Wrapping up the Season

October of the year usually sees us crotch rocketeer types winding down the season. Cool wet weather and wet leaves in our favorite corners puts the brakes on. With that we can reflect on the year and start to get excited for next. I never really stop riding altogether for the year, I just ride a little less, so when I'm referring to the riding season what I'm really talking about is the good weather riding season.

My good weather riding season kicked off with the season opener of Keigwin's trackdays at ThunderHill. It was perfect weather. I rode the Interceptor for my first time back on track since my crash in 2015, and dad watched. We came back to ThunderHill in May and dad rented a Ninja 300 and did the trackday also.

Between the trackdays in sunny California we were still ripping up the roads in rainy Oregon.

Sometime around May some of my rider buddies who had become racers really started working on me trying to get me into that obsession (as if trackdays weren't enough of a drug). So I got it in my head to get a 250 and race that.

The little Ninja is a whole other story but I found out what the deal with small bikes is, and realized I'm not racing material yet. Too much going on in my head, and my body hurts too much to ride a tiny bike like that. Still, I had a lot of fun taking the little Ninja to the Kart Track and PIR.

In July I completed California SuperBike School level 1. It was an incredible eye opening experience. Its also what made me realize I still have too much going on in my head to put myself on the race grid.

With the end of the track season coming up I sold the little Ninja and bought a mid sized Ninja just before one last hurrah at ThunderHill

Its a 2012 that I bought from a friend who takes good care of his toys. Like my last Ninja purchase it never came off the trailer from where I bought it to where I rode it for the first time at the track.

My last hurrah for the year was also my brother's first trackday and my dad's second.

To the chagrin of my finances my final count this year:

ThunderHill x 3 (2 on Interceptor, 1 on Ninja 600. Keigwins)

McMinnville Kart Track (Ninja 250)

The Ridge x 2 (Interceptor. 1 CSS day, 1 MotoFit day)

PIR x 3 (Ninja 250. 2-Fast, MotoFit, MotoCorsa)

Of course not everything was on the track. I went on plenty of rides, group rides, and to bike night. Once I almost hit a group of four deer on the way to bike night. Thanks to the Interceptor's ABS, Q3 tires, and the will of the motorcycle gods I split in between the deer.

Each picture is its own story, that I don't feel like committing to text. Please enjoy the picture dump.

For all the riding we did at high speed we managed to avoid tickets!