Velocity Racing's 'Honey Badger' Blog

Updates have been few and far between here. I showed up to the Sonoma Superbike Shootout/AFM round 2 but had a get off early on in practice where I messed up my braking sequence. While overall damages were fairly minimal, it was enough to keep me from riding the rest of the weekend. I stuck around to watch the races and had a great time with friends, hanging out and watching the really fast folks do their thing! Upon heading home, I set out on a mission to repair the bike and myself. Hunting around for deals on parts, making use of some of my sponsorships and with the help of some friends found everything I needed. I was back on my street bike a little over a week after the crash, albeit a bit painfully. I built back up slowly, and worked on building the bike back up as well. Approximately 6 weeks later, everything was back in running condition and I headed out for a double header weekend at Thunderhill Raceway to check out the full new track and get back out on the bike...

Well, it's almost time for my first race weekend of the year, and what I plan to be my first full race weekend ever! This will only be my second day on the 675, so there's going to be a little bit of figuring out how best to get that particular bike around the track in the most efficient manner, but a nice sit-down with my AFM mentor last night gave me some great tips and it had the odd effect of calming the nerves a little bit. The bike is nearly ready to go, but I still have parts arriving tomorrow that will need to be put on. Other than that, a friend is letting me borrow her stock steering damper so I at least have one on there, safety wire on the oil filter and HOPEFULLY we will be good to go, pass tech and have an amazing weekend! I'll be back on Pirelli tires again, which I'm very excited about as I definitely seem to prefer them over the others I've tried. On another fun note, I've got plenty of friends who are coming up, some specifically to help me...

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...