11.13.05
Tom and I went out to Thunderhill for our final track day for this year. The weather clear and nice, not getting much above 70°. Tom and I ended up pitting next to a guy named Chris, who was riding his newly-purchased RS250. It was quite fun getting to run around the track with some people that I knew, who were also on the same type of bike as me.

 

Here are some pictures from Dito Milan at gotbluemilk.com.

 

Tom chasing me around.

 

Chris running right behind me through turn 4.

 

I knew my tires were pretty much done, especially since there was a noticeable difference in hardness between the right and left sides of the tires (the right side being harder than the left). My first lap of the day, I noticed that the right side of the tires were a bit slippery, as the rear tire slipped around a bit through turns 14 and 15 (both sharp right turns). I got in about 16 laps for my first tow sessions just fine. On my 1st lap of the 3rd session the front tire washed out and I low-sided. I was leaned over far enough that I never really felt an impact, I just suddenly felt a small jolt as well as noticed a loud scraping noise. I then realized that I was sliding and let go of the handlebars. The bike slid out in front of me and came to a rest just off the track. I managed to just slide along on my butt and hands, with my legs out in front of me.

In an odd sort-of way, the crash was actually quite fun. It was cool to experience a low-side and slide in a fairly safe part of the track and walk away without any injury. The bike suffered mostly just cosmetic damage, with the exception of the rear brake lever. Since I was not really confident with riding the bike without really looking it over, I ended up not riding for the rest of the day. In that same session Tom's shift lever bracket came apart, suddenly leaving him unable to shift. We ended up pulling the part off of my bike so that he could continue to ride for the afternoon sessions.

Here you can see the mark on the front tire where the tire slid out, initiating the low-side. You can also see the marks on both front and rear tires from the bike sliding along the track on the right side.

 

Bodywork damage. Nothing a little duct tape and spray paint can't fix :)

 

Some of my gear. I am really impressed with how well the gear held up.