By Dennis Dumapias (There are ‘first-world problems,’ and then there are ‘Dennis-first-world problems’…) Part of the fun in dreaming is finally having that which you hope to attain. The ultimate goal. The thing you’ve desired the most. But what happens when you achieve something sooner than you could’ve expected? What happens when you finally
Goal Achieved
By Dennis Dumapias Under Two Minutes Riding Coach Rob is persuasive. You’d think he’d be glad to read that I’ve quelled one of my fundamental fears out on track. In any case, I couldn’t not listen to him, or why else did I ask him to coach me? So on the second day
Letting Loose
By Dennis Dumapias There were two fundamental problems I told Rob – my riding coach – that I had when it came to my track riding, which I believed were holding me back from a lot of time I could gain every lap. One was leaning the bike too much, past the point of
2002 Yamaha R1: Out of Sight, Out of Mind
By Dennis Dumapias For the longest time I really wanted to put my 2002 R1 inside my house as a personal trophy bike to commemorate all the smiles in the miles I’ve racked up with it. It really does embody a rich part of my riding history, encasing it between its two wheels. Like
Heartbreak at the Raceway
By Dennis Dumapias You never forget a heartbreak. You can physically feel it every time you remember. You can even remember the sights, the sounds. You may even remember the date. October 19, 2018 Track days are great for when you only want to work on your riding without any pressure from a race
Moto-Life Imitating Art
By Dennis Dumapias In the past year alone, I’ve pulled off the following two-wheeled good deeds: Stopped to help a stalled car in the middle lane of a busy commuter freeway. The driver said the car just died, and not only was he not able to restart it, he couldn’t get it out of
Open Letter to Bay Area Motorists
By Dennis Dumapias Really, I should say to all motorists, but while lanesharing motorcyclists are prevalent here in California, not all states have to deal with lanesharing – and never more present within California than congested regions like the good ol’ San Francisco Bay Area during the commute week. I know. You as a
Lessons in Riding
By Dennis Dumapias 2018 had a rough start to the year. By the time the month of March rolled around I was mentally, emotionally, and physically reeling from the most trying time of my life that I can remember to date. I remember sleepless nights. And when I did finally fall asleep, cold sweats would
2009 Yamaha R1: Silver Linings
By Dennis Dumapias I try to see the silver lining in things. It’s how I take little victories even in frustrating situations. For example, it does suck to have get up a few minutes earlier to gear up for my work commute on a motorcycle, but at least I don’t have to sit through
Satin-Wrapped Hellspawn
By Dennis Dumapias Oh, for sure, this bike is a looker. But trust me. If ever you get a chance, you must ride an F4. You MUST. Some bikes intrigue you because of a particular novelty about them that just may be exclusive to that bike. Maybe it’s some new and trick performance part,
A Riding Brother
By Dennis Dumpias For all intents and purposes, Jonathan Ko and I were just strangers to each other. But for just a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon spent getting to know one another proved enough to realize we were more kindred in spirits than merely being motorcyclists. Jon and I both chose to
2009 Yamaha R1: That Awkward First Dance
By Dennis Dumpias “I passed Dennis!” I swear. Who needs enemies when you have friends like mine? It was June, already a hot day at Thunderhill Raceway and there I was feeling the heat of having to learn to ride my 09 R1. My friends weren’t any help, as they were like sharks that
Thunderhill Raceway (East), July 8th: Comfortably Quicker
I was excited for this event. It’s the Friday during the World Superbike round at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, which usually translates to a lower turnout than usual from our customers since the lot of them tends to attend the event down in Monterey. Not ideal for Z2 Trackdays as a business per se, but
Home is Where My Heart Is – On a Motorcycle
I needed that.Since the week before Thanksgiving last year it’s been a hell of a whirlwind ride for myself with my family in tow. Who knew how taxing it would be to sell a home, find another one to buy, with children along for the ride, all during the holiday traditions and traveling? No matter,