Obligatory glamour shot from this weekendI can't seem to break 2:21 at Thunderhill on him which leaves me out of (real) podium contention for pretty much ALL of the AFM race series he's eligible for (Formula 3, Formula Singles, Clubman Light, etc). This was my first post-accident bike that helped me learn to ride with 1-arm. There's a ton of sentimental value with him. But I can't justify dumping a ton of $$ into engine/suspension onto a bike that simply won't benefit all that much.It was a bittersweet weekend. My group of friends all did amazingly well. Everyone set PR's and did well in their respective races/classes. Meanwhile I'm sliding the front and rear through half the corners just to keep up with the back of the packs... reel people in from corner entry to apex... only to watch them pull on exit. Excitement turned to frustration in every corner! Not to mention topping out at 88-98mph down the front straight, depending drafting/wind direction.So... now I'm looking at 2019 and debating between crippling my R6 or joining a bunch of my friends on R3's....On an aside, unrelated to the bike...The absolute highlight of my weekend (if not entire season), however, was a man that came up to me after my last race. I was down b/c I DNFed. (Rider in front of me blew his motor, causing me to lose me rear and nearly high-side off the track in T2... At which point I said fuck it, i'm not ending the season with a crash so I got off on that lap). He told me that I was an inspiration to him and many others, especially his young daughter. He went on to say that she's had a particularly hard time racing motorcycles as a little girl - that the boys were often mean or dismissive to her because she is a girl. He said that when I rode up to her in the one of the first rounds of the year and told her how impressive I thought she was, it was the only thing that made her want to keep racing. She thought I was the coolest person on the track, racing with only 1-arm, and that I've been her inspiration all year because of that one little act of kindness and support that I barely remember... and that, in her eyes, if I could prove everyone wrong that said that I couldn't do it, so could she. I was a bit tongue tied b/c I'm awkward like that and thanked him for sharing the story. I walked over to my pit and cried a little b/c of the power the story had on me. I've spent so much time trying to show disabled riders that it's possible to keep doing this sport despite our injuries that I hadn't even considered that a few kind words might also have a huge effect on the younger generations for reasons I'd never considered.I guess the reason I shared this last part is b/c the kind words from strangers at the track have been a huge part of keeping me driven. Make sure you guys are doing the same for the people you come across. You never know when a little gesture will change a person's track day or even their entire track/race season. via /r/Trackdays https://www.reddit.com/r/Trackdays/comments/9qf4hb/time_to_say_goodbye_to_the_old_boy_this_weekend/?utm_source=ifttt
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