First Time on the Track 

A Little Bit of History...

The Shubenacadie track has been in existence since 1974 and is club owned and volunteer-run. It is 1.6 miles of challenging asphalt consisting of 11 turns: 4 left-hand and 7 right.  It is in no way a flat track as there are seven elevation changes with more than a 100-foot drop between turns one and four, making “Shubie” one of the most technical and exciting track layouts in all of North America. The curves are a mixture of positive and negative camber (banking) with red and white concrete run-off/speed bumps on most turns.  Although the run-off is designed to preserve the integrity of the track, it will do little to preserve you or your motorcycle should you hit it and drive off the track.  So don’t.  There are also “turtles”, or white mounds of concrete, on the inside of many of the turns, and these serve as corner markers at the apex (the center point of the arc of any corner) of most turns.  Don’t hit these either as this means you’re already off the track.	Picture by Rob O'brien
	Tim Furlotte, #96, Racer/Instructor

What’s that mean? 

When you do a couple schools, have friends that ride, or bench race, the following terms will eventually become second nature to you: 

·        Paddock/Pit – gravel area next to track where riders/racers park their bikes/trailers/equipment for race preparation.  The speed limit is 15 km in the paddock and children as well as dogs must be well monitored at all times. High traffic area. 

·        Pit Lane – concrete area next to track but not on the track.  When taking a school, riders will park their machines in pit lane and they will enter and exit the track via this area.  There is a retaining wall on the right hand side of pit lane, and when the track is “hot” with riders, no one is allowed to sit on or have their back to this wall.  This is for your own safety as a motorcycle flying down the front straight at a high rate of speed could seriously damage you should it’s rider decide to bail or “run out of talent” coming over turn eleven.  If you on “the wall”, you not only run the risk of getting hurt, but the announcer will certainly embarrass you in front of hundreds when they tell “the spectator in the cheesy Hawaiian shirt to please stand back”. 

·        Tower – self explanatory really…  Located near turn eleven, the Tower is where you’ll find the announcers, Head Marshall various spectators, sweaty racers, and a great view of the whole track from about 4 stories up. If you’re scared of heights, stay back.  It moves quite a bit in the breeze. 

·        Starter’s Bridge – Area at the beginning of the track.  Here you’ll find the Head Referee and generally the track ambulance is parked just on the far left hand side of the Bridge.  When you race, this is the place you want to be when the checkered flag comes out. 

·        Tech/Tech building – If you are a racer, the Tech building, located near the Starter’s Bridge, is the place you bring you machine before you race to have it checked over/passed on inspection.  For race school students, “teching” of your machine will take place when we’re all freezing in the Tech Building during classroom instruction.  Your bikes will already be in pit lane and the instructors will be inspecting your bikes to make sure they are safe to drive on the track (Tires not bald, no leaks, etc…). 

·        Shubie Ground Plums – Basically, these are rocks, which once buried deep in the ground, have started to make their way up to the track surface due to frost/shifting etc.  When you do the “track walk”, bumps from emerging rocks will be pointed out to you (turn 7), so pay attention.  It may not look like an ominous bump, but wait until you hit is leaned over at 120 km.  

·        Track Walk – For school participants, a track walk will ensue once the morning’s classroom instruction has ceased.  It’s 1.6 miles, so bring comfy shoes.  School instructors will point out corner markers, pavement changes, the “line”, and pretty much every turn they’ve ever crashed in.  Doing a track walk will prepare you to ride the line, set up your turns, learning breaking/exit points, and will show you were you doing want to go should you exit the track. 

·        If you exit the track, you might choose to use one of these phrases to explain your journey. 

1.      Picking rhubarb – crash happened off of turn four – apparently rhubarb grows in the woods off this turn…

2.      Fell off the Roller Coaster - The Roller Coaster consists of turns 4-6 and there are some good places to bail should you upset your suspension.  Watch the inside of four – rough pavement, and the inside of five – lots of dirt and grass from previous riders.

3.      Fell off the Carousel – Turn nine has been dubbed the “Carousel” as it is one long, super fun, continuous, half moon, right hand turn.  If you come in too hot, lean the bike over to fast, and loose the front end, you’ll hopefully slide left off the track and come to a halt in a puddle of gravel.  The gravel is great for slowing you down, but it will personally polish all your plastics whether desired or not. 

·        The Line – The line is your path around the track.  For racers, there are several different lines, for students; there is the safe line.  Depending on your instructor, the student line could be the race line, or safe line, or really a combination of different maneuvers if your instructors change.  What ever your line, the best thing you can do for yourself and other students on the track is to “hold your line” when passing someone or being passed.  Weaving around the track only ticks people off, makes you look like a dunce, and might cause an accident.  In a school environment, don’t ride a defensive line, ride a smart, safe line and hold it. 

What’s it feel like? 

It’s hard to put into words, to tell you the truth.  The sensation is a mixture of nervous excitement and a funky feeling in your stomach – kind of like butterflies; huge butterflies, the ones that leave big greasy smears on your visor- hundreds of the floaty things fighting in the pit of your stomach… And then a “hold your breath, down-hill, roller coaster” reaction takes over when you initially coast into turn one… And that, ladies, is the best feeling of all… And it happens every 1.6 miles, every left and right of eleven turns, and especially when you fly across the front straight back down into turn one.  There’s no feeling like it in the entire world, and it’s exceptionally addictive.