Motorcycle Stories - How I got into Motorcycle racing

When I came out of the left turn, all I could think and see was the kerbs curve right. The yellow and blue seemed to fade by from memory, one box at a time. All I can see is the curvature of the tarmac, and the far end of the turn is visible. In my mind's eye, the apex; that imaginary line that all us racers see in the turn; is visible. A downshift and the rpm needle swings past the power band, almost at the rev limit. The exhaust splutters and the engine revving hard at 13100 rpm is very evident. I shift to the right, pushing hard against the handlebars.

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I lean to the right, stooping forward, feeling the front wheel as I keep my right wrist firmly on the throttle. A slight scraping sound, the sound of kneesliders banging against tarmac is audible over the drone of the motorcycle engine. The apex is becoming shorter and shorter... I am at the the middle of the turn and I can see the exit and the kerbs on the left side. The brain and wrist work as one. I accelerate hard, the revs building up as I exit the corner. The engine is revving hard in the power band. I lift the bike straight, as the knee comes back into being one with the motorcycle. The helmet tucks under the visor. I hear the engine scream as I shift into 4th gear, then 5th and into 6th as the speed builds up to over 180kmph.

And then I see the kerbs that mark the start of another turn...


Motorcycling feels like a natural thing for me. It's been over 8 years and 100,000km on board different motorcycles so far. And every time I get on one, it just feels like a raw and overwhelming experience. I've primarily used motorcycles as means to travel, and that had been my sole experience with them for the last 90,000 odd kilometers or so. But I've loved pretty much anything that has motorcycles associated with it.

One of those has been racing.


The start

Some of my earliest associations with racing motorcycles has been watching them at racing events such as MotoGP, our very own university project of Novabike at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, and other events such as the 4 hours of endurance racing at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium. All of these experiences etched indelible memories in my brain and made me want to feel the urge to go fast, lean into corners dragging knees (and now wanting to drag elbows), live life on the edge of control between man and machine. The other side of all these was the thought of fast crashing and possibly breaking a bone or two. But I kept those fears hidden away, not wanting to open that box until I came upon it.

I watched MotoGP live in Assen in Netherlands twice, and came away bolstered and on a high. I had to get on the race track, and I had to race.

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Valentino Rossi and the Yamaha YZR M1

When I got my Yamaha YZF R3 in 2016, it heralded the start of new beginnings for me, and one of the first things I did, in November 2016, was to head to the race track.


The training

The school of racing is divided into 3 levels and then a 4th level. But to be a racer, it is mandatory to go through the first 3 levels. I started with IndiMotard's Throttle Wide Open course, for level 1. It was an eye opening experience, and lessons learnt on track have held good even on the streets. Level 1 was a lot of unlearning, and learning to control motorcycles without brakes, to anticipate, to understand what to do to take corners fast, and how to evaluate corners.

It was without doubt the most important lessons, because everything else was build up from there.

Here are some pictures from the first time on the racetrack...

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This was my first taste of the racetrack. I did not get me knee down even though the picture below proclaims otherwise! But the seed that had been sown had blossomed into a little sapling. It was time to let it grow. And that meant aiming to race in the Indian National Motorcycle racing championship in 2017.

Story for another post!

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With one of my instructors during the Level 1 days.


If you liked this story, please upvote, comment and resteem/share. You may like some of my other work which you can check via the links below:

Need for Speed - The game that fueled the teenage racing years

Your only limit is you

Backpacking the United Kingdom

My recovery from a broken wrist, first steemit post and roadtrips

Motorcycling India: Beyond the World's highest motorable road, deserts, India's last village and a hot water spring!


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so awesome reading - its great to find other avid motorcyclists on steemit!! there should be a club for us - is there a club for us?! im a biker, but not pro or even competitive, just riding for fun and daily rider type thing when the weathers nice :)

im actually renting my first sport bike this month in manchester to get a taste for it. but back home i have an 85' BMW K100 thats my babyyyyyy

its great to connect hear - looking forward to finding more riders and getting a virtual crew going :D

Hi! There are a couple of us kinds on steemit! There's no steemit club yet, but with the coming of communities, there should be one that would be formed!

Which sports bike are you renting?

also if theres no club yet we should start one! but yes, i guess its more feasible with a community feature built in. its not exactly the kind of thing to run contests on lol - at least nothing i do;p

Now that gives me an idea for a contest! Stay tuned while I find the time to write a post for it!

But with communities coming in, I guess it will be easier to do things like these. Waiting to see how they will be structured :)

Also, if you scroll down my feed, you will find more motorcycle travel stuff :)

awesome - can't wait to hear!:) I'm happy to help contribute in any way. i don't have a lot of weight on the platform yet , but what i lack in steem power i make up for in sheer enthusiasm !;p

Ha ha, thanks, great to hear that! Let's keep in touch and work something out once some more developments happen on steemit! I've followed you for now. :)

same! and yes! i look forward to it:D

just a little baby 125cc. i don't even know the brand yet actually. since I'm abroad my local UK friend is taking care of the paperwork, but ill probably find out this weekend! I'm really excited. trying to plan a trip either around northern ireland coast or the north of scotland since its so close :D

Scotland is an amazing place and beautiful! The north has so many castles and beautiful roads to explore and visit! I've been to Scotland, but not on the bike. You'll love it!

stunning - i can't wait! hopefully a little baby bike will get me there;p
its only a day trip from the north of england where I'm visit right now :D

It definitely will! Take it easy on the winding roads and enjoy the absolutely amazing scenery!

thanks for the reassurance! i needed it because i actually don't know anyone with sports bikes and haven't risen a 125cc (i jumped straight into 650cc's when i got my first bike, and now I'm omw is 1000cc), although i did have a baby enduro for a bit that was 125 ,but i wouldn't think it'd ever make a long roadworthy trip hehe

You'll feel the lack of power and the small tank for sure! But you'll get used to it in a bit. I started from a 150cc yamaha street bike :)

I went from track days to club racing in much the same way I imagine a cocaine addict becomes a crack addict. I did 10 or so track days, then went out and bought a race bike, secured my race license, and went racing. Costs and consequences be damned. That didn't last long!! I say this to point out that motorcycle road racing is ADDICTIVE. You do it once, and everything else in life becomes profoundly boring. It's like a less expensive version of flying. These days I try to save my competitive streak for off-road racing where the costs aren't so out of control. Good for you for actually getting out on a real race track! Lots of people talk about it, but very few ever actually put their money where their mouths are and go and do the damned thing. CONGRATS! HAVE FUN! I would say don't get hooked, but you're probably already a lost cause!! :-P

Indeed, nice way of putting the addiction part! :)

Where did you race? And which race bike did you buy? Costs are prohibitive especially when you go to 600ccs and up. Tuning and maintaining the bike itself is an expensive task. And yeah, once you experience sensations at those speeds and the experience, everything else becomes quite boring and slow.

I did love to try off road, but more sideways rather than jumps and bumps. I'll do that once I recover from a broken wrist.

Hope your off road racing is letting your heart race!

I raced w/ the MRA in Colorado w/ a Honda RS125. Now I have an old GSXR, and I'm trying my best to not think about racing. AHRMA Next-Gen Superbike calling my name notwithstanding... LOL.

You're from Colorado?

You should do your Motocross thing often! Keeps you young! Racing is indeed a sport that is infectious, isn't it?

All of this is a throwback to that gearhead/hot-rodder fanaticism of the olden days. It's infectious, addictive for the right kinds of people. Some people go racing, or even just riding, and they're like "So what?" Others of us just see a motorcycle going down the road, and we're like "OMFG THAT'S THE COOLEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN." Then we get on a bike, and we're like "OMFG THIS IS THE BEST." Then we go racing, and it's more of the same like that. It's not everyone's cup of tea for sure, but if you dig it, then you're one of the clan who "gets it." Motorcycles are fun. They're almost as cool as airplanes. Be happy and ride motorbikes; life is short!!

Motorcycles are cooler than airplanes (maybe except flying a fighter jets or acrobatic planes); my opinion only. And I'm an aerospace engineer ;)

But yes, life is short . Be happy and ride bikes. Enjoy them whatever you do!

the R3 is a good bike to start, it builds riders, rider's confidence and the most important corner speed.

if i may suggest, get some bridgstone battlax tires, you will have more great and more confidence

Indeed, it is a very forgiving bike. The battlax tires are a little pricey, I use Pirelli Rosso and the feel is great!
I remember that my corner speed increase by as much as 15kmph in some corners due to the feeling and grip the Rosso gave.

diablo rosso tires? if so that is a good choice as well.

This post has received a 13.55 % upvote from @boomerang thanks to: @thebatmanbiker

El que le apasiona este mundo, tiene en común tu sentimiento. Buen post

i definitely wanna try this at some point in my life.

Some point is now, now is yesterday, and before you know it, this is life ;)

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