Monthly Archives: October 2004
October 17, 2004
ALMS 2004 - Day 3
The Weather Channel and the local paper both predicted continuing rain throughout the day. I decided to not join Cary, Chad and John for the Sunday races, to try to beat (most of) the rain. They left for the track round 9:30am.
I woke up with a bad headache, and kept waiting for the Neurontin to take hold, but it never did. While I waited, I hung out with the remaining Bowsers, which was fun. At 11:15am I knew I needed an Imitrex, so I packed up and headed south on the 101 looking for food to wash it down with. The best I found was a Taco Bell in Soledad, whose music was on too loud to make for pleasant reading. My earplugs kept the din down to a reasonable level. I'd had only sporadic rain since leaving Salinas.
I cut east on the 46, and found lots of opportunities to make use of my high power-to-weight ratio. After some hilly sections, the road straightens out, and I found a few spots of perfectly straight, perfectly level, perfectly dry roadway with no cross-streets or driveways and no traffic for as far as the eye could see, either forward or back. I hit 200kph on the road for only the second time in my life (I hit 130mph in the 'Vette somewhere in Northern Arizona in July, 2003).
I stopped at a Starbucks on I-5 in the middle of freaking nowhere for a decaf Americano and a muffin. As I was suiting up to leave, the man at the next table struck up a conversation - he was out for a ride on his BMW RT. We chatted for a few minutes, and exchanged names and e-mails. My headache was still lurking, which made me less sociable than I would have liked, but I'm going to get in touch with him in the next few days. He has a lot of long-distance experience that I can tap into to.
The high-speed run home continued until the construction between the 126 and Magic Mountain. What a pain. I got a few drizzles coming through La Canada, but beat the bulk of the rain. I pulled into the garage, with a sore buttocks and tight legs, around 5:45pm.
October 16, 2004
ALMS 2004 - Day 2
I ate an overpriced, underwhelming breakfast at the diner next to the In-N-Out, and surveyed the weather situation. I was under-equipped for a late, cold night at the track, but didn't want to drop $75+ on a new jacket I'd hardly ever find an occasion to wear. I needed a JCPenney's for some warmer gear at a reasonable price.
I skipped my plan trip to the outlet store in Gilroy for socks, and headed straight to Hollister. SR-25 starts up just south of town, a fantatic 42-mile empty piece of heaven - triple-digit straights, long winding curves, and tight switchbacks. Very nice.
The worst problem this morning was the long slog back on the 101. I kept going past the motel to the mall north of town, and bought a long-sleeve henley and a long-sleeve crew sweatshirt, both in dark grey. On the way out, I stumbled on a Mervyn's, and bought three 3-packs of briefs. It seems to give me inordinate comfort to own lots of new underwear and socks, but I am what I am.
I met up with the Bowser's at the Motel. Their room shared those silly passage doors with mine, which Jake thought was really cool. The maids were finishing up in their room, so they dropped their bags in my room and we headed next door to the In-N-Out, for my third visit in four days. You can overload on this stuff - trust me.
I wasn't looking forward to the drive to the track on my bike, and I agreed a little to easily to let Karen share a seat with Jake so I could ride with them in their car. The walk from the parking lot to the Corkscrew was long, hilly, and hotter than expected.
The race was a lot of fun - and very, very loud. I used my motorcycling earplugs, and everyone else had some too, which just made the noise barely tolerable. I wandered around the track during the four-hour race, getting some good excercise. Chad and Amy arrived just before the race started, after a late start to their drive from Upland.
Around 7:25pm, with the race ending at 8:00pm, it started to rain. This made for great fun on the corkscrew. The leading P1 Audi's cut the inside corner a couple of times each, and a GT Ferrari got shunted onto the gravel trap in an overly ambitious three-wide with a couple of 911's.
The rain died down at the end, making the walk back to the car less of a chore. We met up for dinner, first at Jake's choice, IHOP, whose doors were locked 45 minutes before their posted closing time, and next at a nearby Appleby's. I chatted with Chad, Amy (a really nice person), and caught up with Sam on school stuff.
John bunked with me on the second bed in my room. I set the sleep timer on the TV for 15 minutes of ESPN.
October 15, 2004
ALMS 2004 - Day 1
My brother-in-law Cary and I had planned a trip to the American Le Mans Series race at Laguna Seca for a long time - at least 3-4 months. Cary had gone to the race with his brother Chad a couple of times, and it looked like the perfect excuse to ride the FJR up the central coast - one of my favorite areas. By the time the final arrangements were made (after some drama from Sam's band teacher), the whole Bowser family made the trip, including Chad and his wife Amy.
I started out around 8:45am on Friday morning. It took me a while to get the FJR packed (it was my first overnighter). Traffic on the 101 through the Valley was messed up by an overturned trailer, putting me even further behind. After breakfast at my Coco's in Camarillo, I buzzed up the 101 to the 154, and turned north on Foxen Canyon Rd.
Foxen Canyon has been a favorite since I road the Solvang Century on my bike too many years ago. Fun twisties, and it was early enough to avoid the tipsy wine tasters.
Towards the end of this stretch, I was on a high-speed straightaway when I noticed some very large birds sitting on the ground about 20 yards off the road on my left. One of them took off in that slow, ponderous style of large birds - right into my path. I prepared mentally for a heavy impact, but with about 4 feet to spare the bird spoiled his wings, then backflapped just enough to avoid a collision. I continued on, and got that delayed adrenaline rush a minute later.
At it's northern end, Foxen Canyon peters out and the road becomes just another path into Santa Maria. Just before that, there's a road going north that is really fun. Tepusquet Rd. (just Tep from now on) is a windy, twisty, tree-lined road dotted with ranches connecting the Santa Ynez Valley with the 166 north and east of Santa Maria. Whenever I get the chance, I love to ride this road, and this morning did not disappoint. I only saw two or three cars along the way, and smiled my way up and down the canyon.
I stopped for lunch and gas in Arroyo Grande, 32 miles into reserve. Lunch was a little burger place in the Village. The burger was so-so, the fries way too salty. Even Crystal would have passed on this batch. I read my new Falco novel on the tiny little table.
PCH was fantastic, as always. I stopped in Morro Bay to add a few layers against the cold. The early sections made me happy to have the V-1, but as you go north the twists and turns took over, and I had a great ride. I always seem to hit impassable traffic through Big Sur, but the high power-to-weight of the FJR makes even the shortest passing opportunity possible. I do not pass over a double-yellow; I just don't.
I stopped at my coffee house in Carmel for a Mocha and a little more Falco, and headed east on Carmel Valley Hwy to the motel in Salinas. I made good use of the In-N-Out across the street from the motel.
October 1, 2004
Tank slapper
The very first farkle I did with my new FJR was installing a Tank Slapper kit. I got the basic setup, with three plastic sheets - one for the back of the tank (to protect the tank from jackets and pants), and one for each side of the tank (to protect from knee rubbing). They go on and off quickly and easily, and have worked perfectly. It's about time for another set.
Cerro Noroeste
The last day of September. I had to take a vacation day, or it would be gone forever. I like my company, but I'm just not willing to hand back a day of vacation.
The morning was cool and overcast. I took my time getting ready - a liesurely shower, reading the whole paper, and topping off the tires to 42psi. Instead of the planned 9:00am departure, I made it out at 9:50. After a quick stop for gas, I hit the freeway right around 10:00am.
Traffic on the 10 was heavy. I got off at Del Mar to get into the carpool lane, which helped a lot. The carpool lane on the 10 has a little motorcycle lane on the right side - very handy. After passing a few cars, I noticed another rider behind me, and I pulled left to let him by. He gave me a big smile and a thumbs-up on my bike - very cool.
It took too long to get through downtown, then longer to get to PCH. Mid-week traffic on PCH is better then the weekends, but it's still bad. The views are enjoyable, but not enough to make up for the traffic headaches. I stopped for breakfast at the Coco's in Camarillo, and started reading Heretic.
A quick pull on the 101 got me to the 33. It took a while to get past the towns and some RV traffic, but once I was clear it was smooth sailing. The 33 has a combination of slower curves and wide-open straights - very fun on the FJR.
About 5 miles south of Lockwood Valley Rd., the road surface gets snarky - long sections with 3-5 feet circles of crumbling asphalt. Unfortunately, I discovered this at the end of a triple-digit run, but the bike handled it with no drama. The bad pavement lasted for 10-15 miles, but didn't slow me down too much.
The last section of the 33 south of the 166 is dominated by farm traffic - farm tractors pulling huge trailers, and semi's doing their thing. A not-unpleasant diversion.
I turned east on the 166, then southeast onto Cerro Noroeste Rd. What a fantastic motorcycling road! The first 10 miles are newly repaved, with wide, sweeping curves, fast straightaways, and more curves. This is followed by 5 more miles of traffic-free motorcycle heaven. What a blast.
After many miles of biking bliss, I found some light traffic near Pine Mountain, but at that point nothing could wipe the smile off my face. Cheeseburgers at the McD's in Gorman, then I-5, with thanks for my V-1. Flow of traffic on the 210 is 80+ in all but the rightmost lane. I got home around 4:45pm, with 32 miles on the reserve trip meter.
A fantastic way to spend a use-or-lose vacation day.
I get to burn off another forced vacation day on October 15th for the ride up to Monterey for the ALMS race.
This is my 500th post.
