WMRRA Round 3 — PIR

You just have to want it. That's the line I lean on when my results don't meet my expectations, and this weekend I went looking for it and came up empty. I crashed at The Ridge on Wednesday, a Thursday PT check showed I'd lost ground in my recovery, and I rolled into PIR tired and nursing a sore arm. Then Saturday opened with a monsoon. The honest truth is I wasn't in a place where I really "wanted it," so the weekend stopped being about the result and became about what you do when the fight isn't in you.

What I could still do was ride smart and leave myself a bit of margin: stay off the slick paint, hit my marks as best I could, and try to learn something from every session. We missed Q1, and while I normally enjoy riding in the rain, I could not find any confidence in the monsooning weather of Q2. I circulated for two laps and saw the red flag come up just as I was putting my hand up to signal I was coming off track.

The races

My first race, R5, still had a few wet spots; by R9 the track had fully dried. From pole, with the Novice 600s waved a row behind, I grabbed the holeshot and led the early laps, but Schock (#930) was riding well and I didn't have anything for him. P2 overall, and the Novice 1000 class win.

Before R19, Kyle Nesbitt (#85) and Jeremy Banner (#77) came up to me like eager schoolboys, asking if they could come play in our race. Not sure why they asked me, but I of course said the more the merrier. I lined up on pole and they slotted in at the back of our group, but they still came under me at Turn 1 like I was standing still, lapping 1:10s and 1:12s to my 1:15s, a direct reminder that I can carry a lot more speed in there.

R24 was the most fun of the weekend, even from the outside. Schock (#930), Floer (#918), and Benton (#724) settled into a three-way scrap up front. For the life of me I could not get down to second gear for the drive out of Turn 4, and kept finding myself in third with no drive until past Turn 5. But with the class win already secure as the only Novice 1000 entry, I wasn't going to force a messy move, make it a four-way, and be the meat in that sandwich. I backed out, watched the show, and still turned my quickest lap of the weekend, a 1:14.811. The pace came to me even when the desire hadn't.

Off the bike

And when I wasn't making the progress I wanted for myself, I found I still wanted it for other people. Off the bike I had the pleasure of working with Aaron and Sidney, who both made great progress in their own areas. Aaron showed up and worked through a number of bike struggles; he listened and did most of what I asked of him. Sidney came out to learn what a race day really is as she works toward racing herself.

Both Novice 1000 wins were classes of one. Undefeated, if only against myself. The round also put me at 12 of the 10 race finishes required for an expert license, all without incident, one less thing on the expert license bingo card.

Thank you

To the OMRRA and WMRRA staff and volunteers who run these weekends, including through the rain. Class sponsors CCK Racing (Open Amateur) and Slingshot Lounge (Novice 1000). And thank you to Aaron and Sidney for their support over the weekend.

With a day of rest behind me and Round 4 at The Ridge ahead, I'm already feeling the want come back. I'll keep the arm rehab moving and show up prepared in mind, body, and bike.