So Saturday morning we got to the track around 7:30. Was good, as we missed most of the traffic. Got breakfast at the track side suite I had lined up. After breakfast, we walked around for a little, checked out the pits for the AMA teams, and walked a little through the vendor area.
A friend of mine who drove down with me, was at the races for the first time. Being that she works for a Internet Motorcycle store, she had passes into the Parts Unlimited tent, so we left her to go sign in. After I while I called her to hook back up with us, and she was waiting in line to get some autographs. I couldn't bring myself to standing in an hour long line for some signatures, so we walked around till the open practice started for MotoGP.
From the start Nicky was pushing hard in every lap. The other riders who hadn't raced there were still trying to come to grips with the very technical track. You could see in the lines, and times there were some riders having a hard time.
Later in the afternoon during qualifying, you could really see that Nicky had a goal for the weekend, and he knew he had 100,000 fans+ to push him on. Colin Edwards and John Hopkins were all pushing hard, and putting in real good times. By the end of the session Nicky had put in a 1:22..67 breaking the track record by nearly 2 seconds (prior to the weekend). Valentino came out and put down a very close 1:23.024 putting himself in second on the grid. Colin and John had some good times, putting them selves in 5th and 6th.
It really was looking up to be a very exciting race on Sunday!
We drove back to Aptos, and on the way home, our friend had the great idea that we ride back down to Monterey for dinner. Well my girlfriend thought it would be fun. So I ran to my house, picked up my motorcycle, and we all rode down to Cannery Row.
Now a little over a year ago, I got a bug up my ass, and decided to build a custom V-Twin. My main needs were 1. 250 rear tire 2. 100 CI V-Twin 3. Low sleek lines 4. Black with ghost flames.
Nine months later I finished the bike, and it came out exactly what I wanted. My friend decided she would build one as well, and she put together a very cool retro old school Springer with a replica pan head 100 CI V-Twin. Both are loud and obnoxious as hell. Riding it is something different then riding a sports bike. I actually enjoy it, as it keeps me slow on the streets (I get my kicks on the track!). Well after an hour down to Monterey my throttle hand was sore as anything.
Parked it right on the corner of the main strip, and we went to get dinner. Of course not after I had a flood of people taking pictures of it, and asking me who built it. If you had seem my Repsol NSR, you know that I am not about just any bike. I like my bikes to stand out, and be nothing like anything else on the street. The Chopper is just this.
I figured with a cop sitting next to my bike all night, I didn't need to worry about some asshat messing with it, so we went to dinner.
When we got back, there was still a crowd around the chopper with people snapping pics. Definitely having something other then an R1, GSXR, or CBR at events like this get the attention from all.
As I walked into the middle of the crowd, I put my Shoei Kato Memorial helmet on (hey, I will always ride with a full face helmet no matter what!), threw my carbon race gloves on ( it's all about safety), and put a leg over the bike. Cranked it over, and it came to life. The crowd really enjoyed the deep exhaust, and the rattle of the dry clutch (Oh, did I mention the other thing I wanted was an open primary with a dry clutch? got to have the rattle no matter what
).
The ride home was fun, but damn, my throttle hand is sore as anything. It's got a hell of a throttle spring on it, and trying to keep it open for an hour straight is a pain!
Okay, more for Sunday coming soon.
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Charles Gallant