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  last updated 01.01.08                
                   
 
Early Days

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After more than 25 years not riding a motorcycle, Teri (bless her) suggested I get a bike - which I promptly did - a BMW R1100RS. Early that first summer of ownership I got invited to a trackday - a fairly new phenomena in the U.S - where riders receive skill training and the chance to ride around, non-racing style, a real race track. A revelation: no pickup trucks making left turns in front of you, no 5,000 pound vehicles cutting you off. Just a bunch of people on similar machinery who begin each track outing promising to make your safety the number one priority of the day. The cameraderi, the fun and the safety (yes, safety) of it all had me hooked. Not long after, Teri suggested that I get another bike more suitable for the track (I'm not making this up) - and club racing soon followed. Oh, the bliss.

                   
  Motorcycling Home   Mid-Ohio under bridge  

Club racing is an amateur sport that includes local organizations with 100-200 members making repeat rounds at three or four regional tracks, to national race series that are springboards to professional race series. I was fortunate to find a local group, Great Lakes Road Racing Association, based in western Michigan. GLRRA's leadership, size and local focus created a close-knit group of racers as much concerned about safety as with being competitive.

                   
 
  Gingerman turn 2 (note seams)  

I started racing at an unusually late age (49) - and was never very competiive - usually finishing about mid-pack in a race of 25-30 riders. Even though I was older than the father's of most of the kids I raced with, I was having a blast. Before becoming a licensed racer you must take classes and pass proficiency tests before you begin as a novice racer. There are about 10,000 licensed racers in the U.S. - about 300 in Michigan (in any given year). The average life-span of a young club racer is typically measured by the size of their credit-line (there are cheaper hobbies).

                   
     
Gingerman corner 1
  I've never had more fun than in the four years I raced with GLRRA. Oher GLRRA riders will tell you that for the eight years it ran, GLRRA was one of the most competitive and best-run clubs in the nation.
                   
 

 

 
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