Jam on it!

Note: This post is badly late...the race weekend described below happened on July 4th weekend...

Cycle Jam was off to a fantastic start. My friends and family were either already at the track or on the way, the bike was together and working properly, and Gill had managed to secure the Cycle Jam equivalent of a palatial estate for our pit area. The golf cart I rented to help my…entourage? Did I really have an entourage? I think I did! If your entourage is made up of family and friends whom you’ve known for over 20 years, does that still count as an entourage? I think the term ‘entourage’ carries with it the implication of a certain percentage of leeches and hangers-on, not to mention the idea that there would be something in evidence that a person might bother leeching or hanging on to…not the case here. What was I saying again?

Bikes that work, friends and family to enjoy, great weather. Three days of racing to come. Good stuff.

Upon arrival at the track Wednesday night, I collected the TL from Stickboy (thanks again to Matt and Dennis), and my Father-in-law Jerry and I set about setting up the pit area. When it came time for bed, I realized that we’d neglected to bring a sleeping bag or pillow for Jerry (by ‘we’ I really mean ‘I’). So, in true Outdoorsman Jerry form, he slept on the naked cot w. a duffel bag for a pillow and a rain jacket for a blanket. I tried to get him to take my blanket, but he was steadfast in his…what was it…intent to suffer? I’m not sure, but judging from the log-sawing sounds coming from his part of the truck all night, I think he slept well.

Thursday dawned bright and hot, and even though it was just a practice day, there was a tangible energy about the place. For me, this was a big day. I hadn’t ever ridden in front of my…entourage? Did I really have…<ahem>. I’d never ridden in front of my peeps, I’d never ridden the TL with its new motor, and I’d never ridden anything faster than my old 400 at Road Atlanta. Even though the schedule was for a full day of practice, the sheer number of participants meant that we’d be getting only two sessions all day. This might seem like a pretty small amount of practice, but it’s not so bad. Jump on your unfamiliar, just-assembled-from-junk-parts TL1000R (ostensibly making maybe 125hp or so), take the first session to find your way around the track, and the second to get up to competitive times, and Bob’s your uncle, as it were.

Actually, practice went pretty much according to that plan, apart from the whole ‘competitive times’ thing. The bike worked great, and I was having a blast riding it around such a fast track. After the second session I checked my times and realized that I was only down to 1:45’s. This, for those of you unfamiliar with such things, sucks. On a bike of this capability and speed, I should be capable of going under 1:40, and I needed to be in the 1:38’s to have a shot at winning some races. However, I was elated to have the bike working properly, and to be sharing my passion for racing with my folks in attendance, so I was happy in any case.

Friday was endurance day. Gill Cutchen had bravely volunteered his 03 R6 so that we could go have fun in an endurance race. The "we" in this case was me, Gill, Ryan Nelson, and Scott Padgit. I was very excited that my friends and family would be there to help out in the pits, and to watch the endurance event because I think the pit activity, live scoring, etc. can add excitement to the non-racing fan. Also I wouldn’t want to minimize the impact of having so many peeps helping us out in the pits…well, the impact it could have had…

Endurance practice went fine. I only rode the R6 for a couple of laps, or just enough to get a rough idea of shift points. Ryan had never ridden the bike, or anything like in recent times, so he go the bulk of the practice. At the end of the hour-long session we were ready to rumble, or something.

Gill started the race for us, and was going well for the first 20 minutes or so. About 22 minutes in, a missed shift at the entrance to T7 caused him a minor low-side crash. He was able to get the bike back up and running, and into the pits. After a combination fire drill/bar fight (ok, not really a fight) we got the bike back out on the track. Gill was fine, and his frustration at his mistake was immediately evident as he began to reel off increasingly faster laps throughout the remainder of his session. At the appointed time, Gill acknowledged his pit-in signal, and came in as planned. A perfectly-executed fuel up got the bike back on the track in short order, this time with Scott Padgit at the controls.

As Scott was our resident Fast Guy, we were looking forward to seeing what times he would be turning. Unfortunately, before Scott was truly up to speed, the motor on the R6 let go at the exit of T1, and, that, as they say, was that.

All, however, is not lost. Even in the face of adversity, we all had a ball attempting to go endurance racing. As a result, Ryan, Gill and I decided to go in together and get an SV650 to dedicate to endurance racing. We’re not planning on doing the entire series, but 4 or 5 events is doable…I can’t wait. The SV will make its endurance debut at Barber in September.

After getting no opportunity to ride in the endurance, I was really excited to ride in the sprint races. Today’s races were the Sportsman series Heavyweight Twins Superstock and Superbike, and Sunday would see the National series Heavyweight Twins Superstock race.

First up on Saturday was HWTSB. My friend Kenny was gridded up behind me on his super cool RC51, and I knew he’s be coming by in short order. I’d yet to do a lap under 1:44, and he’d been dipping into the 1:38’s. When the green flag flew, I actually got a very good launch. Just as I approached redline in 2nd gear and I caught up to the rider in front of me, he veered left to reveal a TZ250 going about 30mph to my 75+. I swerved right to avoid him, and Kenny and I found ourselves leaning on each other. Luckily for me, Kenny is a great rider, and did nothing to make the situation worse. We continued accelerating in that position, and as we approached the braking zone for T1, I let out of it early so as to let Kenny get a clean run into the turn. I knew I had nothing for him, so I didn’t want to hinder his run through the pack…and run he did. Congrats to Kenny on a class win! I had an otherwise uneventful race and finished 6th.

Next up was the HWTSS race. This race was even less eventful, as I was alone pretty much the whole time. I ended up with a 5th place finish, and still hadn’t progressed in my lap times (nor would I on Sunday).

Sunday’s National Challenge HWTSS race was fun, as I had a great battle with a young guy on an SV650 (he’s fast…I should be able to leave a 650 for dead on that track, but I failed to do so) and ended up in 3rd place by about a bike length. This netted me my first ever National Challenge trophy which I got to accept in front of my Father-in-Law Jerry, so that was a nice bonus.

You might notice that I’m not focusing much on the actual on-track stuff this time around. Aside from the aforementioned moment of sheer terror (I don’t like leaning on people at 75mph), the actual racing was pretty uneventful.

This race weekend really exemplified what makes racing such a great hobby. The actual racing was really fun of course, but it was the fact that I was able to share my passion with my friends and family that made it special. I’ve dreamed of racing bikes for over 20 years, so to actually be doing it after all that time really puts a spring in my step, and makes me more fun to be around. I think that folks who don’t have a passion for something…anything, aren’t fully alive.

Carl Buechner said “They may not remember what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel.” I admit I’ve always liked this quote, and I also admit that it’s really not appropriate, but this is my blog you’re reading, so if I want to badly misapply a quote I’ll damn well do it.

What was I saying? Oh right…passion. Ol’ Carl’s quote isn’t quite germane, as I’m not making anyone else feel any passion when I race. But, I think it embodies a philosophy that is related somehow, to the idea that one should find whatever it is that makes your heath beat harder whenever you think about it, and pursue it. I’m not talking about romance, although the same spirit applies. I’m talking about an activity, a hobby, a specific accomplishment, a career change, a challenge. There’s a reason Nike’s “Just Do It” slogan became part of the lexicon. The idea that you can just get up of your ass and do something is fundamental to the human spirit. Just Do It. simple, but so very powerful.

The people with whom I share my passion for racing may not remember the details of how I did in the race, but they’ll remember how it made me feel to race, because I was lucky enough to share it with them.