I only started riding in 2005. I had a 97 TLS also and wa tearing up bacroads all over ky. In 2006 i thought i had it all mastered and was feeling like a superhero on the bike. Then i pulled into a gas station and saw 4 riders with #'s on their bikes. I walked over and started talking with them and found they all raced. Thinking i could probably race i asked them if i could join them on my fav road(165) thinking i could hang. Well i took off like a rocket and was slaying the road when suddenly 2 bikes passed me on the inside of a high speed turn. It was a compleatly clean pass,but it scared the crap out of me. After that i decided to hit the track and Putnam was going to be my first. I could not believe what you can do with a sportbike once its on a track. You can run into corners way faster and slingshot out and not worry about crashing into a guard rail or a bunch of trees. The track actually made me a slower street rider because i know what my bike can do,but now i know when to use it. The track is a priceless tool to learn the ins and outs of a sportbike. The street did help me learn the basics and i have had allot of gravel,oil,misc animals and teach me the hard way how to react. The track is just so much more safe than street riding and most likely when u go down you are ok,but bikes are a whole nother story.