding my pit neighbor's last November, but I was open to looking at others, but either way I was not in a rush as I saved up my pennies. While looking through BARF's sale section, I happened across an ad for basically the exact bike I was dreaming of, in the price range I was hoping for. A 2007 Triumph Daytona 675. Oooooh. On a "hey, what's the worst that could happen" whim, I PMed the seller and explained my situation. As it turned out, he was more than happy to work ...

I have finished my 2014 starter race resume, please take a few moments to view it from my Dropbox. Due to my high involvement in the motorcycling community both on and off the track, I'm currently seeking sponsorships in a variety of forms. More information is available on my resume!   AFM 702 Race Resume For anyone who is interested in supporting me personally, I have also set up a "GoFundMe" account to help me purchase a new race bike - which will be a great asset in not only opening up more classes that I can be competitive in, but can also help me achieve a title in the AFemme Novice class! GoFundMe AFM 702 Every little bit helps! I'm saving every spare penny this winter in order to ensure that not only can I make the races, I can also find a bike that will ensure a solid end to the race season! 

The 2013 track season came to a close with Zoom Zoom's Thanksgiving double header at Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, CA. After sorting out the "how am I getting there" situation, figuring out how to finagle the money issues, and then grabbing some spots from those needing to unload theirs, it was time to get ready. The bike needed some basic prep even for this final weekend, had to get the Land Rover fixed up enough to make the trip, and of course the usual packing and prep work. My carpool buddy helped make that all happen and on Friday night we headed up to Willows. Saturday dawned bright and cool. With a calm, sunny day we set up our pit area with our friends, made it through registration and tech, attended the riders meeting, then got ready for our first sessions out. I had snagged a B group spot for this day, which actually worked out well - it had been nearly 3 months since I had been to any track, and I wanted to work on passing and learning to take those menta...

September 9th, 2013 was the 7th annual Women's VIP Day put on by Zoom Zoom, and my 3rd VIP day - in fact, my very first one 3 years ago was my very first trackday ever (and the only one that year)! Unlike that time, however, I'm starting to feel like an old hat at this - bike was ready, I was packed, and I actually slept the night before lol. After working out some kinks on how exactly I was going to get me and the bike to the track (huge thanks to Dennis for the carpool!!) I was set to go. Money was tight, but I definitely needed a good day out at the track. I was looking forward to the opportunity to refine some of the progress I made at my last day at THill, and to  work out some kinks on a few corners (8, 9, 10, and 14 specifically). On 8 I wanted to work on where I was looking and opening up that corner; 9 I needed to work on my brake markers and speed through the corner; 10 was the same thing as 9 only even more so, also getting my eyes up and over sooner; 14 was solidi...

So, through some scraping, skimping and selling, I managed to scrape up enough to finally squeak a trackday into my budget - just one at this point, and managed a loaded carpool and shared hotel expenses, which really cuts down on costs, and finally made it back out to Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, CA. I haven't been to THill since I did my NRS in November, and that was the only time I had been out there since that day in August. So it was feeling like a bit of a rematch, my first time really getting out there and working on going faster at that particular piece of pavement. We drove up on Sunday night, dropped off the bikes and trailer, and then proceeding to the hotel to relax, grab some dinner and get a good night's sleep in before our trackday. I was travelling with a couple other friends, and some other folks were going to meet up with us on Monday. Sunday night I fell asleep early - guess I was just plain old tired. Slept well most of the night other than about an hou...

After having several things fall through that I thought were a bit more "sure," my racing for the past and next round have been placed on hold. I need more practice at Thunderhill, so I'm intending to make the trackday there in mid-July, and in the meantime I'm focusing on getting my job situation sorted out so that I can not only make it to the races, but be competitive when I get there. Most of my time is spent at work right now, and the little bit that isn't is spent on finding that job that will get me back out on the track. A crack in the frame on my R6 has also set me back as I try to decide if the weld job is enough or if I want to just retire/keep as a backup that bike and move to something I would feel better on. Trying to work something out for that, but as I've learned, don't count on it till it's in your hands :) Sorting out my job situation will definitely help in all aspects, and I'm pursuing that with the little bit of free time I ...