Wow! What a freakin weekend. I'm sitting still for the first time and feel like I'm doing something wrong. I have been so busy and it has been all FUN!!!
Day 1:
After arriving at 1:30am, a scant under 12 hours and that includes the hour
wait at the Waffle House in Corbin, Kentucky, I hit the bed but got up at 9am
to talk with family before loading up and heading out to Adrian, MI to meet
up with John Payer.
We spent most of that day bs'ing and telling each other how great we are. Then when the wifey, Kim got home we took Grantzilla (their kid Grant has the coolest nickname) and hit the go-cart racing joint. We did 3 rounds and in round one John and I took off.
The carts were even so it was a good battle. John tried to brake check me but in Suthin respect for good ol' #3 I didn't let off the throttle and rammed him!!! Hit him good. Then he and I tried to draft and take each other's lines in the corners. We were spinning around the corners and running each other into the wall.
On round 2 Kim and I did battle. She spanked me like the mutt that I am... and I LIKED it!! <vbg>
Round 3 was tense. We talked some kid who broke into line to take the front cart by telling him it was the fastest (even though it wasn't). Then as we go to pass him he looked over at Kim and rammed her!! We thought, ok he didn't mean to hit her that hard but he did it again and again while going down the straight!! I then jumped in front and slowed him down and John came up in the 2 seater with Grant and boxed him in so Kim could get around.
Then we left the little bratt! We were going so fast and having such a good time that you could hear the laughing in Canada. Then with a few laps to go Kim pins it on the straight and there is a LOUD pop! Best we can figure she busted one of the two belts that drive the rear end. She just about rode the wheels off that sucker I guess :)
After some good grub from JP we bs'd and talked about how Jason Clishe likes to wear Gomer's thongs and sends the digital pictures to Rob! After that it was some nighty night.
Day 2:
I awoke later than everyone else. It was a good sleep too.
We got up, had some good food at Applebee's and then got everything ready. We got to the track about 6pm. I talked to the girls at sign up and explained the difference in classes. They told me to go out with the jumping Novice class (beginner is non-jump) and if I didn't feel comfortable on the jumps to come back and change classes.
In practice I tried to jump a few things I was comfortable with and succeeded even though they weren't pretty. I did the big step up and over-jumped it then under jumped it. Then I hit a table top that I *thought* was fun the first two laps. I went sideways up the face and launched off towards the side of the landing.
I hit, tumbled and landed hard on the bars with my gut. I laid there like a little baby sucking my thumb through my helmet while the EMT came over and checked me out. By then my breath came back and I had figured nothing is broken and there are no major injuries so off to the pits I went.
A nice rasberry bruise was already growing and I felt the doubt come in about the track so I chickened out and went to sign up and changed to the non-jump classes. Damage today is not bad. The bruise looks worse than it is but the one on my thigh is a light green and showing just a little but it hurts a good bit. Nothing too bad though.
After switching to the non-jump classes I watched Payer and Kim practice and they both looked like then had ridden the track before... probably b/c they had!
In the mains I lined up for the +30 non-jump class. They ran a few other classes together with us, including Kim's class. Kim and I sat on the line and she looked over at my bike and said "Your's is bigger!!" I told her that was the first time any woman has ever said that to me. Then I realized she was talking about the bikes :(
When the gate dropped I thought it was a dual start and that I had jumped the gate. I started to back off but then I saw Kim coming so I took off realizing I made a mistake and that everyone was on the same gate.
I played catch up the entire race and realized that non-jump classes are EXTREMELY difficult!! I raced harder and with more technique than I ever have. I gassed it harder towards the obstacles and braked later into the corners than I ever have before. There was no other place to make up time. I really learned a lot about riding in the non-jump class and really enjoyed the lessons.
In my next race the 250 beginner non-jump was on the 2nd drop. I got a MONSTER holeshot. Then I was quickly passed and only stayed with the guy for less than a lap. He cornered a lot better than I. He basically got on the gas earlier out of the corners than I did.
I didn't see the start of John's race but did get to throw out the pit board to him as he went by. I put up "Big Sexy" with an arrow pointing to me as well as a few others like "Cum get it," "Make me Wet!" "Let's Kung Fu" and "Who Farted?" It was a blast b/c every lap he would come by and look to see what else I had written.
One of the coolest things though was watching Grant clap for John when he was out there. He'd go "Daddy" then clap and go "Zoom!" That alone was worth the trip up to see.
In the second set of moto's for the +30 non-jump I got a better start but was only 4th out of the turn. I reeled in one guy in another class and made a good pass on him. He then gave up and I walked away from him. He had more speed up until I got by him but just didn't have the fight in him.
In the second 250 beginner I got another good holeshot but just like the first moto I was quickly passed. Not much exciting happened after that.
I ended up with a 2-2 out of 2 in the +30 non-jump class and a 2-2 out of 4 in the 250 beginner class. They trophy 50% of the classes so I walked away with a plaque. Leaving with wood is good.
The night ended way to early but was a blast all around. I tried to smuggle Grant into my truck to take him with me. He was so well behaved and entertaining that I thought he'd have a blast at Red Bud :)
Day 3:
REEEEEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD BBBBBBUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
We got to the races in time to watch the qualifiers. Thanks to Joe at JMX racing we got 2 all access AMA Guest passes for my cousin and I. We took full advantage of it and went into the pits. The really cool thing was being only 10 feet from the starting gate. We could feel the heat off the bikes and feel the moisture from the mud as it slung by us as the bikes took off!!
We then walked to a downhill section and the bikes were flying down the hill. It was amazing. We were maybe 15 feet from the bikes b/c of how close the gates are to the track. The riders made it look so easy.
In the qualifiers the track was wet and ruts quickly developed but by the time the mains came on the track was in great shape. Still a lot of ruts but the track was awesome IMO. The leaders in the 250 class did the Leap and Tedesco was the only one in the 125 class to do it on his KXF. He was at the back of the pack due to an early crash so he had nothing to lose.
Bubba won moto 1 of the 125's but Brown looked really good. In moto 2 of the 125's Stewart had a problem with his bike after a few early crashes and Brown won. Bubba was wringing that bike's neck. I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did. I bet they have to rebuild that thing every moto.
In th 250's RC was a class above everyone. He easily won both moto's. However, KW looked great in moto 1 coming through the pack. I think he went from 19th to 3rd. Tortelli ran good but KW got to him and made quick work of him after the whoops (the whoops were unbelievable btw).
In moto 2 KW got a better start but once he got to 2nd there was no catch RC. RC won easily. One thing we noticed was RC was in COMPLETE control almost the entire time. He did not look out of shape or riding too hard at all. He was smoother than KW IMO.
Day 4:
Cookout. Rest. Ride Report.
Now I lay me down to sleep... oh wait. The end :)
Ivan
PS... thanks to everyone for the great time. Thanks to the Payers, my family
and every one of my friends who gave me great story material to share with everyone
on my vacation. This is one for the ages.