is it wrong

[catman]

I got involved originally, because after many years of biking and racing "other mechanical toys" ,I couldn't find anything that matched the thrill of snowmobile racing. Also ,I wanted to throw a leg over a streeter that was more highly capable( than most MV registered bikes)  of the BIG grin factor. Here's to club racing and the sport that allows me to say (on track) "I can't believe they are letting me do this"

[Cowboy 6]

maybe i should post a picture of my 3rd id combat patch and pictures of any of my 4 deployments to iraq. dont tell me about being shot at mortared, rpg's, ied's, or iraqi sand. or maybe a picture of my purple heart or bronze star w/valor.

I did  not mean to ruffle your ego. I merely wanted to get a point across. Others got the message:

Free for you...only if you don't value your life or the work that others have to put in to ensure that you're paid and taken care of at part of the US military.

I'm sure you haven't forgotten.

and...

Hahahahaha...so what are you saying...you pay with your A$$?

Mark

Yes that is exactly what Cowboy is saying. Something to do with Iraqi sand!

Thanks for your service. 



To get back on topic....

As long as you aren't 30 seconds off the pace and creating a hazard on the track, it is definitely not wrong to be out there just for the fun and thrill of wheel to wheel action. Go for it!

[chaplain220]

Never found a better group of people in all my life.  No matter what color you are, what language you speak, how ugly things are at work or home, when Sat afternoon at 5pm hits, the final bikes pull off track and the feet kick up on the back tire, everyone becomes genuine and real.  We talk deeper, laugh louder and...really care.  Not that I've given up on winning, I'm secretly pulling Jennings track days at every available opportunity so as to scorch the clearcoat off yer bikes, and shame you into coming to chapel service.  but I have come to love racing, for the racers.  And yeah, it is very cool.  We'll be in some store with the kids, and I'll hear my son talking to his buddies as they happen across a flatscreen with some motogp race on it, and he'll be sayin, "that's what my Dad does."  Of course, I'm thinkin to myself, "Well, not really anywhere even close to as good as that,"  but his buddies all turn and look at me with that, "WOW" expression.  Kinda cool bein a hero to a kid.

[Xpat2b]

Great thread! 

I have to admit, I am fascinated at why so many nice people are attracted to a sport that brings such great risk, and the answers like I am reading in this thread are what keeps me coming back as a spectator, photographer, and member of the community...

A little Googling of "basic human needs" resulted in a list of motivations that the club racing experience meets almost 100%...albeit there are variances in levels of maturity to which the sport and the community provides a venue for personal growth. It's no wonder the sport evokes so much passion.

1. The need to give and receive attention
2. Taking heed of the mind and body connection - turning strategies and lessons learned into faster lap times
3. The need for purpose, goals and meaning - if not winning races, then challenging yourself to exceed your personal best
4. A sense of community and making a contribution
5. The need for challenge and creativity
6. The need for intimacy - tying in with the need for attention, is the need to share your personal hopes, dreams and ambitions with someone who is "on your level".
7. The need to feel a sense of control
8. The need for a sense of status recognition
9. The need for a sense of safety and security (hence the heated discussions about incidents, maturity, etc.)

Of course, a little more Googling also came up with this little tidbit:

Cars make the man manly
WE'VE ALL HEARD the stereotype about sports cars: sure, they're fun to drive, but their main function is to help men show off to women. Researchers have now confirmed that men's bodies seem to agree. More than 30 heterosexual men were asked to drive two cars: a 2006 Porsche 911 from an exotic car dealer, and a 1990 Toyota Camry wagon with over 186,000 miles. Testosterone levels - as measured in saliva samples - rose significantly after men drove the former, but not the latter.

Saad, G. & Vongas, J., "The Effect of Conspicuous Consumption on Men's Testosterone Levels," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes (forthcoming).

...I wonder how the study would have turned out had the subjects been racing motorcycles....