It was Trung, Lili (my co-worker), and I, along with Belle and Rusty, and Trung's wife and dog. I think that similar to me, this was also the last track day for the season for both Trung and Lili, this being Trung's third time at Infineon out of four total track days, and Lili's second, with her first track day at Infineon too back in February (with me). The three of us each scored spots at Buell's Inside Pass event, where a regular track day is held with an exception of Buell's entire lineup of motorcycles available to be test-ridden around the track. Top it off with free catered breakfast and lunch, along with free pictures, this event has been the best deal of the season for me at $150/spot, hands down.
The only real drawback for me throughout the event was a misunderstanding with their staff; I was supposed to be signed up for both Intermediate and Novice, as I'm a true Intermediate rider, but both Lili and Trung were in the Novice. Prior to signing up for the Novice, I called their staff to confirm this was allowed, and was advised that it was. So I paid for the 2nd spot in the Novice so I can join Trung and Lili (I had planned to record them in video), but come the day of the event, I was denied the Novice spot at registration. Ultimately, I had to ride in just one group, but was allowed to jump to another later on in the day if desired. So I decided to stay in the Intermediate the first half of the day, then down to the Novice with my friends on the second half of the day. A "minor" quip on an otherwise fantastic day.
My new track bike worked out quite well, and I can't wait for next season to start already. Trung is well on his way to getting up to pace with me, so I'm pretty excited to be able to play leap-frog with someone I trust on the track. My friend Ruell's the only other one so far that I know who can do the same with me, but Trung has been able to do as much track days as I have compared to Ruell.
We'll see what happens in 2009.
On-track photos:
Videos:
