Monthly Archives: October 2008

Mark Junge at Vesrah Suzuki invited Joe and me to a day on the track at Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, IL.  Unfortunately Joe is in Asia on business but I got to go.

Mark brought along a Supersport 600, a Superstock 1000 and an SV1000 as samples of his road racing world.  He also rented a BMW135i for the day so we could spend time abusing 4 tires at once instead of just 2.

Jacobi and the Vesrah line up.

We were on the north track which is the faster of the two circuits at Autobahn.  It has only 3 left-hand turns and strings of double apex rights.  The left front tire of the Bimmer took a beating.

Autobahn is pretty much another planet for those of us that don’t have money like the club members do.  The place is overflowing with toys that disposable income can buy. Many club members buy trackside land and build multi-story garage/apartment just so they have a place to relax between track sessions or track days.

One of the mega garage/apartments surrounding the track.

And the cars. A gaggle of $120,000 Porsche GT3s did lap after lap after lap in between our moto sessions.  There was also a Viper ACS and several race prepped Z06 Vetts along side some a Mazda-powered open and closed wheel racers.  Cool stuff.

Mazdo power.

Porsche money.

I did 33 laps on the Suzuki GSX-R600 and 3 laps on Mark’s GSX-R1000.  The 600 had plenty of poop but was docile no matter where I was on the track.  The 1000 was a beast and had me on the ropes no matter what I did.

Mark is doing some engine maping for me. I don't know the difference but I dig the technology.

Mark weighs more than me so the suspension might not have been optimal on either bike.  But the 1000 was really sure footed and gave great feedback.  I’ve never felt as if I had enough track time to be able to distinguish what I liked in a road race bike and what I didn’t but I liked the ergonomics and feedback on the 1000 a ton. 

Mark’s 1000 doesn’t have a sophisticate engine management system like the World and AMA Superbikes do so its 185 rear wheel horsepower runs rampant.  I did a 100 meter long, 6 inch high wheelie totally on accident down one straight.  That was pretty scary but because the bike has so much feedback you can feel your way through the scary stuff.

Can you see the smile on my face? Even being a passenger was a good time.

Back to the BMW.  Mark’s teammate John Jacobi spent the day peeling the rubber off the tires.  The 135i had lots of go but it was difficult to predict when it would go because of the automatic transmission, engine management and direction management.  The tranny didn’t know you wanted to be in 2nd gear coming out of turns and even if you put it there on purpose the lag was so great it slowed you down and killed the thrill. The traction control definitely saved me from looping out but it also damped the fun.  The real show stopper but ass saver was how active the direction management stuff was.  I don’t know exactly what the system is called but it knows when you’ve stepped out of line and does its best to shut the car down and straighten it out. 

Half way. By the end the cords were showing.

The really fun and fast laps came from not only hitting every turn just so but also from keeping the electronics from kicking in.  Jacobi had it wired by the end of the day and was putting the hurt on the less experienced but far out powered GT3 drivers.

Thanks, Mark for the great experience!

The 600

End of a long season today.  Luckily we are only 5 hours from home.  I’m pretty tired and ready for some down time, in the big picture of things.  Didn’t realize that until half way through the race today, but it’s true.

Did the normal course recon during the morning race. Spent sometime watching the AM guys go up and down some hills that I figured would be giving me fits during my race so at least I could get a feel for pace and problem spots. 

I made a carb adjustment and ate some lunch and got a little behind my normal routine and had to hustle to the start.  The weather shaped up nicely so sitting on the line for 20 minutes before the start was easy.  Imagine that – I was late to the start and I still sat on the line for 20 minutes. Eleven guys on the 30+ Vet A row with Phil Smith way to my left and Scott Summers way to my right.  I was thinking 3rd was within reach although I didn’t recognize most of the guys on my row.  No way of knowing how fast they were before the race.

Joe found an ancient Coke bottle crate that we both used as our starting block.  The plan was that after I took off, Liz (Joe’s wife) would run it back for Joe to use. That thing was magic.  I launched a near perfect start and got the holeshot – second race in a row.  Summers passed me just as we entered the woods and Smith got by a few turns later. 

I diced with three other guys in my class for the first few laps.  It was super fun riding with other guys that were my speed and looking to do well in the race.  That hasn’t happened at all this year until today.

Something was up with my fork.  I noticed it on the starting line when I was able to leverage my weight over the front end before the race started.  Just for fun I compressed the fork but it was sticking or pumped up.  Bad news.  I’ve since realized I was just too lax on service and maintenance.  I needed to get it back to Factory Connection weeks ago but never made the effort.  My bad.  So for the first half of the race I had to learn what the front end of the bike would do and what it wouldn’t.  It rode differently enough that I felt uneasy; I’m sure it slowed me down.

Two laps in and I was in 3rd but at least one other guy in my class was right behind me.  He was on a 250F and  I was hoping he would have to stop for fuel and I also hoped my quick drop can was faster than his would be.  I’ll never know what his set up was but in the end I didn’t make up any time on him and we rode together for a long time, usually me trailing him.

There’s a hill at the Ironman GNCC that has my number.  I’ve struggled up that thing in both of the other times I’ve raced at Crawfordsville and I did it again this year, right when it mattered most.  There isn’t much of a run at the hill and most of the topsoil has long been roosted off and the stony base doesn’t offer up much grip.  On top of that there are ledges that are just big enough to get you airborne and kill momentum.  It was one of those ledges that was my undoing.  I squided out and end up sideways on the hill, engine dead and my co-racer buddy leaving me in the dust.
I had to go back down and take the slow, easy route around the hill.  Although I wasn’t beating up on the guy I had been racing against, I was hoping to somehow take advantage of a mistake he made or out last him in the closing laps.  But with my downtime that all went out the window.
Come to think of it, when I came around that next lap and learned I was 5th in class was when I started thinking about the season ending.  I was tired and ready to call it a year.
I fought the best I could but it was hard to overcome the fatigue and my bad fork.  I closed within 15 seconds of the 4th place guy but that was it.  I finished 5th.

Aside from the anxiety related to that hill, I thoroughly enjoyed the course.  The dirt was super, the creek crossings (notoriously frequent at the Ironman) were mellow and the corn field sections weren’t too bad.  The corn fields have given me fits in other years and probably pained me earlier this year at other GNCC races but today I had a good time ripping across the field and railing the bermed turns.
Aside from my hill issue, I had no stalls or major falls.  I have a bruise on the back of my leg from something but no harm done.  My hands and arms ache but that’s because I’m old.

I did fall over one time while entering a creek. The bank was pretty steep so the fast guys were launching in and the slow guys were skidding in.  Both techniques made a deep rut that caught me by surprise and tipped me over while I was skidding in.  My leg got pinned by the bike and I had no way of getting tipped back up with out help.  There was an 8 year old boy standing with his dad next to where I fell and I panicked and demanded they pick me up.  The worried look on the boy’s face said it all.  He wanted to do what he was told but couldn’t reach me and his dad was holding him back, I suspect because it was a dangerous situation for the boy and he wasn’t really going to be able to do much for me anyhow.  The dad did eventually reach over and pull on my bar enough for me to get my leg out and right myself.  I thanked them but regretted the way I spoke to that boy for the rest of the race.  I saw him again in the same spot on another pass through there and wanted to say I was sorry but didn’t.

After the race Joe and I loaded the van Liz went and found a tractor to help us get out of the parking lot.  We all meet just as the van doors shut and got a yank out.  Dreamy.

We did it.  Joe and I did the GNCC series.  We missed a few but we did the majority of the season.  That was our goal more than a year ago when we schemed up this whacky plan of ours and we just pulled it off.  We are 30 miles from home late on a Sunday night while I write this news.  It will be good to get home and be able to say that we went GNCC racing.  Whew.

At about 10pm last night while I was trying to ignore the loud campers to our west a shower blew through and totally saturated the parking lot.  Just after that happened several redneck fired up their pickups and jeeps and whatnot and drove in uncontrollable circles in the middle of the huge parking expanse here.  The once farm field turned into an enormous quagmire of muddy mess.  And the roaring engines and cheering drunks kept me awake for hours.

Good ole boys.

Hard to tell from the photo but that's a slightly downward slope that would eventually take you to where we parked. The mud was relentless.

Actually, to be fair, I did venture out to see the action for a few minutes.  It was dark enough that my camera wouldn’t capture a decent shot but I still got a feel for things.  Chaos.  Redneck chaos.

His cab was full of 6 packs he'd taken on as payment.

Then today it was cold from the start and the daylight showed us just how much damage all the hooliganism had done.  Campers and haulers and trucks on the perimeter of the muddy playground were splattered with globs of mud.  It was very difficult to walk from our campsite to the toilets with the rutted and squishy mud.  There was no possible way – absolutely no way – we could have driven the van out at that time.

Camo quad, Carhartt pants, camo jacket and a pink boa. Dig it.

Joe and Joe’s wife Liz and I watched the start of the quad races.  David Knight competed in the pro race on KTM450 whatever it’s called so we were keen to see him do well.  He had a crummy start and ended up in the 20s somewhere.  I bet he had fun but still he’s probably not exceedingly happy with finishing so far back. 

The Knighter setting the sag on his quad. The Ohlins tech helping him is just out of the picture.

I decided I’d walk a bunch of the course at this GNCC round.  I donned my mud boots and did about 6 of the 9+ mile loop.  It was fun and gave me some idea of what’s coming tomorrow.  The trail was much drier than the parking lot.  I’ve had good results at the mud races this year so I was looking forward to some mud  but the mud is so hard on the bike it will be nice to have it a little drier.
Same mental approach for tomorrow.  Ride my own race, enjoy the trail and challenges, keep my head up, eat, drink and above all stay safe.

The crowd at the bottom of Ironman hill during the pro quad race.

Joe, Liz and I are seated in front of what’s left of a raging campfire watching quad racer’s trucks and trailers get towed out of the parking lot by the local farmer’s tractors.  The fire feels good.  We are in for a cold one again tonight.  Looking forward to the race tomorrow.

You know you’re a redneck when you blow up your air mattress by holding it up to the exhaust pipe of your quad and revving the engine.  Make that an innovative redneck.

It’s now 9:30pm here and we’ve shut ourselves inside for the night.  The rest of the parking lots is abuzz with hooting, hollering, beer swilling and hopped up diesel trucks doing circles and throwing mud everywhere.  It’s quite a scene. I remember the huge number of uncorked Cummins and PowerStroke trucks here from last year.  Some have 4” pipes running up out of the bed behind the cab and all blow huge plumes of black smoke. Testosterone run amuck. 

We managed to get the van stuck again.  Third year in a row at this event and who knows how many times we’ve done it this year all together.  Kinda funny but still a little sad.  Best part was that Joe and I knew it was mired beyond hope the instant it happened and we both reached for the door handles to jump out and go for help simultaneously.  Didn’t even try to get out on our own.  Just looked to the horizon for help.

Luckily there were 20 something-year-olds with a beater Chevy 4×4 right next door.  They were happy to tug us out and even hooked their rig up to the camper and backed it into the spot we chose.  Thanks guys.

Not sure what to say about this thing. At least there wasn't a confederate flag on the front side.

Great front row course position at this race.  Having been here before we had an idea of where to park and as soon as we saw the course direction headed to a spot just past the scoring tent.  Joe has a plan to help him get that last lap in and it involves a non-stop race strategy and 40+ A start row.  I wish him luck.  You need to read his blog to learn the details.

Ive been a bit under the weather this last week with a little stomach bug.  Don’t expect that to hinder my race much but it might.  I’ll take it easy over the next day or two.

My bike is ready to go and we are here a day early so that makes tomorrow free to experience more GNCC than we normally do.  Quad rides is what I’m thinking.

My wife (and coach) says my van is a money pit and not worth having.  This was spurred on after a pulley wheel on the serpentine belt tensioner crapped out and cost me several evenings and $90 to repair.  The pulley had been making noise for months but I never considered it to be on the brink of failure.  It was just noisy is all.

That was dumb thinking on my part.  When I took it apart (which meant draining 5 gallons of radiator fluid and removing the radiator all together) the pulley’s bearing was all but gone.  The only part remaining was the outer race.  The pulley had been spinning on its mounting post for who knows how long.  I know that generated a ton of heat because of the discolored hoses and other engine parts near the tensioner.

But now the van is quiet again.  Joe noticed it right away.

From left to right: the bad pulley, the bad post, the good post and a good pulley

I’m worked over.  We’re in the van driving west on I-70 and will be for the next several hours as we make our way home.  We’ll stop at a cheapie hotel somewhere later tonight for a shower, Internet interaction and some Zs.  Can’t happen soon enough.

Cross another off the list.  The Powerline Park GNCC is in my portfolio.  It lived up to its reputation as dusty and hilly.  Some rain would have made it ideal but as it was, Joe and I both thoroughly enjoyed our time this weekend. 

Actually, there were some lows.  We are so tired of delayed starts.  Today it was pushed back 30 minutes and that time came and went.  I assume some sort of unsafe condition exists to push the time back but it happens every event.  I also was unhappy with how my clutch felt so I replaced a few parts and got it up to snuff.  Nothing like having your engine bits spread out in a dusty field just before the big race, a race you drove forever to get to and spent lots of cash to make happen.  Duh.

The clutch problem is on the other side (I do know that much) but I was thinking about something on this side for some reason.

It was warm today so sitting on the starting line was rough.  I had to pee too but I held it in this time.  Five-time GNCC Champ Scott Summers was way to my left and series 2nd overall (and good guy) Phil Smith was to my immediate left. Matt was on the row in front of me so Carley sent him on his way then came back to say good luck and pick up the 4×4” wood start block I opted to use this time around.  Joe’s wave is behind me so Carley ran it back to him.

Ready as I'll ever be.

After learning from the quad races yesterday that the dust would be a huge hindrance off the start if you were any farther back than 3rd position, I made a big effort to get my start right.  I managed to get the holeshot and lead for the first several turns before slowing too much when we drove into a wooded section.  Summers came across in front of me and I was lost in a cloud of dust. Several sections of the course had dirt with the same consistency and traction of baking flour.  You could have been a ballerina on that trail and still stirred up too much dust to see the trail. 

That's me getting the holeshot!

Two other riders got by me in that section too.  But I’m proud to recall that I had already made my mental switch to smooth and steady mode, despite being at the business end of the race from the get go.  I mellowed and followed the best I could.  A few turns later and there was Summers flamed out sitting on the side of the trail.  He passed me back later in the first lap.

It was a 13 mile loop.  Some of that loop was completely virgin at the start of our race.  I like that aspect of GNCC racing – the introduction of something that none of the riders would have had any opportunity to see before seeing the orange arrow point you off into the woods.

There was also, according to how Joe and I reminisced after the race, three creekbed sections that gave us both fits. The first was 6-8 feet wide and littered with big flat, wet rock. The liquid on the floor of the creek was grey like cement mix, stunk and was the consistency of pancake batter.  I totally ate shit in this section in the middle of the race when my front end washed out.  The bars were ripped from my hands and I landed on my back on top of the bike.  Several nearby beer holding onlookers cheered when I hit the deck with a plop. 

Back to the first lap.  I was dismayed to be riding alone for so much of it.  Long loops and fast, unpredictable terrain spread us out pretty quickly.  My first lap had me in 5th when I saw the marquee at the scoring tent.  I was okay with that since the race would be a long one and my fitness has improved.

When I did catch someone or get passed by a big talent the dust was paralyzing.  Several times during the race I recall realizing how fast I was going and the only tangible thing in front of me was tan fog.
My rhythm joined me for the second lap.  I had stopped for fuel and a drink and still moved up to 3rd position.  Early in the lap there was a monster mud hole that had a dry alternate line that added a ton of time but was easy as.  The mud hole was daunting but I managed to get across it twice with minimal issue.  The other 3 times during the race when I came to that section I choked.  Not sure why I had no confidence to pull off what I had done the other two laps.

Here's where I choked 3 of 5 times. Those puddles ate bikes whole.

Remember those three creek sections Joe and I discussed?  The second was down a broad creek with running water and big puddles.  There was lots of traction and multiple lines to choose from.  I found a line on the left side near the end of the section that was working for me but on the 3rd lap my line was gone.  The reason I didn’t know it was gone was because it was under 2 feet of water.  I rode into the puddle the same way I had the previous times but my bike submarined to a halt and the engine bogged.  I was buried and my bike sounded like it had taken on water.  Two kids helped me get out and I kicked and kicked while starting to feel like my race was over. But then it acted like there was life and finally fired.  Not sure how long I was in that predicament but it cost me two positions and a ton of wasted energy.

Pitstop.

My 4th and last laps were uneventful other than I got one position back.  I knew where not to go and what lines worked I wanted back into the top 3 but it was not to be.  With the dry conditions the course got choppy on the last lap.  My hands are beat up more than normal.  Late in my 4th lap Josh Strang caught me and passed me on the outside in a soft berm.  Other riders I had encountered during the race had kicked up blinding dust but Josh threw up a curtain of soil that when I passed through rained down on me like a dirt waterfall.  Those guys are so stinking fast.  After the race we stopped by to thank Shane for all the support and saw all the factory RMZ450 bikes in front of their hauler.  Mullens’ and Strang’s bikes were missing 40% of the knobs on the rear tires.  Whibley’s rear tire was largely in tact.  Whibley won the race and managed to conserve his tire.  Awesome.

All in all it was a good day.  Joe and I also agreed this was one of the more enjoyable courses we’ve done this year.  The rolling terrain, mushy creeks and dust curtains were new to us and that’s what this entire season has been about – experience new stuff.  My Everything hurts now and I have a cut on my wrist from when I landed on my bike in the creek. My RM250 needs some TLC after being field serviced for three consecutive races.  All that well be taken care of between now and the Ironman in Crawfordsville.  See you there.

As we expected we spent the entire day doing bikes.  Joe worked on his clutch and I dinked with tires, brakes, front suspension and new graphics.  We’re pretty close to the course and the dust was bad while the quads raced.  I was wiping dust off the bike and tools most of the day.

Joe and fellow cheesehead Matt. My bike is the closest one - my graphics are yet to be done but the rest of the bike is set. Check out that dent in my pipe.

It’s warm here.  80 or so during the day.  Been trying to keep on top of staying hydrated but who knows how that’s going.  I’m peeing clear and still sweating is all I know.

We can see the start line from our camp and the scoring tent is just out of site.  We’re a full farmer’s field away from the pit row.  When we first started coming to these races our intention was always to be close to the action in the pits.  We learned over time that its better to be a little ways off but not too far.  There’s a bright mercury vapor lamp that runs all night at GNCCs and since our soft sided camper lets in a lot of light, we want to stay away from that light.  The center of the village also has a ton of traffic so at a dusty venue like this you might be breathing that stuff all day long.

All those white posts mark start lines. We went up the hill then turned 180 degrees in the race.

It’s 7:30 in the evening as I write this.  Dark enough to keep you from reading a newspaper but you can walk into the woods to pee with out a light.  Warm still but that’s going to change.  Last night we might have seen 40 degrees which felt pretty cold to me.  We’ll run the generator to power the heater tonight.

I watched the start of the pro quads this afternoon.  Bill Balance (who clinched his 9th consecutive title today) was the first rider through our pit area on the opening lap.  He was full noise all the past us.  The second place ride was 10 to 12 seconds behind but was forced to tiptoe past because the dust that Balance stirred up was so thick.  Everyone that followed was forced to go even slower as more and more dust filled the air.  Being near the front is going to be key tomorrow.

So, to that end, my clutch is worn to the point that it drags when in gear.  Maybe it will get better when everything is up to operating temperature but I anticipate difficulties at the start.  I’m going to have to focus pretty hard on kicking that thing hard when the green flag flies.  I’ve rarely used a block to stand on at the start but I will tomorrow.  Carley and Matt are here – maybe Carley can pick it up after I start and drag it back to Joe’s row…

Now it’s dark enough to have a sky full of stars.  Time to start thinking about bed.

Last fly-to race this weekend.  No more $20 carwash Monday mornings, no more biscuit and gravy Denny’s breakfasts.  We’ve only go the Ironman GNCC in Indiana after this weekend.  IN is only 5 hours from Madison.
I’m writing this post from the passenger seat of the van while Joe drives.  We’re somewhere in Maryland making our way over to Ohio.  The GPS was set to take us on a no tolls route but we didn’t realize that until we were an hour out of our way.  Wasted time.
It’s good to be back at this again this weekend.  I feel like I have some momentum with these past two GNCC results I earned, even if it’s not all about the results for me.  It takes racing for me to get faster, more confident and into the groove, even if the races are two weeks apart.  Consecutive races make me better as I go along.
We flew back into Harrisburg, PA (home of Hershey candies and Three Mile Island), thanked the great people at Bike Gear and Fitness for letting us park the van and camper in their lot for a month then hit the road. 
In Cumberland, Maryland we grabbed Quizno’s and filled the cooler with food and ice for the weekend.  Cumberland was a cool town nestled in a nook of the eastern rockies (there was even a sign for the Easter Continental Divide just west of town).  All the towns out east are old compared to WI and even older than what I grew up knowing in CO.  Some far away history for me here with all the famous towns in the area (Allentown, Gettysburg, Lancaster, Reading) so it’s cool to see in person.
Who knows where we are now since its dark out and all I see on the GPS is 1h49m to go.  I’m sure it’s beautiful out there.  The rolling hills and colorful leaves were spectacular from the plane and along Interstate-81.
Joe informed me that a majority of the nation’s fastest GNCC racers all live within 100 miles of St Clairsville, OH, where the race is this weekend.  They expect 1500 racers at this one.  That puts me back in the anxious mode because, contrary to what I say about the results not mattering, they do.  And having to fight my way through a race to finish 8th isn’t really where I want to be.  But I need to keep my expectations in check and do what has been working for me: stay steady, ride smart, don’t get in over my head, look up the trail, be smooth and smile, smile, smile.
We’ll need to do some bike work tomorrow morning.  Joe is doing his clutch and I need to get to Pirelli to collect some tires.  I look forward to working out of the back of the van setting up our stuff in preparation for the race.  The weather is supposed to be warm at 80F.  Could be a dusty one.