Back in the Republic of Georgia and for sure I am still riding high from this past Monday's trackday! The opportunity to ride with our West Coast friends and BMW riders was something I could not pass up. About 7 months ago via email Ralf and I spoke of a BMW trackday in Southern California. Its was simple to me - you get the track Ralf, and you bet I will be there. After we hung out and spoke further at the IMS show in Long Beach, it was in stone for me.
So June 9th was the date and man, it came quickly. Logistics would be tough as to how to we would get a bike there. BMW Motorcycles of Las Vegas made sure the R1200S they have for me to race would be available.
This whole event at Buttonwillow (Bumpywillow) Raceway was the work of one man, Ralf Wilkowski. With very quick commitments from BMW riders all over Ca., this event was shaping up. I flew out to Ca. and spent some time this past Saturday at Ralf's local dealer, San Diego BMW Motorcycles. Rack another one up, another dealer that "gets it!", meaning that they understand the value of relationships first and naturally the numbers will come. With San Diego BMW Motorcycles' involvement the day was even better.
This is a great time to share a really cool story. An R1200SGS rider from Norfolk, Va., named Jody was riding in WV at a trackday when I met him in 2007. We hit it off instantly besides the fact that he was on a BMW motorcycle. We kept in touch and hung out at Morton's BMW Motorcycles open house and then at the D.C. IMS show in Feb. That is where Jody informed me he would see me in two years. He is a career Navy Officer and being stationed in Japan. His wife and kids would be joining him there later this year. Well some divine intervention landed Jody and his ship, the USS George Washington, at the San Diego Naval base due to a fire while en route to Japan. Fortunately, none of his crew was badly injured. I found this out because he showed up at the San Diego dealership while I was there hanging out with their customers. It was really cool as he said he heard I was going to be there.
I told him that the trackday was Monday and he knew nothing about it. From there I just inquired to see if there was a motorcycle he could potentially ride on Monday. San Diego BMW Motorcycles was beyond generous and made sure he had a bike to ride and gear head-to-toe!!!!! Just awesome! Jody was speechless and still in disbelief. Later on Sat. I got the best tour of the USS George Washington aircraft carrier. Even more love and respect for our United States military personnel. Amazing ship and jobs everyone has to keep us safe!
Sunday rolled around and oh yeah, I sat next to a great couple on the flight out named Mike and Trisha. Mike is a Navy Medic (E-6) and after the 6 hour flight we found out we had alot in common. I ended up going to The Rock Church with them Sunday morning before we headed out for the track. Thank you guys for that awesome experience. Around 2 Ralf, Jody and I set out for the track. The drive through some mountains and then into this very flat valley was awesome. No wonder its so expensive to live there; the scenery is great. We checked in the hotel and then met up with some great PelicanParts.com members at the Willow Ranch BBQ joint for some grub. Many faces were put to the screennames and throughout dinner we all just had a great time. I sat next to Eron and, man!, the guy really knew his track stuff and it showed the next day on his BMW R1100S!
Finally Monday June 9th came and we were off for the track. Buttonwillow Raceway is a track in the middle of the valley and very flat. Some man made eleveation changes, but ultra-bumpy. It was the perfect training ground for the "real world" riding motorcyclist encounter off the track. Off camber, blind hill turns, and bumps were some of the fun we learned to tackle together. I had so much fun and was blown away by how much these riders really wanted to learn. I knew with the mix of BMW models there and my experience with Boxers and K bikes, we would have a great time. After chatting a bit with each rider and then riding together, we narrowed down what the riders wanted to work on individually. From there I used the San Diego BMW Motorcycles R1200S for two up rides (taking passengers) around the track. That was just an absolute blast!!! Then to see the riders go out and apply what they learned first hand was even better.
There is so much more I could say, but I dont wanna drag out one of the best days I have ever had on two wheels. I cannot wait for the next time!
Packing up this evening for the XPLOR Blue Ridge ride this weekend. This will be total fun and a chance to see and hear what people want to know about BMW motorcycles. From there, Richard "Mini" Cooper will be flying Monday to get ready for the following weekend's ASRA Natl. Pro weekend. Two Beemers again flying in formation and for sure Richard wants to reverse the outcome from Daytona in the ASRA Pro Thunderbike race. Friday we will be practicing (20th) and then we go racing Sat. and Sun. Dont miss the chance to see a very, very talented and fast racer at VIR.
Thank you everyone for you comments that are piling up in the email in reference to the posts here. I have tried to get the Blogger issue cleared up and get them on here, but it's hit or miss. Sometimes it goes through and sometimes it doesn't. So Jason, Kevin, Tarci, and others... apologies for not being able to publish them.
Ok, off to the range to train and blow through a couple hundred rounds. Will be at BMW MC of Atlanta tomorrow and then off to Va.!
Cheers,
N8!
So June 9th was the date and man, it came quickly. Logistics would be tough as to how to we would get a bike there. BMW Motorcycles of Las Vegas made sure the R1200S they have for me to race would be available.
This whole event at Buttonwillow (Bumpywillow) Raceway was the work of one man, Ralf Wilkowski. With very quick commitments from BMW riders all over Ca., this event was shaping up. I flew out to Ca. and spent some time this past Saturday at Ralf's local dealer, San Diego BMW Motorcycles. Rack another one up, another dealer that "gets it!", meaning that they understand the value of relationships first and naturally the numbers will come. With San Diego BMW Motorcycles' involvement the day was even better.
This is a great time to share a really cool story. An R1200SGS rider from Norfolk, Va., named Jody was riding in WV at a trackday when I met him in 2007. We hit it off instantly besides the fact that he was on a BMW motorcycle. We kept in touch and hung out at Morton's BMW Motorcycles open house and then at the D.C. IMS show in Feb. That is where Jody informed me he would see me in two years. He is a career Navy Officer and being stationed in Japan. His wife and kids would be joining him there later this year. Well some divine intervention landed Jody and his ship, the USS George Washington, at the San Diego Naval base due to a fire while en route to Japan. Fortunately, none of his crew was badly injured. I found this out because he showed up at the San Diego dealership while I was there hanging out with their customers. It was really cool as he said he heard I was going to be there.
I told him that the trackday was Monday and he knew nothing about it. From there I just inquired to see if there was a motorcycle he could potentially ride on Monday. San Diego BMW Motorcycles was beyond generous and made sure he had a bike to ride and gear head-to-toe!!!!! Just awesome! Jody was speechless and still in disbelief. Later on Sat. I got the best tour of the USS George Washington aircraft carrier. Even more love and respect for our United States military personnel. Amazing ship and jobs everyone has to keep us safe!
Sunday rolled around and oh yeah, I sat next to a great couple on the flight out named Mike and Trisha. Mike is a Navy Medic (E-6) and after the 6 hour flight we found out we had alot in common. I ended up going to The Rock Church with them Sunday morning before we headed out for the track. Thank you guys for that awesome experience. Around 2 Ralf, Jody and I set out for the track. The drive through some mountains and then into this very flat valley was awesome. No wonder its so expensive to live there; the scenery is great. We checked in the hotel and then met up with some great PelicanParts.com members at the Willow Ranch BBQ joint for some grub. Many faces were put to the screennames and throughout dinner we all just had a great time. I sat next to Eron and, man!, the guy really knew his track stuff and it showed the next day on his BMW R1100S!
Finally Monday June 9th came and we were off for the track. Buttonwillow Raceway is a track in the middle of the valley and very flat. Some man made eleveation changes, but ultra-bumpy. It was the perfect training ground for the "real world" riding motorcyclist encounter off the track. Off camber, blind hill turns, and bumps were some of the fun we learned to tackle together. I had so much fun and was blown away by how much these riders really wanted to learn. I knew with the mix of BMW models there and my experience with Boxers and K bikes, we would have a great time. After chatting a bit with each rider and then riding together, we narrowed down what the riders wanted to work on individually. From there I used the San Diego BMW Motorcycles R1200S for two up rides (taking passengers) around the track. That was just an absolute blast!!! Then to see the riders go out and apply what they learned first hand was even better.
There is so much more I could say, but I dont wanna drag out one of the best days I have ever had on two wheels. I cannot wait for the next time!
Packing up this evening for the XPLOR Blue Ridge ride this weekend. This will be total fun and a chance to see and hear what people want to know about BMW motorcycles. From there, Richard "Mini" Cooper will be flying Monday to get ready for the following weekend's ASRA Natl. Pro weekend. Two Beemers again flying in formation and for sure Richard wants to reverse the outcome from Daytona in the ASRA Pro Thunderbike race. Friday we will be practicing (20th) and then we go racing Sat. and Sun. Dont miss the chance to see a very, very talented and fast racer at VIR.
Thank you everyone for you comments that are piling up in the email in reference to the posts here. I have tried to get the Blogger issue cleared up and get them on here, but it's hit or miss. Sometimes it goes through and sometimes it doesn't. So Jason, Kevin, Tarci, and others... apologies for not being able to publish them.
Ok, off to the range to train and blow through a couple hundred rounds. Will be at BMW MC of Atlanta tomorrow and then off to Va.!
Cheers,
N8!
posted by nate_kern at 2:10 PM
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