Riding to my First Ever Trackday (Llandow)

[venari]

Hey guys,

I've been doing some research on all the things I should take with me to my first trackday which will be up at Llandow this weekend and I'm now beginning to wonder if riding to the track is the best idea.

Does anyone on here ride to trackdays and if so what do you usually take?

I don't know if Llandow sells petrol (I kinda doubt it) so I'll need to find the nearest petrol station at some point during the day.

If I take a backpack full of gear where can I keep it safely whilst I'm riding?

If it's raining will there be a space where I can stay dry/warm inside?

I know - riding to a trackday isn't ideal just because if I come off it might be hard to get home BUT I don't have much choice unless someone wants to give me and my bike a lift.

Thanks

[billinom8s]

Simple - DO NOT RIDE TO THE TRACK.

[ptolemyx]

No problem riding to Llandow if you don't have bike transport. Unless you want tyre warmers and slicks on the bike that is! The SWB crew are friendly enough to let you keep a backpack safe in the paddock and the Llandow café is a safe-ish haven. Fill up close to the track and you should have enough petrol for the day.

[billinom8s]

It's not the skin possibility of coming off you have to wmptw about, it's these other things..

Fatigue - it's tiring doing a trackday to then add a 3 Hour ride there and back will get a bit much.

Tyre wear - how good is your rubber?? A motorway run there, a day playing and then trip home, you don't want to get pulled for worn out tyres.

Breakdown - what happens if your Bike decides to have a strop? You get recovered to the pits but then have to still get home.

Drink lots of water, it's supposed to be warm this weekend and trackdays are dehydrating, get too dry and you'll find it hard to concentrate and ride safely

Tyre pressures, remember at the start of the day, reduce the pressure end of the day, back up to road pressures.

Fuel available about 5 miles away.
Briefing room or normally other rider will let you stow a bag.


It sounds like am putting doom and gloom moto this but I'm not, I'm just highlighting the things that people polish over with the excitement of doing their first day.

John the marshal is fun, he'll look after you..

Enjoy it.

[venari]

Llandow is only about 10 miles from my house - whilst I expect to be knackered the ride is quite easy - all A roads.

And my tyres are brand new so there shouldn't be an issue with tread depth.

I have breakdown cover and am happy to push the bike down the road a bit to distract the AA from my location (it's only a 400).

The chances of my bike having a strop are about 50:50. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just a stroppy old cow.

I'm really looking forward to the track day!!!! I hope it's dry!!!

[scorcher]

Crack on and ride there. In the days of old, thats what trackdays was all about, ride there with minimal shit, have a hoon around the track and then ride home. Now everybody has trailers, vans, dedicated track bikes, tyre warmers,generators, gazebos,lap timers etc etc all fighting for garages and to be the quickest. A lot of people who attend the "road bike only" trackdays reckon there a lot more of a relaxed affair!

[DynaMight]

You'll be fine, I'm sure they will look after your stuff but I wouldnt worry about it too much. Everyones stuff will be on show too. There is a large room where the morning briefing is completed, you'll be more than welcome to sit in there if its wet.

I wouldnt worry to much about crashing, just ride within yourself and have fun. No different to riding on the road. Just make sure you reduce your tyre pressures if its a dry day as they will get a lot hotter than on the road, it can get quite dangerous with over inflated tyres. It may feel crap at first but once the heat builds up it'll be a lot better.

Have fun and enjoy yourself. I'd certainly be riding it to track if I lived 10miles away!

[venari]

I've just stumbled across my own thread and thought I'd best update it for anyone who comes here looking for answers.

What was it like?
The track day was fantastic, a really good experience. I would recommend it to any rider - if you like your bike now you will LOVE IT after a day on the track with it.

Was it a good idea to ride to the track?
Yes and no. I damaged my bike but not badly enough not to be able to ride it back. I did ride slightly more reservedly knowing I needed the bike to get me home. But it kept costs down and made the whole experience more relaxed. I knew I could leave any time I wanted without any faff. About 10 of us had ridden in and we all parked in the same place which meant we got talking straight away.

Will you ride to the track next time?
Possibly. I don't like taking my bike on a trailer. I worry a lot about it getting damaged by the straps. If I had a van I wouldn't think twice about using it to take the bike. Perhaps I'll look into hiring / borrowing a van next time.

What type of bike do you need?
Any. Seriously, the quickest rider of the day was on a supermoto and the least impressive were the shiny new sports bikes. Any bike is fun on the track.

How much did it cost you?
All in all I think the day probably cost me about £100. Although I did have to upgrade some of my kit for it - see next question.

What kit did you need?
Full leathers (one piece or zip together), boots, gloves and a helmet (they didnt check for the ACU sticker but technically they should have.

Is my exhaust too loud?
Probably not. I switched mine over for a quieter can the night before but they didn't check the noise level on any bikes and there were some pretty noisy bikes out that day.

How did the day work?
Got there nice and early. There is one building in the pits with one room. The room is full of chairs and thats where they give you the safety talk. There were 3 groups: novice, intermediate and pro. I was in the novice group - don't be fooled into thinking they will be slow, by the end of the day there was very little in it between the groups. Sessions were 15 mins long meaning you got 30 mins between your sessions. Loads of track time and no messing about.

Did you get any coaching?
No - I was a bit disappointed to be honest by the lack of that sort of thing. They pretty much just put us on the track and let us get on with it.

What about professional photos?
Yes. Photos only taken during second sessions (before anyone had got their knees down) photos were available to buy by lunch break.

Were you nervous?
I surprised myself a little on this. I wasn't expecting to be nervous but in the morning I was bricking it.

Did you crash?
I came off the track twice, yes. Picked the bike up too quickly on a long corner (twice) and target fixated on a small jump into the grass. Nothing duct tape couldnt fix.

Were there any serious crashes on the day?
No. Someone did write off their bike but they were fine.

What did you take?
Food, raincoat, extra jumper, trainers, wallet, phone (with app)

What do you wish you had taken?
Gopro, zip ties, duct tape, allen keys, adjustable spanner, business cards (you meet lots of people in a friendly environment). A friend - preferably another rider in a different group (eg intermediate rider).

How long were you there?
Arrived at about 9am. Left about 5pm I think. People slowly started leaving after lunch which gave the rest of us more space to play with.

How many bikes were on the track during the sessions?
They said 15 or something but to be honest when you're on the track it makes no difference. Everyone is evenly spaced out and you don't think about it.

Were you the fastest?
I don't know - I wasn't getting overtaken much but most of the time there weren't any bikes in front of me. Considering I was riding a 400cc with 600s I think I did ok.

Any questions just ask.

[billinom8s]

SO you'll be coming on our trackday at Llandow in june then?????

[venari]

Yes!!!

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