Red Banner Weekend - May 20-21, 2000



So now that my boss is racing, I feel guilty leaving work for the track
before he does. How inconvenient. :)

Ann was in Italy this weekend with her honey, and I think they managed to
see WSB while they were there. Hopefully she'll have a report on it for us
when she gets back.

Thursday night before leaving, Dane came over to the house and we tried to
make our new Fuck Truck useful for loading bikes in it facing forward
instead of backward, which is apparently how Muscle Phil always did it
when the van was his. ;) Unfortunately, Dane's been pretty sick, and he
fades fast. So, we started late and I had to say stop before we were done.
Dane insisted on finishing at least the part he was working on, though, so
I could at least partially load my bike in before he staggered home. Ugh.

I still have no clue how to load up the van in any kind of sensible way.
Thankfully, with a vehicle this big, you don't need to, and I wound up
just shoving crap in wherever it fit. Which was anywhere. Too bad my
orderly mind cannot handle this. The entire weekend was spent with a
low-level version of tetris running in background mode in my brain,
involving all my belongings and the van, in constant rearrangement.
*twitch*

Because I didn't leave work until 3:45 on Friday, and made a little pit
stop at Motomarket to get some things to deliver to the track for Paul
Conley, I didn't get to start working on the bike that night. Also, with
the current track modifications being done, there is a lot less camping
space available, so getting there late means not getting a good spot. I
drove around for a long time, looking for something suitable, and
eventually wound up with something marginally suitable. Of course, I have
Major Requirements for a spot at the track, which have changed some now
that I have another canopy. Actually, I only have 3 requirements, come to
think of it: 1) electricity (for electric blanket and charging radio) 2)
near a fence so I can secure canopy to it, and create a rain shelter with
tarps if necessary 3) close to bathrooms, but not close enough that
constant traffic and light from it interrupts sleeping. Maybe I'm too
picky, but I like my comforts. ;) Anyway, after Jimmy Fassino and Kevin
helped me create the EZ UP canopy, I had dinner in Concord with Paul and
Kevin from Team Daemon, and went to bed (bed! there's a bed in my van!)
early.

Saturday morning was lovely. The night had been really cold, and the
electric blanket is a piece of shit that only heats when you roll it into
a little ball. However, I did turn it into a little ball during the night,
and at 5 am, I just leaned over from the bed, and Turned On The Ignition,
which turned on the heat. Then I went back to sleep for 20 minutes while
the van heated up. What a great thing.

...

More in a bit... stay tuned for the rest of the weekend's doings.

...

Hey, I just remembered. I scraped a... something... in Turn 10 this
weekend. Neat. Never done that. I've only ever touched in Turn 2 and Turn
6 before.

Susanna looks HAWT in her pink vanson leathers. She can be my umbrella
girl anytime. Oh, wait, I was her umbrella girl. Whatever.

I had a speedo this weekend for the first time in a year. Funny how I
never even noticed all weekend. Except in the pits when trying not to go
over 15 mph while riding with my index finger on the brake after I put on
new brake pads.

Both TDR Paul and Nick (the starter) say I look better out there. Paul
says I'm carrying more speed, and Nick has started coaching me on front
straight techniques (among other things). He probably notices my fear
factor more than anyone, since I tend to drop anchor every now and then on
the front straight. As though my speed into Turn 1 warrants that. Ha!
Anyway, I'm glad Nick's giving me some pointers, as long as he doesn't try
to teach me how to rollerblade. (He has a broken arm. Roller blading is
dangerous!!!)

...

Oh, man. It's almost time for another race weekend, and I haven't finished
last month's race report. Just so I don't forget stuff I want to write
about, here's a list:

	- Saturday morning's major oil cleanup with hoses and 
	  detergent and the entire corner working crew from 7:30am
	  on until Jerry made us stop

	- New brake pads on front, with help from Reto and the boys

	- Vintage guys oiling the track more

	- More red flags and cleanup than I have ever seen in one 
	  weekend

	- The race with 8 bikes down in Turns 11 & 12, plus 2 more
	  bikes in Turn 3

	- Only one practice on Sunday, because the schedule had to
	  be changed since there were so many delays on Saturday

	- Track was only kinda dry for the race, so I never felt
	  entirely confident. Susanna was right in front of me the 
	  whole race and I just never got her. Plus she appears to 
	  be able to out-motor me on the front straight. Or maybe
	  I was just being a wimp. We'll see.


I just found my times from my race. I'm not psyched, but I should at least
document. And, hey, it was wet. :)

1	1:54
2	1:48
3	1:49
4	1:52
5	1:49
Avg:	1:50.8