Round 2 had us return to Buttonwillow for the weekend of April 13th and 14th. I made a few changes to the bike since round 1; it now sported a cheap eBay exhaust that I’d cut and welded into a low-mount system (which actually turned out pretty well), an Annitori QS Pro 2 quickshifter, and some spiffy new spraypainted novice plates (the yellow duct tape I was using for Round 1 didn’t hold up for very long). I arrived Friday night, deciding to skip that day’s practice. It was surprisingly warm the next morning, and the Saturday pactice sessions were more than enough time for me to reacquaint myself with the bike and work out the kinks in the new quickshifter setup (forgot to tighten the shift linkage – oops).

The drive South on I5 to Buttonwillow Raceway is long, straight, and incredibly dull. It’s even more mind-numbing if you find yourself running it late at night, as I, unfortunately, do pretty consistently. However, it does give you ample time to cycle through your track checklist to make sure that you have everything for the next two days (and then spend a few hours sitting in silent regret once you realize that you forgot to pack your gloves).

Ill-fitting, throughly abused RS Taichi race suit that I’d bought from my roommate for $50 and crashed several times, now held together with duct tape in several spots? Check. Sidi Vortices that had more spare bolts than original fasteners? Check. Clapped-out ZX6R that’s been crashed more times than I can count on one hand, held together with zipties and JB Weld, sporting duct tape number plates? Check. Helmet, gloves, tire warmers, stands, and the countless other necessary items? Eh… Check. Probably.