Don’t ruin racing for yourself.
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We compete in something special. Road racing is not something everyone can do for one reason or another. Take care of it. By that, I mean don’t do anything stupid. There are certain actions that can sabotage racing for just about anyone. We all love it, but just like your last girlfriend, you can smother it beyond belief, forcing it to exit your otherwise sad excuse for a life, putting you back on the couch for two more seasons of L&O SVU. You can love it too much or love it for all the wrong reasons. Sure, it has a nice look and a pretty appeal, but that doesn’t mean you need to max out your credit card to buy it new tires every weekend.
By “it,” I mean your motorbike, not the woman in the red dress standing to your left, sipping a straight-up martini, who’s, let’s be honest, way out of your league. The cost of a set of tires wouldn’t pay for that dinner with her. So put away your smile and stare back down at your draft Lite beer, dreaming of your next track skirmish.
Step 1: Finances. Be modest about it. Set a budget. Maxing out a couple of credit cards isn’t going to get you anywhere. This is a hobby for 99% of us, so why go into $25,000+ in debt because your normal salary can’t cover the fancier side of racing? You can race on the cheap, and you know it. NEED, Stop saying you NEED this and that. You don’t need MR12, and you certainly don’t need fancy $2,500 leathers, a $70,000 toy hauler, pit shirts, or to race 10 sprints in a weekend. We all know how easy it is to get caught up in this addiction and want to give away just about anything you have to make the grid one more time in a weekend. What do you need? A cheap race hauler, a $2,500 SV650, and a couple of hundred dollars each weekend (depending how many races you want to do).
Step 2: Results. We’re all on the racetrack to compete and do well. We are racers; racing is about bettering yourself to beat the guy next to you, friend or foe. I have two major pet peeves in this category.
The first is the obsession with trophies. Stop caring about them and stop posting photos showing how many you’ve won. After 10 of those things, why even bother picking them up at the end of the day? We get it—you’ve got trophies. If you want to share your weekend, give us something we can actually be interested in, like a nice race report, or better yet, just nothing at all.
The second pet peeve is the attitude of caring about results once you’ve hit your peak or feel “unable to compete.” I understand this can be discouraging but change the reason why you’re at the track. You can still battle your friends, explore bike setups, and laugh and smile about it all at the end of the day around the fire. You may need a fifth of Jack to break out that smile but bring it on out—we miss it (maybe).
Step 3: Embrace the Kids. You may be one of the top five in your club, but there will always be “the kid.” One kid leaves, and you might think, “Finally, I can get back to winning.” But deep down, you know there’s just one more kid waiting to take their place. So when they arrive and kick the snot out of you, welcome them in and help in any way you can. Don’t sulk over your credit card receipts for fancy new suspension and fresh tires every race, convincing yourself that’s the only reason they’re beating you.
Really explore your reasons for being into racing. Come to grips with that.
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