My very first taste of motorcycling was riding my dad's Harley Sportster. I was 'baptized by fire' meaning I drove it on the open road without ever having ridden a motorcycle. After dragging my boots for about a mile I was able to slightly comprehend what I was doing.
Somehow, after that harrowing experience, I decided that I loved motorcycling and picked up a Suzuki Katana 750. I've always been a fan of performance over comfort and had no desire for a cruiser type motorcycle. With only a few months under by belt on that bike, I traded in for an 848 and haven't looked back since. This will be my 4th year riding a motorcycle, and my 4th track season as well. The Ducati Manhattan dealer invited me to a track day after getting the new bike, and I was hooked from that day forth.
In my first season, at a regular track day, my instructor told me "When in doubt, gas it". It then became abundantly clear that I needed to find a professional motorcycle training organization if I wanted to really learn the mechanics of riding. This season will be my third year riding with CSS and I find it to be the safest, most knowledgeable, professional, well staffed and friendly organization out there. Nothing puts a smile on my face like seeing those CSS trailers and the people that make it happen.
As far as racing, I haven't raced before and don't have any real aspirations for it (other than in my dreams). We'll see what happens after the RACE school!