Ms. Herr On Two Wheels: Heather Goes Flat Track Racing
Last Updated: February 5th, 2021
Ms. Herr on Two Wheels: Heather Goes Flat Track Racing
In this episode, Heather attends her very first professional motorcycle race. She shares with you what made the experience great from a spectator’s perspective and why she thinks branching out into different motorcycling niches may enhance your enjoyment of motorcycling.
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We’re out here at Turf Paradise on a beautiful sunny Saturday. Come hang with me as I check out my first pro motorcycle race.
I made my way to Turf Paradise for my first ever Pro Race and lucky me had VIP access.
Much love to Law Tigers for hooking us up with the VIP treatment.
We’re gonna go inside and have some fun.
I enjoy sports I don’t necessarily follow them, but there’s something incredible about being trackside and close up to the action. There you’re no longer just a spectator because the experience becomes tangible. You not only see and hear, but you feel the experience, taste the dirt in the air, smell the fuel and the damp mud of the track, and feel the rush of wind as racers pass. And nowhere was that more true than at track entrance where racers were scrubbing their tires going into turn one.
Hi everyone. We’re here up in the VIP box. This is our Ari with Law Tigers. He’s the one who hooked us up with this experience. Thank you so much.
Ari (My pleasure).
I have a question for you. This is my first time at any pro event. I’ve seen a couple of amateur flat-track races, for anyone else who’s new and never been, first go?
Ari: So you’re gonna expect bikes going in excess of 130 miles an hour, what would should they expect on their dust, grit, and in some cases the bikes may touch or you may get some accidents. Hopefully no one gets hurt. It’s dangerous though there have been some fatalities in the years past so you know, we don’t want anyone to get hurt, obviously, but it’s a dangerous sport. And generally these are pretty close races and that’s what we’re hoping for.
Heather: Cool yeah very cool well thanks again for all of this.
One of the things that’s really really cool is a whole pit experience. You have the opportunity to meet the riders and the teams; they’re hanging out, approachable, accessible, happy to take a photo with you, sign an autograph, and just chat for a bit. Earlier when I was walking up to Jared’s table to get his signature on my badge, it reminded me of being like a little kid and having this feeling again where you go to an event and you go to a thing and it’s so much bigger than you imagined and you you can’t even comprehend. You may not even know everybody who is there and how big of a deal they are, but you’re just excited to be there and so you want these mementos. Getting that signature like brought me back to that kind of childhood joy and giddiness.
The funniest moment of the entire day; I’m standing with my back to turn one during practice laps and trying to explain this concept I just learned of backing it in. And I can see out of the corner of my eye a racer turns his head from the track towards me and time just moves into slow motion as he’s listening to me explain this.
So losing rubber along the way? This is all new to me!
Clearly I’m not going to be a race commentator any time soon.
Over the course of the day I had the opportunity to interact with several veterans of the sport and all were happy to share their knowledge and passion. One key theme kept popping up:
This is motorcycle racing at its purest it’s not a lot of hoopla you don’t have guys jumping in the air but you’ve got athletes going head to toe on the dirt. The sports been around for I think over a hundred years now so it’s really what racing and the motorcycle industry and sport is all about and we’re just excited to be here.
So a few parting thoughts from my first day at a pro race. One the visceral aspect of it is amazing especially when you can be up trackside and just hear the bikes see the dirt hear them scrubbing in the corners that’s awesome. I met a number of guys who have been racing, started racing back in the 60s and 70s, and the conversation about much of this sport fundamentally is still what it was back in the core then and it’s the seed it’s the base for a lot of motorcycle racing.
I’m so glad I jumped at the opportunity to experience my first flat track race if you ever get an opportunity to experience something that’s new for you in the world of motorcycling absolutely take it!
Thank you for following along on this journey. I’m curious do you document any of your riding milestones? If so, let us know in the comments.
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making the 100,000 mile mark on 5 different bikes was a big thing.
after 40 years riding, getting on the bike and riding is a big time pleasure.
even though i ride every day, still a blast.
hitting the throttle, going through the gears, hauling ass, especially with some friends
Bill, you are not kidding. The older we get, the younger we feel every time we hop onto two wheels. Thanks for sharing!
I have a long way till I catch up to you, Bill! But I suppose, there’s no catching up to do except with ourselves and our own wanderlust. So many joys motorcycling provides, and the friends with make along the way is a big one. 😀