sorry i haven’t posted in a while. some exciting things have been in the works!

Anyways…

a quick one about vintage road racing.

two weeks ago i tried vintage cb160 racing for the first time. let me start off by telling you most of my track experience has been atop a snarling beast they call the cbr929 rr, the exact opposite of a cb160. Instead of mega horsepower, amazing suspension and aerodynamics; its a whopping 13 hp’s, a couple of wore out springs, and trying to figure out how to contort your body to fit on the pint size racer. One of my good friends likens this to a ship’s sail on a canoe.

This is all to say Cb160 racing seemed a bit funny to me. This was my thought right up until i got on the track and was passed by everybody effortlessly. “OH NO” i was the slow guy! Its easy to chalk it up to motor problems, a small sputter down the front strait, or being on a foreign bike? but the truth was i couldn’t keep up.

the practice was on Saturday (nice and sunny) and the race was on Sunday (totally rainy). On Sunday i got ready quick as to not miss any much needed rain practice. to my surprise riding a 160 in thee rain was actually pretty fun. The skinny tires and power-band where perfect for leaning pretty hard in to icy corners.

The first race i got a decent start and passed 3rd and 4th moving right into second place. To my surprise i was doing pretty good. At the end of the 1st lap I was moving up on 1st place preparing myself to pass when a safety tap of the front breaks in a high speed corner sent me sliding on my back through the mud. Shit, i had crashed out! (the riding picture was taken right before) 

The next race was dry and i was out for blood. I got a pretty crappy start but managed to keep up with the pack. At this point i was feeling pretty comfortable on the bike. i wasn’t passing anyone but i would catch most of the mid pack guys in the corners. 1st place had crashed out putting me in 4th place. I was gaining on 3rd when he miss shifted and i drafted around him into 3rd place. His motor proved to be a bit stronger than mine because by the end of the front strait he had moved back in front of me. but i held his tail until he caught up to 2nd. So i was right behind 2nd and 3rd place catching up in all the corners and getting gaped down the straits. aaaaggg! i was pissed, doing anything i could to get a little extra speed. It never did and two laps later the checkers came. 

i had gotten a dnf and a 4th placing me 5th over all, but most importantly i got the feeling of racing. The true grit feeling of risking all to get in front. After the race was over i had thought about this, and came to the conclusion; It is not what you race, its how you race and the only thing that matters is racing.