Mick-e

AFM Round 5 - Leave nothing out there

2011-07-15T13:56:00.000-07:00

In-between the rained out round 4 and round 5 I squeezed in a trackday at Thunderhill. It was some much needed time at that track but didn’t really give me much of a feel for the recent engine tuning we’d worked on prior to round 4. It had been a busy period at work (when isn’t it) and I was not very focused on racing until the day before having to pack up and head to the track.

One of the many great things about racing at Sears Point is how close it is to home. Getting up early Friday morning to head to the track isn’t much worse than getting up to go to work on a normal Friday. Once at the track I only partially set up my pit area knowing I’d have to make some adjustments once the AFM took over. Friday practice was a trackday put on by ZoomZoom not an AFM practice day. Recently I’ve been pitting with KC and his BRG trailer on Vendor row which has been a great experience, but we don’t get to fully set everything until all the vendors are in place. As a side note to that I have been working with Dave Wallis of the AFM on laying out the AFM paddocks. I’ve been volunteering my CAD skills to help get the vendor area sorted, and try to add a bit of polish to the look of the AFM. The AFM board is all elected volunteers, and not very many have much experience with events, although they have lots of history with setting up the races. So to them things like doing a floor plan is a big task, but for me it’s a few minutes of the day so I’ve been glad to help out. For whatever reason I have to always stick my nose in it.

My Plan for Friday was to slow things down a bit and try some new approaches to some of my weak spots. By not trying to go fast I could take a different line, or maybe brake later and get used to the new location, or feeling before trying it at full race pace. One area of particular attention was my entrance to Turn 6 “The Carousel” I had a decent line into the turn but I was always applying the brakes too soon, and I knew to get under the 1:50 mark I’d need to start digging deeper and pushing those boundaries a little further. By deliberately coming out of Turn 5 slower I could brake later entering turn 6 and teach myself that it was OK to start braking at the top of the hill, and slowly let off the brakes as I began the downhill left hand turn. I worked on this all day and slowly taught myself how to trail brake deep into the first apex. I wouldn’t really get to test this tactic at full pace until race day but by practicing where I would release the brake lever I was mentally much better prepared for when I would be pushing myself. The other thing I was mentally working on was opening the throttle sooner coming out of corners. Later on the brakes, and earlier getting on the gas is how to go faster around the track. I got 7 practice sessions in and was feeling good about Saturday which is AFM practice and when I would up the pace and start pushing the areas I was working on. I was struggling a little bit getting on the gas. The rear tire just wasn’t hooking up. I thought maybe the rear shock needed some tuning, but a close inspection of my rear tire showed that it was in fact roasted. I’m still trying to understand when these Michelin Power One tires are done. I’ve been changing the rear tire when I thought I needed to, but this tire I wanted to push to the limit. Well I wore the tire down to the point that it started delaminate. That is the outer rubber started separating from the carcass. That would explain the lack of traction, and the occasional slide. There wasn’t any rubber on the tire. Note to self: When the tire starts to slide replace it. Kate joined me Friday night and we bbq’d some chicken she had prepped. We made fajita burritos, and was some damn good eating for camping bbq.

Saturday morning I put on a new to me front tire. My new track buddy Peter Fry had bought a new slick front tire to test at a trackday he’d done last month but since he runs in the Production classes he isn’t allowed to use the slicks, and gifted the tire to me. My budget was getting mighty thin so I was thankful for such a generous gift especially since my front tire had 10 days on it and was past do for changing. After my lesson with the rear tire I didn’t want to push it too far. While I had the front wheel off I did a quick inspection of my brake pads. I’d been feeling some brake fade on longer runs and was suspicious the pads were getting thin. The thinner pad allows more heat to transfer into the caliper and heat up the brake fluid which allows the fluid to compress under pressure from the brake lever. I’m talking about compression that is fractions of a millimeter but this compression translates into less feel in the lever, and that feel is crucial to pushing the limits of the front tire while trail braking into a turn. I can’t complain. A set of the very expensive super stopping power Vesrah SRJL pads have lasted me a season and half. I skipped the first session to take the time to make sure everything was cleaned and assembled properly and the brakes were bled thoroughly with brand new super blue brake fluid. Yes even the brake fluid on my bike is blue!

deburring the brake rotors


intense brake bleeding

Saturday practiced sucked. I was slotted into group 3 which is frustrating because many riders are on larger displacement bikes which can make a fast laptime only because they can motor away in the straight sections, but the smaller bikes like mine keep our speed up in the corners. I wasn’t able to practice any of the things I had been working on at full pace and wasn’t feeling full of confidence one practice was over.

I quickly put that all behind me because I had a lot of work to do still for on this Saturday night would be a margarita bash. One of the great perks of having Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant as a sponsor is once a season we host a margarita party on Saturday night. Kate and I had to get the bike tech’d for Sunday’s races, make dinner, and set up for distributing hundreds of cocktails. The cocktail bash was an absolute blast. It’s a great opportunity to do some local advertizing for the restaurant, the Tommy’s Margarita mix, and meet new people. Kate took pictures with her new camera and fun was had by many. With much of the paddock well lubricated by delicious margaritas skillfully crafted by yours truly the stage was set for the debauchery to really begin. You see the pit right across from me was the Twisted Racing team and their sponsor Horny Toad BBQ Sauce. They had a very well put together fund raiser. $40 bought you a bbq, dinner and access to a strip show. Yes they had fully enclosed part of their pit area, set up a stripper pole with lasers, and smoke machines, and had a full on strip show. God bless their ingenuity. Why hadn’t anyone thought of that before? The music thumped, lasers flashed, and the men hooted and hollered as the girl worked her pole. The good times lasted until finally Barbara from race direction told everyone they had to wind it down and get to bed. Yes mom, I’ll put my stripper away and go to sleep. There was a great festive atmosphere in the paddock that night something we hadn’t seen at all this year.


margarita time!

tire guys

Sunday morning dawned clear and warm. It was time to get serious about racing. Werstatt had sent a new employee to help in the paddock with any set up stuff we needed. Although Kate and I have developed a pretty good routine it’s always nice to have an extra hand around to help when things get hectic. I ran my one practice session and warmed up my bike and body. I don’t like to push really hard in the morning warm up, but I was trying to get into the right mindframe. During the riders meeting Barbara our race director stated that the AFM was a family place and we should all leave our strippers at home. The AFM has been around for over 50 years and I bet no one has ever said that before!

Race 1 (Race 2 on the schedule) Formula IV

I had gone down to the hot pit to do some practice starts. The engine was feeling great after the new exhaust and tune from KC, and I wanted to see how that would affect the launching of the bike. My normal procedure is to rev the bike up to about 7k rpm were peak torque comes on, and just slightly engage the clutch until a little friction is felt, then when the green flag flys dumps the clutch and twist to full throttle. I tried that in the hot pit and just about flipped myself over. I don’t think I’ve ever pulled such a big wheelie for so long. OK I thought maybe I’d applied too much throttle too quickly so I tried it again with the same result. OK the new tune changed the power delivery and I needed to start in a lower RPM. I dropped down to 6k rpm and tried a couple of practice launches and they felt good.

I had a great grid spot on the outside of Row 2. When the green flag flew I got a great launch and drove deep into the first row. I was determined not to chicken out as I had so many previous times, and when a challenger came up the inside on my left I kept the throttle pinned and rounded Turn 2 in 5^th place. I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold it forever but it was great to be so far forward. I stayed with the lead 4 almost the entire first lap, but I couldn’t hold onto them and started falling back. My race strategy became not to makes mistakes and try to ride as smooth and fast as I could knowing that 5 or 6 guys were right behind me waiting for any opportunity. Something new for this race was Kate working the hot pit wall. Every lap she would come up to the edge and give me hand signals informing me of where my competition was behind me. Pretty much every lap her signals were ”they’re up your ass”. Towards the end of the race we started getting into the slower traffic of the dreaded Ninja 250’s. I did not do a good job of managing the traffic. I allowed #555 Scott Reavey to get past me on the last lap because of yet another poor traffic decision. I had half a lap to get it back. I wasn’t close enough to try in turn 9 so I backed off a little into 9 so I could get a good drive out of 9 and try a braking maneuver into 11, and that worked great. I pulled up alongside Scott on the gas in T10 and I knew I had the line to out brake him. As I got on the brakes I saw the standing yellow flag in the apex of the turn. NOOOOO! Under the AFM rules there is no passing under any flag condition. I had to pull over and let Scott by. I finished a frustrated 7^th. I had made poor choices which allowed me to be put in that place and I should have finished 6^th, if not even 5^th.

Race 2 650 Twins (Race 11 on the schedule)

The race preceding my second race had been stopped twice do to crashes. Just as they were starting it for the 3^rd time I could see the helicopter landing just across and up the hill from us. That’s a sickening sight. Someone had life threatening injuries and needed to get to the hospital immediately. As I write this I’m on a plane to Hawaii for a much overdo vacation. I could tell seeing that helicopter made Kate a little pensive. Like me she was worried I might get hurt, 2 days before going on our vacation. She watched me watch it, and was also worried I would let it get to me. I watched the helicopter take off hoping it was no one I knew, hoping I wasn’t going home in one either, and then I completely put it out of my mind. I put on my head phones, and practiced my start in my head.

Once again gridded on the second row and another great launch I charged up the hill in 5^th place, but quickly lost a position into T3 to #206 James Strauch. Determined I charged hard out of T5, and got to put into practice the late braking into the Carousel I had been practicing on Friday. Back into 5^th I once again tried to stay with the lead pack, but knew eventually I would lose them. On the following lap while beginning the second apex of the Carousel I had held too tight of a line trying to stay with those guys and found myself too far inside way too far leaned over, and I hit the series of ripples that exist there. My front wheel started to slide out from under me. At that point I was crashing. I could hear something scraping on the ground, but I stayed on the gas and as we crested the next ripple the front wheel came back to me, only to start to slide and scrape again as it fell away on the downside. Still holding the throttle open hoping I didn’t get run over by the bikes I knew were right behind me the front wheel came back to me as we crested the next ripple and again slid, and scraped as it dipped past the crest. I can’t really explain how I saved that. I was crashing. Maybe a little skill, a little balls, and a whole lot of luck. I kept the throttle pinned expecting someone to pass me going into 7 but there was no one. I lost a position to a visiting fast guy from another club, and had a hell of a dog fight with # 206 for a couple of laps, but I put a little gap after awhile. I lost another position to an exotic custom Ducati 649 which was damn fast. I ended the race in 8^th place feeling I had left nothing out there, and had gone as fast as I could. I never gave up even when I was on the verge of crashing.

I posted a best time of 1:49.6 almost a full second faster than my previous best from the last round. I would like to have dipped in the 48’s but I need to do some more work on my riding. The bike is still capable of more than I am. I haven’t found its limit yet. One limit I did find is me. I have been doing OK at getting to the gym, and when I was fighting for 15^th place I think my fitness was good enough. Now that I’m consistently fighting for single digit finishes I’m getting tired, and making mistakes. It takes an amazing amount of physical effort, and mental focus to push a racing motorcycle to its physical limits. I need to step up my training if I’m going to get any faster.

Below is a series of photos from the 650 Twins race taken by amateur photographer Erich. They tell a great story of how my race went. Thanks for the pics Erich!

Thanks to the people that help me go faster.
KC at BRG
Jennifer at Werkstatt Motorcycle Repair
Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction
Michelin and Alex of AFMotorsports
Julio from Tommy's
Paul Fine of Fine Design

AFM Round 4 - It seemed like a good idea

2011-06-24T11:21:00.000-07:00

Round 4 of the 2011 AFM season was going to be tough for me. Once again my bike made it's way to KC at BRG for some more tuning. KC and I had tested a set of Leo Vince headers in an attempt to find some more power, and KC had a plan to build a custom muffler to go on that set of headers and we'd be set. So the bike was yet again in KC's capable hands, and the plan was he'd trailer it up to the track for me. That seemed like a good idea. The problem was I had a work project that same weekend and I couldn't bail out on it. The plan was I'd load up all my race gear into my truck on Satruday, get home from work around 10pm, take a disco nap, and head out to Thunderhill Sunday morning around 4am. That seemed like a good idea too.

Well like the "The best laid schemes of mice and men Go often askew," What seemed like a good idea would quickly turn into the harsh reality of "what was I thinking" First off the weather at the track was looking suspicious and KC didn't want to spend $200 in fuel trailer my bike up there if we were going to get rained out. That left me with the idea that early Friday morning I'd go out to KC's shop, grab said race bike, take it to the job site, and then Saturday morning load it all up as planned. Yes, That's a god idea. Well Thursday night with my grand scheme laid out in front of me I made the decision to call the whole thing off. The work project was the wrap party for Pixar's Cars 2 movie, and we had a very short install time, and a fairly complex show. I've always told myself racing is just a hobby and sometimes life gets in the way. I chose to stay committed to my long time clients at E2k, and ensure that the show was as flawless as could be. In the end we did an amazing show with some pretty damn good lighting. Erin, E2k's choreographer, put together an awesome routine that was martial arts / hip-hop themed, along with some huge washes of red light, and some stark shafts of white cutting through it we had a pretty rad dance number. Unfortunately due to Pixar's strict photo policies (for good reason) I have nothing I can show you, but it did look cool.

Oh and the race got rained out. I feel sorry to my racing friends that made the trek only to sit around in the cold and wet. However it means I lost no points and will be starting from the second row at my favorite track next round at Sears Point (Infineon Raceway) Hopefully with my head down some good results will follow.

As a side note I went out to T-hill last weekend for a trackday test session. Several friends from the SFMC were in attendance and it was a lot of fun. I hadn't been to T-hill since last October when I crashed big time so I was way out of form. It took me half the day to get a feel for the track, and it wasn't until my last session that I started to really feel fast. I can now say for sure if I'd shown up on Sunday morning race weekend and had 1 practice session I would have gotten my ass handed to me. Sometimes the world works in strange ways.

Here are some photos from the trackday.

Tipping it into Turn 11

One of my favorite Turn 14

Need a haircut or more hair?

Showing some speed in Turn 1

Getting low in Turn 2

Cary, Tegan, John, Me, four SFMC

John Sweeney returning to form after a long hiatus from the track

Spotlight: Michelin Tires

2011-06-24T11:19:00.000-07:00

In the coming months I'm going to be doing some more posts. In an effort to write more often I'll be posting what I'm calling "Sponsor Spotlights" These are going to be stories about the people that are helping me in the passion of motorcycle racing. Sponsors come in many types. Whether they offer financial support, a discount on products and services, or just their time, they are all a huge part of where I am today. These are in no particular order. Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions about these vendors please feel free to contact them directly, or leave a comment with your contact info and I'll get back to you. -mickey

In 2011 I made the switch from Dunlop tires to Michelin. The main reason for the switch was that long time Dunlop Supplier Sport Tire Services was no long going to be representing brand D. Terry at STS was on of my first sponsors way back in 2005. He agreed to give myself, and then racing partner Eric a deal mostly based on our relationship to fellow SFMC member Jim Hoogerhyde. Terry and Jim went way back. It wasn't a big discount, but it was something. Over the years I got to know Terry, and really liked the guy so really I didn't have any loyalty to Dunlop, I had it to Terry.

Back at the start of 2010 Alex Florea of AFMotorsports had tempted me with some Michelin tires. He'd offered me a set to try out. "Just try them, if you don't like them give 'em back" Like the candy man, the first hit is free.I was afraid of giving up practice time to try out new tires so I never took him up on the offer, but it stuck in my mind. I'd known Alex mostly by reputation. He was a passionate member of the AFM community always speaking his mind, and swimming upstream with his ideas, but never afraid to go it alone. I didn't always agree with his views, but I had tremendous respect for someone willing to stand up for what they believed in. So when it was time to shop for new tires Alex was the first person I contacted. I had other options, and I'm sure I could have worked a deal with somebody, but Alex replied to my email almost immediately, and said I could be one of his sponsored riders, and sent me pricing breakdowns. You could say I've been a Michelin man ever since (I'd just better not end up looking like one)

Since it took me so long to get my act together at the beginning of the 2011 racing season I didn't have any time to test tires prior to the first race weekend. At that time I had made the mental choice to not do anything any different. I'd just go ride, new tire be damned, and see what happened. Well the first weekend came and went without incident, and I discovered something amazing. Alex helped point this out to me. Tires are round and black. Go ride. I don't know why but I had built up in my head that something was going to be really different.

I've now had lots of laps, a few hard races, and some experience. What I've learned about Michelin tires is that I really like them. It took working with both Dave (of Catalyst Reaction), and Alex to get the tires to wear better. At Buttonwillow I had bad tearing, as well as at the first Sears round. We made some big changes to the bike and that helped get the rear tire in much better shape. I find the that the Michelin's have a more pronounced feel. Not everyone would say that based on how their bike is set up, but to me I can "feel" the Michelin's better. They really talk to me. No not like voices in my head but I can feel in the handle bars what the tire needs. On my bike it comes in chatter and vibration. When I'm asking too much of the tire, whether it be too much lean angle, too fast (rarely), or too much throttle I'll get a vibration. What's great is the vibration will start small, and grow as the problem gets worse. So far I haven't crashed, but I contribute that to me reacting to the communicating the tire is doing. Push the front too hard in the Carousel at Sears Pt? Stand the bike up a little to reduce vibration, or add gas to reduce weight on the front tire. Rear tire starting to vibrate out of 7? Stay on the gas, and increase lean angle. So far it's been a great experience. I'm only just now developing the skill to understand what's happening down there.

After Race 2 at Round 3 my rear tire was starting to tear again. That's not a bad thing. I have a new motor that is making more power, and I' m pushing harder trying to find more speed. Tearing the tire is a sign that we're moving in the right direction: Faster. Now I need to work more with Dave and team to get the tearing to stop again. Find a setup that works, go faster, then the setup doesn't work anymore.

Thanks to the people that help me go faster.
KC at BRG
Jennifer at Werkstatt Motorcycle Repair
Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction
Michelin and Alex of AFMotorsports
Julio from Tommy's
Paul Fine of Fine Design

Humbling - AFM round 3

2011-05-15T14:22:00.000-07:00

Last weekend May 6-8 was the 3rd meeting of the 2011 racing season.
The race weekend started early with me dropping off my bike with KC at BRG for the new motor to be broken in and tuned. We had finally finished the getting everything swapped over, and the new motor was ready for it's time on the dyno. I picked the bike up on Thursday before the race weekend. It had been thoroughly thrashed and finely tuned so there would be no problems once at the track. I had not been sleeping well this week. Something about the new motor and the expectations I had put on myself left me nervous, and I would wake up about 4am every morning unable to fall back asleep.

I showed up Friday to Sears Point for the Kiegwin's track day around 7am, and found my spot. I had helped Dave Wallis with the paddock layout map so I was very familiar with where all the vendors would be set up for the weekend. This round I would be pitting with KC, and his BRG trailer, both as part of the sponsorship, and to help with any issues that should arise from the new engine. My Friday practice was pretty uneventful. I took it really easy the first few sessions trying to get a feel for the new motor. It was a great feeling. The engine had a great harsh growl to it. KC had worked some magic on the stock motor and the compression was definitely up, and not only could you hear it, you could feel it when you stood behind the bike. The exhaust exiting the shorty muffler with a much higher velocity, and feeling like someone was slapping you in the face. Oh vroooom... Out on track the bike pulled hard out of the corners from 6000 rpm to 10k rpm, then it flattened it, and it was time to shift gears. It was faster for sure. I spent much of Friday trying to get my head around the new found speed. I was still trying to work on getting on the gas sooner coming out of the corners, and with the faster motor I was getting to the next corner more quickly. Now I had to figure out how to get into the corner with the same speed I had last month, but that's not such an easy thing. Friday night KC brought the trailer that is both hauler, home, and work shop when at the track. Kate came up and we got our little camp resettled, and we had a cold windy (again) dinner.

Saturday we only get 4 practice sessions, and I needed to pick up the pace. Again I tried being smooth getting off the brakes, and getting on the gas. There was a ton of traffic and I don't think I ever got a clean lap. I was lapping in the '52's which I thought was decent considering the slower riders I had to fight my way around. Mid day Jennifer from Werkstatt came by with some flyers she had made up to try and get some new customers into the shop. I was a little surprised to see that I was prominently featured on the cover of the flyer.


Advertising

Back on track I was having a little issue when cracking the throttle open. The engine hesitated just a tiny bit, and bogged a little. KC plugged in his laptop to my bike, and made a change to the fuel map.


KC explaining what he's doing

He tried leaning out the fuel mixture a little in the lower RPM to see if that helped. I went out for some more laps to confirm it did not help. We plugged the laptop in and made some more changes which made the problem worse. More laptop and we went back to where we started.I spent a few moments trying to relax and clear my head then went out on track and did some warm up laps with the afternoon races. That little bit of focus really made a difference. I swear that one flying warm up lap was my fastest lap of the 2 days.


Me not buying it

Saturday night we hung out with some friends in the pits after we made our dinner, but it was just too windy and cold and we ended up hiding out in KC's trailer before heading to bed.


Iron Clad Balls

When we had a break at lunch Kate and I took the opportunity to share a joke we'd been working on for some time. Maybe some of my long term readers with remember the post Testicular Fortitude. Our Ducati racing friend Scott Miles had taught us that phrase, and for awhile Kate has been scheming a way to put it to good use. Well we decided that what we needed was some bottle TF. With the help of Kate's brother Mark, we came up with this. Because what every racer needs is more balls.


More Balls required

I rode like ass in the Sunday morning warm up sessions. I knew I would need to find a mental breakthrough if I was going to stand a chance in the first race which was by the way the first race of the day so I didn't have much time.

Race 1 Forumla IV
I did a few practice starts in the hot pits to try to get a feel for the way the new motor would react. I lined up on the grid, made a plan, and focused on being ready. When the flag flew I got a great launch, but I totally chickened out after that. The buildup to the race weekend all caught up to me at that moment. Too much stress, not enough rest, and too much time in my own head left me lacking confidence and it showed going up the hill into turn 2. Whenever someone would show me a wheel I'd let them through. By the time we went through turn 5 I was probably in 12th, and had a 10-15 bike gap to the pack in front. I told myself not to worry, don't panic and do anything stupid. I had 8 laps to get it together, and they'd come back to me. That moment showed some real maturity. I guess after 8 years you do learn some things. As we got into the braking zone for turn 7 I made up half the distance, another half of that braking into 9, and right on their tails braking into 11. However the real excitement wouldn't come for another half of a lap. For whatever reason the AFM started the 250 Superbike class in front of us again. 250SB is mostly made up of 250cc Ninjas which are about 1/3 as fast as our bikes, and it took us 1 1/2 laps to catch them. The next 6 laps would be a game of traffic. Going into turn 10 I made a mistake judging where to pass one of the slower bikes, and I got hung up, and 3-4 bikes got by me. I shook my head and vowed that wouldn't happen again. In fact I told myself that as I chased down the bikes in front of me, if they passed a lapper I would too. No matter how late I had to brake, no matter what line I had to take, I wasn't going to let them get away. I don't think I knocked anybody into the dirt but I know I made some scary close and tight passes while trying to keep my adversaries in site. My buddy Robin had made a great pass on me coming down the hill out of 8a, and I returned the favor going into T1. I honestly didn't mean to pass him there, but he got hung up by a slower rider so I forced the issue, and cut under both of them. It was frantic and scary diving bombing the Ninjette's. I really hope the AFM figures something out and puts the little bikes either in their own race or at least behind us. I ended up finishing 9th which was no where near where I wanted to be, but considering the carnage on track I was happy to finish at all.

In between races I tried to chill out and turn my focus inward. I needed to find some more confidence. I really needed to stop over thinking everything, and just ride. I put my head phones in and listened to some chill music transporting my mind away from racing motorcycles. At one point I looked up and saw KC's apprentice Billy cleaning the bugs off my bike. For some reason I couldn't look at him.

Race 2 650 Twins
I was much more focused and looser this time around. When the green flag flew I got a good launch, and didn't chicken out, as much. I went through T2 in roughly 8th place. I tried to stay with the front group, but I just didn't have the pace. I put my head down, and tried to run clean laps and not make a bunch of mistakes.
At some point T2 had a debris flag flying, and I didn't see any debris so I stayed on my normal line, and when I gassed out of the turn my rear wheel started to come around. I don't know if there was something on the track or not, or if the terrible wind had caught me out, but I was definitely crashing,. Luckily I was falling to the right, and I pushed hard on my right knee and started to stand the bike up while staying on the gas. The rear wheel dug in, and we were off. Woo-Hoo. That was fun. On the last lap I was getting tired, and while trying to hold a tight defensive line through T4 I got on the gas too early and had a big slide which slowed me way down. I thought I was safe but going through T5 Scott Reavy #555 came through, and then nearly crashed trying to get slowed down into the T6 Carousel. I probably could have come back under him, and if we were fighting for a podium spot i would have, but I couldn't say for sure Scott knew I was there and didn't want to end the weekend in the crash truck so I let him have it. I figured I'd take a shot at him either in T7 or T9 on the brakes but I wasn't close enough any of those times.

I ran a best time in the last race of 1:50.4. Tying my best time from last month. It seems like kind of a disappointment, but truth is with the wind being so bad I couldn't even shift into 6th gear going down the back straight I had to figure I would have done 49's easy. Some things were learned, and the bike will go back to BRG for some more tuning to try to get it to rev all the way to 11k rpm, and maybe pick up a couple more HP.

Why do I title this post Humbling? Because I felt so humbled to be so well taken care of. Whether it's Kate feeding me, taking the tire warmers off, of prepping the bed at night, or Jennifer making flyers for her shop with me on the cover, or KC tuning my bike at the track or his apprentice cleaning my bike up. There are so many people that have reached out to me this season and are helping in so many ways. Sponsors, friends, everyone. There have been so many people that I feel very humbled to be so well taken care of. Now lets pick up the pace a little and deserve some of that care.

Here's a few more pics from the weekend.


Gerry Piazza stops by


Explaining


Ugly Doll keeps an eye out


Frozen Ducky

Shiny Balls


WTF?


Leading the back pack

AFM Round 2 at Sears Pt - A Ding Dong Battle!

2011-04-18T15:37:00.000-07:00

When I first started watching racing back in the late 90's the very colorful announcers would refer when two riders were swapping positions back and forth as a "ding-dong battle" It made me laugh, and stuck in my head. This past Sunday it was very much a din-dong battle.

Before we get into the heat of the racing action let's take a look at what brought us to this weekend. I had every intention of having a fresh hot rod engine in my bike for this round, but the best laid plans of mice and men did not allow that to come to fruition. It's my fault. I was supposed to pull the Web cams out of my current engine, and get them to KC at BRG, and I didn't do it with enough time to finish. I didn't want him to take any chances while trying to rush so instead we ran our same tired old engine, minus our high performance cam-shafts. So not only did we not have a new engine, we had a slower version to boot!

On Friday we practiced with Pacific Track Time, and got 7 sessions of much needed practice. My suspension tuner Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction was there but wasn't allowed to work. The politics of track days are getting stupid. Come on people it's the Friday before a race weekend at least let Dave work with his sponsored riders. So Dave wasn't allowed to touch the bike, but by communicating through the old school format of talking I began making adjustments. As I said last month I'm using Michelin tires now, and the rear tire was tearing up badly. I'm using the C compound which is the hardest and should last me 2-3 days of track abuse, and I barely got a single day of my first tire at Buttonwillow. I ran a couple of sessions in the morning to get my head cleared, and then started in on Dave. We tried more spring pre-load, less spring pre-load, but the tire was still overheating. Dave then suggested we need to get some weight off of the rear of the bike. At his suggestion we added 2 full turns of ride height. Non-motorcycle folks, that's a lot. I ran a couple of sessions, and the tire started cleaning up. We continued to add ride height 1/3 turn at a time until we felt like the tire stopped overheating. Interestingly once it did stop overheating it began to tear up in another way. We both agreed it was a rebound tear, and made the choice to slow down the rebound by adding some clicks on the adjuster. As Friday's track time came to an end the paddock livened up as more racers began pulling in to set up. Since most AFM racers are bay area based the Sears round usually has more participants, and none more than the first round. It was Friday night and the circus had definitely come to town. I tell you this circus might have 3 rings, but all the acts are filled with clowns. Friday night Kate drove up straight from work, and we settled in for a cold windy dinner before climbing into the back of the truck for a much needed rest.

We awoke Saturday morning to the bayying of sheep on the hillside, and generators starting up. There are few better places to wake up than at the race track. With the roust-abouts having set up all the tents the paddock was much more full than the previous track day. There are only 4 sessions of practice on Saturday and I needed to make the most of every lap. The tearing was better but could be improved. Sears Pt has some hard braking zones so front end feel is crucial, and I was having a hard time getting the bike to turn in while trail braking so more work needed to be done. The morning session is almost a throw one because the track is a little damp from the overnight dew, and the sun hasn't warmed up the asphalt. The best thing to do in the morning is get some heat in the suspension, the bike, and yourself, and not try to win practice. I was feeling good about the track, even with all the traffic I had to fight my way through, but I was still struggling to get the bike turned in Turns 7, 9, 11 which are all the hard braking zones. We started by adding some front preload which also helped keep the forks from bottoming out on heaving braking. Still trying to clean up the rear tire we took some high speed compression out which also seemed to help. One little adjustment at a time all trying to make the bike more comfortable, more stable, more precise, and not wear out the tires. After the last session we made some more small changes, and called it a day. Kate and I watched some of the novice races, drank some beer, and caused general mayhem around the paddock. OK maybe Kate didn't cause any mayhem. That was probably me and my buddy Robin. Well fed, well beered we went to sleep early to try and rest up for the following day.

Sunday morning, and I put on a fresh tire I went out for my 1 and only practice session. I tried to push as hard as I could to test the few changes we made after our last session on Saturday afternoon. It felt like the bike had a chatter transitioning from 3 to 3a, and I thought maybe we had overdone the front pre-load so after the session was over Dave took 3/4 of turn out. A tiny adjustment but we're getting there. The rear tire looked great, but after one cool morning session it's hard to say for sure.

Race 1 Open Twins. I decided to run OT because I wanted a race before the lunch break as my main races were after lunch. OT is mainly for the big bikes but it's fun to go chasing motorcycles that make much more horsepower. At the start of the race I got a good launch and stayed with the main pack until we came out of the carousel, and that was pretty much it. They were gone. I ran around by myself for a while trying as hard as I could. That is exactly what the problem was. When you "try" hard is when you really start making mistakes. The harder you try usually the slower you go. I had counted all the 650's in the grid, and the really fast guys were gone so I decided to stop trying so hard, relax, focus on hitting my marks and make the most of the race by being smooth and improving my laptimes. Then Fredrik went by me. "Where the hell did he come from" I screamed in my helmet. When I looked around on the grid I didn't not see Fredrik, another 650 racer. Now it was game on. Fredrik, myself, and Bill Brown riding a Ducatti 749 had a 3 way battle for 2 laps. Fredrik and myself would make brave passes on the brakes, or through creative lines and Bill would motor us on the straightaway. It was excellent racing. Fredrik and I kept trying to find ways to put Bill in the middle in hopes of screwing up the other guy. Poor Bill got to be a rolling chicane. It was damn fun, even though Fredrik motored by me on the straight to take the position it was great. I'm really glad I did that race. I made some bad mistakes and really needed to get my head out of my ass for the afternoon.

Race 2 650 Twins My case of cerebral rectum-itis cured I got a great start made a few passes (mostly on Robin hehe) and rolled around by myself for 7 laps. It wasn't a boring race though. I kept it interesting by losing focus, running wide, overbraking and generally trying to take myself out. I got tired, had no one to chase, and lost focus. All bad things. The worst part of the race was that Robin crashed out at the bottom of the Carousel, and luckily wasn't hurt. My next race started in about 30 minutes, and I needed to get some energy in my body quickly. When your body needs a short burst of energy what's the best thing for it? Sugar. I began scouring the paddock for a can of Redbull. I'm not a big fan of energy drinks because I think they are overloaded with sugar and caffeine that we just don't need in our daily lives. But if there was ever a time I needed some wings this was it. Again fortune smiled on my as Scott Reavey another 650 racer pitted right next to me had one to spare.

Race 3 Formula IV. Another great start. I was focused, determined, and wired. I quickly made my way through the people I knew I could pass, and lost touch with the people I wish I could race with. That left me and Evan #898. We spent 6 laps fighting each other tooth and nail. Inside pass, outside pass, on the brakes, on the gas even as we got into the back markers of the wave that started behind us we kept at it. Once again I felt bad for the poor guys and girls riding the 250 ninjas. There was no way I was letting Evan get away so if he passed a back marker so did I, and a couple of times I came so close to one of those little green bikes I thought I heard them scream as I went by. I talked to some other racers who were behind us, and they thought for sure Evan, and I were going to take each other out, but I never felt I was out of control. On the edge pushing the limit, yes, but not out of control. In the end Evan got a better drive out of 11 and beat me, but not without me giving it everything I had. It was a ding-dong battle from flag to flag.

I ended the weekend with a 7th in 650 Twins, an 8th in Formula IV, my best finishes ever, and a personal best lap record of 1:50.4. The rear tire is almost perfectly smooth even after 3 hard races. Next month we'll have the new engine sharply tuned by KC at BRG Let's see if 1:49 or better is possible.


New banner for long time sponsor

I don't know what I just said to Scott to cause this face palm

Always better to be the sittor rather than the sittee

Thanks to the people that help me go faster.

Jennifer at Werkstatt Motorcycle Repair
Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction
Michelin and Alex of AFMotorsports
Julio from Tommy's
Paul Fine of Fine Design

AFM Round 1 2011

2011-03-22T08:35:00.000-07:00

What a crazy build up to round 1. It all started way back in October when I crashed and did some serious damage to my race bike. In December I came across a good deal on a theft recovery Kawasaki EX650. I decided to buy it with the idea of turning it into a production race bike. Lots of people had suggested I should race production, instead of the Formula classes. For my non racing readers the Formula classes allow unlimited modifications to the motorcycle as long as it stays in it's displacement category which for me is 650cc, while the Production classes severely limit modifications to make it cheaper racing. The idea being that it's a more even playing field. Since I've never been able to afford a rocket ship engine it made sense. So I pushed this bike around my garage for a couple of months before I came to the conclusion that I didn't want to race production. Even though it made sense, and really would be in my best interest I just didn't want to race such a limpy wimpy bike. I like fiddling with my bike. I like looking for ways to make it better. I like being a bit of a David up against a field of Goliaths. So with about 30 days before the first round I made the decision to fix up the old crashed race bike, and get thee to Buttonwillow. First the bike went to Gerry Piazza to straighten out whatever had been bent, and the list was not short. Both inner and outer fork tubes on both forks were bent, as well as both wheels, the upper and lower triple clamps, and the front axle. When it was done I picked the bike up and took it to KC at BRG to have a new sub-frame made, mine looking like a crushed aluminum can. Once I got the bike home off came the forks and shock to get refreshed by my long time sponsors Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction. When I had the bike reassembled I began the dance of fitting the new freshly painted bodywork (Thanks to all the contributed). I have to say if anyone is considering getting into racing I highly recommend buying a used prepped race bike, and not building one from scratch just to avoid the lengthy and annoying process of trying to fit race bodywork. Getting all the last minute parts ordered and delivered to me in time goes to the credit of Gina at Werkstatt, who fit my urgent parts requests into her busy schedule, including adding new dealerships just so I could get a special part I wanted. As a typical racer I put the finishing touches on the bike the afternoon it was to be loaded onto the truck. When my trusty racing partner Kate got home from work off we went to the fabulous resort of Buttonwillow Raceway Park.

Here's a pic of the new sub-frame all mounted up, and waiting for the bodywork

Here's the bike all freshly painted, and ready to race

Friday morning was busier than normal. I needed fresh tires as I was switching tire vendors this year. That's a big change for me as I have been riding on Dunlops for 6 seasons. Alex Florea representing Michelin had courted me last year, but I was nervous about switching and Terry from Sport Tire had always given me a deal and taken care of me, but when things changed at Dunlop and Terry wouldn't be doing tires anymore it was time to give Michelin a try. Tires fitted, warmers on, and suited up it was time to hit the track for the first time in 6 months. I spent the first couple of sessions trying to recover from Cerebral Rectumitis, otherwise known as getting my head out of my ass. I was trying to remember which way the track went, what gear to be in, even how to sit on the damn bike. In the afternoon I finally started to get my rhythm back and feel like I knew what I was doing. I was still desperately slow, but at least I knew where to go, and what I wanted to do. Friday night kinda sucked. Usually the race paddock is a vibrant place filled with colorful characters eating, drinking, and making merry, but on this Friday the place was eerily silent as a storm was approaching. Many, like myself, had packed up their pit spaces tight and found shelter in motor homes, backs of pick up trucks, or hotels. Kate and I spent a lovely evening with my parents who had brought their camping trailer. It was nice and warm, and cozy in there.

Saturday morning we arose to a cool overcast day. The weather forecast was not good, and I wanted to get as much track time as possible in case of the eventual cancellation. After a few more sessions I was starting to feel like a racer again. At lunch Barbara, the race director, made the announcement that we would be running select races on Saturday afternoon because the weather forecast for Sunday was so bleak. This was unusual and a bold move something different for the AFM. I would get both of my races on Saturday. This news energized the paddock like nothing else. Where there was before a sort of lull that went along with the cool overcast sky was now replaced with the frantic race preparations as people had to quickly decided what their afternoon strategy would be. This news caught many off guard. Tires had to be swapped, fuel tanks filled, and so on. I was very glad to have made the choice to practice on Saturday as some had not, and would no be racing with only the warm up lap to get their heads around racing.

Race 1 650 Twins. I was gridded in an excellent position on the 2nd row, and I had a good plan on where I wanted to put my bike when the flag flew. I executed that plan flawlessly driving even with the front runners as we left the line. Then my plan failed. Racing is about pushing the limit. It's about finding your comfort zone, and going past it. That's why we race. As we got close to turn 1 I grabbed the brakes at the point I felt comfortable, and about 8 guys went past me. That's what 6 months off the bike does. Cursing at myself I knew I had my work cut out for me if I was going to have at least a respectable finish. I knew I would be strong on the back section so I allowed myself to just relax knowing they would come back to me. Over a couple of laps I made some passes on the outside of Riverside trying to be brave on the throttle, setting up for an inside pass on the brakes into Lost Hills. I think I was running as high as 8th when I tried a pass in Sunset. I had the pass, but the rider took either a brave, or stupid move and completely sawed off my front wheel forcing me to tighten up my line, and stand the bike up. I hit the dip on the inside of the corner and that bounced me off track. Next time I'm going to hold my line, and bounce him off track, but again lacking seat time there was no confidence for a move like that. Out into the dirt I went, but unlike normal Buttonwillow the dirt was nice and firm, and I easily got the bike under control, turned and while still in the dirt back on the gas. I took a long look over my left shoulder and merged back on the track determined to make up a place or two. I managed to make up 1 spot and finish a disappointing although fun and exciting 10th.

FIV I was gridded a little further back, and when I entered T1 there was a waving yellow flag so I slowed up a little and several riders went past. Naughty Naughty riders, no passing under any flag conditions. I made note of the riders with the intention of protesting them at the end of the race, but it didn't matter because as we rounded Riverside #211 Everett "Ducky Fresh" lost the front end in a dramatic fashion crashing big time bike tumbling through the air. I was 2 bikes back, with Dave Sapsis in front of me. Dave stood his bike up and ran wide trying to miss Ducky. I think if Dave had held his line like I did he might have not gotten caught up in Ducky's crash. As we came around the final corner the black flag came out, and we all pulled off track. When the race restarted I was determined not to blow the start again, and I managed to suck a little less, but still far from spectacular. This race was a lot less fun. The 250 super bike race which is made up of little 250cc ninja 250's started in front of us, and it took us all of the first lap to get into them. So my race became a game of who was willing to take the biggest chance, and stuff the most Ninjette's at a time. At first I was bound and determined to stay with my competitors using the little 250's as rolling berms. I can tell you some of those guys and girls could smell my BO I passed them so close. I lost a couple of spots because I just wasn't willing to torpedo someone. At one point I had a great battle with Evan #898 with him coming out on top. This Time.

We packed up said out goodbyes on Saturday night, and began the long wet drive back to SF. It was great to be back on the race track. 6 months is too long to stay away from some of the weirdest, and greatest people on the planet. Motorcycle Racers.

Thanks to the people that help me go faster.

Jennifer at Werkstatt Motorcycle Repair
Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction
Michelin and Alex of AFMotorsports
Julio from Tommy's
Paul Fine of Fine Design

Beware. Ugly dolls are wathcing

Back on track

2011-02-21T17:06:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I've written anything. I sort of lost the momentum. I was doing so good writing about racing, and life, but as life does sometimes get in the way I stopped. At the last race meeting back in October I had a big crash that pretty much destroyed my bike, and then I got really busy with work, but I'm back now. I'm ready to get back into the racing game. The season starts in just 30 days, and I've got a lot to do.

My bike was damaged badly, and is in the process of being put back together, and you can help.
I'm going to put my social media to use and try to raise a little money to help get me back out there.

I'm reaching out to my blog readers, and friends on Facebook to help me buy new bodywork for my race bike. A new sets is about $500. This is just a piece of what I need to get the bike back on the road, but an important one. Any amount will help. $1, $5, or $10. When you click the "ChipIn" link you'll be redirected to PayPal where you can make your contribution. Thanks for taking the time to read this whether you can contribute or not.
-Mickey

AFM Round 5 - Participant or Competitor

2010-07-12T12:06:00.000-07:00

Another race weekend come and gone. I spent a lot of time working on the bike the couple of days prior to packing up for the weekend. Last month I had issues with over heating, or at least the radiator pushing water into the overflow bottle. So I took the bike up to KC @ BRG Racing. KC did the subframe, and rearsets as well as tune the fuel injection last year. I wanted him to test if we had blown a head gasket which could pressurize the cooling system hence cause the overflow issues. It was determined that everything was OK, but the valves were out of adjustment. So after adjusting the valves the bike was run on the dynomometer to see if it was running lean, or having too much air and not enough fuel, which could also cause the bike to run hot. The results where everything looked OK, except we are now making less torque in the middle of the rev range than we did a year ago. What does that mean? The engine is tired. On it's 5th racing season the motor is due for a vacation. Once I got the bike home I installed my new Motion Pro Revolver throttle ,, which allows adjustable throttle openings. The main goal is to be able to open the throttle to full with less rotational movement. This addresses one of the issues I've been having which is not opening the throttle fully, and not opening the throttle soon enough all with the intention of exiting corners faster. It took some finessing but the installation went well. I got the truck all packed up, groceries bought, and Kate came over around 6pm, and off we went.
When we got to the track around 9:30pm it was still in the 80's. ouch! It was going to be a burner this weekend. We quickly got everything set up, had a beer, and went to sleep. It had been a restful week with no major work projects, and I wanted to get at least 5 hours of sleep before the weekend really got going.
Attempting to address another issue from the previous month first thing in the morning was a trip to Dave Moss. The main suspension issue has been adding gas while exiting corners that have bumps. The problem being that as I travel over the bumps the rear shock is reaching the end of it's travel, and when I add gas there's nothing left to absorb the new energy, and the rear tire starts to chatter, and eventually slide. We sat in the morning sun poking at it, pushing on it, and came to the conclusion that the shock was not in fact reaching the end of it's travel, but instead was not using all the travel. That means there is too much tension on the rear spring. So more poking, bouncing, measuring, and we backed off 2 full turns of preload.
Saturday practice went well. I needed to get my head into race mode right away. With only 4 practice sessions on Saturday I couldn't waste any time. The first session saw me into the 2:05's. Good. Last time here my best time on Saturday was a 2:05. Back to Dave for some little adjustments. Next session we're into the 4's. Good a couple more little tweaks, and we go out and do more 4's but there's more traffic, and getting a clean lap is hard. A couple more little adjustments and in the last session we break into the 3's. Good my best lap from the races last month was in the 3's so the pace is good, I'm getting the throttle open sooner, and getting it all the way to full. The big change in the rear pre-load is allowing me to get on the gas sooner, and it's showing in the lap times. I have to admit that as much as the physical adjustments we're making to the bike help the mental adjustments might be a bigger help. Getting good sleep in the week prior, as well as getting a decent amount of sleep the night before, and a little nap at lunch allowed me to have much more mental presence. It's hard to push past your limits when your tired. I also was very focused on hydration. The ambient air temperature was over 100. The track temp was 144. In order to stay hydrated, and be able to focus I had to drink about a liter of fluid every hour. I use a mixture of mostly water, Gatorade, and a dash of Redbull which makes for a nasty, but a functional cocktail.
Saturday night we had a nice BBQ and spent lot's of time cruising around the pits, and hanging out with our extended AFM family. Dave Sapsis always brings delicious home brewed beer, and this time there was chocolate cake! There's always the Twinworks crew to visit, as well as the Feel Like a Pro group. There are many friends to try to catch up with, and see how their day was going. Who was feeling fast, who was feeling slow, who had fallen, and would they make Sunday's races. I limited my beer intake as again I didn't want to dehydrate myself. I slept solidly that night, and was well refreshed for Sunday.
Sunday morning had the warm up practice session, and I was into the 4's which is good for a traffic filled morning session.
Race 1 was 650 Twins. I was gridded on the inside of the 3rd row all the way to the left which is a terrible grid spot. I had done a few practice starts to get used to the new throttle, and when the green flag flew I blew the start badly. I was so focused on the new throttle I didn't let the clutch out enough and pulled a wheelie, and had to chop the throttle to get the front wheel down. Damn. Composure regained I got on the gas and as I started to accelerate away I had to make a quick maneuver to not run into pole sitter Dan Sewell. I could see his shifter dangling off his bike, bummer for him he was having a rough weekend. So I went into T1 in something like 20th place. Not the start I was looking for, but I was determined to fight to the last lap. On the gas had out of 1 I charged around the outside of T2 as everyone bunched up fighting to get to the inside. Accelerating hard out of 2 I crossed the track to take an outside line around T3 again while everyone bunched up fighting for the inside line, exiting T3 I again crossed the track for yet another outside entry into T4 and up the little hill into T5. I decided to stop pushing my luck and didn't take the inside pass into T5. A mistake there with everyone bunched up usually means a pile of bikes. The pack settles in after 5 and starts to single file through 6, and 7. My pit buddy Robin is just in front of me, and my arch nemesis John Forman in front of him. I'm thinking I'll get a run on them into 8, and make a pass up the hill on the brakes into 9, but John slows a little more for 8 than expected, and Robin goes for an outside pass, and I wasn't going to be left behind so I go for the inside pass. I don't think John was too happy to get sandwiched passed on the fastest part of the track! I know I'm not going to get any passes done in between 10-13. That is my weakest part of the track so I give Robin a little room so I can get a good run out of 13 and down the back straight where one of my strongest places is on the brakes into 14. I'm gaining on him as we go under the bridge and I say to myself I'm not even touching the brakes until I'm past him. Hard on the brakes rear end wagging around like a happy dog I'm I'm starting to question my strategy, and then I realize there's a rider a few bike lengths in front of Robin, 61 Spencer Smith. Shit. So I did the only thing I could. I Let go of the brakes, and dive for the apex. With the front tire chattering badly under the load of the bad line I manage to squeak through, and get on the gas for the entry to 15 and up the front straight. Half a lap later I get passed Brad Woods by taking a wide entry into6 and gassing past him into 7 (yeah new throttle). That leaves only 1 bike in front of me within visible range. I pushed hard, and after a couple of laps reeled him in. I used my new found drive out of T2, over the bumps on the gas which gave me good momentum on him into T3. One of my favorite places to pass is around the outside of 3. It's bumpy and the bike bounces and flails around, but if you can come up parallel to the rider then you own the inside of 4 and that's what I did cleanly taking away the spot. Once passed 71 I could see a powder blue bike up ahead. Oh shit that's #69 Scott Liesnewki. I never see him on the track. Oh come to me blue carrot. I'm thinking Scott's riding by himself. He's lost the lead group and isn't motivated. Maybe I can sneak up on him, and take him on the brakes into 14 on the last lap.
Ah delusions of grandeur. At this point we're on lap 5 of the 3 mile Thunderhill course in 90 degree heat, and in my pursuit of Scott I start making mistakes. After blowing T9 I give up my pursuit, and focus on finishing cleanly. I over brake for 14, and get a bad drive onto the front straight, and sure enough into T1 comes #71. OK I'll get it back in T3 just like before, but all for not as there is a waving yellow flag in T3, and no passing under any flag. OK my last chance will be in 14. But I blow T9 again, and entering T10 #555 Scott Reavy goes around my outside. OK I'll get Scott into 14, but I got too close to Scott as we went through the 11, 12, combo meaning I couldn't get a run on him out of 13. I'm a little bummed that I let that happen, but later I find out I finished 9th with a best of 2:01.8 by far my best time ever, and I made up a huge amount of ground, and never gave up.
My next race later in the day was Formula IV. I typically don't do as well in FIV as there are other fast guys on different kinds of bikes in this race. This time I was gridded on the outside of row 3, a much better place even if further back, to my left is Robin, and to his left Forman. The green flag flies, and I manage not to flub the start. Not a rocket start, but no wheelies. I take the outside line in T2 again, but as we enter T3 we're already single file. My first thought is that is strange, and as we round T4 I realize I'm with the lead pack. Much like at Sears Pt a couple of months ago I realize I'm in rare company. I know it won't last but it sure looks cool for now. As we round the mid section which is the fastest part the front 3-4 guys check out. Sv650's making just under 100hp don't wait around for Kawasaki's making just over 70hp. I find myself in a battle with 898, a very fast guy. I'm so excited to be here. I follow for a couple of laps looking for an opportunity, seeing where I'm better. As we go down the front straight I pull up right behind him, and stay in his draft, and right as we cross the start line I move to his inside tickle the front brake, and take the inside line.
I make yet another mistake into 9, and he comes by me into 10. No surprise there. As we cross start finish the white flag comes out, and I've got one lap to go. I take a look in 1, no. I try the outside of 3. Maybe up into 5, no. OK I've got one more chance. T14. As we go down the hill into 10 I give him a little room, this is a big risk because if anyone was behind me I could lose a place just like I did in the first race, so I can get a run on him through 11, 12, 13. As we come out of 13 he's got like 5 bike lengths on me, and I don't think I can get it done. Fuck it I'm going for it. The worst thing that will happen is that I'll run off track, there's no one else I'm going to hit. So as we cross under the bridge I brake stupidly late shooting past him. My first thought is there's no way I'm making it, but I started my turn in, gently letting off the front brake taking it all the way to the apex. Now that's trail braking! I've got no drive, and at this point I make a strategical choice, rather than accelerate out of the corner thus opening up the underneath for a pass back in T15 I cruise the exit of 14, drop down a gear then accelerate hard INTO 15 thus giving my opponent no chance to out drive me down the front straight. I take the checkers by a bike length or 2. I finished 8th with a best time of 2:01.085. So close to breaking into the 0's.
It was an exciting and successful weekend of racing. My experiences have taught me this year that if I want to run up front I have to be well rested, and have a plan. KC said it best when he asked me if I "was a participant or a competitor". That will give you perspective.
I have to give a special thanks to Marie at Werkstatt Motorcycle Repair, for working with MotionPro to get me that revolver throttle. It really made a difference. Also to Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction, for taking that extra time in the morning to work with me. I know he was under the gun, and not feeling the best, but still has time for a mid pack 650 guy. Also to my girlfriend Kate, who's help has been tremendous.
Sadly I have to miss the next race at Sears Pt because I have to travel for work, but I'll be back for the last round in October. Can anyone say 2:00 flat?

Thanks to my other sponsors
Dunlop, and Terry at Sport Tire Services
Paul Fine of Fine Design
Julio from Tommy's

Pictures to come when Joe from 4 the riders puts them up.

AFM Round 4 - A Hot Wind Blows

2010-06-20T13:09:00.000-07:00

Friday later afternoon we headed up to Thunderhill to meet up with Robin, and Kaitlin. T-hill is only 130 miles from my home, but I didn't get it together and out of my driveway soon enough so we got caught in traffic outbound on Highway 37. Stupid me so the normally 21/2 drive now took 3 1/2. Once clear of the bay area traffic and north bound on 505 I feel the wind knocking the truck around. Not a good sign. Once we got to the track, and started to set up the pit area I knew we were going to be in for a long weekend of sun and wind.
Here's a pic of the pit set up on Saturday. Note tent with the lack of the canvas top. The wind was blowing so hard it would have taken the tent away, but we need places to hang things like the leather suits, the clock, ect.

Saturday practice went OK. I hadn't been to T-hill since November and it showed. I really expected to have more speed, but I wasn't getting it done. I hadn't slept well the night before, and the heat and the wind were beating me up. I really wanted to be close to 2 minute laps, but I was no where near running more like 2:05's. The good thing was that my rear tire was wearing really well so at least the suspension was in the correct range. We got 5 practice sessions in before the new Tag Team race.

The Tag Team race is a cool concept and it's a mini endurance. It's run like a 2 man relay race. 2 riders each with his own bike, The first rider does 30mins then comes in the pits, and exchanges an armband with rider 2, and off he goes. But the really silly part is the Le Mans style start. Click the link for details, but essentially your partner holds the bike, you start across the track, and when the green flag drops you run across the track, jump on the bike, and go. It's crazy, stupid, and a lot of fun.

Here's us practicing the start in the pits.

Here's some pictures of the actual start.

I got to start the race, and you can see me way in the back. We raced in the lightweight class and started 1 spot from last. I got a good run, and jumped on bike quickly, and took off possibly in the lead in our class, but getting a good start meant that I was heading down the track as the slower runners in front of me were just launching their bikes right at me! So I slowed a little, and 2 guys went bye me, Damn. I got through turns 1 and 2 cleanly, and trying to keep #36 Tom Dorsey in site. My bike had been running hot all day, and I was worried about it lasting the length of the race. We had done 5 practice sessions earlier in the day, and now I'm here riding a 30 minute stint. I was already tired, and dehydrated before the race started, and I knew both me and my bike were going to have a tough time lasting the 30 minutes. I pushed hard to stay with Tom in the first few laps but I conceded that I needed to slow down a bit and stay focused. That would turn out to be harder than at first thought. About 8 laps in I started making mistakes, turning in too early, missing apexes, braking too early. I was getting tired, and it showed. I had to shake the cobwebs out. My mind was wandering. That's a trick to endurance racing. Staying focused. There I was railing into T8 at 110mph thinking what we are going to do for dinner. Yeah it's like that. I started to smell some oil burning, and I couldn't tell if it was coming from my bike or someone else's, and I started to worry, and then I really started blowing corners, time to come in. I rode down the front straight patting my head in an exaggerated way letting Robin, and Kate know to get ready I was coming in on the next lap. We'd practiced the exchange in our pit, and had a good plan. When I came in I put my front wheel to the right of Robin in line with his rear wheel, stuck my right arm out that had the arm band on it, and Kate grabbed it off me, and slid it onto Robins outstretched waiting arm. He already had the bike in gear with the engine running, and was off in a split second. It was a flawless exchange, and we quickly became the talk of the pit area with nods of approval from other teams. I even overheard someone say "that's how we're doing it next time" Well done team. Robin had to do 2 more laps than me, and rode fast and smooth. Thanks to the misfortune of another team we'd been gifted 2nd place, and Robin brought it home maintaining that position.

For Sunday's races I had high hopes. After finishing so well I Saturday I wanted to turn it up a notch, and take advantage of my good starting positions.

First up was FIV, I was gridded way to the left on the inside and when the flag dropped I got a bad start, and lost even more positions as we went into T1 getting pinched off from the outside. I rode hard and I quickly formed into the 2nd pack, the lead group long gone. In front of me where 2 bikes I knew I could pass, but I couldn't get it together. I now know I have good entry speed, but I'm not getting off the corner and on the gas soon enough. Many times I'd have to roll off the gas mid corner to not hit the bike in front of me, then they'd gap me big on the exit, and I'd make up all that lost ground on the entry again. I got spooked several times when people would make a pass on me that was so sketchy my only options where to stand the bike up, almost run off track or they'd crash into me. That kind of do or die block pass is perfectly fine in proffesional racing, but to do that in club racing is one asking a lot of the skill of the people your're around, and two just plain dumb. So I lost a couple of spots, and couldn't get them back because of my bad drives.
I finished way down the order.

650 twins would turn out to be a repeat of FIV. a bad start, bad drives, sketchy passes by other racers, and another bad finish.

So I know what I need to work on. I think I need some suspension adjustments to help me gas out because in a couple of corners as soon as I add gas the rear want to let go, and that's no fun. I'm also having trouble getting the throttle all the way open, and I have to double clutch it. I'll be ordering a new throttle set up to help with that. So another weekend down, and some lessons learned. I'll get 'em next time.

Thanks to the people that help me go faster.
Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction
Jennifer at Werkstatt Motorcycle Repair
Dunlop, and Terry at Sport Tire Services
Paul Fine of Fine Design
Julio from Tommy's

Some more pics of the weekend.

Dream Wedding in Carmel

2010-06-20T12:04:00.000-07:00

The first week of June I spent 7 days in Pebble Beach / Monterey working on a wedding. Now for those of you that really only know me through my motorcycle antics you may remember that I work in the Event / Entertainment industry doing theatrical lighting. Part of that business on occasions includes weddings. The compnay I work for does weddings all the time, but I don't usually do them unless they are on the high end, and have money to spend. This is one of those occasions.
The bride and groom were not anybody of note, nobody famous just lucky to be apart of some successful familes that can afford the best. When I say the best they started by hiring the world most famous wedding designer Preston Bailey. It all goes down hill from there. Hartmann Studios built a small tent with clear walls and ceilings, and covered the tent floor with an amazing wood panelling. It was my job to make the place look magical. We had many meetings and hundreds of emails, and still it was a death march to pull it off.
The design had two sections. Inside the tent, and outside. The trick was that the designers wanted it to be a seamless transition from inside to out, and since the walls were clear what you could see outside was apart of what you could see inside. the original concept was to cover the outside of the clear tent with mini light strand nets, the kind you see at christmas covering peoples hedges in front of their house. After 2 days of struggling with making that work I made the call that it wasn't going to give us the look we wanted. So on Friday I ordered white mini light strands from Colorado and had them overnighted to Monterey, as well as cleaning out the stock that Hartmann had in their warehouse. I'm really glad I made that decision, and wish I would have made it a day earlier. The rest of our lighting consisted of making the foliage, trees, ect .. around the garden area as pretty as possible. Preston's crew hung candles in lanterns around the trees (I can't believe they pulled that off in California) and the end result was a very pretty event. So those of you I know in the motorcycle world might find it hard to believe that I do "pretty" pretty damn good.
It was a tough event as working in a clear tent is like working in a green house, and the logistics of the jobsite were challenging as well, but working with all the different teams was a fun challenge and the end product was exceptional.

Here's a picture in the tent.

Here's a close up of the tent top

A view from the stage

A view of the garden

New look for the site

2010-05-30T14:45:00.001-07:00

I have spent now way to much of a nice day inside working on this layout. For certain I'm no HTML guru, but I got it figured out enough that I like the layout. I hop it's easier to read for everyone.

AFM Round 3 - Testicular Fortitude

2010-05-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

It's Monday morning my hands are blistered, my muscles are sore, I have bruises on my chest from pressing against my gas tank, and I couldn't be happier.

Friday
I made my way to Sears Point (Infineon Raceway) for the ZoomZoom Trackday event. After last months disappointment I wanted to really focus on a few small things to try to bring my confidence up, smooth out some areas, and of course go faster. Unfortunately the weather was not going to make it easy as it was cold, and the wind was blowing. No matter there was work to be done. ZZ has their own suspension technician so Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction can't set up his own shop, but he can work with his sponsored racers like me. My biggest issue to work on suspension wise was the rear tire was hot tearing on the right side. Hot tearing is when the tire gets hotter than it can handle and the rubber peels off and and looks like little worms at the edge of the tire. The down side to hot tearing, other than the tire wearing out early is as a race goes on the tire loses grip as it gets too hot, and then starts to slide, or spin when you should be accelerating. So even though it was cold and windy after a couple of track sessions you could see the hot tearing starting. Dave and I worked on some small changes trying to solve the problem. Other than that the bike was handling well. As this is a trackday and not a race practice ZoomZoom offers instruction so I grabbed AFM mentor coordinator, and 650 fast guy Dan Sewell for some pointers. We did one session of follow the leader. I led first so he could observe my lines, and I made sure to ride at full pace. Dan is fast and I didn't want to him just pass we at will when it was my turn to follow. Well I guess I made it a little harder than I meant to as braking into T9 Dan tries to come around the outside of me and we collide. Being skilled riders no one goes down, but I was like "damn, that's some personal instruction" His advice later on was about taking the entrance to T3 without using the brakes, and exiting T11 wider would prove to be hugely beneficial throughout the rest of the weekend. I continued to work on the things Dan pointed out to me the rest of the day. Friday evening Kate showed up to help get the camping stuff set up, as did by buddy Robin. It was damn cold.

Saturday
I wasn't originally planning on riding Saturday, but I'd made the deal with myself if it was sunny in the morning I'd ride. Well sure enough the sun was bright and shining, but it was still cold. Up early I got reg'd and the bike all tech'd. I'm in practice group 3 so I have plenty of time to get the tire warmers on, and generator going. I was pitted near my buddy Nick Haymen, co-owner of Munroe Motors, and his Ducatti gaggle of friends. Chatting with those guys about racing big bikes the phrase of the weekend came out. Even though we all rode pretty well we lacked the "testicular fortitude" to take it to the next level. What we needed was more balls. I continued working on the same things as before while working with Dave to get that hot tearing to stop. First we tried increasing tire pressure, but that wasn't doing it. Then we tried reducing rear shock rebound but that wasn't fixing it either. Eventually we added some preload on the shock, and that helped. I got 4 sessions in and had some good laps with 650 fast guy Scott Leisnewski, and 650 rival John Forman. Robin has picked his speed up and was in my practice group so we got to do some laps together. Unlike other Saturday nights there were no off track antics. Partly with some of our riders missing do to a competing series in Utah and partly because it was so damn cold. There were no slow bike races, or other debauchery which is all the better for Sunday's races.

Sunday
Robin and I were up early. He wanted to jog a lap around the track and I borrowed his bicycle to join him. It was a nice way to start the day as the sun was shinning, and the temperature wasn't as cold as the day before. It was going to be a great day for racing. I was assigned to practice group 4, a first for me.

Forumla IV was my first race of the day and it was Race 1. I was feeling confident, but not cocky. I've been working on my starts, and felt I was getting better at my initial launches. I had skipped the FIV race last weekend as I wasn't feeling it so I was gridded a little further back. Robin was gridded a row in front of me as was rival Forman. The goals of the race were pretty simple, ride fast, beat Forman, and Robin. It's good to have goals. Green flag dropped and I got a good launch easily moving forward a row, but what I need to work on is carrying the success of the initial launch further up the field. Instead I got hung up by slower riders in front of me giving up my launch and slotting into the pack. The pack bobbles and weaves it's way through turns 2,3,4 before starting to single file as we head into T5,6 then down the back straight where everyone will try to out brake each other. I prefer to stay out of the that fray as I think it will eventually wind up as a big pile of bikes. I know if I am going to get a decent finish I need to get a move on, and start passing people. I make my way past a bike or 2, and on Lap 2 I out brake Robin into T1. Not a common place to pass, but you take 'em where you can get 'em. At that point I was with Forman, Spencer, and Elrod, all fast guys. Spencer is in the lead of this group and holding us up. We are deep into the pack of the previous wave, and using the poor slower riders like speed bumps. It's a very dangerous thing that the slower bikes start in front of us, but so be it. As we battle with each other we make some scary close passes on the slower riders. This is an area that I used to be a lot nicer not wanting to do anything too risky, but if you want to finish close to the front you need to develop some testicular fortitude and take some chances. There was no way I was going to let someone put a back marker between us. By the time we sifted through the traffic Forman and myself had dispensed of Spencer, but Elrod was gone. Fine the battle would be between me and #65. I had good speed through 3, and 3a, as well as 8, 8a, and would suck right up on the back, but not in a place I could really use it. John rides smooth, and doesn't make a lot of mistakes so I had to try to use my advantages where I could. I knew I wasn't going to get it done out braking him into T9 so I'd have to risk a pass into T6 "The Carousel" John has always been better than me through that turn, but I had much more speed over the top of the hill. So I let a little gap grow between us as we made our way up from T1 so I could build a good speed advantage as we came down through 4. I rocketed past him in the very fast turn 5 as we headed into T6 and as we rose to the top of the hill there was a standing yellow flag. NOOOOOOO Danm it. No passing allowed under any flag so I had to slow down, and let my yellow nemesis back by. I tried to pull up to him through 7, but I knew by the way we had been riding that my best chance was behind me, unless John made an uncharacteristic mistake I was stuck behind him. We crossed the checkers 10th and 11th. Not too bad of a finish, and a damn good time.

Race 6 of the day was Open Twins, which is a fund kinda throw away race for me. I like to run with the big Ducatti's. When the green flag dropped I got a great launch, and carried good speed up the hill into T2, just as the yellow bike of Panaforce racing started to tuck the front. He managed to save it but just like last weekend he pushed me wide, almost into the dirt. That guy seriously needs to stop focusing on how cool he is off the track and learn to ride within his limits. He's going to cause someone to get seriously hurt. I gathered myself back up, and took off after the pack that was leaving me behind. As we dipped into T4 once again yellow bike guy blows the turn and goes wide. I had a good drive and stuffed it underneath him as we entered 5. By the way he stood his bike up I don't think he was expecting someone to make a pass on the inside of him. I chased some Duc's for awhile then I had a moment in T11, and exited the track. I felt like my bike was not dropping the rev's when I rolled off the throttle, and not wanting to be a risk to my fellow racers I left the race. I went back to my pit, and pulled my tank looking for the problem. In hind site I don't think anything was wrong. Sometimes the problem is in your head.

Race 9 was 650 Twins. I was gridded 7th, and was determined to finish well. The green flag dropped and I got a great initial launch, and being so far up front there wasn't anyone slow me down. I drove up the hill in 5th place and then made an amateur mistake. There was a standing yellow flag, and I slowed down. The 4 guys in front me did not. dumb. I gathered my thoughts, and pushed hard, but Rob Campbell, and Drew Patterson went by me. At the top of 3A it looked like Ricky Ford either had a moment or wasn't moving as fast as Drew thought so Drew checked up just as Rob went to pass him, and the 2 of them slowed each way down to outside giving me the opportunity to dive underneath them. I pushed hard, and had to grow out of my comfort zone if I was going to stay with the lead pack. As I rounded T7 I couldn't believe I was in a train of riders I usually only read about. Dan Sewell, Dave Raff, Scot Leisnewski, Ricky Ford and me. I knew it wouldn't last with Dave and Drew behind me, but it was damn good to be there. I'm pretty sure Drew got me going into 9, and Rob came around me going into 11. I tried my damnedest to keep their pace but in racing when you "try" hard you usually make mistakes, and so I did. Then I made more mistakes trying to make up for my mistakes. I had lost touch with the lead pack, and I settled down and focused on hitting my marks, and riding clean laps. I took a moment to look back on the last lap and I could see Tom Dorsey catching up. No problem. Don't do anything stupid, ride clean, and he'll stay back there. I finished 8th. Finally curing my case of Cranial Rectumitis, and leaving room for some Testicular Fortitude.
ie: Once I got my head out of my ass I had some balls to ride fast and take chances.

Despite the wind, and the cold it was a great weekend. There were great people we were pitted around, Robin and his family are fun, Kate my girlfriend is a great pit partner, and hanging out with all the people I've come to know over the years is always a blast.

Thanks to the people that help me go faster.
Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction
Jennifer at Werkstatt Motorcycle Repair
Dunlop, and Terry at Sport Tire Services
Paul Fine of Fine Design
Julio from Tommy's

UPDATED PICS:
A special thanks to 4 The Riders for giving us a few pics.

Electric Motorcycle Racing - Way to go Werkstatt

2010-05-17T18:15:00.000-07:00

The very first electric motorcycle race in the US took place this past weekend. Although my own personal schedule didn't allow me to attend my racing sponsor was there in force. Jennifer Bromme of Werkstatt Racing and Repair took 4th place in the inaugural race.
This article over at Gas 2.0 has some nice things to say about Jennifer, and my club The SFMC.

Werkstatt Electric Racing

AFM Round 2 - The best laid plans of mice and men

2010-04-26T13:46:00.000-07:00

After the success of Buttonwillow last month, and my usual tendency to go well at Sears Pt I had the expectation of doing well at this round. Alas that would not be the case.

To really be successful at the track you need to be totally focused on the task at hand, and this time that was not the case. I had a very busy work week, and was not prepared like I should have been. And for sure last weekends Coachella adventure did not help. I wanted to do the trackday on Friday to get some extra practice in, but again because of work commitments I just couldn't do it. On top of that I hadn't had much time in the gym, and to little rest before the strenuous riding began. Needless to say I was behind the 8-ball before I had even turned a lap on the track.

Friday evening late I got to the track and got my pit set up with my new old girlfriend Kate. (that's a long story) My good buddy Robin had saved a spot for myself and fellow SFMC racer Cary. I got my area all set up, had a couple of beers, and went to sleep. Unfortunately it was ass cold, and I slept like crap which would work against me all weekend.

Saturday morning up early got the bike all tech'd and the warmers on, and was ready to go. I'd had a chat with my suspension people about where to take my settings based on what we had left off with at Buttonwillow. I did my first session, and the bike felt terrible. Back to Catalyst for some major changes. We spent the entire day playing this game. And by the end of the day the bike still didn't handle how I wanted it to. I was really having trouble getting off the corners. I could get into a turn OK but when I would add gas it just felt like the rear wasn't hooking up. Now my bike makes less than 80hp so it's not like it just spins up the rear at will. this was definitely a suspension geometry issue, and we just ran out of sessions to test it with. Part of the problem was me being tired. I just couldn't focus the way I wanted to. Session after session I would fight through traffic finally get some clear track then not have the focus to really take advantage of it.

With all the riding for the day done it was time to settle in for some serious Saturday evening fun. My good friend and sponsor Julio of Tommy's Mexican Restaurant had once again hooked me up with some Tommy's Mix and a couple of bottles of Arete Tequila to give out as part of our promotional work. But better than that Julio had made some shirts for our racing team. It was exciting and so much fun to give out some shirts, and drinks to my friends in the racing paddock. We had a blast, and helped promote the Tommy's brand.

And just for the fun and embarrassment here's a pic of a poor fool who lost a bet about who'd finish in front of whom during the novice race. he lost.

Following the margarita bash was the slow bike races. Once again I was not up the task, or maybe it was the margaritas.

Following the slow bike races were the live interviews over at the Feel Like A Pro pit. Brian Bartelow has done a superior job of elevating amateur racing. His business of renting race bikes, and his pit set up are nothing short of professional level. On Saturday night the folks from On The Throttle TV hosted live webcast interviews. They had an excellent mini TV studio, but I need to talk to them about their lighting, and did interviews with some fast guys, as well as the race director. It was very cool stuff.

Sunday morning and I'm better rested but still not as much sleep as I'd like, and just a little fuzzy. I'm going to need to limit my margarita intake on Saturday nights. I made anther big change to the suspension for the 1 morning session but I wasn't feeling much better.

Race 1 was Open Twins. Not my normal race as my bike is out classed by as much as 100 horsepower, but it can be fun to go out and run with the big bikes, and try to chase people down. At the start of the race I got a great launch but almost ran into the back of the guy 2 rows in front of me so I had to roll off, and so much for my great start. I settled in and started chasing people down. I was keeping a decent pace, but still having problems accelerating out of the corners. My buddy Mark came roaring past me on his big Ducatti, and I happily passed him back breaking for T7. That's my favorite, stuffing the Duc's on the brakes. I think I finished 12th in Open Twins, but I'd felt really tired at the end of the race, and that didn't bode well for the 2 more races I had later in the afternoon.

The next race was 650 Twins. This is the one I finished 10th in last round, and I was hoping to at least stay with the front guys for a bit. At the start I got a decent launch but was held up badly going into T1, and I lost a few spots, then going into T2 a novice on a yellow bike almost highsided which caused all kinds of mayhem. He hit someone who moved over and hit me which caused me to slow way down, and there went some more people. That whole first lap was chaos, Eventually it settled down and I started getting some spots back. I was battling with my buddy John Forman. I have consistently sucked at getting through T6 The Carousel and John would get a run on me down the short back straight going into T7. He'd show me a wheel while breaking and I'd turn right across him sawing off his front. It was good fun. Unfortunately because I was tired I started making mistakes, then I would try harder to make up for the mistakes. I came up on a slower rider from another class, and instead of taking an inside pass on her, and cutting her off I waited which allowed a couple people by me. That sucked. As I desperately tried to make those spots back up I turned into T11 trailing to much brake pressure and completely tucked the front. It was a full on front wheel slide. My handle bars went all the way to the steering lock. Amazingly I saved it and stood the bike up and ran off track. I got back on losing another couple of spots. I managed to finish the race without any other incidents in a lowly 19th position. Not the results we were looking for.

I was done at that point. I had no interest in trying again in my next race. I was tired, I did nothing but make mistakes, I couldn't get the bike to do what I wanted, and I was totally dejected. So I had a beer. If you've been around racing long enough you learn that there are times when you just don't race. Call it intuition, or luck, but sometimes you just call it a day, and put the bike back on the trailer. So that was it for Round 2. Fun was had, no one in my circle of friends got hurt, and we put the bike back on the truck in one piece. We'll do better next time.

As always Thanks to the people that help me go faster.
Jennifer at Werkstatt Motorcycle Repair
Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction
Dunlop, and Terry at Sport Tire Services
Paul Fine of Fine Design
Julio from Tommy's

So one time this volcano erupted ...

2010-04-19T12:34:00.000-07:00

Here in the land of Mick-E I mostly write about my motorcycle racing adventures, but sometimes I am motivated by events so write about other parts of my life. This past weekend was one of those events that is worth writing about.

On Friday afternoon late in the day I got a call on my cell from my co-worker Walter. A buddy of his from Felix lighting in LA was looking for someone to fill in for a missing LD who could not get here from volcanically challenged Europe. They needed a GrandMA programmer, and Wally was trying to help a buddy out by finding one. OK fine. I said. I was supposed to have the weekend off, but I could use the money for racing so I said why not. With no information other than to show up at the Catalyst nightclub in Santa Cruz at 11am, and meet the tour manager Matt for a band called Phoenix I was in. I spent some time Friday evening watching Youtube videos of the band from their recent show at the Warfield to get an idea of what their show was supposed to look like. I very much had the idea that I was going to try to recreate as much of the original show as possible. I put their newest album on my ipod, and on the trip down to the club in the morning I put my headphones under my helmet with the album on repeat, and listened away. That's about where my expectations ended and the story really begins.

The Catalyst is a little club in Santa Cruz so the first order of business was to locate the tractor trailer that was coming up from LA which wasn't hard as there was only 1 tractor trailer trying to navigate the tiny streets of downtown Santa Cruz, the next order of business was to figure out how the hell I was going to get this thing unloaded. Part of the comedy of this adventure was I only knew what some of the fixtures were going to be. I really had no clue what was in the truck. Eventually I did the get the truck unloaded with the help of another truck to cross load from the big semi into a smaller bobtail with a lift gate. OK got it. Gear on the ground next task is to open the cases and see what Santa brought us! At this point the bands full size tour bus towing a trailer shows up. So now we have 1 tractor trailer, 1 tour bus with a trailer, and 3 bobtails trucks all trying to unload into this little parking lot. Oh the comedy. Once we had everything unpacked, and the 2 instrument technicians ,Cedric and "Mini Mouse" with the band were working on setting the stage I finally had a chance to sit down with the band and talk about the show, and was I ever in for a surprise. I had studied their video's and I had a pretty good ime dea of what it was supposed to look like, but instead the lead singer Thomas tells "our show is complicated, you'll never get" "let's do something totally different" and they show me some you tube clips from an old Talking Heads concert. I look and I knew exactly what they were going for. Their normal show is very high tech, lot's of video, and LED's and strobes. Instead they wanted to go low tech, and they loved that old Talking Heads concert. I know that concert well because it was lit by a theater designer in a very non rock and roll style. It had lot's of shadows, and was super stark without any flashing lights, just subtle cue changes. I immediately knew what the band was looking for, and I reassured them I could create that look with the gear I had. At this point they asked me since I was doing this show I should do the next show which was Coachella. It was simple really. I get on the tour bus with the band, do the show, and fly back to SF on Monday. Sure easy peasy. All I have to do is find a place to stash my motorcycle (Thank you Jason), figure out how to get it on Monday, and get some clothes to wear for the next 2 days. How could I say no. It's Coachella for crying out loud.

OK it was settled that I was going so on to creating that look onstage. With the gear I had it was no easy task. We had to rent a generator. I let the kid in charge of the club hook up the dimmers, and he blew the fuse on my rack because the generator was set to 480v. He had to scramble to find me a tiny control fuse that protects the dimmers brain, but luckily he found on. The stage was tiny. There was almost no room for any lights on the stage. So I had to get really creative about where I could even place a lighting fixture, then figure out a way to use it. Necessity is the mother of all invention and with 15 minutes before the band took the stage for a rehearsal I had my meager lighting system consisting of 2 2k fresnels, 4 Par64's on the dance floor uplighting the band, and 4 Par64's as high side light. Add a handful of house par cans, all with no color and that was my lighting rig.

During the rehearsal I got my footing for some of the songs, practiced the important Q's for Love Like a Sunset, and 1901, and wrote my notes furiously so as to have some sense of what I was going to do for each song. It was a packed house when the band took the stage, and I tried mightily to create some visual drama with my tiny lighting rig. I would do a whole song with just 1 of th 2k fresnels on, and then add something like the uplights, or a side par. Really subtle changes. I was nervous as all hell. I've punted many shows, but I usually have a large arsenal of lights to create some razzle dazzle, but here this was raw. The band played hard, and the crowd went wild, and after the show the front of house audio engineer who is also the production touring manager told me it was one of the best shows he's ever seen the band play. He was really impressed by all the subtle changes, and thought it was a great looking show. I took a big breath, and could just smile.

OK next monumental task: fitting all the lights, monitors, and band gear into the trailer towed behind the bus. It was almost comical, but Cedric was determined to make it fit, and fit we made it, barely. We ended up putting some guitars in the belly of the bus with the suitcase, and some guitars in the stand up shower inside the bus. Barely fit. About 2am we got on the road outbound for Palm Springs. On my bunk inside the bus was a 3 pack of socks, shirts, and undies, along with a toothbrush. We stopped in Ontario around 10am for fuel, and I bought a terrible looking straw hat, and some redbull.

When we got to Coachella we lined our bus up with all the other tour buses, and began unloaded our trailer to cross load it onto a flatbed truck that will shuttle our gear to our stage. Once at the stage the local lighting stage hands took my console into the production trailer and set it up for me so I could get to programming. Word was out that I was a fill in LD, and people were going out of their way to accommodate me and try and help. It was an awesome feeling. I now had to come up with another basic lighting rig, and figure out how to utilize the gear. Roger from Felix had sourced me some 2 light mole-fays I wanted to use as uplights. When it came our turn to change over we had 25 minutes to set the stage, get my lights set up and program from FOH. Brutal. It was not even close to enough time. If I hadn't had the time in the production office I would have totally crashed and burned. As it turns out I had just enough time to get a couple of things programmed, and I had all my handles set. I took a pause to look up from my console, and turned around to see the crowd. That was a mistake. By this time we were the only band playing on one of the 2 large outdoor stages so lots of people came to see our band. I was later told 55,000 of them came. I didn't panic, but I didn't need to see that. If I was nervous the night before than now I was on edge. Luckily I didn't have any time to think about it because a moment later the band took the stage. I had my notes from the night before, and a new set list so I had to look at my notes, and see what song was coming next. Once again I was trying to create some different looks with a very basic rig. It was not a very exciting light show, but the band looked great on the big video screen on either side of the stage. It was exciting like no other lighting show I've ever done. I now have a new appreciation for rock lighting designers. This stuff is addictive.

When the show was over we loaded up the flat bed as Thom Yorke took the stage. We loaded up the trailer, a little better this time, and got back on the bus bound for LA. When the band got on the bus every member gave me a high 5, and a hug. They had loved it. It was their best show ever, and they explained why. Their normal lighting show is complex and has a lot light behind the band. They explained to me that the way I lit them they couldn't hide anywhere on stage. They couldn't be lazy. They had to play, and play hard. They loved it. They connected more with the audience, and it was a lot of fun for them. They asked if I'd talk to their LD when he made it form Europe and explain to him what I had done. Now that is a compliment.

When we got to LA at 3am to check into our hotel again every band member gave me a hug and thanked me. The crew all shook my hand, and off to bed. They had to get up early for a taping of the Jay Leno show. Me I had a plane to catch, and go fetch my motorcycle.

And this is what can happen when a volcano erupts. If you've read this far please do a search on Youtube for Phoenix Coachell 2010, and you'll see lots of videos. The guys in the band were so friendly and awesome to work with. The crew guys english monitor engineer Adam, French guys, Cedric, and Mini Mouse, and Ausie tour manager Matt were so supportive, and cool. I hope to meet up with again sometime.
Now let's go race some motorcycles.

Training

2010-03-30T15:09:00.000-07:00

About 5 months ago I started actively going to the gym again. I had fallen out of the rhythm and got lazy, and as such I was running out of energy when I rode on the track. I guess starting in November I picked it back up with a much more serious intensity. I've been trying to go every other day, or at least every third day. At first it was hard just finding the motivation, but once into a rhythm it's not that bad. I have a program I do based loosely on some personal training I had a few years ago. I spend 30 minutes on a stationary bike trying to hit a target heart rate for 4 minutes, then a higher rate for 1 minute, and back down again. Training your heart to speed up, and more importantly slow back down is vital to not getting tired when pushing yourself during physical challenges which in my case is racing. After the cardio work out I do a series of core floor exercises, then move on to some strength training stuff using free weights or machines. It's been great. I've added resistance and additional weight to all my routines. At the first AFM round I rode for 3 days in a row which would usually leave me feeling extremely sore Monday morning, but not this time around. On Monday I was tired but not sore at all. Not only that but I've added a lot of muscle mass to my upper body. Suffice it to say other than the arthritis in my right shoulder I'm in the best shape I've ever been in. Now let's see if I can keep at it all year.

AFM Round 1 - Sting Like a Bee

2010-03-22T18:39:00.000-07:00

Friday practice went well. 8 sessions about 20 minutes long equals almost 3 hours of riding, and I needed every minute of it. I hadn't ridden since Thanksgiving weekend, and I knew I would need to blow off the cobwebs. I had a plan. I wanted to take the first couple of sessions really slow, and just take a look around. I hadn't been to Buttonwillow Raceway since March of 2008, and although I could remember which turn came next I had no real reference points. The first couple of session went perfect. I began to remember where to turn in, where some braking points, and visual marks are located. I stayed away from other riders I knew so as not to get sucked in, and try to run with them. That wasn't what I needed. As the day progressed I picked up the pace, and I needed to start making some adjustments to my bike. During the off season I had done a lot of work to the frame, and forks, and my suspension needed some balancing. Off to Catalyst Reaction. I worked the whole weekend with Jim. These people are invaluable. It's amazing how much better the bike handles after some time with them. Now to give myself a little credit I have to give them good feedback or I'm wasting both our time. So we make some changes, and immediately the bike feels better under braking, but I'm having trouble getting it to turn in Riverside which is the big fast sweeping corner. Races are won and lost in Riverside. Later on we would make some big changes to the rear end increasing ride height to get the bike to steer better, and I was able to hold the throttle open sooner going through Riverside. It would turn out to be the place I would make up ground on other riders. The funny thing about that is the fast sections of the racetrack were always the places I sucked. I have a fear of going fast. Now that I have a bike under me that I can trust I am pushing harder, and going faster than ever before. As the sessions clicked off I picked up the pace and started chasing down other riders. It was time to get my head into racing mode. Then I ran off track. Ooops. Totally my fault. I was gooffing off waving at my friend Shandra as I rode by her, and not paying attention to where I was. I got on the brakes, but not soon enough. There was no way I was making the corner so I stood it up, and launched myself out into the silt. I have no clue how fast I was going when I left the pavement, but let's say if I had any coal around we could have made some diamonds. On Friday my parents and best friend from Highschool Louie showed up each bringing their camping trailer. We had one hell of a compound with the 2 trailers facing each other, and my black truck in the middle. Friday night was a great little party. John and Cary from the SFMC had joined out compound on Friday as well. It would be Cary's first race weekend, and she was super excited. I love being around new racers. Speaking of new racers. This year I'm participating in the AFM Mentor Program. I'm a volunteer helping new racers get acquainted with racing and to help them get started. So Friday afternoon Dan Sewell the head of the Mentor Program asks me to work with this kid Danielle. Dan said the kid had some questions about his bike passing tech, and he was pitted near me. Well that turned out to be one hell of a project. The kid had essentially a street bike wiht the lights taped over. Only a few things were safety wired. Me and my dad would spend the next 4 hours helping him get this bike ready. In the morning he rolled right through tech with no issues.

Saturday I wasn't planning on practicing, but through the urges of my friends and family "we didn't drive all this way not to watch you ride" I ponied up the money and practiced. It was a good thing. Saturday practice is race pace. It's a way to get your head in the game, and I was on pace. I was still trying to find a line through the sweeper after lost hills, but I was feeling good. At one point I was chasing Bess Keigwin through the esses and something either came off her bike, or got kick up by her bike, and hit me in the throat. Ouch. Half a lap later that area started burning. Damn that hurts. I reached a gloved hand up to see if I was bleeding, when I wasn't I had a pretty good feeling what was happening. I pulled into the hot pits, and asked Nikki at Catalyst if she could see anything on my neck. Sure enough bee stinger. Damn. I iced it, took an anithistamine, but the damage was done. It never slowed me down, but it did hurt all weekend, still hurts if I touch it.

During one session my arch nemesis #65 John Forman got around me, and I was happy to follow him for a couple of laps. I knew he would have a usable line through that sweeper, and I ended up using that line the rest of the laps I rode. I continued working with Jim on getting the bike to turn better, and by the end of the day Saturday I had a bike that would be the best it had ever been.

Saturday night brings a whole other type of race track silliness. The slow bike races. Last year a group of racers called Soldiers Racing started hosting these Saturday night events in an attempt to get some fun back into racing. 2009 was a tough year for the AFM, and we needed to lighten things up. So of course I had to enter the races on my mini bike. After a couple of heats up against some of the best riders in the club I made the main event. I didn't win, but I did score points in what will be a 7 race series with a prize at the end of the year. I may not be the fastest, but I'm one of the slowest!

Sunday is raceday. I had put a fresh front tire on Saturday afternoon, and Sunday morning a fresh rear. Sunday practice is really a warm up session. Get heat into all the components, and your head into the game.

Race 1 650T. I was gridded 12 on the outside. An excellent spot as the inside of T1 tends to get bogged up at the start, the bad thing is that if anyone goes down the outside riders can get collected in it. The green flag waves and we're off. I got a decent start, and was pretty aggressive going into T1. That's something I've been mentally working on. Being more aggressive at the starts. and that's kinda where my memory ends. The race was a battle royal. I felt fast leaving Cotton Corners through the Grapevine, Bus Stop, Riverside, and over the top of Lost Hills. I would lose ground through the sweeper, make it up in the esses, and lost a bunch of ground through Sunset onto the front straight. The bike would wag, wobble, and weave as it would hit the bumps, but never get out of shape completely. Sometimes I'd get into a tank slapper, but I'd regain composer just in time to get stopped or turned. Sometimes the rear tire would slide while gassing it, but always come back, never chop the throttle always ride it out. Through Riverside at 90mph, knees on the ground elbow to elbow with my competitors praying that no one does anything sudden or stupid, hoping no one throws it away in front of me. There were several crashes, some near misses, some great passes. It was a hell of a race. I finished my highest ever in 650T 10th, with a best lap of 2:00.8.

Race 2 Formula FIV. I got a great start. I went through T1 in 7th place, and I knew behind me were some very pissed, very fast guys. I tried to put my head down, and ride a clean fast race. Going into T3 someone on a Code4 powder blue bike went by me rear wheel in the air and off into the dirt. Whew. half a second later that would have taken me out. Eventually the race settled in a freight train of 6-8 riders all trying to get around Ricky Ford. I was at the tail end of it, and I didn't want to do anything stupid so I only made a couple of passes, but got passed back when i made a mistake. At one point I remember the train of us all going through Riverside nose to tail, inches apart 6 bikes long. Man I wish I had video of that. That was a fun race. I was fast, I felt good, and I ran with some good company.

I'm excited for Sears Point in April. I had a good start to the season. I finished well, and will have good starting positions for the next race. I go pretty well at Sears so lets see if I can finish a little further up the field.

I have to end with another big thank you to Jim, Dave, and Nikki at Catalyst Reaction. They really did help me achieve this success.

As always Thanks to the people that help me go faster.
Jennifer at Werkstatt Motorcycle Repair
Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction
Dunlop, and Terry at Sport Tire Services
Paul Fine of Fine Design
Julio from Tommy's

It's Racing Season!!

2010-03-18T22:19:00.000-07:00

I'm here at Buttonwillow Raceway. Tomorrow is the unofficial practice, also known as open test day. It's 10:30pm and racers are starting to pour in. The guys across from me have a nice set up. There's a couch, and what looks like Gran Tourismo on the TV.
It's going to be a great weekend. Weather looks perfect for the whole weekend. I'm excited, and nervous. First race of the year. I've put a lot of effort into the off season to get ready, and now that the moment is here I'm a little freaked out.
One more Tecate, and it's bed time.

Minor setbacks

2010-03-13T12:49:00.000-08:00

I had a couple minor setbacks this last week. The first was discovering my rearset mount had broken off. I had an issue with this cracking last year, and had it repaired the that didn't hold. The reason for that being the rearsets themselves weren't designed for this bike they are for. 05 ZX6R, but when my bike was first converted to a racer there were't any parts for it yet, so a adapter plate was made, and I suspect this flimsy piece is the culprit behind the broken frame tab. Nothing time and money can't fix, too bad I'm so short on both. Alas the bike has once again gone to visit KC @ BRG Racing for more upgrades. He has made for me some custom rearset plates that should be the business. The other setback is while goofing off in the city on my street bike I sprained my wrist. I've been trying really hard to keep it imbobalized, and get it healed in a weeks time. Yeah I know stupid me. Fingers crossed.

Suiting Up

2010-02-23T19:56:00.000-08:00

In another small step toward racing season preparedness I got my suit back today. My trusty leather racing suit that you see me wearing in all my photos. There's a funny story behind why I have that suit. I was wearing this tattered old suit that I bought used and had a leather patch with my name put on it. It was ugly and worn when I got it, and I crashed it a few times so it really was ugly. Well back in 2006 my mom told I was embarrassing her with my tattered looks so she gave me some money and told me to have a proper suit made. Along with some of my own money I had a custom blue and yellow suit with my name properly cut out and added some SFMC patches. I fell down a few times on it, and have had it repaired a couple of times. This time around it needed a piece replaced that had rotted. Too much salty sweat. I need to do a better job of oiling it every now and then. I also added my Tommy's patches to the arms. One more thing checked off the list. Getting closer. I hope to make it to Thunderhill this weekend if the weather holds. I really need to get some practice, and get a feel for the new suspension. Fingers crossed!

Forks of Fury

2010-02-11T09:27:00.000-08:00

Things are really starting to come together in the pre-season racing preparation. I knew that my forks needed freshening up, but I wanted to investigate options for improving them. So off they went to my trusted suspension shop and sponsor Catalyst Reaction Suspension Catalyst Reaction. I can't praise these guys enough. I've been working with them since 2007, and in 2008 when I got my new bike they agreed to sponsor me. Having Dave and Jim available to work on my bike on race weekends is like having my own personal suspension technician in my garage. It's awesome to be able to ride up to their tent, tell them about what I'm feeling, what the bike is doing, and they make adjustment based on that feedback. I've learned so much about suspension setup, bike setup, how to communicate about what the bike is doing, and even how to ride by working with these guys. I've learned to trust them. As long as I communicate clearly and honestly what I feel then they have carte blanche to to twist and turn the knobs. So off the forks went, and a couple days later I got a call from Jim telling me what he saw, what he thought, and what he recommended. It didn't take long for me to say give me the works. New springs more appropriate for my weight, a custom shim stack specific to my bike, and riding style, and of course all new bushings, seals, and oil. I'm so excited to try out the new set up. The forks should absorb bumps better while also being more consistent throughout the stroke. I should be able to brake later, and carry the braking deeper into the turn with more speed, and still not upset the chassis. The one fear I have is that 2 years of suspension data I've been collecting at each track is now thrown out the window. I'm starting from scratch, but with a lot more sense of what direction to go. I'm planning on attending a pair of trackdays at the end of February to test out the new bits. I can't wait!

And then there where 4

2010-02-03T20:30:00.000-08:00

Today I sold my beloved Honda Superhawk. That was not easy. I've had that bike for 8 1/2 years. We've been through some times that bike and I. I know it was the right thing to do. I bought a newer more upright riding style bike at the end of last year, and I needed to make room in the garage and bank account, but still. It's not easy saying goodbye to an old friend. Not to say that it never let me down, oh no, it definitely stranded me a time or. But still. A lot of memories. Good and bad. The new owner is kinda kooky and passionate about owning it. He has other bikes. The one thing I asked of him was to ride it hard, and fast like I used to. He said that was the intention. Goodbye old bike, ride fast, take chances.

Here's some photos

Me and my new toy, something like October of 2001

What happens when an asshole turns left in front of you while it raining, March of 2002

Fall of 2002 rebuilt with sexy new forks, mean looking and ready to ride. It would stay looking like this for 8 more years.

First weekend of October 2003 at the summit of Tioga Pass in Yosemite. It would snow 2 days after clearing this pass, and the road would be closed for the rest of winter.

Same trip, but leaving the Brody Ghost Town. I love this picture.

Is it racing season yet?

2010-01-28T12:38:00.000-08:00

No but it's coming up quickly and I'm doing something I've never really done before. Preparing early! Why is it so many racers wait until the last second to prep stuff? It's true. So many of my friends will be touching their bikes for the first time in 5 months the week before the first race just then remembering the things that they meant to do over the winter break. I know because I've been that guy. Not so this year. I have a small list of things to do. I pulled the radiator off to find why I was always smelling radiator water, and sure enough there was a divot where a rock had hit it. so off that went to the radiator repair shop Alouis Radiator on Divis they took one look at it and said sure no problem $40. So much better than buying a used one off of Ebay for $250. Next I pulled the forks off for an annual refresh, and maybe some extra magic. My long time sponsor and trusted Suspension experts Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction I understand the concepts of how suspension works but the actual mechanics of what happens inside the forks, and how to make it better is absolute vodoo. That is why we have suspension experts and I'm lucky to have them as a sponsor.
I a few other minor things to do, but I'm already much closer than I was last year at this time.

Goodbye 2009 Hello Twenty Ten

2010-01-08T11:35:00.000-08:00

I will admit I did not do a good job of writing last year. I have only my lazy self to blame, that and the ease of posting snippets to Facebook from my Blackberry. I like FB, but it's only good for quick updates. You can't really create any real depth there. One of the few promises I've made to myself for 2010 is to write here more.

2009 was a tumultuous year. I'm not going to recount all the gory details but I'll hit on some topics of interest. It started out wild with working on the CutandPaste show. I did write about that some. I did a lot of traveling in a short amount of time in the US. The work was new, exciting, and challenging, but it was always by the seat of the pants and I don't really like that. Then the tour continued in Asia, and the chaos got even worse, but the adventure even bigger. I was very glad to be apart of that project, but also very glad when it was over. I was asked back onto the Oracle Howard Street project. There was some vindication in being asked back. I knew last years project had not gone well. I wanted to stand up and yell "I told you so" but what good would come from that? Howard Street as we call it has become old hat. It's an extremely challenging game of logistics, but one I've done a couple of times so it didn't seem that hard until the rains came that is. We got hit with the biggest storm of the year that week. Not the best time to have a 800' long tent in the middle of a downtown street. Through the perseverance of my team we fought back against the storm, and with pride I say we never had to shut the tent, and we never tripped a single circuit. It was amazing. After Oracle came the normal series of fall events followed by holiday events, then one of my favorite projects the Oakland Zoo's Zoo Lights. By the time the end of December came I was burned out from an epic year of seemingly non-stop work. Yes I worked a lot in 2009. My best financial year ever and I'm not ashamed of it. Right place/Right time. Looking forward 2010 seems strong. Events that canceled last year are already back on the books. I'm glad to have work, but I have to find a better balance.

I did get to do some racing last year. I think I made it to 4 rounds with the AFM. I'm looking forward to 2010. I have a new number this year. 93 a 2 digit number. That's significant milestone in a racing career. It means you've been around a long time. It doesn't mean your fast, it just means you've stuck around. This will be my 7th year roadracing. There's a new series this year called the California State Championship. It's one round at each of the three west coast racing clubs. I plan to make it to those three races if none other. It'll provide some new challenges. I need to get my act together, and update my racing resume, and get my sponsors lined up if I'm going to be able to afford the travel to the away rounds. I made a big change to my race bike after the last race. I'll do a write up about that, and what I think it will do to help me. I can't wait to get back to the track, turn some laps and hang out with my friends.

2009 was a bit of a roller coaster, like any year really but the peaks and valleys seemed more extreme. There was love found, and love lost, moments of pride and moments of WTF? A decade has ended, and a new chapter is just beginning. New bikes, new tracks, new interesting projects to work on, new love. I think twentyten will be a good year. I plan to write about here. I hope you follow along.
-mickey

Roast Ox

2009-05-15T19:13:00.000-07:00

I'm currently in Hong Kong working on the asian portion of the CutandPaste tour. Right now all I can really say it that I'm exhausted. I had planned on getting some rest, and writing a detailed account of the trip over, my first day here, and getting the show done in less than perfect circumstances. However after a very short sleep after a very long day I went out and had something to eat and a big bottle of beer. Finally allowing myself to get some much needed rest I fell back asleep around noon. Less than 2 hours later I was abruptly awoken by what sounded like a demolition crew, and for all accounts was. Some kind of construction in the hotel so now I'm in the hotel lobby writing this.
ug

Below are some photos from yesterday.

Motorcycles and scooter slice through traffic with reckless abandon. Man I want to get me one of those

From CutandPaste Asia tour

Scaffolding around an entire building made of nothing but bamboo strapped together.

From CutandPaste Asia tour

My high budget house lighting system.

From CutandPaste Asia tour

Noah our technical director in another round of WTF? The two girls who spear headed the local team Dianna in the middle and Athena on the right where under so much unnecessary pressure, because so much was left to the last minute. They where great.

From CutandPaste Asia tour

A quick shot from backstage.

From CutandPaste Asia tour

Mike Brady's suit case. Generously donated to be an extra roadcase as part of the tour has been to 3 continents carrying projector hardware. Now it will makes it's way back to north america

From CutandPaste Asia tour

The local production team added in this photo Cindy, and Joel forefront (pronounced joey) amd John F at 2am waiting for a "man with a van" to come usher away our road kit.

From CutandPaste Asia tour

A very good day at the races - AFM Sears Pt April

2009-04-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

On April 26th I finally got to do some racing. First time in 2009. Unfortunately do to work conflicts I couldn't practice on Saturday. I planned on going up to the track Saturday afternoon to set up my pit, change some tires, and get my gear tech'd. I was a little worried at first since none of the people I had been pitting with last year where returning to racing this year. The racing family is a constant ebb and flow, as people come, and people go. Through my facebook connections I reached out to my buddy Stan, and asked him to save me a spot. It worked out great as he was pitted with another buddy Rick, and Sunny. Our little section was in a prime location, and near everything. Thanks Rick and Stan, you definitely made my weekend easier.

When Sunday morning came around, and it was time for practice I was a little nervous. I hadn't ridden much this year, and I feared not being up to speed. I had a plan in my mind of some things I wanted to work on for my one practice session, and set about getting into a rhythm. I had hooked up with my old nemesis John Forman and followed him around for awhile. That was good as it got my head more into a racing frame of mind. When practice was done I checked my times and I was consistently running 1:54's. Not where I wanted to be, but not too far off, and it was the morning practice which is usually slower.

With my bike all prepped and ready for my first race which was #4 I grabbed Kate, and headed up to the grandstands to watch race #1. It would be her first time seeing a motorcycle race. That race was over in 5 seconds. There was a horrific crash at the very start leaving two riders face down just past start finish. One rider having a broken femur, sevored femoral artery bleeding out on the track literally bleeding to death in front of us, and an the other rider unconscious was a terrible way to start the day. Both riders where helicoptered out, and I know now that they will both eventually be fine, but they have a long recovery ahead.

This unfortunately shook me up a little bit. Motorcycle racing is extremely dangerous. That thrill of being on the absolute edge is like nothing else. On the other side of that edge is the possibility of life altering injuries. We don't talk about it. No one does.

My first race was Open Twins. Not a class I usually compete in as it's mostly dominated by big Ducati's making 150+ hp. But there are usually a few 650 riders in there, and it was before my main races so why not? I had a new quick shifter installed so I had been practicing my starts getting used to it. I had a good grid position on the outside of the row. I prefer to start on the outside, and take an outside line through T1. This allows me to carry good speed through the corner, and then take the inside line up the hill into T2. When the green flag flew and we roared away from the starting line I had no clue what position I was in, and I didn't care. I was off on the chase and quickly started picking off bikes in front of me. A couple into T2, another over the hill at 3a, another down into 4, again around the outside of a big Ducati through T6 "The Carousel" and then it started to thin out. That big duc came back by on the straight, but I just laughed in my helmet as I got on the brakes much later than he, and dived under to take the spot away into 7. At that point there where just a couple of 650 riders, Adrian, and Zoe. The faster big twins having checked out already, and the slower riders fading arrears. The three of us would change places several times. If I remember correctly Zoe was leading the three of us, and Adrian had worked past her, and I knew I needed to get by quickly or Adrian would get away. I tried passing into over the hill at 3a, and on the brakes into T4, but I wasn't close enough so I backed off. I tried again going into T6, but that's not my strongest place so I opted to get a good drive out of 6, and outbrake her into T7. I'm good on the brakes since I replaced my master cylinder with a Brembo unit, and I knew I could get it done. In my previous trackday with ZooZoom I worked with Berto Woolridge and he'd told me I needed to work on my trail braking, and here it was paying off. I got on the brakes late, dove underneath Zoe, and held a tight line, but she didn't back off, and stayed just outside of me, setting me up to pass on the exit of 7. This is a classic T7 scenario. The passing rider brakes late, gives up speed to get the position the passed rider take the outside line, carries more speed and takes the position back on the exit. Knowing it was coming, also comfortable in the knowledge that I had a new tire that would give me a little more grip I rolled on the throttle while at full lean and blocked Zoe right at the exit. I think this spooked her a little, and took some of the fight away as she never made a challenge again.

Here's me tucking it under Zoe

From AFM Sears 4.26

Off I went after Adrian. I was better on the brakes than he, but he carried more speed on the exit. I was much faster in 3, 3a, but I couldn't capitalize on momentum into 4 even though I tried a couple of time. I got by him in 7, but he back around going into 9. We traded places several times, and after a little mistake he started to pull away from me. On the last lap I got a good drive out of 8a and reeled him in heading down into 9, but I wasn't close enough to get it done, so I backed off a little trying to gain a little momentum coming out of 9a, heading into 10 planning a late braking move into 11. It went like clock work. I had a solid drive out of 10, and easily pulled up next him, grabbed a handful of brake to get the pass done, and then I noticed the yellow flag. DAMN IT! You can't pass under any flag condition so I had to slow down, and let him back by. I finished 12 in Open Twins. I'd been 11th if that yellow flag hadn't come out. I found Adrian in the pits, and he admitted I'd been robbed. It was a good race, and there was more to come.

The start of the 650 Twins race was nearly tragic. I was gridded waaay in the back, and when the green flag flew as I gassed it there was some incident up front, and bikes where jockeying madly around. I almost got hit from behind, and lost about 20 places. Oh well. Once again I settled in and started picking off riders. Once through the hoy poloy I found myself with familiar company. People I'd been chasing all year long. Right in front of me was Scott 555, and Charlie 649, Scott was riding kinda out of control. He'd got a terrible start, and was trying to make it up all at once. He passed Charlie under a waving yellow. I noted that in my head, and considered a protest. But first the racing. I easily got by Charlie in T6. Finally the suspension adjustments I'd been making as well as trying a different line through the Carousel where paying off, and I was no longer losing ground through T6 anymore. Scott was carring more speed through corners but was not nearly as good on the brakes as me (hmm.. repeating theme)I was able to pull him in on the brakes, and then lose a little on the out. One place I was faster was the entrance to T10. I'd been using that to my advantage earlier getting a good drive and braking into 11. I gave him a little room entering 9 so I could get a run on him through 10. As he exited 9 he looked over his shoulder and could see me coming so he held a tight line on the inside of 10. Fine Scott I'll go around the outside. I easily pulled up next to him. That's when he pulled one of the biggest punk moves I've ever seen. He knew I was next to him. I was all the way out on the rumble strips, and he moved over to his left bumping me out into the dirt. I had no choice but to wait until I'd cleared the dirt and was straight up and down on the track to hit the brakes. I finally did, and I ran way off track losing a couple of positions. I was mad. Really mad that he'd done something so flagrant.
They call it "Red Mist" where your focus gets narrow, and you are so determined, so full of adrenaline, that often after the event is over you don't remember anything. When I exited T11 Scott was through T1 easily a 1000 feet ahead of me. Head down I started pushing through every corner. Trying to find a tenth of a second here, another tenth there. I passed back the people that had gone by when I ran off track with such ease they weren't even there. I didn't want to slow down to make a pass. Stay focused go fast, and he'll come to you. Several laps go by and he's getting closer. Actually we're gaining on the other group ahead. Last lap. Once again I'm right up his tail. I set myself up for the same pass that has worked time and again a solid drive out of 10 with a late brake into 11. We both come out of 10 hard on the gas. I'm gaining when in an instant I watch his rear tire spin up, and snap he's air born, highside. The bike and him are tumbling right in front of me. It takes conscious effort to look away, look down the track and I miss running him over by inches. Brutal.

Formula IV I head an equally horrendous start when half way through 1 a guy in front of me blew his engine. "Oh shit" I thought this is going to be bad, but the guy stayed up, and I missed hitting him, but once again half the grid went by me. so I spent the race picking people off. I'd had a good race with Charlie, and Adrian again, in the end putting some distance between them and myself. Until that final lap. I think it was heading over in T4 I went to down shift and something didn't feel right. I went to shift up into T5, and again something felt wrong, and I knew my shifter had come apart. I considered pulling off the track, but screw that. I nursed the bike around in 5th gear. It made for some really shitty drives out of 7, 9, and 11, but I only lost 2 positions. My new quick shifter had literally broken in two. bummer.

So it was a very eventful day. I can't even count the number of times I went into a hard braking zone with my rear wheel in the air. Yee-Ha!. I think I'm going to get some actual racing brake pads, and we'll see how well we can brake next time!
My finishing positions are nothing to write home about, but it sure was exciting to get there.

Oh and on the way home my bike fell off my moto-tote. Yeah I was dragging my race bike down the 101. It actually did very little damage. Scuffed a handle bar, and the tail section. Another near miss. Lottery ticket anyone?

A special thanks to Marie and Jennifer at Werkstatt for getting me some much needed parts in a hurry.
and thanks to Dave Moss who I didn't speak to all weekend, but his input all last year, and some emails earlier this month got my bike where it needed to be.

Chasing Adrian through T1

From AFM Sears 4.26

On the gas out of T7

From AFM Sears 4.26

Leading Adrian through T2

From AFM Sears 4.26

Exiting T9

From AFM Sears 4.26

You're #1

From AFM Sears 4.26

as always a thanks to my sponsors
Jennifer at Werkstatt Motorcycle Repair
Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction
Dunlop, and Terry at Sport Tire Services
Paul Fine of Fine Design
Julio from Tommy's

Racing News

2009-03-25T15:43:00.000-07:00

I got rid of my old Nissan Pathfinder. It had served me well, but it's time was done. I had abused the clutch hauling bikes, and trailers around California, and the throw out bearing was whining. So I sold it. Why not my dad gave me his old truck when he retired anyway. Now I've got a 4x4 diesel to haul my bikes around. I got just enough money for that pathfinder to put a new stereo in the truck. HAHAHA

With the addition of the new truck I've also let go of the trailer I was using. It didn't belong to me, but I was it's keeper. Between myself and my buddy Craig we keept in our garages. When Craig let his garage go I didn't want the trailer year round. It took up too much space. No problem I have a bumper hauler anyway. However my XR100 doesn't fit in the back of the truck with the shell on it. So I bought a XR50 mini bike to use as a pit bike. Just like my 100 it's way overdone.

Tuesday march 17th I rode at Laguna Seca for the first time. It was kind of a hassle to get it all together. First off Laguna, a world class track that hosts a round of Moto GP, has a really low sound limit. 92db. So I bought a stock exhaust off of ebay, and mounted that up. That itself turned out to be more of a chore than I thought. The modified wider rear wheel I use rubbed against part of the decorative tip, so I cut it off. then I had to buy a really long bolt to mount it. Fine. Stock exhaust on, get do to my first session after lunch, and I'm meatballed for sound. Yup even with a stock exhaust I was 96.2db. The intake growl is what got me. So I hd to ride really slowly when I got near the sound booth. Lame. Anyway the day was good in the end. I got to ride with A,B, and C groups at the last session of the day. that made for an hour straight of ontrack time. If you could run flat out it would be a fun track. T1 is fast, and takes some time to get comfortable holding the throttle wide open as you crest a blind hill. T3-5 as also fast with just a little late breaking. The famous corkscrew isn't all that bad. It's suck a slow entry that there isn't much to it. However having the nerve to brake really late getting into it definitely would take some time to develop. What really scared me was T9 Rainey Curve. That turn is fast, down hill, and if you get it wrong it sends you straight at a wall. Whew. I'm glad I got to ride there. I doubt I'll be back anytime soon. I've now ridden on all the road race tracks in California. Thunderhill, Sears Pt, Laguna Seca, Buttonwillow, Willow Springs, Streets of Willow, and California Speedway. Time to branch out of the state. I hear Miller is a fun place to ride!

And here's and animated gif I made. This is of my very first lap at Laguna.

I was totally channeling my Rossi at this moment.

Hopefully if everything pans out the next ontrack time is for the west coast AHRMA round at Willowsprings. If not I'll try to make the AFM race the same weekend. If I can't do either of those I might not be on track until June, and that would be a really bummer. It kills me. I have to walk past my race bike in my garage 20 times per week, and it just sits there. We'll see.

I'm digital again!

2009-03-25T14:35:00.000-07:00

It's March, and I haven't written anything on here in awhile. Partly because my lame ass lost the charger to my digital camera, and I got lazy about it.
So let's start there. I just bought a Canon SD890 Elph. This is a much improved camera over my S30 that my old buddy Nik gave me. I really like Canon's for the picture quality in low light. I take a bunch of photos for work, and the Canon's do the best job of it.

Here's a few pictures from my backyard this afternoon.

What a nice day here in the city.

I tried the video feature of the camera too. Certainly not a video camera but not terrible for such a small thing.

In other non moto news I'm midway through the CutandPaste tour. Man that is kicking my ass. We've done 5 cities, and we're off to Toronto this weekend. The cross country travel each weekend has been brutal. I'm staying in Toronto for a couple of days inbetween there and Chicago. A little down time will be nice.

2008 in review

2009-01-31T18:39:00.000-08:00

Is it really 2009?
How do it get here so fast? It's hard to believe that a year ago I was at California Speedway racing in my first race on my new race bike. A whole new world opened up to me with that new machine. With all the riding I did on a motorcycle that was really set up to race with all the modern components of racing I grew a lot. In some ways I did a lot better than I thought I was going to, in other ways I did worse. I guess I just kept upping my expectations. The better I'd do the better I'd want to do. I had some close calls, like nearly high siding that first race weekend, or coming together with that Buell at the AHRMA race, or even when I got hit twice on the first lap at Thunderhill, but with all those close calls I wouldn't have it any other way. I made it to 10 race weekends in 2008. I missed out on the last AFM race because of my broken ankle. Oh well. I got to meet and become friends with some cool people that I hope I will know for a long time. People like Steve B, and Robin G, even crusty old Zoran. Others like some of the sponsors that I got to know really well like Jennifer at Werkstatt, or Dave with Catalyst Reaction. Racing is an amazingly intense community that really brings people together and bonds them.

The economy for the most part in 08 was good, and I tried my hardest to avoid work, and just ride. I had worked on my ass on in 07, and saved some money up which made the work avoidance even more possible. It was tight a few times, but I always managed to scrape by and buy that new rear tire!

What does 2009 hold in store for us? Well I'm going to focus on work more this year. Racing all over California was awesome, but it left me drained. Not just money but mentally. Always trying to figure out how to pay for the next race or how to adjust my work schedule so I could make the race. It was really intense, and so much fun, but I need to give myself a break. Oh and there's the money part too. I have a really cool project that I am working on with Trisha's company @ E2k. It's called CutandPaste http://cutandpaste.com/ and should be a challenging thing to be apart of. Because I need to be able to focus on it I'm not going to do much racing until the end of the year. I would like to make the AHRMA race at Willow Springs again so we'll see about that. CutandPaste is going to take me to 7 US cities and 4 in Asia so I'm going to be traveling a lot in 09. I'll try to write about my adventures here as ofter as I can.

Below is a picture I made up to give my sponsors in 2008. I like to look at it. It reminds me of all the damn good times I had.

Update to Zombie Bikers on Wheels!

2008-10-30T18:37:00.000-07:00

The video is finished and here it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69vOhU40JaU
I recommend clicking on the "watch in high quality" link, and then making it full screen.
This way you get the full feeling.
OK so it's silly, and I broke my ankle but it turned out pretty good.
We definitely had a damn good time making it.

Zombie Bikers on Wheels

2008-10-07T11:15:00.000-07:00

On Sunday 10/4 I worked on a music video for a song named "Zombie Bikers on Wheels" This all came about when I had gone with my friend Trevor to a screening of his friend Jon's series of videos called "Zombies from Eureka" Here's some of Jon's work
Zombie Dance

After that screening we where having beers, and Jon was talking about his next project which was this zombie music video involving bikers, and I was like "do you need guys on bikes" A month later there we where in this little industrial strip out in the Bayshore neighborhood near Bev Mo. I had convinced SFMC members Dave "Papa" Schiller, my racing buddy, and Papa's son Eric, and Andy "Rabit" to come along. So there where 4 of us total.

The location was this small warehouse that had old train tracks running in front of it. Most of Jon's Zombie stuff had very simple make up but the band had invited a make up artist named Autumn to join, and she was great. The zombie make up was definitely stepped up a notch or 3. After all 4 of where in makeup Jon started shooting some warm up shots getting a feel for what he wanted to do. One of the residents of the warehouse helped in the filming. He provided a smoke machine, and helped out.

After some establishing shots we started on the bike shots. We rode around in circles a few times, and did some back and forth stuff. The band had a back up singer named Jenny, and I rode Rabit's bike with her on the back, and did some more circles while Jon filmed in the middle. It was tough as I kept having to ride over train tracks.

We'd had enough this riding in circles thing, and we convinced Jon it was time for some stunt shots. Note: Bad Idea. We placed Jon in the middle of the tracks while Eric and I rode wheelies past him. After my third of fourth run when I brought my front wheel down it got caught in the damn train track and down I went. I've crashed plenty of times but this one hurt. I was only wearing my leather pants, and vest, no jacket or helmet as I was in zombie make up. I was rashed up pretty bad on my arms, and I had twisted the hell out of my ankle. Eric helped get my bike up, and after a few minutes we finished the stunt shots. I couldn't just quit.

We had to reshoot Jenny's scene as she forgot to sing her lyrics so back on Rabit's bike with the cute girls in fishnets again. Darn. Then came the customary burn out scene. I had a mostly worn tire anyway so I smoked the hell out of it. After that it was time for street shots. We put our helmets on, Jon got in the back of an SUV, and we hit the streets. We rode really slow around the block a few times trying to look like hungry zombie bikers. That finished out day.

Papa, and Rabit left after that, but Eric, and I stuck around to do some more set up shots, and watch Jon do the band shots inside the warehouse. It was a lot of fun hanging out, but my ankle hurt like hell, and I could barely put any weight on it. Eric and I took off and went to Ace Cafe for a beer still in our full zombie make up. We made for quit a scene entering the bar. It had been a fun day, especially for friends that had never been around any kind of production before. I took off and went to Grandma's Saloon to hang out with Trevor and Jon and talk about the day. Again my ankle hurt like hell and I had to hobble around around.

Monday morning my ankle was still really swollen so I decided to go Kaiser and have it checked out. After the customary visit to the Dr I was sent to xray where my buddy Mole from the Secret Society Scooter Club works as an xray tech. He took one picture and said from the back room "yup you broke it" What? Seriously? He showed me the picture and sure enough I'd broken the medial malleolus clean through. The Dr gave me a splint, and referred to the orthopedic foot clinic where on Tuesday they put me in a full cast from the knee down. Total bummer.

And that folks is how I ended my racing season. What a bummer. I was one race away from doing the entire AFM season. So here it trying to keep my leg elevated as long often as I can for the next 4-6 weeks. I go back next week for more xrays, and to see if I need any screws to keep it all together.

Mmm... Fresh blood

Cast and crew from left to right top to bottom
Papa, Autumn, Rabit, Mickey, Adam, Adam's hot girlfriend
Eric, film maker Jon

My riding outfit

Me and Jenny

Burnt rubber

Newly added Ouch 1

and ouch 2

AFM Round 7 and the 4 Hour Endurance Race

2008-10-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

This past racing weekend was something different on the AFM calendar. The 4 hour endurance race. The race itself takes place on Saturday roughly from 12:30pm to 4:30pm, and is what it sounds like, a race that last 4 hours long.

In order to accommodate this we had practice on Friday. That was a bit tough for me. I had to work Thursday night running the stage lighting system for Elvis Costello at the Academy of Sciences opening night gala. It was fun, and a good show, but I didn't get to bed until 1am, and I had to be up at 5am in order to get to the track, and set up in time to make the first practice.

The first part of Friday practice was normal. After I got my pit area set up, and my bike tech'd I began riding my practice sessions. There was a lot of traffic, and I had a tough time getting an clear track. My lap times where all over the place and I think my best time was in the 1:53 range which isn't bad considering I had to get around someone on ever lap.

I had been invited to ride on an endurance team. Team Cyclops, due named after the bike owner Brian who only had one functioning eye. My friend Steve Babuljack, and a guy named Chase McFraland would be the 4 man team riding the beast. Bike #66. Brian had put this bike together in less than 2 weeks time, and it looked like it. It was so stock it barely could be called a race bike. It even had it's passenger seat, and a tail light! Friday in between practice session Brian and I would continue to prep the bike in order to get it tech'd. Right before out dedicated 45 minute endurance practice session we finally got it finished, and OK'd to take out on track. All of our team members where there, and we used out 45 minutes to mostly practice pit stops and rider exchanges. An order of who ride when was determined and out I went on the beast.

From AFM 4 Hour 08

Wow talk about a different riding experience. My Kawasaki EX650 is a well prepped finally tuned race bike that handles very precisely, and has amazing brakes. The Beast is a Suzuki SV650 with a stock rear shock, and stock front end, with stock brakes, stock foot pegs and wow. It felt like I was riding a plush chair!. I rode a couple of laps then came in. We exchanged riders, and continued this for the rest of the session each rider riding a few laps then coming in to practice the exchange. When it was over me and Chase looked at each with a bit of worry. Chase is a new racer, but has a lot of experience racing supermoto so the two of us are the experienced riders while Brian, and Steve are first year racers. We're really going to ride this thing for 4 hours? The answer? Yes.

Saturday morning. Brian had acquired some rearset foot controls overnight, and I moved the handlebar clipons to match what Brian had on his normal SV650 racebike, and The Beast was starting to look like a race bike. I used my practice session to ride The Beast instead of my own bike knowing I needed more seat time on this unusual machine. The new controls felt so much better. Now we're racing. I started to pick up the pace as I got more comfortable on the machine and I could feel the brakes starting to fade. OK note to self need to flush the brake fluid. About half through the session I was heading into T2 I downshifted, and leaned the bike in when all of a sudden it slips out of gear into a false neutral (where the transmission is in between gears). The bike naturally stands up, and I begin to head off track when all of a sudden it drops back into gear locking up the rear wheel causing me slide out and when the wheel regains traction the two wheels want to line trying to pitch the rider off in a highside crash. So up in the air I go but I held onto the handle bars and land back on the bike as I head off into the dirt pointing straight at the air fence. I manage to get the bike stopped before hitting the wall, and I begin put putting through the dirt and back on track. I considered coming in to see if there was anything wrong but instead I stayed out not wanting The Beast to get the better of me.

The race: It was decided I would start the race as I had the most racing experience and would be less likely to throw it at the start. We moved all of our needed items down to the hot pit where we would be doing our pit stops and exchanges. Once again we where barely ready in time as the final call for the 4 hour race to start was announced. I jumped on the bike and got to try a couple of practice starts in the hot pit before heading out for the warm up lap.

From AFM 4 Hour 08

When the green flag flew I got a decent start, but oh what a hairball start it was. The 4 hour has 4 classes. FIV which is mostly 650 Twins, 600, 750, and Open so there I was running up the hill into T2 with the biggest mixed bag of bikes, and riders I've ever been with it. It looked more like bumper cars than motorcycle racing. I reminded myself I didn't need to chase the bikes, and to quickly settle into a rhythm. I wanted to chase the other SV's but I knew our bike was out classed so I just put my head down, and began to run off consistent laps, knowing it was a long day ahead. After 15 laps, or about a half an hour I got the signal from my pit to come in. OK one more lap to go, and I get to take a break. Coming out of the Carousel T6, at full lean as I was rolling on the throttle the bike made a loud crunching sound, locked up the rear wheel, and once again pitched me up into the air. I held on the bars, landed on the bike, and at first I thought it was that false neutral problem, but when I looked down, and saw the chain missing I knew what that crunching sound was. Here's where I saved the day. I knew that I need to get the bike out of the way and someplace safe. My first concern was that I didn't want to leave the bike on the hot track where other riders might run into it if they crash so I pushed it way down the the straight that connects T6, and T7, and put the bike behind a tire wall. That was a long push, and would turn out to be our saving grace. I thought this was the end of our day. I was exhausted. I had just ridden for 30 minutes, then pushed our bike up a slight hill, in 90 degree weather. I was almost relieved. The Beast was trying to kill me, and in some part of me was glad I wouldn't have to ride it again. I walked back to our pit with some dejection knowing our day was done when I found out Brian was talking to race control about us going back out there to fix it. In the mean time my teammates informed me that I had been doing 1:54's for most of my stint. That's pretty damn good considering what I was riding. After much discussion a new precedent was set. We where allowed to go back out onto the live track and repair our bike. The only reason they would let us do this is because the bike was left in a relatively safe area where we would not be a safety hazard. Yeah Me! The kicker was that we had to be wearing full racing gear when we went out there. So Me, Brian, and Chase put our leathers, boots, gloves, and helmets on, grabbed a rear stand, a new chain, and an ice chest full of tools and headed back out onto the racetrack to put a new chain on The Beast. That was a whole new exercise in patience. Bikes where flying by us on either side at 100+ mph, it was 90 something, we had out helmets on and couldn't hear each other, and the sweat would get in our eyes so we couldn't see very well, but we did it, and Chase rode the bike back into the pit.

We made some more adjustments,

From AFM 4 Hour 08

and sent Chase out for his turn, almost 2 hours into the race.

From AFM 4 Hour 08

Chase rode for about 8 laps then as he entered T7 he caught a false neutral and crashed. Yup. The two guys with the most racing experience where down. Chase nursed the bike back in, and now I knew we where done.

From AFM 4 Hour 08

Brian however was not about to give up, and through his will alone he rallied us together, and we got the parts we needed, which included a new front master cylinder, and we sent the bike out again,

From AFM 4 Hour 08

Now Steve's turn.

From AFM 4 Hour 08

By this time I've met most of the AFM turn workers, race direction, and tech inspectors. I was told that the workers where all rooting for us to finish the race. We'd had a tough day, and where still fighting. Steve rode about 10 laps and brought it in for our one and only pit stop. We put Brian on the bike, and sent him out to finish the race.

From AFM 4 Hour 08

Brian rode for about 45 minutes, getting faster each lap. and then just like that it was over, the checkered flag was out, and Brian brought it in.

From AFM 4 Hour 08

There was much celebration at Team Cyclops.

From AFM 4 Hour 08

And that was my 2008 AFM 4 Hour experience

From AFM 4 Hour 08

I did my normal sprint races on Sunday. I thought I was going to do better, but I'm really struggling to get my bike to exit the Carousel under power. I need to get that figured out. I'm giving up a few tenths to half a second on that part of the track alone. I ran as high as 9th for a few laps, but I finished both races in 15, 18th position. Not where I wanted to be, but both races where dog fights, with lots of passing, and repassing. It was a good time.

There's one more race weekend left this season. It's hard to believe it's been a year already.

As always Thanks to the people that help me go faster.
Jennifer at Werkstatt Motorcycle Repair
Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction
Dunlop, and Terry at Sport Tire Services
Paul Fine of Fine Design
Julio from Tommy's

AFM Round 6 Thunderhill - HOT HOT HOT!

2008-09-07T06:43:00.000-07:00

I'm starting my race report early. I'm here at the track the sun is just coming up, I've taken a shower, had a cup of coffee, and it's already warm enough that I'm in shorts and sandals.

I decided to do something a little different this round. Usually I stay at a hotel with whoever I'm traveling with, girlfriend, racing partner, whatever, but this time I was solo, and I didn't want to spend the $150 on hotel money. made the decision to sleep in my 92 Nissan Pathfinder. Now understand I'm not the camping type. To me ruffing it is staying at Motel 6. So this was going to be a whole new adventure in racing.

Friday night I night I hauled my now trusty Kawasaki EX650 up to Thunderhill around 7pm, and the temperature was still in the 90's when I got to the track. Ouch! My buddy Robin was already there, and had a place for us all picked out. I set up my pit area, and was seriously considering getting a hotel. How can people sleep in this heat? Robin and I grabbed some dinner in town, and then back to the track to chill out with some beers, and stars. It was really cool just chilling at the track with all the other people. I've always stayed at a hotel, and in the 5 years of doing this I think I've been missing out on something. Everyone is just kinda milling about, drinking beer, riding their pit bikes from pit to pit chatting hanging out. It was a good time.

Thunderhill was completely repaved 4 weeks ago, and the track was going to be very green. I had been warned that the new surface was really abrasive and chewed up tires quickly. What I was more concerned about was that all the track surfaces I had been using as reference points where gone. Later I would come to the conclusion that this was a good thing as I was just making the same mistakes over and over, and now I had a chance to make all new ones!

Saturday morning and out I go. Wow, the track looks different. I spent the day trying to find new braking points, turn in points, and any visual information I could to navigate my way around this newly minted tarmac. By the end of the day my times where around were they where at race pace last time we where here. That is a good thing, but I still need a couple more seconds per lap to not embarrass myself again. We'll see what today has instore for us. Meanwhile I sit here watching the sun crest the horizon, listening to Stephane Pompugnac's Hotel Costes Vol 3.
I think today will be a good day.

Sunday has come and gone. Morning practice went well. I did the exact same times I had been doing the day before. Not as fast as I'd liked, but considering all the traffic I couldn't complain.

Race 1 650 Twins. I was gridded 13th farthest right on the 3rd row. When the green flag flew I got a great start, and pulled up even with the front 10 or so riders. As we came out of T1 and stood our bikes up to drive down the small hill towards T2 someone passed me on my right, and before they where fully by me they started moving over to their left, and hit my front wheel. My handle bars began shaking violently back and forth in what we call a tankslapper. As I tried to regain control I began to move to my left, and into the bike next to me. I had the presence of mind to lift my elbow so as not to hit the riders brake lever. I got it back in shape and turned in T2. I gained a couple of spots going through the off camber section of T3, a place many riders aren't comfortable with. As we crested the hill of the tight T5 someone came from my right, again hitting my front wheel, and sending me into a tank slapper as we went down the hill. I regained control just in time to not plow into the bikes at the bottom. Ouch tough first lap. After that we mostly settled into a rhythm. I knew if I was going to keep pace I'd have to find some speed in places I had been struggling with. T9 is a struggling point for me, and as we crested the hill of 9 I was right on the backs of the bikes in front of me. OK good sign. The T11, 12, 13 combo is another weak area, and as we came out of that section onto the back straight I lost a few bike lengths to the pack in front. OK I know I can make that up. I've been struggling with brake fade since I bought this bike, and I finally replaced the last possible thing, the master cylinder. Now I have great feeling brakes, and I used them to their best getting on the brakes really late to make up the last ground coming out of 13. For 5 laps this would be the story, I would lose ground in T2, and the 11- 13 combo, and make it all up entering T5, and T14. However if I made any little mistake anywhere else that would be ground I couldn't get back. And as such whenever someone would pass me, I could hang with them for a little while, but I could never get back around them. Thus I ended the race in 17th place, 3 back from where I started. I must have gotten passed 8 times.

Formula IV. Green flag flies, and I think everyone was a little more conservative. We got cleanly through the first 5 turns. I made a couple of passes, got passed a couple of times, and settled in for 6 laps of battle. I was keeping much tighter with the lead pack, and I thought I might be able to hand with them. I did for the first couple of laps. I think I lap 2 or 3 coming down the hill from 5 the rider in front of me ran wide and into the dirt, I stayed on the racing line and continued on as normal. The rider without looking came back onto the racing line, and directly into me. My mad skills kept us from actually colliding. Would you be surprised to know it was the same rider that hit my front wheel at the start of the first race at the top of T5? Once again I regained my composer, but lost some bike lengths to the guys in front of me. Later in the same lap we where coming up on the back of the previous wave which where a couple of Ninja 250's. Ouch talk about closing speeds. Well in an attempt to not be a dangerous ass like other riders had been earlier today I didn't stuff the poor Ninja 250 coming into T11, but that slowed me way down, and as we came out onto the back straight 2 riders passed me, and I was pissed. On the next lap we came up on another 250 in a bad place and I lost another position. In the end I finished 18th, which was disappointing considering I was staying with the faster group.

It was a fun weekend hanging out at the track. The new brakes are great, and will come in really handy at Sears Pt where there are three serious braking zones, and 3 minor braking zones. I think I will do much better next time.

As always Thanks to the people that help me go faster.
Jennifer at Werkstatt Motorcycle Repair
Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction
Dunlop, and Terry at Sport Tire Services
Paul Fine of Fine Design
Julio from Tommy's

AFM Round 5 Sears Pt

2008-08-30T10:24:00.000-07:00

After my bitter disappointment at T-hill I had found some new motivation for racing at Sears Pt. Sears is a very technical track with no room for rest. the rider is constantly moving around. You blow one turn, and it blows the timing, and rhythm for several turns after. For some reason I'm good at Sears Pt.

There was a trackday on Friday hosted by Lance Keigwin and I had signed up for that back in January. Good I needed the extra day.
I was still having issues with my brakes overheating, fading, and giving me no confidence in pushing the front end. Friday went well, and I was feeling smooth and aggressive.

Saturday practice is short now because of the races held in the afternoon so you have to make the most out of the 4 you get. I tried some different brake fluid recommended by Zoran and that helped. I had a much better feel, and could drive much deeper on the brakes, but they would still over heat after about 6 laps, but that was better than before.

Sunday I was in races 1, and 5. The first race of the day, and the first race after lunch. I was again feeling confident and aggressive, and those are huge elements to going fast in a race.

I'm good at starting, and when the green flag flew I had a plan on where I wanted to be on the track, and I followed through with it driving deep into the rows in front and charging up the hill. Nobody passed me going into T2 which has been a weakness for me before. I had been practicing passing people going into T4 and that paid off in this race as I was easily able to gain a spot going down the hill into 4. The race would be a dog fight the whole way. There where about 6 bikes in front of me as we lined up going down the back straight for the first time, and I was determined to get around all of them. I passed all of them. Sometimes I would get passed back, and start all over. It was fun fighting for every inch. I finished 15th, and was happy with that.

The 2nd race was more of the same. I got a good start, and then started picking people off, while at the same time fighting to hold my position. Good times. As the race was winding down on the last lap I could feel myself getting tired. I knew I was running out of energy, and starting to make mistakes so I took a long glance over my should to see how close 616 was to me. Drats he was only a couple of bike lengths behind me. So I started riding really defensively. I would get on the brakes super late, and take a tight inside line. This is not the fastest way around the track, but It keeps the other person from being able to get up inside. I did this going into T's 7, 9, and 11. I stayed in front by just a couple of tenths of a second. He came and found me in the pits, and I told him I was sorry that I had to ride so defensively, he told me I was an asshole, but that's racing, and next time he'd better get in front of me before the last lap. I told him "yup" and as he walked away I smiled and thought "good luck with that" game on.

Despite riding so defensively that last lap of my second race FIV, was the fastest lap of the weekend, keeping my record of the last lap of FIV being the fastest time.
I turned a 1:51.9. Finally I broke into the 51's. A personal goal of mine. Yesterday I bought a new Brembo racing master cylinder. Hopefully this will cure my fading brake woes, and allow me to use the brakes the way I like to. On the ragged edge!

As always Thanks to the people that help me go faster.
Jennifer at Werkstatt Motorcycle Repair
Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction
Dunlop, and Terry at Sport Tire Services
Paul Fine of Fine Design
Julio from Tommy's

AFM Round 4 Thunderhill

2008-08-30T10:13:00.000-07:00

The T-hill round was forever ago. I didn't write about it then because I didn't do very well, and I was disappointed. It's hard to write about things post them to the world when you aren't feeling positive about it. I need to get over that, and just write down whatever happened good of bad.

I used to think I was pretty good at T-hill. The truth is I suck there. My results from earlier in the season, and at Sears led me to believe I was a better rider than I am. I think I am still a good rider I just have exposed some weaknesses.

I'm not going to got into extreme detail. I practiced Friday and Saturday and I knew my times weren't where they needed to be. I didn't have much confidence going into Sunday and it showed. On the first lap of the first race there was a crash in T2 immediately in front of me, that took focus to not be apart of, a couple of turns later in T5 another big wipe out just in front of me, and now I'm thinking "what the hell am I doing here" The race was restarted, and I finished a lowly 22nd.

The 2nd race was much the same. I would get passed, and not have any motivation to go back after the person. Again I finished a lowly 22nd.

I went home with my tail between my legs, broke, disappointed, and wondering if I wanted to keep doing this.

A Little Rock 'n' Roll

2008-08-30T09:30:00.000-07:00

I wanted to write about something other than motorcycles. (I'll get to that next) So I wanted to share about two recent projects I was involved in.

The first was called The Unforgettable Tour When we where first told about the show it was dubbed "the largest Indian rock show to ever come out of India" OK Whatever. Note to self: If someone ever says they are doing a large Indian "bollywood" style show. Believe them. When we fist saw the renderings and lighting plots we surely thought someone was putting one over on us. Not the case. This truly would be the largest gathering of Indian movie/entertainment stars to ever tour outside of India. The lighting design was by two British designers that where very cool guys. The lighting rig consisted of at least 80 moving lights, multiple Soft LED video curtains, and one large video wall in the center. We thought for sure when they saw the price of all the gear that most of it would go away, like it had in other Indian rock shows we had done. Nope instead they cut us a deposit check. Ouch!

Walter and I redrafted the plot so it would be in a format we where used to working with, and got to work figuring out all the data, hardware and what not needed to put this together. When the producers asked if we could provide the hardware to fly in entertainers at two different times we thought we'd heard it all.

The process was a great experience. Kevin Reilly, Walter Holden, and myself all worked on different pieces at the same time. We really utilized the drafting software to it full potential. That was a great experience.

Then came installing the show. We added Greg Kunit to mainly manage the dimmer beach, and a extra pair of eyes never hurts. There where over 70 chain motors, and 9 universes of dmx data for all the moving lights. We got the entire rig in the air, and I had started flashing out the system when we called it a night. The following day we came in early, and I continued ringing out the system. The LD's came in around 12 noon, and saw the rig for the first time.

This was there 3 show on the tour, and it was the first time they had seen the whole rig. So far no one had been able to get the entire system up and running for them. When I told them we had installed it in one day Paul the main LD said "That's normal, 1 day. 1 day for rigging, and 1 day for lighting" When I told him we installed the entire rig, rigging, and lighting in one day the look on his face was the best compliment you can get. "Fuck me" he says. Thanks Paul, we thought so to!

When it came time for the show we had three Grand MA lighting controllers FOH, and 1 GMA light backstage all networked together through a pair of MA NSP's controlling 9 universes of lighting, and 5 universes of MA media servers, and the only thing that connected FOH to backstage was one orange fiber optic cable. This was the most high tech show I'd ever seen. They where truly using the latest and greatest everything on the cutting edge of technology.

When the lights went out and the first entertainer took the stage, and the 15,000 person crowd screemed the scale of the whole thing came into focus. This really was the largest show to come out of India. But when one of the performers flew out over the audience in a steel basket the crowd went absolutely ape shit. To these people it was like seeing The Beatles, Elvis, Madonna, and Barbara Streisand all on the same stage.

When the show was over, and we had packed it up, and put it back in it's three semi trucks the four of us went to a bar in Alameda at 7am, 23 hours after we had started that day. Tequila and Budweiser at 7am. Rockstars.

Here's a link to some online photos. http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/5582382_dpGm3#P-1-12

I have more pic's on my work computer I'll post later.

The other rock show I worked on last weekend was The Outside Lands Festival

Impact did all the backstage VIP, and hospitality tents, and we did one stage. the Sutro stage. That part got handed to me, and I worked with the producers to design something interesting, and cheap. It was a great time. Three days of rock and lighting mainly in the day time. Friday I had Cold War Kids, and Beck, Saturday I closed with Cake, and Sunday Widespread Panic. Only Beck had an LD for the rest I ran the lights. It was a lot of fun, and I hope to get to do some more.

Here's a link to some photos

AFM Round 3 at Sears Point

2008-05-26T13:02:00.000-07:00

The weekend of May 24-25th saw the AFM show return to my favorite track Sears Pt.

The weekend started rough as it rained on Saturday. Rain at the end of May - WTF? I only got two practice sessions in, and the track was slippery, and I didn't feel very confident. Then the rain came and that was the end of the day.

Sunday had much better weather, and I put fresh tires on before the morning practice. The track was still very green, and the tires where new so I didn't find out anything new just sort of warmed myself up.

My first race was Race 1 Formula FIV. We have a riders meeting at the end of practice, and the first race starts very shortly after that. So if you're in Race 1 you need to have all your shit together because there just isn't much time. I know that, and my bike was totally prepped and ready. When I got to my grid position I wasn't very focused. Normally at the start of the race I take a second to look around, and formulate a plan on where I want to go on the track. I don't know why but I didn't do that, and as the race started it showed. I got a bad start and went backwards from there. I got passed several times, and only on the last lap did I make one of those back. I was not focused and not confident. I finished something like 21st. The first time I finished behind where I started. What I learned from that race was that I need to take time to narrow my focus, and gather myself up before heading out for the warm up lap.

My second race was Race 9 650 Twins. By the start of race 8 I was in my leathers and sitting in my chair next to my bike just doing laps around the track in my head. Totally focused. We go out on the warm up lap and I feel much more aggressive. I leave early and get to my grid spot on the third row with only a handful of people gridded. This gives me some time to once again narrow my focus. I take note of where I am on the track, and where I want to go. The Formula II race is the first wave and it gives me a chance to watch the starter from my peripheral vision.

When the green flag flies for my race I get a great start and head up the hill with only a few people in front of me. I can't believe how far up front I am and I tell myself to hold a tight line through T2. Well I was so focused on my line I forgot to down shift and I had no drive exiting T2 and I lost a few positions. By the end of lap 1 I was in 10th place with a good chance of a Top 10 finish. On lap three the red flag comes out. Bummer. I go back to my pit, put the tire warmers back on, and sit back down next to my bike, drink some water, and try to maintain my focus. People keep trying to talk to me about the race but I know it's going to restart any minute so I just ignore them and keep focused.

I am totally focussed, and now energized at the possibility of a Top 10 finish. I'm the first one out for the warm up lap, and I'm riding aggressive. I'm the first person to the grid, and I take my spot, and I stay totally focused. This time I'm going to remember to down shift for T2.

The green flag flies, and I get an even better start, and as we head up the hill I'm in 7th. I down shift and stay on the gas. I give up a spot going into T3, and another going into T4, each by guys I know are capable of winning the race so I feel like I'm in rare company. By the end of lap 1 I'm in 9th place ready for a fight to defend my position. By the time we get to T7 the red flag is out race stopped again (more on that later) OK back to the pits and once again try to remain composed and focused. This is the biggest exercise in patience and focus I've ever had. I'm trying to keep my energy level up, but I'm feeling a little dejected like I've missed an opportunity. We go out for our 3rd warm up lap and I'm not riding as aggressively and I notice it. Focus I tell myself. I get to my grid spot, and I try once again to find that composure that I had in the previous race.

Green flag flies, and I don't get the rocket ship start from before but a solid start still. As we head up the hill one of the Twin Works bikes pinches me off the inside and we nearly collide. I have to stand it up to keep from hitting him as two of the leaders run off track having made contact going up the hill. I see them coming across the dirt heading for the track and I wonder if they are going to get stopped in time, and as a result I roll off the gas and a couple of people get by me. DAMN IT I think. OK as we go through 3 and 4 I stay with them and I think I can salvage a Top 10 finish if I can get in front of one or two of them. As we exit T6 onto the back straight I am hard on the gas setting them up for a late braking maneuver, and the face shield on my helmet comes loose. It sucks to be going 100mph with nothing covering your eyes. I try to push it back in place before I need to get on the brakes, and in doing so a few people get by me. I go through turns 7,8, and 8a, and as I head down the hill to T9 I try again to snap the shield back in place as a couple more people get by me. At this point I decide I'm a danger to not only myself but the people around me, and I put my hand up, and pull behind the tires in T9. I wait for the field to go by and I cruise into the pits. DNF

So it was a disappointing weekend. There where some high points. Jim Hoogerhyde won the Formula Singles race. Some of Jim's friends from the Cretin MC came up from LA to race their vintage bikes, and they where super cool guys to hang out with.

At the start of the year I was helping a guy I had met while doing track days get started racing. Last night he sent me a text message saying he was the reason for the red flag after the 2nd start. Reason for red flag Thanks Steve.
Oh well that's racing. We'll get 'em next time at Thunderhill.

As always Thanks to the people that help me go faster.
Jennifer at Werkstatt Motorcycle Repair
Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction
Dunlop, and Terry at Sport Tire Services
Paul Fine of Fine Design
Julio from Tommy's

AFM Round 2 at Sears Point

2008-05-17T10:49:00.000-07:00

Round 2 of the AFM season took place at one of my favorite tracks Infineon Raceway, forever known to me as Sears Point April 26-27th.

I went up to the track Friday night to get the pit area all set up, and Werkstatt friends Marie, and Cliff had ridden on Friday and saved me some space.

Saturday morning my first order of business was to get a new rear tire! We only get 4 practice sessions on Saturday so it's important to get up to speed quickly. I had been racing and riding a lot so I'm now comfortable on my bike, and it's time to start to really push to find time. My previous best time on my EX500 was a 1:54.7 which was an epic lap time for that wet noodled race bike. My goal for the weekend was to get into the 52's. I was struggling with my brakes fading after a few laps. It hadn't been bad at Willow because you don't use the brakes much but at Sears you use the brakes alot! After about 4 laps the brakes would fade, and I would need to pull the lever harder and harder to get any bite, and when they would bite, they would come on sudden. I kept trying to adjust the suspension to deal with this sudden and sharp brake hit, but that was the wrong solution. I had run off track in my last lap of several sessions not having enough braking power to get slowed down into T9, and that is not a good feeling. I spoke with many racing veterans about what could be causing this problem, but it was the guys at Galfer that really helped. It turns out that my EBC so called "kit" racing pads had warped after only 2 race weekends, and where having a small but constant drag which would cause the brake fluid to over heat, and thus fade. So even with my brake problems I was running consistant 54's, and best time of '53.7. Not too bad considering the brake problems.

Sunday morning practice was great. The new brake pads from Galfer, and my bead blasted rotors had done the trick. I rode the whole 20 minute session with no brake fade. I felt confident about my possibilities. I was starting 24th in both races based on my finishes in Buttonwillow, and I felt a top 20 was possible.

My first race of the day was race 6 650 Twins. I got a great launch, passed at least a row of bikes and drove up the hill into T2, but like my usual self I gave back more places than I took entering T2. I need to figure out why I suck so badly entering that turn at the start of the race. I settled in and started making passes as soon as we got to T4. I rode hard and clean and passed every bike I could see. The next bike being too far away to catch. I finished 16th with a best time of 1:53.3.

My 2nd race was number 11 Formula IV. It's hard to stay motivated that late in the day, and when the race started I did not have the same determination I did earlier. Once again I got a great launch, and gave it all back in T2. This time I had given up a slight gap to the group in front of me, and I lacked that motivation to go after them. I went around a lap or so with the gap staying the same. Then Alex Florea #49 had a moment going down the hill from 3A to T4, apparently suffering from a cramp. All the bikes behind him checked up, and now all of a sudden they where within reach and I had found my motivation. The next few laps would be some of my smartest racing yet. The wind was blowing hard, and as you approached T7 and I figured I could brake a little later since I wouldn't be going as fast, and the wind would help slow me down. That allowed me to get past a couple of people on each lap. Since there was a head wind going into 7 there was a tail wind going into 9, and I figured I needed to brake earlier. This also allowed me to make some passes, because I think the wind and extra speed spooked the other riders. These are examples of why have good reference points work. I was able to make adjustments mid race to braking points, and take advantage of people. I finished 19th with a best lap of 1:52.2.

That was a great weekend of racing with good results. I I finished top 20 in both my races, and hit my lap time goal of 52's. I look forward to going back to Sears May 24th, and improve even more. I think top 10's could be possible by the end of the season, and maybe even a sub 1:50!.

Thanks to the people that help me go faster.
Jennifer at Werkstatt Motorcycle Repair
Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction
Dunlop, and Terry at Sport Tire Services
Paul Fine of Fine Design
Julio from Tommy's

AHRMA at Willow Springs

2008-05-17T09:34:00.000-07:00

AHRMA stands for American Historical Motorcycle Roadracing Asscociation. AHRMA is a nation series for vintage motorcycle racing. They only have one west coast round, and it is held at Willow Springs in April on the 3rd, and 4th. Having raced at willow as recently as February I was excited to get back there, and pick up where I left off.

To attempt to save money I loaded my bikes, and most of my pit equipment onto the trailer, and I had my friend, and teammate Jim Hoogerhyde tow my trailer down. Getting to the hotel Thursday night turned out to be quite a chore. After we picked up Jim's current girlfriend, we made Jim's required stop at Farley's coffee shop and hit the road around 8pm. We finally made it to the hotel in Rosamond around 3am where Jim had a room shared with friends Jim Reagan and owner of Werkstatt Jennifer Bromme. You can read about her weekend here. Jen's blog. I slept on the floor, and it was a damn fine floor if I do say so. About 3 hours later we where up and ready to hit the track.

Friday after getting my registration all sorted out is a practice day. AHRMA is a series classic, vintage, or just old racing motorcycles, and if ever there was a place to see rolling history an AHRMA race is where to go. These bikes where not built to sit in a museum, and it's great to see something there is only a few of in the world out doing what they where meant to do: race. Since most vintage race bikes are single cylinder, or twin cylinder machines AHRMA has classes for modern bikes in a separate classes called Sound of Singles, and Battle of the Twins, or SOS, and BOTT respectively. Friday is a practice day, and Saturday and Sunday are race days so with only one day of practice I went out and tried to quickly get up to pace. I was riding on my older rear tire that was on the later half of it's life span. Tire management would turn out to be my Achilles heel. As I've stated before in previous posts willow is hard on tires, and my worn out practice tire didn't even last all day Friday. By midday the tire was completely shagged. On a side note I've used that term "shagged" to describe worn out tires before but I didn't really know where the term came from. Friday I knew. By midday the right side of the tire looked like a piece of 70's shag carpet. I switched to my 2nd rear wheel that had a tire with only 2 races on it, and I really wished I hadn't. Hind site is 20/20, and I would have been better off calling it an early day on Friday and saving that tire for the races. Friday was a lot of fun. I got play on the track with Jim, and there was gratuitous but pinching by all.

Saturday is a race day, but there where a couple of practice sessions in the morning, and again I would probably would have been better off skipping these. My first race was the middle weight class, or BOTT F2. I was racing up a class against larger displacement bikes. The grids for the modern bikes aren't very big compared to AFM standards, but what is? This would be my 4th race weekend of the year so I was comfortable with my bike now so when the green flag dropped I got a great launch and took the holeshot into T1. Holy shit I'm leading the race in F2!. As I tipped it into T2 I told myself to keep my head down, be smooth, ride my lines, and hit my marks. Don't worry about what's behind you if the faster bikes can catch you they will. I think I lead 3 laps before this bright orange Ducati blasts past me on the straight. I pulled right up on the back of him as we entered T2. I thought if I could get in front of him in the tight stuff I might be able to hold the lead on the final lap. As we approached T8 he definitely gapped me. As we approached the exit of T9 there where slower bikes in front of us. He easily passed a guy on a supermoto just before the apex of the turn, and I set up to go around the guy just past the apex, and that's where things went horribly wrong. The guy on the motard suddenly stood his bike up and ran wide right as I was about to make the pass. That left me with the choice of trying to get on the brakes to keep from running into the back of him, and standing it up and running off track. Neither of these choices is a great option at 100+mph. So I ran off track and I remember looking right at the wall on the outside of T9 thinking "how am I going to get stopped in time" Thinking that I was not going to make it I chose to try to enter the hot pit, and I easily made that happen. I looked up at the pit marshal, and he seemed to know exactly what I was thinking "now what do I do?" and he motioned for me to come on through. I dropped a gear and powered through the hot pit coming back on track in 4th place. I quickly disposed of one of the Buell's, and set out to catch the other one who had inherited 2nd place from me. As we entered T2 he ran wide, and I crept up the inside to take 2nd place. Either he didn't see me, or thought he could take the position back, at the exit of turn 2 my opponent came back onto the racing line at full speed and we came together at 100 mph. It made a loud crunching sound as fiberglass and metal became interlocked. For a brief moment we where locked together and looking at each other. Then he was gone. When the bikes became disengaged I was left in a terrible tank slapper, and off into the dirt I went again. I got back on track, and by the time I made it through T3 a red flag was out. My opponent had gone down and stayed down. That was the end of the race. I was credited with 3rd place.

My 2nd race was the BOTT F3 or lightweight, and I thought since I had finished so well in F2 I would easily win F3. Complacency is a killer. I got the holeshot easily and led much of the race, each lap getting slower and allowing the 2nd place guy to catch up. He made a clean pass on the last lap and I couldn't really do anything to get back by him. By this time the right side of my tire was shagged, and every time I tried to make time up on him I would slide the rear, and I thought it just wasn't worth throwing it away. My previous off track excursions took some of the wind out of my sails. I finished 2nd.

Sunday had me worried since the right side of my tire was so worn and we had 2 more races to do. I flipped the tire on the rim putting the worn side of the tire on the left side of the rim. When it was race time I definitely had better grip on the right side but now I nothing on the left, and even though there are only a few left turns they are all slower, but you need to drive hard on the exit, and each time I tried getting on the gas at the exit of those turns the tire would slide. I finished 3rd in BOTT F2 after inheriting a position when the orange Ducati crashed out of the lead. I had to race on BOTT F1 after a technical issue, and I only did a few laps in that race. I wasn't going to finish on the podium, and my tire was sliding at the exit of every corner, and I brought it in early figuring it just wasn't worth staying out there and being a danger to myself and everyone else.

It was a great racing weekend. We had several SFMC members, Harley, Miles, Jim, myself, and friends of the SFMC, Jennifer, and Johnny all racing. It was fun having soo many friends to hang out with.

A special thanks to Deb for making coffee, and breakfast, and being a great all around pit wench, and to my dad for hanging out and letting me use his truck.

A little note about that orange Ducati. I knew it was a pretty bike, but after the races where over someone explained to me that it was a NCR Ducati . A hand built custom rumored to cost $50,000.

AFM round 1 Buttonwillow

2008-03-29T19:11:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was the first race for the AFM season at the world famous Buttonwillow Raceway (just kidding).
One of the great things about coming to this track is that my Mom and Dad live only a couple of hours away.

With two races at other clubs under my belt my personal expectations where high. I traveled with one of my SFMC teammates Eric Schiller Thursday night. We stayed at the local hot spot, The Red Roof Inn. The accommodations where far from fancy but they suited our needs just fine, and give AFM racers a discount.

Friday morning we where up early to get everything set up. After the quick tech inspection we where out on track. I hadn't been to Buttonwillow in two years so I wanted Friday to be a mellow day of relearning the track and adapt more to the new bike. At this point the bike wasn't so new and scary. It did surprise me how fast things felt. BW has several very fast sections and I don't remember them being that fast. That makes perfect sense seeing how my old bike just didn't go very fast! On Friday I had anticipated purchasing a new front wheel for my bike from fellow AFMer Kim Nakashima. This was too be a very trick 16.5" wheel, normal is 17", made from forged aluminum weighing several pounds less than my current wheel. The smaller size is the ultra trick set up professional racers are using. By lunch I had found Kim, but the wheel wasn't there yet. Bummer, there's always tomorrow. On Friday I had a chance to chase around my old nemesis, not really, John Forman, and that was good for me as he showed me some lines that would prove useful later on. By hand timer I has best lap in the 2:05 range. Probably 7 seconds better than my fastest time on my 500.

Saturday morning: Our third teammate Jim Hoogerhyde, now joined us. On Friday afternoon my parents joined us with their 5th wheel camper trailer. We took a whole corner of the paddock and made one hell of a SFMC racing compound. Once again I tracked down Kim, and this time I got my sexy new wheel. Too bad it was for a different year than I thought and didn't center up on my forks. So I missed my first practice session, which is a bummer as Saturday practice only gets 4 sessions total. Even with the abbreviated day Saturday was good, and I ended the day in the 2:04's. I would have liked to be a couple of seconds quicker, but I was lacking confidence in a couple of places, like T2, T7, and T11.

Sunday race day: I put on a new rear tire just for the races. The first race would be Formula 650 Twins, also known as 650T. Since I had never raced this class before I was gridded in the last row. Something like 49th place! I knew it was going to be a long uphill battle with 48 other riders in front of me, but I was feeling good, and ready for game on!
2 Board drop the shield on the helmet, 1 board bring the rev's up to 7k, sideways, get ready , Green flag go! I got a solid launch and drove deep into the middle of the pack, but as we neared the first turn I backed off a little. You see I got taken out in a big way a few years ago by a guy who charged up the inside and couldn't make the turn, so I tip toed through 1, and then got on the gas after that. T2 wasn't much better so I went around the outside and passed several people. Charging down into T3 I gtt on the brakes a little early and #649 of Code-4 gets inside of me as we enter T3a. I'm here to do the passing not the other way around so I let off the brake early and carry a little extra speed and stay to his outside of T3a which gives me the inside line into T3b. I stay on the gas going up the little hill toward 3c, and 649 thinks he's going to try the same trick I just pulled on him. I don't think so as I get on the gas and drift wide forcing him to roll off to keep from running into me. Yeah sucks to be him, that's racing! I begin making my up through the field passing people every couple of turns. I don't know how many because I was always focused on the next rider. There where two more bikes left within catching distance. I can't tell you why but I sucked in Turn 11 leading up to the front straight. I was really good on the rest of the track but not so good on that part. The bad thing about that is the pursued rider would put a gap on me down the fast front straight, and I would close up on him around the back side, but lose it on the front. I had reeled this guy in, and I knew I was running out of time. I told myself I was getting around him no matter what. That is a dangerous attitude on a race track! I had pulled up within a couple of bike lengths of him on the front straight, and I knew if I could get him into Turn 1 I he would never get a chance to get back around me. The idea was simple really. Don't use the brakes until he does, then count to 1, and hit the brakes really really hard. hahahahaha. OK I see him grab a hold, I wait, and go for it. At this point I'm waaaay farther down the track than I had been used to so I pulled a little harder which puts the bike in a reverse wheelie or stoppie. Yes I go flying by him with my back wheel hovering a few inches off the ground. At this I have several things going on in my head. I need to start turning soon, I need to down shift 2 gears, I need to get the back wheel on the ground. In what I consider an amazing feet of mental control this is how it played out. While the rear wheel was still floating I down shifted twice, gently left off the brakes, and set the wheel down, as soon as it touched I started the turn, and a beat later I opened the throttle to accelerate out of the corner leaving my opponent high and dry. whew... All of that happened in less than 2 seconds time. It's amazing how slow things seem when it's the only thing in the world you are focused on. Next lap one bike to go. I suck right up on the back of him as we enter T1, and I know I'm going for the pass in T2. He takes a super tight line either by mistake or to defend against me. I know he won't be able to carry much speed as he exits so my plan is to enter late and carry extra speed through and pass him on the exit. Half way though T2 as I start to add gas BAM down he goes. Too tight of a line, too far leaned over too much throttle. The guy is now sliding directly into my path of travel. I stand the bike up attempting to not run him over which will end badly for both of us. I stay on the gas because I can tell if I get on the brakes I'm going to t-bone him. He makes contact with me head first sending me into a violent Tank Slapper as I head out into the dirt. The BW dirt is very soft and I know not to hit the front brakes so I go to step on the rear brake, and there's no lever. It's bent 180° backwards. That explains the violent shaking motion. The fallen rider hit the brake lever with his head. Ouch! I gain control of my bike, and tip toe back onto the track as I watch rider after rider go by. I limped my bike around the final lap just fast enough to not get passed again, and finished a disappointing 24th.

Up next was the Formula IV race. Even though I was gridded in a much better spot I still finished 24th. I had lost some of the fire after my "Soil Sampling" experience.
There was nothing memorable of super interesting that happened so enough said.

It was a great weekend none the less. Jim finished 1st in both of his races, Eric finished 3rd in 500T, and I went faster than ever before. As always I have to thank my Mom and Dad for coming out and supporting me and my friends with love and lunch! A special thanks to Jennifer from Werkstatt for her race support, and Dave Moss from Catalyst Reaction for helping me get my bike dialed in. Next up is AHRMA at Willow Springs!

Here is link to some lo res pics as I haven't bought the CD yet. 4 The Riders

Gygax is Dead, Long Live Gygax!

2008-03-05T22:28:00.000-08:00

Gary Gygax died yesterday

Most people will say "who?" That's OK. I played a lot when I was a pre-teen, but dropped it when I discovered girls in highschool. I picked it back up in college, and formed friendships that last today. I love fantasy fiction books, and I'll go see just about any fantasy movie, even if it's meant for kids. I can pretty safely say that comes from playing Gary's games. Later I played Magic the Gathering. I still have a stack of cards under my bed I break out when my friend Michael comes over.

This quote from John Kovalic over at Dane101.com really sums it up.

I saw shelves and shelves of roleplaying games like D&D, GURPS and Vampire, card games like Magic and Munchkin, miniatures games like Warhammer, just dozens and dozens - hundreds, in fact - of games, toys, dice, gamer comic books, gamer collectibles, you name it.

"You know," I said, to nobody in particular. "If it hadn't been for Gary and Dave (Arneson), none of this would probably be here."

Godspeed Mr Gygax, and thank you for the memories

The End Of An Era

2008-03-05T11:44:00.001-08:00

Last week I sold my EX500.

And with that the end of an era for me. It seems so long ago that my friend Craig talked me into racing. Yeah I had to be talked into it. Craig is a great persuader. The conversation went like this "Mickey. I could buy this racebike, and you could work on it all the time, or WE could buy this racebike, and you could work on it all the time"
If only we knew how true those words would later be.

My 500 taught me so much. As a rider, a mechanic, a bike builder, and more. I'm not really good at selling bikes, because I hold such a personal attachment to them. But it was time. I have grown from those early days when Craig and I didn't have a clue where the hot pits where, or even what a "hot pit" was.

Now look at me with my fancy new race bike, running in multiple racing series all over the state, helping other new racers build race bikes, and start their racing careers. How did I get here?

Yes it may be the end of an era, but it's the beginning of a whole new one.

Here's how it all started.

And this is what it looked like when it was time to move on.

The Fastest Road in the West (Revisited)

2008-03-05T10:36:00.000-08:00

Once again in an attempt to gain an advantage over my AFM racing competitors I traveled south to get some much needed familiarity with my new Kawasaki EX650. During the third weekend of February I went to Willow Springs International Raceway, WSIR to race with the Willow Springs Motorcycle Club. This is the 2nd time I've been to this track, as some may remember I went there a year ago to try out for California Superbike School, but this is my first time racing with WSMC, and of course the first time I've been here on the new 693.

Lucky for me my parents live an hour away from the track so after the long haul to get there, I have a nice comfortable base of operations. The track is an amazing place, and I'll do a brief description of a lap around the track. You start off coming down the main straight and clicking in 6th gear, and wind it all the way to the RPM redline before braking for T1, that's about 135mph on my EX650. At T1 you brake hard, go down one gear, and try to carry as much speed as possible as there's a little rise at the exit. Between 1 and 2 you hold the throttle wide open and redline 5th gear. At the entrance of two you roll off the throttle a little tip in, and add gas the whole way through 2. T2 goes on forever, and you have to continuously add gas or it will load up the front tire, and dump you. You come out of 2 and hit a short straight once again pinned at redline before T3. At T3 you grab a handful of brakes, down 1 gear, and turn left (one of only three lefts), and up the hill for T4 "the Omega" as that's what it's shaped like. You double apex at the top of the hill, and try to hold a tight line as you exit coming down the hill, and you need to be on the gas or it will again load up the front end. Drive down the hill with as much speed as you dare, because T5 is a down hill left. Get on the brakes as late as you dare (down hill), enter the turn late, and carry the speed out because again there's a rise at the exit. I click up a gear between T5, and T6. Turns 6 and 7 are hardly turns at all, you barely changed direction so they are more of a subtle chicane. Down the hill after 6 click up another gear into 6th, and hold the throttle pinned through 7 (not really a turn), and into T8. Turn 8 is where you separate the haves from the have-nots, the men from the boys if you will. You hold the throttle pinned entering T8, lean all the way over, but stick out your knee, that will have the wind trying to rip you off the bike. Because here you are 6th gear 9,000rpm, 130mph, leaned all the way over. There is very short piece of asphalt between what is considered the exit of T8, and, and the entrance of T9. Here you roll of the throttle drop a gear, and carry as speed as possible through T9 and onto the front straight.

I did a half day of practice on Friday, and saw my times get into the mid 1.40's. I knew if I was to have any chance of racing I needed to get into the mid 30's. A daunting task. Saturday a guy named Eric Angel, pitted with me. He loaned my his transponder for the WERA race, and was now giving me tips on how to get around willow.

Eric's help is immeasurable. Without his guidance I would have been lost. I did 7 practice sessions, and my rear tire was toast!. I couldn't believe it. This was only the third track day on the rear, and it was a shredded sad pile of smoking rubber. The speed of T8 just destroys rear tires. By the end of the day on Saturday I had got down to the 1.37's. Good but I needed another 2-3 seconds to run with the pack. Where the hell was that going to come from? I knew exactly where. At this point I was still a boy, and rolling off the throttle going into T8 losing precious ticks of the clock doing so. I knew I had to find the courage to hold it open.
Sunday came around and a new rear tire is on, and I do two practice sessions that morning, again in the 37's.

I gridded up for the first race, and I knew if I could stay with the group I could find the courage to hang with them. The flag drops, and I got a great launch, unfortunately the guy in front of me did not, and I had to roll off the throttle to keep form hitting him, and that was pretty much the end of that race right there. I went into T1 about 2 bike lengths behind the front pack, and lost touch. By the time we got to T8 they where 8 bike leghts in front of me, and I didn't have what I needed to stay with them. I rode around for 6 laps by myself. Too slow for the front group, to fast for the back group. I finished 8th out of 14.

Race 2. This time I could feel it. I didn't care if I had to knock someone down. I was going to stay with that front group at the start no matter what.
That is the racing attitude I hadn't felt yet this year. Red Mist.
the flag drops, and off we go. I hold a tight line through 1 and come out 4th in the 2nd pack of riders, which would put in in 9th overall. This would turn out to be a great race. The 4 of us enter T8 nose to tail in a line, and I told myself out loud in my helmet "if they can you can" and I hold that damn throttle wide open all the way through, T8 and we come out on the straight 4 in line nose to tail. OK game on. i make a move on the brakes into T1, and get a position, but the guy goes right back past me exiting 1. We come around 4 8 again, I hold the throttle open again, and I realize that I close up on the exit of 8. They are rolling off mid turn! We come down the front straight again, and the guy two bikes in front of me runs off track at the exit of 1, but to his credit he stays on gas, through the dirt he's on the gas, and come back on track between 1, and 2. This mixes the 4 of us up, and I get two guys going into 2. One of them gets me back at the exit, and now I'm 3rd in the group of 4. Nothing really happens between 3-8. Sure we show each other a wheel, but always back off. T8 again. I hold it wide open, and go underneath one of the guys in front of me, yeah baby I just passed someone mid turn in T8. Unfortunately that spooked me and I rolled off too soon, and he got it back down the straight. We hammer at each other for 6 laps. On the last lap heading down the hill from T7 I'm once again 4th in the group. So I use my head. I back off just a little, and give them some room. I now know that I can carry more speed through 8-9 then these guys so rather than riding right on their tail. I give them 3 or so bike lengths going into T8, and I hold it open gaining on them as we apex 8, we come out of T9, and I slingshot right past two of them onto the front straight, and up a gear and on the gas I almost got the third at the start finish.

What a great race. I finished 7th over all, but in my book I finished 2nd, in what was a hard fought, smart race where I finally stopped being a boy. I was really proud. Not only had I overcome my fear of going fast through T8, but I had found it as a new strength that I could exploit over my competitors. That last lap of the 2nd race was my fastest lap of the weekend. 1.34.2
Later in pits I found those guys, and we all agreed it was one of the most fun races any of us had ever rode.

A special thanks to Dave Moss, Jennifer at Werkstatt, Slim Jim, Dunlop, and my mom, and dad.

Look out AFM here I come.

The New 693

2008-01-12T12:12:00.000-08:00

I'm here at California Speedway sitting on my ass (story later) so I thought I'd post some pictures of the newly painted bike.
So with out further ado the new 693.
:)

New Race Bike

2007-12-28T13:51:00.001-08:00

My racing efforts in 2007 had some highs and lows. In two of the races I finished I placed on the podium. The problem was I didn't finish many races. In fact I think my start to finish ratio was less than 50%. Why? Almost always engine overheating. I tried and tried, and tried to get it worked out, and in the last race weekend of the year I finally got it all sorted. But with that I just wasn't sure if I wanted to keep going.

The 2007 season had started pretty positive (scroll down through the blog, and you'll see). So with 2007 coming to an end I was trying to make sense out of this racing thing. I was really considering giving it up all together. I was tired of riding the 500. I had put as much money into it as I could stand, and still I was not going to win any races. Even though my bike is highly modified it is still based on a 20 year old design, and there are newer bikes in the class that no matter how well I rode I was not going to overcome. So a new thought entered my head. Why not buy a new race bike? I didn't think much of it at first because a modern race bike that was remotely competitive would be in the $6k range, and that was not an option. But then I worked my ass off (see post about Oracle). In fact all I did for three months straight was work, and at the end of all that a new race bike wasn't out of the question anymore. So I started looking at Suzuki SV650's. They could be found fully race prepped with competitive modifications, like a front end swap, engine mods which would include carb's (if first gen bike) cam's, exhaust ect... I hadn't found the perfect bike for the right price until one day I was trolling through a thread on barf, http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/, about a trackday I was looking at attending. I had posted a comment about how I was thinking about getting a new bike, and a well known bike builder named Zoran, http://www.twinworksfactory.com/, let me know that their Kawasaki 650 was for sale. With a couple of days some e-mails where exchanged, and the new bike was mine. I picked it up Thanksgiving weekend at a trackday at Thunderhill. Below is the bike as it was delivered to me that day.

It's difficult to explain how great it is to ride this bike. My old race bike was never easy to ride. The great thing is I didn't know any better. My 500 had an old style square steel tubed frame that even though it was braced flexed like a wet noodle in high speed turns. This made it challenging to get the bike to change directions at high speeds. It took a lot of strength to wrestle the bike over. The new bike is not like that at all. It goes where you point it, with minimal effort, uses modern, suspension, brakes, and fueling.

The bike: A 2006 Kawasaki EX650. It is a 20 year newer version of my old race bike. It uses a 650cc parallel twin cylinder 4-stroke motor. Fed by fuel injection (my first FI bike), and with after market cams, and a modification to the air box it makes just under 80hp. The front end is off a 2005 Kawasaki Ninja 636, as is the rear wheel. It was bought new in 2006, and immediately turned into a race bike. One of the main benefits of buying a new bike is that it doesn't need much. The suspension is going to get redone to my weight, and the body work has been dropped off at the painters to get it's customary blue. While riding at Sears Pt on Saturday I noticed a little clutch slippage in 5th gear so I think I will put a new set of friction plates in before my first race. Other than that it's change the oil, add gas go race!

Acquiring this bike has opened new doors. I alway wanted to race with other organizations, but my 500 would usually be in the same classes as the 650's and thus being no where near competitive. Now that I have a 650 it's time to put it out there. So with that I hope to race with WERA in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Utah as well as AHRMA at Willow Springs, and my regular AFM here in Northern CA. My first race is in January at California Speedway. That's not even three weeks from now. Yee Ha!

Oracle 07

2007-11-29T18:16:00.000-08:00

Oracle has come and gone.
What an ass kicking. Yet another mega show, but this one has a special element. We build the main tent in the middle of one of the busiest street in SF. Howard Street. Right between the the two main buildings of the Moscone Convention center.
The Oracle Howard Street project is not so much about beautiful, cool, or even extravagant lighting. It's really an exercise in logistics. How do you build a tent in the middle of the street, get the lights up, the carpet down, and the tables set ready to open in 3 days? Very carefully.

One of the most difficult aspects is just getting gear into the venue. There is no loading zone. We had the meters on 3rd street bagged, but between 4pm-6pm that lane is open to traffic. So we had windows that we could load and unload trucks.
Like I said it's tough. Add in the the rain, on the 2nd day, the long days, and short nights, and it adds up to a tough week.

Did I mention the other big tent in the garden?

Oh and the tents on the terrace?

I don't even have pictures of all the tents like on the upper deck of the Metreon or outside of Moscone West.

It takes a really tight team of people. Producers, technical directors, tent designers, even down to the person who manages getting the trash collected and into the correct recycling bins. This group spends 17 hours a day together during the week, and really come together to pull it all off. It's an amazing display of teamwork.

I know one thing for sure. We have less than 300 days until load in of Oracle 08

AFM Round 5

2007-08-28T17:26:00.000-07:00

I raced last weekend. I really thought I was going to take home a trophy, and I almost did. Here's a brief race write up of the 500 Twins race.
I gridded up in 5th just behind class leader John Forman. I thought I might really have something for him this weekend. Two board, and my visor clicks into place. 1 board, and I put the bike in gear. The one board goes sidewaaaaays! Green flag and we're off!
I got a great start but for some reason turned chicken as we powered through T1, and 3 guys came around me. I was mad at myself so I stayed on the gas through T2, and ran it up the inside, cutting off my friend, and teammate Eric. That put me in 4th with the "Lenny" in front of me. I was right behind Lenny through turns 4, and 5, and was pulling around him through 6. His bike has some serious motor work so he pulled a little gap on me in the short straight into 7. I knew I had him though because he didn't pull enough of a gap, and as I got on the brakes much later, and harder than him I went right by him into 7.
That's how it would be for the next 6 laps. I'd keep him behind me for most of the track, and then he'd gain on me between 6, and 7, and lose it all on the brakes. A couple times I saw him try to show me a wheel, and I'd move over a little, and get on the brakes blocking him.
I really had it until the last lap. That's when my bike overheated. Bummer....
My bike started running rough, and I knew from the droplets on my face shield what was happening. "come on baby one more lap, just hold it together" I was yelling in my helmet. But it was not to be. Into T6 "The Carousel" my engine started to sputter, and he got around me going into 7. I got on the brakes really really late, and literally pushed him wide. I had regained the position for a brief moment for when I twisted the throttle my engine died.
ugh
I coasted for a few minutes, and considered pulling off the track, but instead I tried to start it, and indeed the bike fired up, and I limped it home running on one cylinder for a 4th place.

I think I know what's up, and I will make some changes this week. I've got another race in two weekends so hopefully this time we'll bring it home.

Make it RED!

2007-08-28T16:39:00.000-07:00

When Virgin America finally got the OK to start flying their new airline out of San Francisco airport they wanted to make a local statement. Something non traditional to let everyone know they where here. So when they contacted the mayors office of SF they where told in no uncertain words that if they wanted to do this they'd have to work with Hartmann Studios, and in turn Impact Lighting. So I got the call to make San Francisco Red.
OK what exactly did they mean? Well threw out some pretty wild ideas: Golden Gate Bridge, Trans America building, City Hall, Coit Tower. I thought "yeah right" everyone wants to talk big. Well it turned out they didn't just talk. So we settled on 5 civic structures. SF City Hall, The Opera House, the Veterans Building, the monument in Union Sq, Coit Tower, and The Ferry Building. Oh, and as a bonus they didn't want to disturb the daily activities around these buildings so could the lights go away each night?
Um Yeah, sure. ..?
So how does one light up 5 major civic structures for 5 nights in a row and not have any lights visible during the day? The answer: Trucks
The main focus was City Hall, and the Ferry building. We would prebuild a lighting rig on a flat bed truck and drive it into place each night. Rather than making this a case study of how I did this for each building I'll just show some cool pictures, and those of you that are lighting nerds, can post questions.

I used a variety of equipment Source 4 pars, Varilites, Mac 2k washes, and Xenotech 7k's.

The trucks where all prebuilt in the impact shop, and driven to the two locations each night. Can you imagine a parade of 8 trucks packed with movers heading down the freeway? I watched them cross the Bay Bridge and I couldn't help but laugh.

First up is Coit Tower which was not done with trucks, but with pars mounted on the roof of the lower museum. It was the only place that we didn't have to take the lights down each night.

Next is City Hall

I seem to have exceeded my photo limit.
I'll put some more pictures up at later.

The Allstar Game

2007-07-28T20:27:00.000-07:00

San Francisco hosted the MLB Allstar game earlier this month. I was the lighting designer and project manager. I got back from Italy on July first around 8pm, and I was on site at 9am the following morning. It was not easy going from the super chill Tuscan lifestyle right back into "the pace" but I didn't really have much choice.

I have to say that if one is going to have to go right back to work this was as good
as it could be. A rare sunny warm week by the bay. The project was massive. I had I had 6 other Impact project managers working on it each paired up with a union head electrician, and I designed, and oversaw the whole thing.

The tents started being built on June 22 (the day I left for Italy) and the first day

of lighting installation was July 1st. The first of the two events was July 9th. We took one day off for the 4th so it was 8 days of install for a 3 hour party. Yee Haw!
The end product was definitely one for the picture books.
I've posted a few of the pics from my camera. I want to get some others.

In other news I plan on racing mid August. Unfortunately I've got another monster event to deal with first. Virgin America "Paint the town Red" Can you believe I have to light 5 SF civic buildings in red for 5 nights. Not an easy task.

Italian Adventures

2007-07-07T10:55:00.000-07:00

I recently got back from a trip to Italy.
It was great. I got to join Sophia's family for a reunion abroad. The combined extended family made up 42 people. We rented 4 farm houses on a converted 15/16th century abbey in the Tuscan country side.
http://www.abbaziadispineto.com/
It's difficult to put into words all the fun that was had.
We flew out of SF, through Frankfurt landing in Florence. We spent a night there before heading down to the abbey on Saturday June 23rd (yes I spent my birthday in Italy).
Saturday morning we (Sophia and myself) picked a KTM 640 Adventure from a company called Stradanova. They where a cool group of people real enthusiats, but a little less than organized. It's good to see that motorcycle people are the same all around the world!

Once at the abbey the week was mostly spent doing very little. A day trip here and there, lots of cooking, but mostly lounging.

Everyday there was at least a little riding. Some days the riding was more. The roads on the abbey property are all dirt, and there where some really fun and challening "tracks" as well. Around the abbey is the heart of Tuscany, specifically a national preserve called The Val d'Orcia http://www.nautilus-mp.com/tuscany/presentazione/valdorcia/indexing.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Val_d'Orcia
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1026
It made for some of the most breathtaking motorcycling ever. I spent a lot of time twisting my way through this amazing landscape. Some days I would go for a ride in the morning, then come back to the abbey, pick up a passenger, like Sophia's brother Steven, or sister Eva and head right back out. Many of the roads I explored where groomed dirt roads that would past ancient farm houses.
Amazing stuff.

It was a great trip, and I had a lot of fun being there. I honestly wasn't ready to come home.

Race 2

2007-05-28T13:18:00.000-07:00

Full race report coming soon. Here are some pics in the short term.

The First Race

2007-05-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

I haven't done much of a write up of my first race weekend. I guess maybe I just didn't want to talk about it.

I did really well in my first two races of the day on Sunday. Both of them where classes my bike isn't competitive in, but they where fun, and I diced with many other riders.

For 500 Twins, my main class, I got a fairly poor start, and went through T1 in 6th of something. I picked off a couple of bikes in T2, a couple more including my racing partner Eric in T4 and that left me in Third place. We went through turns 5-8 and I was gaining on the 2nd place guy. Coming into turn 9 I closed the gap in a hurry. I'm really good on the brakes. I knew for sure I could get him into T11, and take 2nd place. However exiting T9 my bike started running on 1 cylinder (it's a twin) and I looked down and I could see that it had over heated. So before I got to T11 I pulled off the track totally dejected. There went my first AFM trophy.

So we loaded up the bikes, and went to Tommy's to drown our sorrows in tequila.

Racing season starts this weekend

2007-04-23T21:15:00.000-07:00

My first race of the year is this weekend, and amazingly I'm almost ready for it.
I wanted to keep this post short as I'll do a much longer race write up, but I wanted to get some pictures of the bike out there.

Easter Sunday

2007-04-08T08:41:00.000-07:00

Today is Easter Sunday, and in the bay area that means the Mt Tam Easter Sunrise Ride. This has to be my favorite ride of the year. The ride started years ago as a vintage group but has grown to all motorcycles, and is now a bay area tradition where people would ride to the top of Mt Tamalpais to watch the sun rise . People gather up at Tam Junction which is where Hwy 1 splits off from Mill Valley, and heads up the mountain. The SFMC folks gathered at the club house at 4am, and left just after 4:30am, and we arrived at Tam Junction just before 5am.

There must have been 300 bikes at Tam Junction. We chatted with folks, and kick tires for a few minutes before beginning our ascent. Riding up Mt Tam is a wonderful challenging ride in the daylight, at night it can be treacherous. The ride is tight, twisty, often covered with leaves, or dirt, and everything is damp from the famous bay area fog. So with that said it's every bit of a race to the top of the hill. The first group to leave are usually the fast guys on supermoto's that don't want to get caught in the in the main pack. Riding fast at night is a whole new test. You want to go as fast as you can to keep the guy on your tail at a distance, but you need to leave enough room for error to correct when you think the road turns right, but actually goes left. It happens it's dark.

So when the first group left I wasn't quite ready and I knew I had my work cut out to weave my way through them. It turned to be pretty easy. Once I got past that group I hooked up with rich from "The Wreckin Crew" a local club, and we quickly put some distance between us. Rich was on this ratty old BMW that he's owned for years. He really shouldn't be that fast on this beat up old bike, but the extra headlight he mounted was useful.

A short while later Allen Zino passed us riding us KTM Adventure. It made me laugh because he passed us with all this bravado like we where so slow. Let me tell you it's not easy leading in the dark. When you're following someone you have their tail light to follow, and you can use their headlight to see further. When you're in the lead there's nothing to see except what your headlight is doing, and with the dark, and fog it isn't much. so Allen blasts by us, all elbows out tough guy looking, then immediately slows down. Yup I thought so. The three of us motored away and where the first ones to the parking lot on the top. Not bad. One CCM supermoto, one KTM adventure, and haggard old BMW. That does a pretty good job of summing up the kinds of riders here in the bay area. The poser sport bike crowd won't be out of bed by the time I get done writing this.

Once at the top most people with either walk up to the look out tower, which is a treacherous hike to itself, or the end of the foot path. Either one offers stunning views of the bay area.

Like I said before I love this ride. Only the most dedicated of riders are willing to get out of bed when at 3am to ride their bikes up a twisty mountain road at night. Most of these people are skilled riders representing all walks of life, and styles of riding. It's great to see how motorcycles can bring together such a diverse group of people.

Last years ride was brutal as it was pouring rain. Still about 100 die hard folks showed up, and rode that twisty mountain road at night in the pouring rain. It was damn fun!
For more info about Mt Tamalpais check out: http://www.mttam.net/

Health Care in Vegas

2007-03-27T18:29:00.000-07:00

I just got back from doing an event in the fabulous town of Las Vegas. The event was a a presidential forum on health care. Both parties where invited, but only the 7 Democratic front runners accepted the invitation.
It may not sound exciting, but if you think that one of those 7 people is going to be the next US president it actually was. One thing about it that was really cool is that I hired my of one old college buddies (from Junior college mind you) to be my head electrician. Below is a picture of Vince hard at it.

The event was televised, and web cast so it was mainly about TV style lighting. I've become much better at it, but I still need to develop in that area. considering I've had no training other than trial and error I think I'm doing pretty good. The venue was the Cox Pavilion adjacent to The Thomas, and Mack Arena on the UNLV campus. Below is the rig starting to come together.

We had a really tight load in as there was only one day for install, focus, and rehearsal. The morning went well. I'd flown in the day before, so I was well rested, and ready for what ever might pop up. We used union labor for most of our installers. That's IATSE Local 720, but the venue provided the riggers, and they where not very good, and as such the install didn't go as rapidly as I'd have liked. Actually all the departments, lighting, video, audio, and scenic where behind so at least I wasn't holding anyone else up. Below the rig is finally up off the ground.

We ended our day at 11:30pm which was at least an hour, and a half later than hoped, and I hadn't really accomplished much as far as programming goes, but the rig was up, focused, and ready for the show. Below is what it looked like when it was too late to think anymore.

I got to the venue extra early, like 7am, to finish up some programming, because I just wasn't satisfied with where I had left it, and the press was being let in at 8:30am. I had noticed a small dark spot downstage center, and there wasn't anything I could do about it, as the light hitting that area was directly over a seating area that had already been occupied by some early press arrivals. I told myself it would be fine, but I should have forced the point, and made them move to get the scissor lift out as Hillary Clinton decided to park herself squarely in that dark spot. Lesson learned.

John Edwards, there where more people taking pictures of his wife than him.

Obama

Hillary

I have more pictures, but they all start to look the same, just different candidates. It was an interesting event to be apart of. There was definitely an air of excitement from everyone involved. I like doing gigs like this. Thye have much more meaning than just making a party look good. Later that evening instead of partying it up with my old college chum, I'm old, I crashed out in my hotel room, and I watched the event on the local news. It looked pretty damn good I thought.

Rumble Fish

2007-03-20T20:58:00.000-07:00

I don't like fish. I don't know why really. Perhaps it was the fish sticks growing up.
I keep trying it, and I keep not liking it. I think it's the "fishy" taste. So why the hell do I like sushi so much? I know that doesn't make any sense at all. It's true though. And when the sushi is good it's really good. In other cuisines the difference between good, and OK can be subtle. Good Italian is fabulous, but so-so Italian is not bad. It's so not that way with sushi. Anything other than really good sushi is awful, and when it's good. It's really really good.

This little sushi joint opened up near my house, awhile ago. I walked by it for months, without going in. It had been a sushi restaurant before, but it changed hands, and was renovated. It looked modern, and fancy inside, and I thought it didn't fit in the outer Richmond sleepy neighborhood so I didn't really pay it any mind. There are many good sushi places out here. I don't know why there is such a concentration of good sushi joints. People come from all over the bay area to eat in this neighborhood. I don't know where they park when they come here, but come they do. I don't remember what motivated me to first go in, but I thought it was pretty decent the first time around. I've now been back several times, and each time I walk away thinking "I can't believe I live this close to great sushi" This place could bankrupt me.

What is it that makes a great sushi joint. Simply put: fish. You can make a place look great with fancy art work, and pretty decor. You can make a place stand out with themed settings, and sassy waitresses, but in the end if the fish isn't fresh the place isn't any good. So When I say Rumble Fish is a great sushi joint it's because first off the fish is fresh. The first couple of time I went there I wondered how could this little neighborhood joint get access to such fresh fish. In case one didn't know there is a whole world of politics when it comes to getting access to the highest level of fish. You see fish is graded when it comes off the boat. There actually a group of people that touch and smell every fish, and give them a rating. The higher the rating the more expensive, but there usually aren't very many in the highest level. So who gets to buy those highest rated fish? That's where the politics come in. If I wanted to open a sushi restaurant, and I went to the fish market not know anybody I'd be lucky to buy fish that was worthy of BBQ. So how was it that this start up no name restaurant was serving delicious fresh fish? Last week when I was at Rumble Fish I met a lady that gave me the dish. The new owner had worked, and trained at Ebisu, and that restaurant is like the sushi training grounds for the bay area. So that explained the fish.

Beyond the freshness is the style. I'm told it's very Japanese style but
California cuisine. The chef uses minimal rice, and large portions of fish, unlike other restaurants where the opposite is true. Everything is very delicate and lite.

At first I didn't want to go there because there wasn't anybody in there, but now I know the food is so good it doesn't matter if I'm the only person. Besides I'm starting to like listening to old 50's rock and roll while eating sushi. You see the chef plays these oldies tunes while making the sushi, and the music spills out of the kitchen into the dinning area. You can see his reflection in the window rocking out to oldies. It's fun.

Another Fine Day

2007-03-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

On Monday March 19th I spent the day circulating Thunderhill Raceway (http://www.thunderhill.com/) flogging my little EX500.

In typical format I was up at 4am, the truck having been loaded the night before, then over to my friend Craig's to pick him up, and the bikes, which where loaded onto his trailer the night before, and off we went. It's a 2 1/2 hour drive, but it goes by quickly as we catch up on each others stories.

Once there we where set up quickly, and after a short riders meeting we where out on track.

It was a great day of riding for me. The early sessions I spent reacquainting myself with T-hill as I had not been there in many months. I was stiff, and for some reason not super confident. So I took it slowly, and built up speed as the day went on.
I had some suspension issues in the first session. I had left the settings as what Phil from Aftershocks had preset them at, and it wasn't working. Under braking I could feel the front tire push, and when I checked I could see that I wasn't using all the travel in my forks. I checked my notes from last season, and made some adjustments, and that helped.

The time spent down at Willow Springs definitely changed by perspective of what is fast. I used to think T-hill was, and there are fast parts, but it's not the same. So when I got my confidence up I really started attacking corners that used to spook me.
I know for sure I was going through turns 1, 2, 8, 9, and 10 faster than I had before.

One fun aspect of the day was working with my friend Craig.

I went out in 3 or 4 of his sessions and we worked on things for him. It was fun. I would lead for a couple of laps showing lines through turns, and body positioning, then I would follow him, and see what he picked up. By the end of the day he had really picked up the pace. I think I rode in something like 11 or 12 sessions. I did 7 A group sessions, and I think 3 or 4 B group sessions with Craig. I am sore today!
But my fitness training is really paying off. I didn't get fatigued at the end of the day, but I need to work on my mental fitness so I can stay totally focused for 6 laps. Baby steps

It's a long day getting up that early, driving 2 1/2 hours, riding all day, then driving the 2 1/2 hours back, and then unpacking, but damn is it good fun!

The Fastest Road in The West

2007-03-18T16:57:00.000-07:00

3 Mondays ago I strapped by trusty EX500 onto my beat up Pathfinder and went down to Willow Springs International Raceway, dubbed "the fastest road in the west" I can say one thing for sure, they ain't kidding!

I started off by driving down to my parents house on Sunday. For some reason I was in a hurry, and bombing down I5 at 85mph with my bike on the back. That was not good on the gas mileage, and I think I was getting something extra awful like 13mpg. My trip home I kept it under 75mph, and I got a better 16mpg. When you're traveling 400 miles 3 mpg can really add up. I hung out with mom and dad, and that was cool. Considering that they only live 8 hours away I don't see them very often. When I got to Bear Valley Springs there was snow on the ground. By the time I got up to their house at 6000' there was at least a foot of snow. It was a little hairy getting up, and down their driveway with my bike wagging on the back, but made it none the less.

I got up at 5am on Monday morning, and followed my dad down the mountain. I got to the track just before 7am, and the gates where closed. I was a bit shocked. Up here in NorCal the tracks usually open the gates at 6:30am, and bikes on track by 8:30am.
I would find this to be a theme for the rest of the day. I don't know if it's best to call the atmosphere laid back, or unprofessional, but the guys I normally ride with are a lot more polished.

I rolled out onto the track around 9am. WSIR, also called the big track as they have several different tracks at the facility, is 2.25 miles long with only 9 turns, and two of those are actually one really long turn. It is really amazing how long you go really fast. Turns 1,2, and 6 are taken in 5th gear, and Turns 8and 9 are taken in 6th gear. Turn 9 exits onto the front straight. With the way my bike is geared 5th is something like 90-100mph, and 6th tops out at 120mph. I'm not kidding. I was taking turn 8 with 6th gear topped, and bending it in, nothing flicks at 120mph, getting all the way over on the side of the tire, and staying there for what seemed like ever. I even bounced my knee off the ground a couple of times. Over the course of a lap I would down shift only twice, and up shift three times. That's a really long time to be holding the throttle wide flat open. It's so different for me. At Sears Pt I down shift at almost the entrance of every turn, and up shift at the exit of every turn. It's something like 24 shift movements per lap, and at willow it was 6.

In my second session I had a bit of an altercation with another rider. He'd come across my front wheel on the brakes, and I almost ran into the back of him. I hate it when riders on big horse power bikes pass me, then park it in the turn. I went and found him in the pits and we had a "discussion". It ended with the track promoter separating us. We shook hands and essentially said stay out of my way. One thing that had come up was I said it was my first time at the track, and I was still learning, and he'd said I didn't belong in the A group. In my 5th session of the day I passed him on the outside of T2, and he passed me back on the front straight. When I went around him again in 2, I made sure to keep up the pace all the way through the rest of the lap to try to gap him enough so he couldn't motor me on the straight, he didn't. After that session he found me in the pits, and said to me, "I guess you learned the track" with a big smile.

It was a great day of riding. Of course I had gone down there to do my evaluation for the California Superbike School. I didn't get in. I didn't know the curriculum well enough. Oh well. They said if I took a couple of their schools I could make a good instructor as I ride really well. We'll see. It was a long drive back, but nice watching the sunset over the mountains.

Tomorrow I'm headed off to Thunderhill Raceway where I used to think Turns 7, and 8 where fast. I curious to see how that plays out. I've been going to the gym pretty often, and I saw my personal trainer again yesterday. I think I'm making some good progress, and tomorrows bike flogging will let me know for sure.

Super Moto Madness!

2007-02-20T10:57:00.000-08:00

I did some serious supermoto riding over the last couple of days. For those of you not familiar with this check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermoto.

On Sunday there was a large gathering of supermoto's at Alice's, a frequent motorcycle destination in the Santa Cruz Mts. People where starting at designated meeting points, and riding to Alice's together. I hosted the SF meeting at Farley's coffee house in Potrero Hill. The number of bikes that showed up at Alice's was impressive. When I first got my supermoto bike in March of 2002 it was unique and got a lot of attention, but times have changed. There must have been 50 bikes on Sunday representing most of the manufacturers. In the city I had met up with a guy name Carl, and when we saw the large group we decided it best to cut out early, and go riding as riding with a large group can have disastrous results. We had a great time riping around the hills. Carl is a very skilled rider, and he's better in some places than me, and I better than him in others. So it was a lot of back and forth with nothing stupid happening just hard riding. We met up with another group that had broken away and, I was a little leery. To bad my suspicions turned out to be true. The group decided to stop on a long straight and practice wheelies. I pulled over, and mentioned to Carl that this was not a good idea. It took 5 minutes for someone to crash, and crash big time. When we got to the guy he was pretty beat up, and had a dislocated finger. I give the guy credit as he was tough. He had somebody hold on to his finger, and yank it back into place. Then he rode back up to Alice's. Not to bright but tough. Carl and I decided to ditch this group, and went back to thrashing about the mountains. By the time I got home I was exhausted. I felt like I had been at the track all day.

On Monday my friend Craig called me and asked If I wanted to go ride supermotos at the track. I was a little hesitant, but he had both his bikes prepped, and on the trailer. How can I pass that up? I went home, and threw my riding gear into my Pathfinder, and went over to Craig's. Since he was providing the bikes I offered to tow the trailer. A supermoto track day is very different from a sport bike track day. The track is a go-kart track which is small, tight, and twisty. It only costs $20, and the track stays open 'til 8pm. I started the day by riding his Honda CRF150. A little bike meant for as a transition bike for large kids or small adults. It doesn't make much in the way of horsepower but the brakes are good, and it's fun to ride. Craig was riding his new to him Kawasaki KLX300 which is a full sized bike, but still smaller than most other supermotos. For example by CCM is 600cc's and weighs 350lbs, where as the KLX is 300cc's, and weighs around 260lbs. By my third session I was turning laps faster than Craig had on this little bike, and I think that was frustrating for him, as I had not been on that track since 2003, and I had never ridden this bike before. We switched, and I got to ride the KLX, and I immediately got into the groove. The larger bike fit me better, and the extra power made it more challenging. Withing a couple of laps I was cutting times way faster than I did on the little CRF. We switched back, and I went out and seriously thrashed that little bike. I just kept going around and around. Eventually it got dark and they turned the lights on. It's so much fun to ride fast at night! I kept riding, and found myself alone on the track. Most everyone else had left already. Ultimately the organizers declared the track open to anyone as it's normally broken into session base on the size of bike, so Craig came and joined my on the track. He chased me for awhile but he couldn't close the gap. I really rode the snot out of that little bike. I must have rode for an hour continuously. I guess that gym training is paying off.

It's been three years since I was the Stockton kart track. I am a completely different rider. I have three years of road racing under my belt with thousands of miles, and hundreds of hours throwing a bike around at race speed. I was really nervous about going to Stockton. Those fears where melted away by lap two as I learned the lines, and started pushing harder. That's the real difference. I have such a better concept of what it takes to go fast, and what if feels like when a motorcycle is at it's limit. I almost crashed several times, but I was always able to recover, having found a new limit I set out to change something to as not to crash again, but never slowing down. It was damn fun.

Careful What You Ask For

2007-02-15T18:13:00.000-08:00

So I've been frustrated with work recently as the projects I'm working on aren't very challenging, and all the new large scale events are going to the other designers. I've got plenty to do, but nothing new and exciting. Although I did a themed party recently that was super cool looking, but it rained all over us as we set it up so that sort of took some of the joy out of it. Today I get a phone call to do a health forum. Apparently this is a national discussion on health care in the US. It will feature many of the democratic presidential hopefuls of 2008. The venue is an arena in Las Vegas, and it will be surely televised as well as web cast. OK now we're talking something I can sink my teeth into (oh that's another post for later). When is this fantastic show I get to work on? March 24th the same day as the first AFM race of the year. I bummed. I'm trying so hard to get ready for racing season, and now I'm going to miss the first race. Anyway it's a good show, and I'll be glad I'm doing it, but missing that first race will take some of the joy away.

Grammy awards - what where they thinking?

2007-02-12T11:50:00.000-08:00

I watched the Grammy Awards last night. What where they thinking? I like watching award shows as they are usually have big production, and the latest in new production technology. The Grammy awards are usually the grand dame of awards shows. Big lighting and video rigs to match all the big name entertainment. But this year to put it plainly sucked. How the producers managed to make every song sound the same is amazing. The lighting was awful. Every act looked exactly the same. Keyed from a follow spot front light, and lots of bluish white back light, boring. The producers even managed to make Gnarls Barkley boring. They took a great dance song, and removed the dance part, why? How about that country tribute or was it an Eagles tribute? If I didn't know that was Rascal Flats, or Carrie Underwood, and just listened to it then I would assume it was a party band covering the Eagles. Boring! I am so disappointed. I like to watch the show and see the new toys which is mostly video elements, and see where the production industry is going, but if this is our direction it looks like I'm in for a really boring career.

Working it out.

2007-02-09T08:43:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to get my body worked out. What? Well for starters I have things that hurt that I'm trying to fix. I hurt my left wrist in a big get off at Thunderhill last March, and it hasn't healed yet. Mostly because I crashed in August, and September both times aggravating the injury. Nothing was ever broken, just sore. After 9 months of sore I went to see a doctor, while I'm there I figure I'll have my knee looked at because it hurts like hell when I run.

I've got Kaiser so I have to start out with my primary doctor. She's a family practice doctor so after a few minutes with her I asked to see a sports medicine specialist. By the way I don't mind going to see the doctor because she's the hottest doctor lady I've ever met! I get a bunch of X-rays of both my knee, and wrist. Of course the x-ray technician is my friend Mole (http://www.myspace.com/the_mole_hole), and it's a completely different experience getting x-rays by somebody you know. I see the new wrist guy, and he pretty much told me there wasn't anything to do about my wrist. Soft tissue damage and it takes a long time to heal. He said if it still hurt in a year we'd do surgery. Great.

On to the knee. I go back to the doctor lady to review my x-rays, and she tells me that I have a small sign of arthritis in my knee. That's possible right. Let's see I broke that leg right where the tibia meets the knee joint. I did that while prospecting with the SFMC, but that's a story for another time. I also played sports in highschool, and danced in shows until I was 18 so any amount of damage may have happened. I used to have to tape my knees up before a performance so I went along with the diagnosis. OK off the the physical therapist to evaluate my knee (not as cute as my primary doctor). She bends me, stretches me, twists me, and comes to the conclusion that there's nothing wrong with my knee. Huh? She thinks it has something to do with my sciatic nerve. Oi! This actually makes sense. I've been seeing a chiropractor for a little while now dealing with some other issues involving my hip, neck, and arm all of which have a relation to my sciatic nerve. OK so two different people have diagnosed the same issue, but are going about different ways to fix it.

This all comes back to being healthy which in end makes me stronger, more limber, and more able to throw my bike around the track. Of course it has to come back to that doesn't it! All parties say I need to exercise more, and I completely agree. I'm not getting younger and thinner, well except for my hair. I know I need to get more physical activity in on a weekly basis. Prior to this round of doctoring I was making an attempt to get to the gym, or ride my bicycle in an effort to increase my stamina as I am getting tired half way through a race. Right now I'm only getting to the gym once or twice a week, and that's not going to cut it. Tomorrow, thanks to Sophia, and her mother I'm going to meet with a physical trainer who will help me create an exercise program that will be specialized for my motorcycle racing, and hopefully help with my other health issues.

One side effect of all this is cost. Chiro is at least $200 a month, gym $85ish, docotrs visits, x-rays, and so on it adds up. It's tough. I'm trying to live cheaply so as I can have money for racing because I got myself into trouble last year, but at the same time if I'm not fit what's the point. It's an example of how health care in this country is in need of some kind of overhaul.

The first race in at the end of March so we'll see if we can make any improvements by then.

The Ballet

2007-02-02T11:28:00.000-08:00

I went to the San Francisco Ballet on Tuesday night. We're very lucky here in the city by the bay. The city is host to some great arts institutions, symphony, opera, ballet and others. Great stuff. I love the ballet. Did you know that the SF Ballet is the oldest professional ballet company in the US? I had no clue. I figured that honor would go to something like the Joffrey in Chicago, or The American Ballet Theater.
Tuesday performance had three pieces. The first was very traditional Balanchine stuff and a complete snore. The second was with three men which is not typical and it was pretty cool. The last however was amazing. Very eclectic unique even. The lighting was awesome. In someways the lack of light was as impressive as what was lit. Very stark. Light coming from only one source, or one direction made for some interesting looks. It was fun. During one part my mind wandered a bit, and I thought of how a professional motorcycle racer is like a professional ballet dancer (you knew we'd get to that part). No really think about it. A ballet dancer has complete control over their bodies, extreme focus, and they make it look easy. They glide across the stage, and hit their precise marks over and over again. there bodies have been trained for years to have one unique function - dance. We think of that racer muscling his machine around. It seems so violent. Tire shredding horsepower trying to throw it's controller onto the ground at every chance. But if you watch a GP race with out the sound off you can see the delicate balance the racer has, the control in extreme conditions, hitting his marks over and over with exact precision and gracefulness as the bike slides around.

Myspace

2007-01-30T10:19:00.000-08:00

Have you gotten sucked into the Myspace thing? I have. I didn't mean to. Hell I didn't even want to! It started simple enough. I was getting blogging so I was checking out some other blogs, and types of blogs and what not. I did a search on Technorati and when I found something I wanted to read it was on somebody's Myspace page. In order to leave a comment I had to sign up. I tell you whoever thought of that gimmick is a real genius. Of course I signed up. I had the best of intentions. I was just going to leave a few comments on some blogs, and that was going to be it. So when I went to my homepage and it was all plain looking I felt I needed to fill in a few details. That sound you hear is the ever sucking sound of Myspace sucking people in. Now I've figured out how to have colors, and fonts, and pictures. Worse yet everybody I know seems to have a Myspace page. Funny they never told me about it. It's like we don't talk about "myspace" while we're in "meat space" So now I am getting invites to be friends with people and clubs, and I'm like when did all this happen. It's just funny. I don't like it when people at work look at my page. I don't know why but I'm starting to separate myself from my work people more and more. I used to socialize with my co-workers a lot but not anymore. I've seen some of my co-workers myspace pages. I don't invite them to be my friends.

Tax Time

2007-01-24T15:30:00.000-08:00

I did my taxes last night. Yep both federal and state. Took me about 10 minutes. Now for one thing I only had one W2 this year, and I've lived at the same address for the entire year so that all helps. I don't own anything, and so far nothing owns me, but I'm sure there's a creditor out there that thinks otherwise. Last year I spent some time delving into my Turbo Tax. You know really trying to itemize all my deductions, and what not. After all my efforts Turbo Tax told me to take the standard deduction, and stop trying so hard. Fine! So after I was finished, and ready to file my 1040EZ I found out Turbo Tax wanted something like $50 for a federal filing, and another $30 for the state. What! That's $80 taken out of my return. I tell you I was so close to just doing it since I was getting a return. But I just couldn't stomach the idea of giving up the money. I turned to my trusty friend Google, and started searching for other online tax services. That's when I discovered Average1040.com. This site is super simple. You enter your info in a series of boxes, and if you do something wrong a pop up gives you suggestions. After all the important data is entered you get to print out your forms, and review them before transmitting. Best of all $6.50 to file. Not $50!
At first I was a bit skeptical of this site as it is so simple. I was sure that my identity, or maybe my sanity would get pilfered, then horse traded around the internet, but I took a gamble on them last year, and everything went fine. So I had no worries about going back this year. It's definitely not for everyone. Other tax sites offer more features, services, and information, but if those services aren't needed then I say stay away. Oh, and California offers their own online tax filing system for free. Now you can't beat that price.

So What is Mickey going to do with his tax return? Spend it wisely by paying down his credit card, save some money for that trip to Italy? Hell no! We're going racing of course. My "A" engine which has been sitting on my garage floor for way to long is going to go to rehab.

That's a good story my "A" engine. I like to call it that. Makes it sound like it's important. And it is, or at least it will be. Way back when I first started racing my partner, and myself kept blowing up engines. Now mind you I built all those, but that in it's self doesn't mean that's why they blew up, but up they blew non-the-less. So I spent some money, and paid an engine guy to build me up a really solid bottom end. That's the crank, and transmission part. I never got that thing to run right. Every time I thought I had found the problem I bought some fancy racing part to replace the problem part. So after nearly three years I have every hop up part you can get for an EX500 engine. Transmission, cam-shafts, head, valves, pistons, lighter, stronger, faster, and with more power, and never has the damn thing run correctly. I wasted the first two races last year trying to get it to work right. So mid season I took the think out put on the floor, of my garage, and there it has sat ever since. The thing is that in the brief moments it did run correctly it was fast. The bone stock engine I have now probably makes 55hp, and the one siting on my garage floor probably makes 65hp, and that's a big difference in racing. So in the continued effort to throw good money after bad, I'm going to take my "A" engine to a professional racing engine builder, and this time it's going to run great. I just know it!

Brrrrr it's cold!

2007-01-19T10:18:00.000-08:00

OK so my version of cold is different from other peoples. My friends back east tell me cold is below 30, and my friends down south tell me cold is under 60. Well most of the country has had some kind of cold spell in the last week. So doesn't that seem like a perfectly good time to go to track and test out our new suspension components? Sure why not?
On Tuesday my friend Craig, and myself trailered our bikes up to Sears pt. The ambient temperature was 29°F when we arrived at the track our bikes being covered in frost from the short trip across the golden gate and to wine country. I'm not used to seeing my race bike with ice on it's windshield!

I went out for my first session around 9:30am, and the temp was still under 40°. I was wearing my normal Under Armor clothing as well as my LL Bean thermals under my leathers, and I had a sweatshirt on top of all of this. While sitting still in the pits I was nice and toasty, but holly shit it was another story all together when I got moving around the track. The wind cut right through my many layers, and I was cold quickly, but it was tolerable. I wish I could say the same for my fingers. I came in after about 4 laps because I was having trouble squeezing the clutch, and brake levers. One thing that I had no problem with was traction. Many riders that went out early where spinning tires, and slipping around the track as they slowly built heat into the ice cold tires. Not I! I had acquired a set of tire warmers before December, and thanks to help from friends and family over the holiday a brand new Yamaha generator. With my tires heated to a toasty 70°C (158°F) my bike stuck like glue to the track. Well unless I did something stupid like run over the curbing. Hitting one of those was like riding on ice, and for all I knew they may have been covered in ice! Eventually the day warmed up, and the lap times dropped. By no means was I hitting the times I was in August but it's good just to be out there.

Some other possible exciting news is my possible inclusion into the California Superbike School. Awhile back the school had sent out a mass e-mail looking for riding coaches. I took the level 1 school several years ago, and I'm still on there mailing list. So on a whim I filled out the application, and e-mailed it back. Low and behold they e-mailed me asking for me to do a phone interview. Holy Smokes Batman! I thought I looked pretty good on paper, but I didn't hold any hope of them actually taking me seriously. CSS is the largest, and oldest motorcycle racing/track riding school anywhere. They do classes all over the world. Now I was nervous. I set up a phone interview, and for the first time in forever I had to interview for something I really wanted. Yesterday I had my interview, and it went really well. After my conversation I've been invited to tryout. Now I have to go down to southern CA for a trackday and prove to them that I can ride well enough to be a coach, and that I have the aptitude for being an instructor. It's not going to be easy, but I think I can do it. Amazingly enough work has supported me in this endeavor. That's good because if I get the job it means I'll be traveling all over the country. Can you imagine getting paid to ride a motorcycle? Someone else's motorcycle that is prepped by professional mechanic , and comes with all the safety gear? Yeah me neither.
So far 2007 is starting strong. I plan on keeping it going that way.

What is Mick-e?

2007-01-13T23:16:00.000-08:00

If your reading this you know that I am Mickey Fimbres.
So what is Mick-e? Well it started at what feels like the dawn of the internet, or at least the internet to me. The very first time I used that "handle" was when I set up my first e-mail address. I think it was my earthlink account, and was still going to SF State in 1997 when I sarted using that name. Obviously some Disney nut had taken the name Mickey for their e-mail address so I had to think of something clever. That was ten years ago and for all I know I was drunk as a skunk when I thought it up. But I kept that name going. I used it again when I started playing games online. When I first started playing Unreal while living at 255 Moscow. All the other players had some cool screen name, and I couldn't think of anything. I remember a roommate of the time had his screen name as "zestyscrotum" I thought that was pretty funny, but I couldn't think of anything that funny so Mick-E it was. Later on when I would play other games online I was alway Mick-e. No matter what game or what venue nobody ever seemed to have that name. It was sort of my niche in the cyberspace world. Later when I started posting on internet message forums I didn't even hesitate to select the name Mick-e. It has become by domain in the electronic world. So I was horrified when I started to create this blog that "Mick-e.blogspot.com" had been taken. So I typed in the stolen domain to see what the other "mick-e" had to offer the electronic world. Like so many things in this cyber world there was nothing at the end of the tunnel. Just somebody sitting on the name. So once again challenged to create a new electronic indentity I combined elements of my past, present, and hopefully future. "Mick-e" 10 years of electronic history. From the golden age of the internet when everything was new and possible. "693" my racing number. It represents the here and now. It has taken a lot of dedication not only on my part, but my friends, and family to stay focused on racing. What will come of it only time will tell.
So Here I am at the start of 2007. I posted a picture of me at Sears Pt rounding turn 2. I've looked at that picture a hundred times, and I still find something new in it each time I look at it. What do I see tonight. Me looking forward to the future. What does it hold in store for us? I like this picture. Sometime I think I look completely relaxed. Just chillin' makin' my way 'round the bend. Other times I look at it, and I see the intensity in my body language. What is all that anger about? Tonight I see me looking forward leaving 2006 behind, and starting 2007 on a positive note.
Ahh goodbye 2006. Funny but almost every year I spend the first couple of months struggling to write the new year "07" on documents, but this year it hasn't been an issue. I think it's because I'm so ready to leave 06 behind me. 2006 was not my best year. Now it wasn't all negative by any means. First off I'm lucky that I started dating a girl at the end of 05 that still finds it in her best interest to associate with me even now at the start of 07, and together we went to Italy to work on a wedding; not all that bad. Work sucked. No matter what I was involved in it just wasn't satisfying. It always seemed like the grass was greener on the other side. The other side of what is the question? My bike racing didn't offer much satisfaction ether. I started 06 by crashing in March. My bike died on the starting line at the first race of the year. Money or the lack there of kept me from racing in April, May, and June. Then in July I came down with a terrible flu. I had a fever of 102°, and the ambient temperature was 107°! Oh I raced anyway thanks to the help of Sophia littarly spoon feeding me, and physically helping me get on my bike. Why the hell did I do that? Anyway. I crashed in August, and again in September causing my teammate Erice to crash. That sucked. It's one thing to crash your own bike. It's another thing altogether to have to drive you friend to the hospital because you fucked up.
Yet I still feel like 2006 was a break out year. Even though worked sucked I still like doing lighting. I even like most of my clients. Even though I threw my poor motorcycle on the ground over and over again I still posted my best lap times ever. Hell even with a 102° fever I set my best lap time ever at Thunderhill!. And through all of this BS I am still with a girl that doesn't think I'm crazy, (well not totally crazy at least)
So here we are January 2007 home of Mick-e. I hope to update this blog once a week. Perhaps more often.. most likely less, but none the less my point is to write about things in my life, and hopefully all the people that I do a shitty job of communicating with (if you're reading this you are one them) can check here every now and then when they are bored to tears with their own lives, and see what has become of good old Mick-E.