Greetings all - As always, we send up our thanks for good fellowship and blessings of protection during what was to be our last "Day at the Races" event for 2013. Since this was our last event for the year, we encouraged all our friends to come down and hangout with us at our "Hospitality Camp CSBA" tent. In attendance was Mike H. and his lovely finance Christine. I had my partner in crime with me (Donna), and later in the day Kathleen R, her son Zaquery, and friends James W. and Josh R. rounded out our party. Ray from Moto-D stopped in for a visit and dropped off a set of new Moto-D tire warmers for me... (why oh why didn't I use them?) We also made two new friends in John and John with matching very cool vintage Norton racing bikes. This time Mike was riding and wasn't our photographer - so we all pitched in to gather some much needed footage for our upcoming CSBA Video (look for that to come out soon). Larry S. left me his "B" camera and I managed to capture some opening minutes of footage before we got started with our day.
The weather was absolutely clear but very blustery and cold, a condition that would later bite me in the backside in a big way unfortunately. I had some slight delays starting out, but managed to do our flying mailbag pickup of Mike via RT 476 just perfect around 4:45a, so we rode all the way down connected. We still managed to reach our rally point (Wawa in Millville, NJ) at 6am, where the ladies took a powder-break and I gassed up and picked up essentials. We reached NJMP Lightning by 6:30a and Mike and I were setup and ready for action by 7:30a with tech inspection already behind us. Standing prayers were given and we suited up to start our morning.
As usual, there were downed riders in the first two sessions - mainly because of cold track conditions, which were estimated to be barely 50 degrees at that point. By mid-morning the wind was wreaking havoc to our area so we hardened the fort in preparation for even more wind that was to come. Before I knew it, mid-day was nearing and our other guests would arrive soon so I sat out a session and started preparing our lunch. The multi-media station was setup and running. The word was shared and we jumped head first into a yummy meal. Several folks stopped in and we welcomed them. Again, no one got sick from my cooking so all was well thus far.
Shortly after lunch we had a blast of wind that nearly took out Camp CSBA - but fast reaction time from all seated (a special shout out goes to Kathy for saving the TV!) meant we only lost a few helpings of macaroni salad to the wind. Everything else was secured, include the several brochures we had displayed for upcoming events and rider safety material we normally display at out tent. In the rush of all this, my group was being called to report to ride. In my haste to help secure the area and not keeping my focus, I rushed off to join up for last call of the N-Red group - failing to remember by bike had been sitting for nearly 2 hours untouched. The next 2 mins proved to be a very near and dear lesson for me to never forget - I went down hard in turn-7 with a low side when my front tire loss traction on a turn in. I had been navigating that turn all morning - but the moment we lose our concentration is when we get ourselves in trouble. Needless to say, I was given entrance to that club of riders that go down at the track - I was just very lucky to keep my bike (and myself) in tack. My gear did its job and protected me without a scratch, however the hard impact did see me suffer some internal injuries, of which I'm on the mend with now. If only I would have used the tire warmers; paid more attention to the weather; not allowed myself to be distracted, tried to catch up with the pack, etc.... the list could go on and on, however the bottom-line is this one gets chalked up to user error; an error I don't plan on making again anytime soon. Hitting that pavement was a revelation of how hard it really is! I now have a renewed respect for it and will make my adjustments accordingly. There is no room for prideful ego protection here; I simply pushed too hard on ill prepared tires - I give God all grace in his protection of me and I look forward to getting back out next season for more adventures. One of our friends wrote: "... When you go down , get back up and ride for the Lord!.." Amen! Again, a lesson I don't plan to forget.
This marks our sixth and final track event for this year. As we continue to build on this venue and introduce more riders to controlled track day racing, we continue in managing to still have fun and spin it as a family type event. Our goal: to enjoy a joyful spirit and fellowship with fellow riders, while always learning and testing our limits for this passion we have for 2 wheeled movement. It's tragic when anyone goes down, especially one of our close brothers/sisters - but we applaud them for exploring their personal best. We shouldn't be afraid to test our limits as that's how true growth in anything is experienced. If you've never done a track day, do yourself a favor and try to get in at least one. It will surely make you a better street rider. The pace is yours to set; grab a partner and explore.
Thanks again for everyone's support in today's ride/event and our efforts for 2013 in this venue. Come out and enjoy our next riding event which is the "Pounding the Poconos" on November 2nd, 2013. Hopefully we'll see you there! I'll post up more pictures as I receive them here and also on our Facebook Forum Page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/ChristianSportbike/) and at this event's Facebook Event Page (https://www.facebook.com/events/585123264883463/)
See you out there - Lets Ride!
Scripture for Track Day Event - October 26th 2013
Today's message deals with wisdom -vs- arrogance and faith/confidence over fear. Are we using wise reactions to criticism in our lives? Has the Holy Spirit used the criticism of others to make a positive change in your life? How is your life better because you were willing to listen?
James 3:14-17 and Philippians 2:1-11
How should we face the upsetting comments of other people? What is the right response to criticism?
First, when criticism arises, maintain a quiet spirit. Do not become defensive or loud, and restrain any outburst, though that may feel right at the moment. Some people will use the excuse, “I just have a short fuse. That’s how God made me.” This is a poor argument; we can’t blame the Lord when we fail to control our own bad temper. Such responses are unhelpful, unhealthy, and unacceptable.
Second, we should not attempt to defend ourselves immediately. Pride, not genuine honesty and reflection, usually motivates this response. Whenever possible, it’s wise to allow time for the initial shock and irritation to pass before offering any defenses or theories.
Third—and this is a tough one—we must ask the Holy Spirit to show us if the problem is our fault. Are the accusations true? Is it possible that a loving friend was led by God to reveal something unpleasant about us? We do not like to think that we are ever wrong; however, we know that as sinful men and women, we cannot be right all of the time. For this reason, there is always a chance that a conflict in our lives may actually be our fault. When people care enough to confront us in this way, we should be gracious about receiving and considering their perspective.
In the case where we are unjustly criticized or 'accused', let Christ be our example of the demeanor we are called to adopt. There are those who will seek to sabotage our good efforts because of their own inherent weaknesses. Strength through calmly facing our 'accusers' as modeled by Christ, may do more for our character than a show of hostile anger. History has shown that the 'meek' have outlived the 'mighty' of spirit in their acts of grace and humility in the storm. Jesus Christ, Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Dorothy Day, and Martin Luther King.
The Lord often speaks to us through other people. If He is trying to communicate something to you through a brother or sister in Christ, challenge yourself to be open to His message—even if it hurts.
CSBA Hospitality Tent
A pair of really cool old vintage race Nortons
Entering the lightbulb turn at NJMP Lightning
