This year's VIR race weekend was a smashing success. This is clearly the best racing weekend of the year for me.
Trip Highlights:
- Spending time with Ricky, Uncle Mike, and Ché talking about nothing but bikes.
- Seeing Jake Zemke and Greg White in the Texas steakhouse Saturday night.
- Watching Roger Lee Hayden recover from a huge headshake as he rode through the grass during the Superstock race.
- Watching the entire Superbike file get pw3nd by Mat Mladin.
- Riding the VIR track
- Eating lunch on Sunday with Uncle Mike and Ché with the band playing so loud under the tent that we couldn't even talk to each other.
- Watching early morning bad weather turn into a gorgeous afternoon on both days.
- Checking out all the bikes and what guys have done to them. Of particular note was the Jamie James R1. Very sweet, but it should be @$38,500. Major eye candy.
- Wathing the new on-track video monitors in order to check out the race on the rest of the track.
- Talking with the Attach Performance tech about the 2004-2005 R1 rearsets.
- Seeing a set of Termignoni cans for the 2004 R1.
- Watching Mat Mladin pass Ben Spies right in front of us all weekend.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
VIR Preparations
I prepared for the trip to the Virginia International Raceway (VIR) race weekend by buying new riding boots and a backpack. Ricky prepared by buying a new motorcycle. Sensing that it was not proper to ride in a group of sportbikes with his Harley, Ricky corrected this problem by springing for a new bike. A courtesy picture of his recently acquired (i.e. today) 2004 Honda Interceptor (VFR800 in Matte Black for the gearheads) appears above. The bike has been picked up and will be ready for the road when we pull chocks on Friday.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Saturday, August 20, 2005
First Ride on the new bike
First ride.
Update: As expected, Austin not only had his first ride today, buthe had his first wreck. The trail he was riding on had an exposed tree root and after hitting it, he caromed off a nearby tree. He wasn't going fast enough to hurt himself or the bike. I got him up, brushed him off and sent him back on his way. Fact: If you ride on the dirt, you are going to crash. Despite appearances, dirt is a lot softer than asphalt. That's how you learn.
The really good news is that the bike fits him very well and has plenty of power for him to grow into. He had a big problem shifting the gears because of the bulky MX boots, but after a quick consultation with Dad, I adjusted his gear shift lever to make it easier. We'll have to field test it to make sure.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Austin's New Bike
Austin's new motorcycle arrived yesterday. Grammy and Grandpa D. brought the bike to him in the "big red truck". The picture above shows the proud new owner. The PW50 that he borrowed from Rhonda is in the foreground. The new TT-R90 is in the back.
The shakedown ride is scheduled for Saturday.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Skeeter
Ou dog Skeeter is famous within the Clark family for having the worst dog breath on the planet. The contributing factor to her doggy halitosis is a massive plaque buildup on her teeth. Every time we have taken her to the Vet, they tell us that her teeth need to be cleaned. The only problem is that they want +$500 to clean them. All of a sudden her breath became tolerable.
The dog groomer that we use recently merged with an Animal Hospital. Two weeks ago I took the dogs in for their semiannual trim, and they told me that I really needed to get Skeeter's teeth cleaned. The only difference this time was the Animal Hospital offered to do it for $150. This seemed better that the previous quotes, so I took her yesterday for the procedure. As best I can tell, the procedure involves sedating the animal and literally chiseling the plaque off.
Before an animal can be sedated, a blood test must be taken to make sure that there are no major problems that can be complicated by the sedation. In this case, there was. The years of plaque buildup on Skeeter's teeth had caused bacteria to infect her gums and enter her bloodstream. The bacteria reached such a level that she was on the verge of kidney failure. They informed Tracy that there was a good chance that she would not come out of sedation. We told them to go ahead with the cleaning since her teeth would kill her if the problem was not taken care of.
During the surgery the Vet had to remove 6 teeth that were badly infected, but she made it. She has 2 prescriptions to take for the next 2 weeks, and she now has to eat a prescription dog food for her kidneys. She also has to eat soft food for a week.
She was a little loopy from the anesthesia last night, but seemed much better this morning. She also has a brand new set of white choppers.
The dog groomer that we use recently merged with an Animal Hospital. Two weeks ago I took the dogs in for their semiannual trim, and they told me that I really needed to get Skeeter's teeth cleaned. The only difference this time was the Animal Hospital offered to do it for $150. This seemed better that the previous quotes, so I took her yesterday for the procedure. As best I can tell, the procedure involves sedating the animal and literally chiseling the plaque off.
Before an animal can be sedated, a blood test must be taken to make sure that there are no major problems that can be complicated by the sedation. In this case, there was. The years of plaque buildup on Skeeter's teeth had caused bacteria to infect her gums and enter her bloodstream. The bacteria reached such a level that she was on the verge of kidney failure. They informed Tracy that there was a good chance that she would not come out of sedation. We told them to go ahead with the cleaning since her teeth would kill her if the problem was not taken care of.
During the surgery the Vet had to remove 6 teeth that were badly infected, but she made it. She has 2 prescriptions to take for the next 2 weeks, and she now has to eat a prescription dog food for her kidneys. She also has to eat soft food for a week.
She was a little loopy from the anesthesia last night, but seemed much better this morning. She also has a brand new set of white choppers.
Prince William County Fair
The previous post was a test to see if I could post to the blog from my cell phone. The fact that I posted that text from my phone accounts for the brevity and the lack of capitalization. I am working on the ability to post pictures.
The main event for the evening was the demolition derby in a mud soaked arena in front of the bleachers.
The highlight, or lowlight, of the evening was the drop ride. This is a ride where a seated platform is raised up a tower and dropped in free fall for a second or two before the hydraulic braking system takes over. I got in line with Jimmy Gallant and Darryl Estes, two other dads who attended the fair with us. Kara saw us get in line and decided that she too was going to ride. Her decision was bolstered by the fact that a girl younger than her had just been dropped. None of the other kids volunteered to ride and were more than happy justto watch. Kara wasn't tense and showed no fear when she was buckled in.
I was unhappily reminded of a ride on the Comet, a wooden rollercoaster ride at Hershey Park last year. On that occasion, Kara happily rode the rollercoaster and had no problem with the ride until the first drop when her glee was quickly replaced with unmitigated terror for the duration of the ride.
Sh was exhibiting the same behavior last night when the inevitable happened. The unimposing height of the tower underwent a radical change when ridden upwards. Suddenly it felt like you were sitting outside a 20 story building. I think everyone knows what happened next, but here it is anyway.
Watching the ride from the ground it was clear that there was no delay when the platform reached the top. What was not apparent until we got on was that the roof of the platform prevented us from seeing the top. This meant that you were not exactly sure when the platform was going to drop.
This also meant that the drop caught young Kara by surprise and scared the shit out of her. When we got to the bottom she was screaming and had to be led off the ride.
I don't think that she will ride anything like that in the near future, but I will acknowledge that of her siblings, she alone had the guts to ride it.
The main event for the evening was the demolition derby in a mud soaked arena in front of the bleachers.
The highlight, or lowlight, of the evening was the drop ride. This is a ride where a seated platform is raised up a tower and dropped in free fall for a second or two before the hydraulic braking system takes over. I got in line with Jimmy Gallant and Darryl Estes, two other dads who attended the fair with us. Kara saw us get in line and decided that she too was going to ride. Her decision was bolstered by the fact that a girl younger than her had just been dropped. None of the other kids volunteered to ride and were more than happy justto watch. Kara wasn't tense and showed no fear when she was buckled in.
I was unhappily reminded of a ride on the Comet, a wooden rollercoaster ride at Hershey Park last year. On that occasion, Kara happily rode the rollercoaster and had no problem with the ride until the first drop when her glee was quickly replaced with unmitigated terror for the duration of the ride.
Sh was exhibiting the same behavior last night when the inevitable happened. The unimposing height of the tower underwent a radical change when ridden upwards. Suddenly it felt like you were sitting outside a 20 story building. I think everyone knows what happened next, but here it is anyway.
Watching the ride from the ground it was clear that there was no delay when the platform reached the top. What was not apparent until we got on was that the roof of the platform prevented us from seeing the top. This meant that you were not exactly sure when the platform was going to drop.
This also meant that the drop caught young Kara by surprise and scared the shit out of her. When we got to the bottom she was screaming and had to be led off the ride.
I don't think that she will ride anything like that in the near future, but I will acknowledge that of her siblings, she alone had the guts to ride it.
Monday, August 15, 2005
Myrtle Beach
The Clark Clan just returned from our annual MB trip. This year we stayed at the plush Lowry-Goins condo in Cherry Grove. We experience bad weather for the first 2 days, but it's hard to complain about it since we have had excellent weather for many, many years. Uncle Chuck made 2 visits to see us, showing up on the first and last days of our stay.
Aunt Bonnie and Tabitha Clark joined us on Friday for the day. Note that I didn't say 'Aunt' when referring to Tabitha since I have a hard rule that 'Aunt' is reserved for people older than me. :)
Aunt Bonnie and Tabitha Clark joined us on Friday for the day. Note that I didn't say 'Aunt' when referring to Tabitha since I have a hard rule that 'Aunt' is reserved for people older than me. :)
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Atlantic City
Last Friday night, I went to Atlantic City to try my hand at real Casino poker. I went with several friends to Harrah's. I have been playing a monthly Texas Hold'em game in the neighborhood since the beginning of the year. We have been playing both tournament style (no limit) and $3 max bet poker (limit) and I have had a fair measure of success at this.
The good news is that the casino version of the game is essentally the same and I had about the same success at it (i.e. broke even, didn't lose my ass). The only difference whatsoever was the 'rake'. The rake is the percentage of each pot that the casino takes. That's how they make money on the game. Harrah's takes 10% of each pot to cover the game. It was a little strange to sit down and play poker with people you have never met before. Poker players, men and women alike, are not the friendliest lot.
Since I went to the casino, I have taught Austin, Kellie, & Kara to play and it is not unusual to see the entire family sit down for a few hands. The kids really seem to enjoy the game, provided that we play for chips only.
The good news is that the casino version of the game is essentally the same and I had about the same success at it (i.e. broke even, didn't lose my ass). The only difference whatsoever was the 'rake'. The rake is the percentage of each pot that the casino takes. That's how they make money on the game. Harrah's takes 10% of each pot to cover the game. It was a little strange to sit down and play poker with people you have never met before. Poker players, men and women alike, are not the friendliest lot.
Since I went to the casino, I have taught Austin, Kellie, & Kara to play and it is not unusual to see the entire family sit down for a few hands. The kids really seem to enjoy the game, provided that we play for chips only.
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