makin music, playin shows, running a biz takes a lot of hours. but I'm getting a pit bike soon and I'm gonna get some mini cones and drag some knee
I look forward to our off season so the change in the couch cushions can build up again. There's only lint and a bunch of cat hair left right now.
I try to keep in shape I usually go to the gym 3-4 times a week but this winter I'm trying to actually give my legs and shoulders a good workout since they seemed to be a weak point for me on two day weekends. You would be surprised the weird looks I get on the hip abductor but it makes sense for what we do. haha I'll prob fire up SBK2009 on the PS3 and make sure I'm still looking far enough down track. Also just buying upgrades gear/bike and getting everything ready for next year. This is what my list looks like this winter. AGV GP Tech (Simoncelli full rep w/ decals) Tire Warmers (SSR 175degree Warmer Set GothamCycles) Generator (Honda EU2000i) Tires (120/70×17 D209GPA Medium 190/55×17 D211GPA Medium) Ducati 7500mi service Air Filters (BMC Race Filter) Chain Guard (Graves Swingarm Shark) Steering Dampener (GPR V4 Steering Stabilizer) XT Lap Timer All that being said it doesn't even begin to help with my withdrawal
Kinda off topic, but that is one of the biggest things that helped me. I can contribute my riding improvement over the past 18 months to 2 things: 1. Getting quality instruction (JD Speed Academy) 2. Realizing that track riding/racing is an actual sport...and you need to train for it as such. Along with getting some good instruction and learning what i was doing wrong (and why i was crashing and how to prevent it), I lost 35lbs and trained for riding just like i did for other sports. Lots of cardio, leg and core workouts, etc. It made a huge difference in how i feel at the end of sessions/races. A couple of years ago, i was more into lifting weights/bodybuilding. I could bench press the motorcycle, but i couldn't ride it hard for more than 6-8 laps. I would struggle to ride hard/fast even at the end of Sprint races...a Solo 20 race was out of the question. Now my pace stays consistent throughout the Sprints and I have turned my fastest laps at the end of the second Solo race in a day (with only a 30min gap between Solo races). I never really saw riding as an athletic sport. When i did, and started actually training for it, it made a huge difference.
Mind if i make a couple of suggestions? I would first suggest trying the Michelin Power Cups. I went from the Dunlops to the Cups and raced on them all year; they are fantastic (see my thread about them in this section). But with that being said, if you are going to stay with Dunlop...i HIGHLY suggest getting a new set of GPA's. The D209 hasn't been made in a while. So not only will that "new" front tire be several years old, but it is nowhere near as good as the current stuff. Since you are riding in the Advanced group, i have to think you would benefit from better tires. If you can swing it, give some thought to the XT Pro GPS based lap timer. I know it is more expensive. But instead of just giving you an ultimate lap time, it breaks down every lap. You can see your speed in any corner, top speed, average speed, etc. Instead of just telling you what lap time you ran...it tells you how you arrived at that lap time. It is a good learning tool, not just a lap timer.
+1 on what Chris said! GPA211's are way better than the 209's if you're going that route and if I had the money to spend, I'd have the GPS timer as well! :thumb:
Thanks for the information guys I was originally looking at the Dunlops because they were having a fire sale on them and I wanted something that paid contingency in WERA. That is somewhat out the window for the moment because what was for sure to be a sponsor got bought out by CocaCola last month and the previous company was all but liquidated I will look into the GPS never really bothered clicking on it just because of the price. Thanks for the recommendations I guess I have plenty of time to research the best option for me. haha
I got the Qstarz BT-Q1000eX Professional BT Data Logger GPS so that I can look at what I did after I get home. It is less that $200 on Amazon. I wanted a a GPX Pro, but since I already have an Ultra-Lap timer this seemed like a better option. Plus I couldn't see myself ever connecting the other sensors. The software that comes with the QStarz isn't great but it seems to work ok.
Hmm I need to paint the RC and do a complete setup of my GSXR750. Of course I also am working overtime plus a complete other task. And winter is only a couple of months here.... complainers can be put to work :fencing: Ooops and fix the RC pipes in between racing the dogs...