I was talking with my friend Steve about this the other week. He’s one of my oldest friends, and one of my motorcycle compadres from the early years. He’s a very smart and skilled fellow, and not one to hold back his opinions.
As we chatted on the phone, I was expressing my enthusiasm for getting ready and taking my bike to the track. At some point in the conversation there was a pause, and then he said in a quiet voice:
“So… ‘Drew… How far are you gonna push it?”
Nobody else calls me Drew, but I rather like it. Anyway, it’s a good question. Io sono adesso un po vecchio—I’m a little bit old now—and I don’t think I bounce as well as I used to. A fall at speed could be damaging!
“I’m not sure… Maybe 80%?“
I don’t really know if I’m competitive enough to place well in races, even if I did push it. I just want to go fast. And smooth. But right up to the limit? I’m not so sure about that. Porca miseria, I’m a lot more careful on ladders than I once was, let alone a racetrack. But still it beckons me.
They say you learn more riding at 80% of your ability than you do at the limit. And that seems right to me. I seem to recall it as a gunfighter’s slogan: slow is smooth; smooth is fast. I want to go smooth and fast.
If, as I get my form and lines dialed in, I start to make respectable lap times… Well, then I might take things another baby step. And then another. Maybe after this season I’ll think about entering a senior race or two. Just to be really in it.
For the moment, I plan on starting slow and gentle. Then smoothly add in the speed, bit by bit. Eighty percent plus. I’m in no rush; just getting there and letting the bike run will be so awesome.
Can’t hardly wait!