morbidelli17
Sun 8/12/07, 10:39AM
I got hosed. I want a rematch.
First, I violated one of my primary rules: I took the bike to the starting line without ever having turned a lap on it. No warm up lap, no suspension optimization, no tire warmers, no nothing. I didn’t even get a chance to set the sag.
I was unfamiliar with the course, and watching others didn’t give me a real sense of lines, reference points, etc. And I knew that I was up against stiff competition – Racinteach didn’t get his name by accident.
Still, I was ready to give it a go, when my real weakness showed up – the uberhot ZenSandy. While I was on the starting grid, she and I were posing for pictures – I mean, dammit, every REAL racer has an umbrella girl. But being distracted by my umbrella girl allowed Racinteach to snag the inside starting spot, and I was too busy wanking to notice that he’d lined up about half-a-bikelength in front of me. And when Sugartits did her “Grease” impression and started the race, I wasn’t even really paying attention.
So Racinteach got the holeshot. I tucked into his draft down the front straight and stabilized the gap at about three bike lengths. The motor on his bike seemed strong; mine seemed weak and unable to pull high rpms, like it was old and tired.
I got through the first corner well, and I thought I had closed up going into Turn Two. But my course unfamiliarity caught up with me, and while I tried to take an inside line going into Two, Racinteach used a wider line and carried more cornering speed and pulled the gap back.
My lack of setup time with the suspension really showed when we went over the speed humps. I swear, it was like the suspension was locked solid. My feet came off the pegs. If I was gonna race this bike again, emulators and a Penske shock would be a minimum.
We barreled up the back straight, into the teeth of the wind, me trying hard to slipstream. But I wasn’t making up any ground. I knew desperate measures had to be taken.
So I cheated.
I cut the final corner of the course to shorten the distance to the finish line. I pushed so hard that I had my inside rear wheel off the ground. But it was to no avail; Racinteach had me at the line by at least three bike lengths.
To quote the dad in “Ricky Bobby”, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.” I wasn’t first, so I was last. But given that it was my first tricycle race since second grade at St. Anselm’s Catholic School, I think I did OK.
I need seat time. I need better tires and suspension. And I need to remember to stay away from hot women. They’re the downfall of many a racer.
Thanks to all my usual sponsors: M/C Speed Factory, wife Sandy, West Coast GP Cycles, Twin Works Factory, Dunlop, socalSVriders.com, and Racinteach.
First, I violated one of my primary rules: I took the bike to the starting line without ever having turned a lap on it. No warm up lap, no suspension optimization, no tire warmers, no nothing. I didn’t even get a chance to set the sag.
I was unfamiliar with the course, and watching others didn’t give me a real sense of lines, reference points, etc. And I knew that I was up against stiff competition – Racinteach didn’t get his name by accident.
Still, I was ready to give it a go, when my real weakness showed up – the uberhot ZenSandy. While I was on the starting grid, she and I were posing for pictures – I mean, dammit, every REAL racer has an umbrella girl. But being distracted by my umbrella girl allowed Racinteach to snag the inside starting spot, and I was too busy wanking to notice that he’d lined up about half-a-bikelength in front of me. And when Sugartits did her “Grease” impression and started the race, I wasn’t even really paying attention.
So Racinteach got the holeshot. I tucked into his draft down the front straight and stabilized the gap at about three bike lengths. The motor on his bike seemed strong; mine seemed weak and unable to pull high rpms, like it was old and tired.
I got through the first corner well, and I thought I had closed up going into Turn Two. But my course unfamiliarity caught up with me, and while I tried to take an inside line going into Two, Racinteach used a wider line and carried more cornering speed and pulled the gap back.
My lack of setup time with the suspension really showed when we went over the speed humps. I swear, it was like the suspension was locked solid. My feet came off the pegs. If I was gonna race this bike again, emulators and a Penske shock would be a minimum.
We barreled up the back straight, into the teeth of the wind, me trying hard to slipstream. But I wasn’t making up any ground. I knew desperate measures had to be taken.
So I cheated.
I cut the final corner of the course to shorten the distance to the finish line. I pushed so hard that I had my inside rear wheel off the ground. But it was to no avail; Racinteach had me at the line by at least three bike lengths.
To quote the dad in “Ricky Bobby”, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.” I wasn’t first, so I was last. But given that it was my first tricycle race since second grade at St. Anselm’s Catholic School, I think I did OK.
I need seat time. I need better tires and suspension. And I need to remember to stay away from hot women. They’re the downfall of many a racer.
Thanks to all my usual sponsors: M/C Speed Factory, wife Sandy, West Coast GP Cycles, Twin Works Factory, Dunlop, socalSVriders.com, and Racinteach.