A Look Over the Shoulder at 2013

The number 13 really does get a bad rap, doesn’t it?

For me personally, the past year alone did have a lot dark times spread about throughout it, in and out of motorcycling. My motorcycling world was rocked by two personal street accidents on my bike – the most I’ve had to date on public streets in a single year – mixed with tragedies striking personal riding idols from the local scene, right up to the international level that in some fashion have affected me as a rider. But you know what, I refuse to think of 2013 as a bad year for motorcycling – I just can’t be all mad when the bad was simply packaged with the good. I feel as if I was simply being tested in every level, to see if I still had the resolve to continue in something that has always consumed me.

What 2013 became for me then, is pivotal.

I saw respected riders I know at a personal level and even icons I admire as a fan, be severely marred or lose their life from the very sport that we all have been so equally passionate about. Twice I found myself suffering the consequences of mistakes that may or may not be my doing, from something as little as an ill-placed rock on a road I frequent, or a car that failed to see me in one of my many morning commutes to work I do on my bike.

But all of these were simply lessons for me to learn, which if learned then makes them invaluable lessons. To be reminded of my mortality and fragility in a sport that otherwise makes me feel like nothing can trouble me is what ensures longevity. And I’ve long realized that I am in this for the long run.

I took this photo because it dawned on me that on that very day,

the 31st of December, I was riding home for the final time in 2013.

Despite the hardest year of my riding career to date,

I was bringing it home.

 

I probably could’ve done without these trials – these tribulations that as a sport rider saw me hit the deck more than once, both emotionally and physically speaking, yet all equally taxing to my spirit. But the way I see it, I went toe-to-toe with 2013 for twelve full rounds, and while the year dealt some direct and heavy blows, I’m still standing, still here. Meanwhile, the year 2013 had to bow out, and exit the ring. Therefore, I win.

So as we should do on the road when changing lanes, a look over the shoulder is what I am giving the year of 2013. Because though it’s now passed, I need to be mindful of what I am moving on from to make sure nothing surprises me from behind, before I turn my head forward to focus on what’s laying ahead of me.

Bring it, Twenty Fourteen.

Oh, Behave!

This past Thanksgiving Day, I dropped off Belle and Stella to the airport so they can fly over to the in-laws in New Jersey for an early holidays celebration with them. Belle and I agreed that we would fly to the East Coast to be with her family for the holidays every other year, and since we did for last year's holidays, we're not due to do so again until next year's. But Belle being Belle, she decided to take Stella to the in-laws for 10-days this year, and me being myself, decided to stay behind with my first-born Rusty.

I dubbed that period of time my 10-day Hall Pass, free to do anything I want without the girls!

Halfway into my 10-day Hall Pass, and my buddy Trung and I exchanged the following texts:

Trung: "Your 10 day hall pass, any good?"
Me: "Go figure; I can do anything,
but I don't want to do anything!
Stupid irony!"
The house was quiet, but it was too quiet. Since winter is upon us, the temperatures have dropped, and it was hard for me to keep the house warm with just myself and Rusty, so the house heater saw frequent use when it otherwise wouldn't. I didn't have to go home right away every night after work, but I did. I didn't have to go to sleep as early as I would, but I did. And apart from after-work drinks with a co-worker one one weeknight, I didn't exactly capitalize on my hall pass.

I think this little one's got me whipped!

No babes I would encounter can hold a candle to this one!

Wrapping it Up

This past weekend Z2 Trackdays’ held our annual Thanksgiving weekend event at Thunderhill Raceway, which typically doubles as our final event of the season. For a November/December event, you could’ve been fooled into thinking it was just the start of the season with the unseasonably present and warm California sun basking us in golden glory.

What a way to close out one of the most exciting years of my life!

2013, you weren't such a bad year after all!



This season marked my first full season working as Grid and Recovery rew for Z2 Trackdays, a gig that I felt to be a natural progression for me as a trackday enthusiast, having been a participant for well over half a decade now. The day Z2 Trackdays asked me to join their crew was the day a new chapter in my motorcycling life started, a chapter I desperately needed to keep the passion I have for sport riding continue on for many more seasons. I felt like I was given the opportunity to create another level of enjoyment in something that I already have been enjoying.

I hope to build on this, having always wanted to be a trackday instructor. See, I’ve yet to actually race motorcycles; as big of a road racing fan as I am, from club racing to the world level of motorcycle competition, the urge was never strong enough in me to try and race a motorcycle. However, the desire to pass along whatever riding wisdom I’ve gained to newcomers of the sport, now that is a calling that I have been trying to meet, and I feel that being part of Z2 Trackdays’ family leads me that much closer to attaining that goal. And for that alone and the wonderful experience it has been this past season to work their trackdays, I cannot wait for the 2014 track season to begin.

Fortunately, the wait isn’t really that long. California winter really only puts our track riding off-season in December through January, before we can more or less start again some time in February. Still, that leaves quite a few long days and nights to wait it out.

It’s a good thing I have captured memories to get me through it all.