The Fit Moto Chick

Greg tried to pull the trailer from our backyard, and at this point, he was taking forever! I figured something was wrong with the truck, and lo and behold, there was. The power steering pump went out and I sort of just shrugged—Burt, who is his quirky '76 Ford F250, likes breaking things. It's not the truck's fault either; it's so old, and the parts just wear out. Anyway, we decided to head to Sonoma Raceway for the track day early in the morning. I was fine with doing that and hoped that this was the only glitch that came our way this weekend.

Saturday - Practice and Novice Formula 3 race

The glitches kept coming, and it wasn't from Burt, either—it was me. The track day on Friday helped me shake off the cobwebs from Sonoma, but I wasn't able to shake them off completely.

Practice was fine! I was feeling pretty good...

I felt fine and did okay throughout practice and figured that I would get down to my personal best (PB) time once I got to racing. I also was dealing with a weird clutch lever: It was letting out really far and was sort of loose. I made sure to do a few practice starts prior to the race to make sure I was able to launch the bike.

Once I pulled up onto the grid after the warm-up lap, I mentally got into "race mode" and was super excited (like I always am) to get going in the Novice Formula 3 race. I got on my marked number spot and anxiously waited until Phil dropped the green flag. As soon as he did I went from looking at the ground to looking at the clear blue skies that day had to offer. I seriously thought I was going to loop my bike, and what seemed like minutes, I finally came back down with a hard thud and just went for it.

It took me a lap to get my heart rate at a reasonable pace, and I was finally able to get my mind back into race mode. However, by that time it was too late as all my competitors are freaking fast and pulled away after the first lap. Unfortunately, I did not finish well in this race, and I could sit here and blame it on the clutch, but it was me at the end of the day who didn't perform well.

Sunday - Novice 250 Production and an Attempt at Novice Lightweight Twins

After the prior day's debacle, I was ready to bring a better A-game to the Novice 250 Prod race. I tried to get focused and in race mode well before I had to get on the grid. I figured that if I can prep myself as much as I could mentally, I would be able to get back to my PB time at Sonoma, and possibly beat it as well as podium.

When I gridded up this time around, I still had that damn wheelie in my mind. So when the green flag dropped, I took a snail-paced approach at my launch. Once again, I got a terrible start, and my competitors walked away quickly. It's incredibly hard for me to pick up speed when I don't have a carrot (i.e., someone to chase). Unfortunately, I underestimated how close the guy I was racing with was behind me. He passed me on the last lap and I ended up doing horrible. Again, no one to blame but myself.

I headed back to the pits quite frustrated and questioned everything I was doing. I really let myself down, especially since I thought I was progressing quite well this season. For one reason or another, I took two steps back this weekend.

My disappointment in my performance stayed with me longer than I wanted it to, and I questioned if I was mentally able to race my last race, which was Novice Lightweight Twins. I decided that I was just going to go for it—afterall, at this point I decided to just keep two wheels on the ground. I just didn't want to overthink things.

I suited up and went out on my warm-up lap, and immediately realized that something did not feel right. I felt the seat get loose and started to go back and forth in regards to whether I should try to race with a loose seat, or go back to the pits. I decided that I could ride in a way to keep that seat on. I got on the grid and realized it was worse than I thought: The seat came completely off. I tried to "snap" back in place, but it was futile—it needed to be bolted back on. I also killed my bike on the start, too... I had to make sure my hands were up so now one came plowing at me during the launch.

Well, shit. It looks like my seat just popped off. Thanks Pete for pushing my to safety!

Let's just say, I was a bit pissed when I headed back to the pits.

After I had calmed down, I decided to make a game plan that involved contacting Ken Hill, who gave me a few pointers and great advice. He also gave me things to work on, and I've started putting in more work than I have in the past few months. I'm determined to get better at my worst track (Thunderhill), and I feel that I have all the tools and support needed. I feel super blessed in that respect, and I'm looking forward to October!

As always, I want to thank my amazing sponsors: Suomy Helmets, Spy Optics, RACER gloves, and Moto Guild. I also want to thank the AFM staff and turn workers for doing a fantastic job! Also, these awesome pictures would not exist without Max and Koi over at Oxymoron Photography. Finally, I want to thank Greg, who always kicks my butt to be a better rider.