Can life get any better for Jennifer Bleza at the PDC?
Can life get any better? The last four years of my life have been very exciting. Here it is in point form:
- Buy a motorcycle.
- Get a motorcycle license.
- Take a motorcycle-racing course.
- Start motorcycle racing.
- Trade in race bike for a dirt bike.
- Start dirt biking.
- Start dirt bike club racing.
- Get motarded.
- Start racing supermoto.
- Buy a new car – a fast one.
- Take a PDC course.
- Hmmm…now what happens?
It seems that I have caught a disease that has no cure. There is a name for those inflicted, Adrenalin Junkies. How does a person cope with this hormonal disorder? My method is to interact with other individuals with the same disease. I tend to hang out at racetracks, bike shops, and now I’ve taken my obsession a step further to working at a car dealership.
My first day at a PDC event was nerve racking. I did everything I could to prepare myself and I still didn’t feel ready. I read the driver’s tips on the website and put them into practice on my drive to Mission the next morning. When I arrived at the track, it was about 7:50 am and tech inspection closes at 8 am. I started to panic because I arrived late. I got in the tech line up and everything moved along smoothly. Everyone was really helpful and reassuring…then came the driver’s meeting…you guessed it… NO WOMEN AT ALL! URGH…How intimidating is that? I was so antsy and nervous at this point, I couldn’t sit still and my mind was going 100 miles an hour.
The driver’s meeting was very informative. It taught us track etiquette, the meanings of the flags, and constantly reminded us about safety. There were 4 groups of different levels that rotated for 25 minutes of track time. Waiting for our group to be called was torture.
For your first time out there, an instructor drives your car. While the instructor is driving your car, you are shown how things should be done and the techniques to focus on. All I remember about my instructor is that he had a big white helmet with a great big smile. We started driving extremely slow, which actually calmed my nerves. I diligently watched his driving lines, body positioning and shifting. For some reason, I wasn’t nervous that some stranger was driving my Gigi. (Gigi is the name of my car). I don’t even let my husband drive my car but only because he drives it better than I do. The instructor gradually drove faster and it started getting intensely exciting.
We switched seats half way through the session. I took a really deep breath before we started and I just pretended that no one else was in the car. To relax myself, I started humming. I focused on everything that I could remember from when he was driving. I wanted to try the “Heal Toe” technique but I felt that I was already over my head. I drove for about fifteen minutes and I was feeling exhilarated! I received a lot of positive feedback, some helpful tips, and techniques I could practice. Nobody knows it, but the minute I parked my car I was wiping the sweat off my forehead and thanking God I didn’t smash Gigi. Phew!
In between my sessions, I asked to ride with instructors in their own cars. I wanted to experience what it would be like in a “race car”. I jumped in an Audi R8, strapped myself in, said a silent prayer and hung on for dear life. At the speeds we were driving, I couldn’t believe how close we were with the other cars. I had a smile pasted on my face during the whole ride and surprisingly, I was very relaxed. I was savouring every moment, especially the turns. Even though there were many other cars on the track at the same time, I did not feel at risk. I felt that everyone respected each other’s cars and that eliminated a lot of stress.
On my third session, I was driving by myself. This was my chance to really concentrate on all the new things I just learnt and see what my car could do. The one great feature about my car that I love are the extra big brakes. I knew I was braking hard because I could smell them and my seat belts were tightening up and restricting my breathing. (I don’t think I was breathing the whole time I was driving anyway.) I always thought braking traction would be unnerving…until I actually figured out that you can still control the car.
My overall experience was fantastic! Everything I learned was invaluable and it was impressive to see such an organized event in action. I met a bunch of new people who have the same interests as I do (most with nicer cars) and I got a certificate that I can use for bragging rights. It was a pretty phenomenal day. Who wouldn’t want to do this all the time?
So now I have an even bigger problem…how do I juggle cars and motorcycles all at the same time?
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