Brrrrr it's cold!

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.