You had me at Midnight Colfax Girl, but that last part just sounds extra gay.
I think you may be coming down a little hard on Aaron there Drano. I know you and him have some pent up frustrations between each other that need to get aired out(LOL j/king!)
Honestly, though I can see where Aaron is coming from. He does have a point in that you will never get hassled at the track for going to fast, dragging your knee or having a extra loud exhaust. His point does have some credence because of the unusually high amount of threads on here that people have posted with their trips going bad or ending up with contact with law enforcement. It does seem that it has happened more frequently than usual and that could be nothing more than coincidence. It could be law enforcement stepping up their presence in those areas because of complaints from local residents about the high amounts of motorcycle traffic. Regardless of whatever the reason, you have to admit that it does seem a lot of you have made contact with local law enforcement this year.
I don't know what axe you have to grind with Aaron is but I will say that in speaking with him at the track. He's a nice enough guy and doesn't come across the way his posts seem to portray him.
I can totally understand your point of view but only to a degree. You mention not everyone has the money for a full suit. I would recommend maybe skipping a month or two of canyon rides and investing in a full suit, boots, gloves and helmet. With the amount of canyon rides you guys do(usually every weekend), if you spent roughly $60 each day(Saturday and Sunday, assuming you ride both days). That's $120 in one weekend and in five weeks time that's $600. There's your money for gloves and boots right there. In another five or six weeks save up for a suit. I'd recommend getting this stuff in the Winter that way you really don't see the money being saved because the riding season is over. Also, that's assuming you buy brand new gear. There is plenty of used gear to be found not only on this site's For Sale section. Craigslist and Ebay offer excellent venues for snagging some decent gear. Also, site's like Revzilla and MotoSport offer discounts on much of their gear.
I agree with you that riding the canyons is much cheaper. But really is it?? When you factor in the risks involved in canyon rides(especially if you ride them the way I used to). I can't tell you how many close calls I had in the mountains. For me, I knew I had to get to the track because I was always pushing it in the mountains.
The $100 I spend on a track fee, pales in comparison to coming around a corner in the mountains with my knee on the ground and seeing gravel in the corner, or worse at cow or a oncoming vehicle in your lane. Believe me, those two scenarios have happened to me. Barely missed the damn cow and the oncoming guy in a Subaru WRX swerved at the last moment to avoid a head on collision with me. In both instances I was going way to fast and had my knee on the ground. Why?? Because that's how I rode in the mountains(like a f**king idiot!!). Suffice to say, there isn't a highway law that I didn't break.
Dude I've had more pucker moments before the age of 26 riding in the mountains than most people ever will encounter. Why?? because again, I used to ride like a total D-bag with complete disregard for safety. I got better or safer I should say as time went on, mainly due the fact that I saw way to many guys going down on rides. Had one to many close calls than I wanted so I decided that I needed to change. I found out about going to the track through a local MRA racer. Did a little over a dozen or so track days in the span of two years before I had my big crash at the track. Took some time off to fix a few things in my life and get sorted and now I'm back on the track and for good this time. Already knocked out four track days and may do one more this year.
Believe me Drano, you can try and justify not going to the track as much as the next guy. But if you're riding like I did, and from the stories I've heard about some rides that have happened on here. Seems like it's the same old same old, with just new and different riders. People will always push it in the mountains and sooner or later the inevitable happens.
Reason I gave up riding on the street is for a couple of reasons. Mainly now that I have a CDL, I can't risk tickets at all. I'm also not a huge fan of the way people are starting to drive these days. Yeah back 10 years ago people drove terrible. However, just on my commutes to work I saw some serious bad drivers and people who you can tell spend their entire time behind the wheel of their vehicle with their head up their ass.
My bike is track only now. I let my plates expire at the end of last month and won't be getting new ones. Am I going to race?? No and highly unlikely that I ever will. I'm getting to old for that part of track riding. I still enjoy riding the track and pushing my limits on track days. I'm still plenty young enough to continue that sort of riding.
I also have to agree with Aaron on more people going to the tracks. The more people that do go out for track days the more these tracks will be around for us in the future and our future generations. Who knows, if more and more people would do track days, maybe the tracks would lower their track day fees. Still though, $100 for a Half Day at Pueblo is a smoking deal. I still knock out close to 40-50 laps every time I go out. To me, that's more important than anything. Getting in quality laps now and learning about my riding. Learning why I'm getting faster and where I need to improve(at this point it's in many areas).
So I know you two enjoy bagging on each other and yeah Aaron could have approached the comment a little more diplomatic but that's how he's wired I suppose. I've noticed you seem to have it out for him, the way I have it out for Fast and Furious HAHA!!! Relentless smack talk