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Yes. I tried to convey this to Graham at the end of the day, but don't think I did a very good job of it.
Since we went there.. this has been on my mind, even since my day last summer.
I hate passing. I can pass, but I do not feel entirely safe doing it. Since I don't have eyes in the back of my head (and you took away my mirrors!) it is very difficult for me to judge 'safe' anyway. Nobody talked to me or called me nasty names, so I assume I did okay.
I feel at a disadvantage being on a 650 with maybe 65 HP between my legs. Whenever we got to the passing zones I was left in the dust and then caught right up with everyone right at the next turn. I actually muttered "WTF" once or twice when everyone was braking and I knew I could go later or harder. I did what the instructors suggested and pitted in and back out only to find myself tangled up in another pack.
I remember one instance in particular where I did everything I could to set up a bike that probably has 3x the power mine did on T12. I swear I got a front wheel on him just to see the other rider look over at me and VANISH as he popped that throttle open. (I actually found it pretty funny and tell the story all the time!)
Maybe this is normal for a 1st timer after day 1. But I have honestly NO IDEA how you successfully pass a 100-something HP liter bike on a middle weight ANYWHERE at NHMS within red-group rules. Sure, I could probably outbrake or out corner in T3 or 6 or something, but that's not allowed. You are required to complete the pass before the braking zone. (PS: I think I bent that rule once!)
Any/every rider on a 'real' sport bike can gun it on the straights and leave me in their dust. I feel completely powerless to do anything about it.
Meanwhile I have no qualms about being passed.
It seems like the pace would be better in yellow and more conducive to learning to ride faster in the corners (my personal goal). Getting passed all day on the straight is less of an issue if the guys your being passed with aren't going to park it in the next turn. I would much rather be at the back of a pack of faster riders than at the front of the pack of slower ones.
I will, of course, defer to experience. But it seems to me that being able to be safely passed is a more important skill for riding in a faster group than being able to pass.
Maybe I just don't understand the passing rules?
Maybe I just don't understand how to pass properly?
Maybe I am just not comfortable passing?
Maybe this is what you're getting at.
Looking forward to learning the answers to these Q's.