The racetrack at Road Atlanta is something you have to experience for yourself to really understand how difficult and challenging it is. It combines a lot of elevation change with with twelve tricky turns and has a very long back straight-away that only ends after you crest a blind hill and plunge seemingly straight down into slow speed left turn. It has another blind hill at the Suzuki Bridge, and from the seat turn twelve appears entirely too close to the wall. I could go on, but my description wouldn't do it justice. I have the utmost respect for those who race there because it must take just the right combination of bravery and skill to go really fast.

We went down with several friends from Tennessee the last weekend in May and had an absolute blast; easily one of the best times I've ever had on a motorcycle (except the crashing part, of course). The weather was generally cooperative and it wasn't too hot. We had a couple of mishaps, including mine, but nobody was injured and that's the most important thing. In a nutshell, one of the crashes (not mine) occured just as it started to lightly rain, making the track surface at T7 slicker than snot on a brass doorknob. The other crash (mine) happened when I let my good sense go out the window after a control rider passed me (again) just before T10A and I gave chase, lowsiding on a cold front tire in T10B. The damage to both bikes was minimal, and I think we both came away with some hard-learned track knowledge.

The event was organized by the Northeast Sportbike Association, or NESBA for short, and was professionally run. We were impressed with everything and would have no problems with attending another NESBA event.

Anyway, if you should ever get the chance to go to Road Atlanta to see a race, you should hop on it like a bad wrestling move. Or better yet, attend a track day or the Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School. You won't regret it!