Getting to the track this time had the potential to become a logisitical nightmare. i offered to help Doug from Shadow Video get to the track, which meant towing his trailer. In order to tow his trailer, Marc (my passenger for the trip) would have to have Mary tow his trailer. The only problems with this plan was the extra running around people had to do and the fact that the trailer felt like it weighed more than my little truck. but with my bike in the bed of my truck, trailer connected (which actually rode quite level) and gear in the trailer we hit the road at 5 am.

we ended up getting to the track around 5 pm so after 13 hours (there is a time change) we were exhausted. unfortunately, we were not allowed into the track until 7 to drop off the trailer and any other gear so we sat around and chatted as more people arrived. By 7, there was quite a crowd and a long line to get through the gates. Jay must have been in this predicament before because instead of waiting in line, he took an alternate exit out of the parking lot and lined up on the main road. i attempted to follow suit but it took a few tries to actually find the other exit.

so with my truck mostly unpaced and our pit area staked out, we headed for some food and then the 28 miles to the hotel. the next day would prove itself to be a handfull.

we get to the track around7:30 and immediately head to registration. with that out of the way igo to start my bike and get it inspected. it turns out that Alabama gets quite cold in late October and my bike's battery was not happy about it. after only 4 failed attempts to start it, my battery was dead. as i push my bike over to my truck, i see that Jay is having hte same problem. only he had this problem a few minutes before me so he already had the jumper cables out and the hood of his truck up. even with the full power of a car battery, he could not get his bike started. then he started teh truck, but still nothing. then we tried my jumper cables and the bike started right up. on to my bike and i get it started and im off to inspection.

with the sticker of approval on my bike (the only problem was a slightly sticking throttle, but htat is easy taken care of) i set up my pit and attend the riders meeting. nothing new to report about those.

finally, my group gets on the track. i am taking it easy as i have not been to this track in a bout a year. i still know the layout, but i still feel very green. i also have a fresh set of tires on my bike sothey need to be scrubbed in before the real fun can start. so i cruise around the track with Jerry (a rider with Shadow Video) and Marc in tow to show them around the track as they have never been there before. all is well, i am following a bike that is still too slow even for my slow pace. i probably could pass but the standing yellow flag prevents me from doing so. after the second lap the yellow goes away, but i am still hesitant due to my tires. by turn 5, i have had enough of this guy and i brake deep into the corner and lean the bike to go around the outside of him. just as i get to full lean angle. i feel it. the front is washing out on the new tires. "Shit" IT all happened in slow motion. the front slides, the front washes out, i gently land on the ground "i am soo stupid", i see my bike sliding away, i roll onto my back "i hope my bike is ok", i slide into the grass, pop up nad start running. the problem i am having, other than crashing on the third lap of my weekend, is i dont know where "out of the crash zone" is. if i go right, that is in a direct line of the bikes on teh brakes, to the left is the rest of the corner (essentially a 180 degree corner). so with no where to go, i run in the direction the corner worker is pointing. aout half way to the retaining wall, i see the corner worker struggling with my bike, so i do exactly what i should not have done, i run over and help him with it (which means i run back through the impact zone). i felt stupid for crashing. i know about cold and fresh tires. my only consolation was i wasnt the first to crash in that session. when the corner worker and i got my bike to a safe area near his station, i had the company of another rider who crashed on the first lap for exactly the same reason and with the exact same tires.

i tried to get the bike started, but the only response hte bike gave was the slow crank of a dead battery adn a LOT of smoke coming from the exhaust. soon the crash truck was upon us (mid session mind you. Barber really knows what how to run things) and our broken bikes were loaded. siiting upon my throne of shame, i rode back to the pits with my tail between my legs perched upon my broken ride. once unloaded, a quick assesment of the damage proved that there was very little wrong. the end of the clutch lever was flatter than it was before (i think the impact actually straightened it a bit), the frame slide was worn a little, the engine case was worn a little more, the end of the footpeg was at a new angle, the swingarm spool was reshaped. i believe the bike flipped over when it reached the grass as the exhaust pipe was dirty and a bit closer to the bike (i crashed on the left, non-exhaust, side) the right frame slider was filled with dirt, the windscreen was in a few pieces (still mounted to the bike though), there was a crack in the front of hte upper fairing and the front fairing stay required a nice pull to straighten out. the gas tank wasnt even touched. so with a coupld of yanks in appropriate places, a replaced clipon bar (im not sure it it was bent, but it felt funny) and four pieces of duct tape, my bike was repaired. now to get it started.

since the jumper cables had not been put away, this should have benn the easy part. but i couldnt get it started with my cables or Jays. so to find teh problem, i borrowed a multi meter. whith my cables connected to my truck, the volts were 0. with Jays cables, the volts read 0. hmm. so with some scrping of terminals, and back to my cables, the volts read 14. then my bike started.

i think i missed something like 10 minutes of riding time as there was a red flag that bought me some more time. not bad. i would like to thank Woodcraft for their marvelous clipons and rearsets, and Armour Bodies for their flexible bodywork.

back on the track, i took my time for an entire seesion just to make sure the tires were well scrubbed in. my next hurdle was my brakes. all season i have been plagued with brakes that followed their own rules. they wouldnt immediately bite or even try ot slow the bike down. it seemed like they needed to re-acquint themselves with hte brake rotor before any stopping power was available. and then they seemed to get bored of each others company as the brakes would fade quite quickly. to rectify the problem, i sanded both rotors (one was replaced from an incident last season wich i think caused my braking woes), replaced the brake pads and bled the brakes. i did a little bedding in in the pits before my first session, but the pads didnt finish bedding in until the begining of the third session. i could definately feel the improvement in the brakes. the old feel was back and by the middle of the afternoon, i was trail braking without fear. well, at least any more fear than usual.

the rest of hte day was uneventful, except for a certain few people that consistently showed me what talent looks like. i remember it well, goiing into the museum turn, i was buzzed by a liter bike. at first i was a little peeved that the person was riding so agressively. that was until i saw "Schwantz" written across the back of the leathers. he wasnt being agressive, he was just being REALLY fast. the next (coming out of the museum turn) person also passed me as if i was walking, with crutches, and a bad back although i didnt think it was agressive. their leathers read "Pruitt". after Pruitt went by, i had 20 seconds to savor the humble pie. then, as i turn into the second chicane, a blur of elbows beats me to the apex and thunders off up the hill. no names on his leathers, but it was clearly Mark Sheldon playing catchup with the fast guys.

i only saw Schwantz and Pruitt a few more times that day. i was just happy they only passed me once per session. personally, my lap times were nothing great, and i didnt even bother putting my timer on my bike. i was just happy to be out there with a bike that wasnt too banged up riding with friends. the next day would prove to be faster.

Day 2 >>

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