Cornering at Mission Raceway Park

For the second year in a row, I rode my Triumph out to Mission Raceway Park, about 75 minutes from Burnaby, to sit in the bleachers under the hot afternoon sun for almost three hours, eat a burger and fries from a mom & pop chip wagon, and watch some of the most exciting motorcycle racing anywhere for a mere five bucks. If you arrive by car, it's ten bucks. 

We arrived around 1pm, just in time to watch the Twins race 10 laps, followed by Open Supersport, Middleweight Superbike and the Formula Classic. The winner of the Supersport category on Saturday May 11,  2013 was Spero Benias.

Averaging speeds of just over 100 km an hour, he held the lead throughout and raced around the track like he was a part of it. Most impressive was the smooth rhythmic balancing act he displayed in cornering, consistent every time as if he owned each turn and had practiced them a thousand times.  It seemed apparent to me that more than any other rider attribute, it is a racer's cornering skills that determine his place, whether he wipes out, comes in last or crosses the finish line first. I watched in awe, full of wonder and respect, hoping it was not too late for an ounce of that skill and talent to fill my spirit and take hold of my bones to ride my own corners, to determine my place.

BMW Test Ride Learning on the Go

When Pacific Motorsports, the dealer I purchased my Triumph from, invited me to participate in a test ride on a BMW F800GT, the opportunity was too good to pass up. Sponsored by BMW, groups of lucky riders were lead through Richmond and Surrey on a 45-minute ride on their BMW of choice for as little as a $20 minimum charitable donation.
I wanted to try something different from what I have now, a 2011 Bonneville T100, and from what I have been on before. My first bike was a 535 Yamaha Virago and, after a long hiatus of no riding, my second bike was a 250 Suzuki TU. In a year or two, I would really like to do some more serious long-distance touring and for that I'll need luggage racks, power and reliability. I think I'll need a different kind of bike, like the mid-touring F800GT.

After signing a waiver and making my donation, I searched the parking lot, packed with bikes, for my dance partner. She was not hard to find among the throng: slick, bronze, and with only 700 k on her, this baby was still relatively new and unbroken. I looked her over, got a quick run-down by one of the group leaders, listened obediently to another guy tell us the do's and don'ts of our group ride and then got ready to tango. For the first week of May, a high of 23 degrees is very hot, but it did not take long for all 20 of our group to get rolling on an assortment of BMW models and head off on the Westminster Highway into a refreshing breeze, over the Alex Fraser bridge, along country roads, back streets, sharp turns and speed bumps.

Although I was last in the pack, I managed to stay with the group in spite of my lack of experience and skills so I was happy with my performance as well as the bike's. I absolutely need to work on my turning skills at higher speeds more than anything else. That's what really hurt my time and I could tell from observing the others that I must be doing more than one thing wrong because I would just slow down to the posted speed limit and make the turn cautiously while others were able to attack them aggressively and effortlessly. This is what I would certainly describe as 'learning on the go', both literally and figuratively. Experience can be the best teacher, and you'll never improve if you don't try. Practice makes better, if not perfect. I'm already looking forward to next year's BMW Test Ride Day. Bring it on!