| Author | Message | ||
     Usroute66 |
Join SCAB on Thursday, April 3, 7:00pm, at the Press Box Sports Bar, located just south on Kramer at the Glassell/Kramer exit on the 91 Freeway, just east of the 57 interchange. Topic of discussion...LAGUNA SECA and the World Super Bike Races. No Dues, No Rules, No Attitude...just Buell fun. | ||
| Ebear |
HOWDY BADWEBBERS! Just wondering if anyone was going to the Superbike races at Fontana this weekend.... Like to meet at the coffee shop at Ontario Mills again and head over from there.Buy tickets out front and park in the infield.Last year as we showed up they offered up two Parade laps for $10. Lotsa fun.Incredible racing and time to see Ben and Eric finish one/two!!Hope to see all whom can make it!If theres room we'll park bikes at westernmost corner of bleachers in parking lot. | ||
| Ferris |
hey Ebear, count me 'n Dino in. we'll be leaving Bakersfield about 0730 Sunday morning -- where is Ontario Mills? what time will you be departing there for the track? FB Buell Thong@aol.com | ||
| Sparky |
SCAB meeting 4/3/03 update, Fontana Superbike races: Saturday April 5, 9 am. Let's meet Ebear at the big truck stop at Milliken off the I-10 Fwy. This is near the I-10 and I-15 interchange. Buell Ride Calendar: Sunday April 13, San Diego. San Diego Sportfighters Buell ride. Details coming later. Thurs May 1, Carlsbad. HHOH So Cal BRAG meeting at Bobbys in Carlsbad at 7 pm. More info from Barbara and Nelson P. as date nears. Sunday June 1, HHOH. Ride with Jerry Johnson from Oceanside to the twisties around Lake Cuyamaca and beyond. Laguna Seca: Thanks to all who showed up. The raffles & donations have just about paid for the third camp site at Laguna Seca. Yee haw! Anybody who would like to tent camp with us, get the details from Ebear or call Jerry at 1-800-442-7539 ext 6. Sparky | ||
| Ebear |
Ferris , Dino and all... On Sunday we will meet at the Starbucks at Ontario Mills which is at the intersection of the 10 and 15 Freeways.Use the 4th Street offramp off of the 15 Freeway.Coming from the North go through the light at bottom of ramp onto Rochester street and youll see the Starbucks.From the 10 get on the 15 north then get off on 4th street , go right at bottom of ramp under the freeway and make first left.The Starbucks is in the little Strip Mall in the northeast corner of the Ontario Mills parking lot.Right next to the freeway.It is NOT in the mall itself.We'll leave the Starbucks at approximately 9:30 only because any later and we may not be able to get our lap of the race course.Last year they were lining up as we got there.If there is any change I will note Saturday evening after returning from races. See you'all there!! | ||
| Sparky |
Tim and Candice, the driving interface behind Glendale's Golden State BRAG Club, have a new email address courtesy of their change to DSL. You can now reach them at 2whlnut@sbcglobal.net so take a moment and say Hi!, and update your address books. Sparky | ||
| Ferris |
yo Ebear, Dino and i have moved our departure time ahead, in order to insure a timely rendezvous with you guys at Ontario Mills. we'll be leaving Bakersfield at 0600, which should put us at the O.M. Starbucks by 0830-0900 easy (providing we don't have to stop and chain up coming over the Grapevine...) if we're not there by 0930, don't wait for us. my cell # is 760/379-7883. if we miss the connection at O.M., let's be sure to hook up at the track, k? ride to lean, FB | ||
| Ferris |
ps to all: don't forget to move your clocks ahead... | ||
| Dino |
I'm feelin' very cold and very sleepy already. | ||
| Slaughter |
Dang - I am really sorry I am going to be missing all the Fontana Funnies... gotta Work again tomorrow. | ||
| Ebear |
Ferris and All....I emailed you before I saw post.The Parade lap isnt till Noon so's well wait for ya's..Great racing today and there having Supermotard races in the lot we usually park at (great fun to watch!!)So if somehow we miss ya look for uor bikes in the TINY parking lot.If were not there we'll be watching the races in the grass area between the tracks at the chicane.Just head for the vendor area and cross over the bridge and walk to the right.Look for the human lemming wave??  | ||
| Ferris |
Sunday, 4/6/03, 0350 -- it's damn cold. and dark. i set all the clocks ahead last night, but the computer -- with it's click "HERE" to proceed, not-to-worry-we're-smarter-than-you, fully-automated Daylight Savings Program update feature -- didn't get the message and seems to think i'm an hour late already. screw it then, i'll get there when i get there. and i'll surely be cold. 0550 -- Denny's in Bakersfield. been in the wind an hour already. it's DAMN cold. no Dino. we'd already agreed not to stop and shop, but he ain't here, i'm freezin', and coffee (if nothing else, to dip my extremeties in) sounds good. Dino arrives right on time, five minutes later, hideously refrigerated, and we both thaw out for a few minutes while pondering our shared insanity. 0645 -- we drone south on I-5, in the pre-dawn darkness, chilled by the sight of the infamous Grapevine ahead, which is shrouded by ominous, inky dark clouds hovering over a layer of fresh snow. sh*t. 0700 -- i'm so cold my fingers hurt. my crotch, too. the very first piece of electric riding gear i'm gonna invest in is a heated cup. the sign announcing "Tejon Pass, 4144 feet" pisses me off. altitude equals cold, and right now i'm feeling mighty pissy. the patches of snow on the shoulder don't help my disposition at all. 0730 -- the first chance for gas, at the Castaic Lake turnoff, doesn't come soon enough. it's light now. and clear. and cold. the Thong gets a drink, then i head for the restroom. the men's room door is locked, and thru the crack under the door i can smell what the Rock is cookin'. i shuffle my feet and whistle. what else ya gonna do. hmmm, looks like the Rock is gonna be awhile. no one comes/goes to/from the women's room for several minutes, so i duck in, do my biz, then scald my hands for several minutes under the hot water. as an added touch, i hold my gloves under the hand dryer 'til i can smell them starting to melt. lather, rinse, repeat. 0840 -- conclusion: the expansion joints which make up the majority of SoCal's freeway system suck. if ya gotta take a whiz, they SUCK. we find Starbucks at 4th off the 15. we're unfashionably early, so no Ebear yet. no prob, leaves more time to consume mass mocha without the effort of conversing. life is nothing without priorities. 0915 -- Ebear arrives, walking without a limp (last time i saw him he was occupying a bed in the Loma Linda Emergency Room, broken ankle providing the topic of conversation). he rides in on a Screamin' Yellow Zonker X-1 Lightning, so i assume he's fully recovered. 1000 -- Sparky and Jen arrive, fashionably late, muttering something about Daylight Savings Time... 1005 -- well, since we're gonna hang a bit longer, it seems only natural to order another Double Mocha Venti with extra chocolate, no whip. they space, forget to charge me for it, yet i don't feel guilty. welcome to the dark side... 1100 -- arrive at California Speedway in Fontana, with a considerable caffeine buzz. (as an added bonus, i'm now no longer cold). 1105 -- Ebear insists i do the "Fan Appreciation Laps" with him. it doesn't take much coercing. 1145 -- we pull into line behind two riders i met on the way home last year from WSB at Laguna Seca. then i was on the VFR, today i'm on the S1W, yet they recognize me anyway, and we b.s. like long, lost riding buddies. they're riding the same Aprilia CapoNords they were on last year (tall enough it takes a boost to climb up on, and a pilot's license to operate). they're from the country formerly known as Yugoslavia. i can't remember their names, but it's something like Hans and Frans. yes, they're pumped up. 1200 -- we get two laps of the track, paced by cages with lights, and surrounded by a sea of wanna-be DuHamels and Bostroms. i'm feeling the full effects of Starbuck's finest by now, every nerve ending at full erect, and painfully aware of the potential for contact from any number of R1's and Gixxer Thou's and ZX12-R's and 954's snapping and snarling around us. 1201 -- we launch with all the grace of the start of the Boston Marathon, but in spite of my apprehension I AM HAVING THE TIME OF MY LIFE! 1203 -- the first lap goes by in an eyeblink. i've drug a peg, lofted the front-end, and blazed the front straight (and missed a shift -- *&^%$#@!), and haven't been t-boned by the squid wearing the "I WANNA BE LIKE BEN" t-shirt. life is good. 1205 -- me and Ebear drop down off the high banking for our second shot at the infield (wow, the transition here is brutal). i decide i'm tired of following a couple hundred backmarkers, and set my sights on the front of the pack. 1206 -- in spite of having to jink around the Bro who forgot to put the kickstand up on his Hog (alas, sadly, true), i make good time, and ease to the right of the track to wait for Ebear. shouldn't have worried -- i steal a glance to the rear and find him firmly him affixed to my Twintail, body language indicating equal parts malice and merriment. 1207 -- HOORAH! we're an Army of two, mo-fo's! turn 'n burn, let the gears fly, get outta our way pretenders, the Big Dogs are playin' thru! 1209 -- dammit, two laps weren't near enough. for several minutes in time, Mladin and Yates and all the rest were taking notes, studying our lines, marveling at our courage and style, wishing they too could lap California Speedway with all the ease and poise and speed as "Team Thong-Zonker". hey Despain, have your people call our people... FB | ||
| Pdxs3t |
Ferris, Thank's for sharing your Sunday adventure. Sounds like a kick in the ass time! Jim | ||
| Socal |
Dude - seriously, it's not often that I get pulled into people's accounts! That was a bitchen write-up!
I hear ya LOUD and CLEAR on that one . . boy do they ever suck!!!
That's just badass man! ! ! Rock and Roll. Tony | ||
| Ferris |
thanks Jim and Tony, it was indeed a great day to be a Hooligan  after the races, Dino and i took the long way home, up Lone Pine Canyon (which traces the San Andreas Fault for several tortured miles), thru Wrightwood (i.e. the east end of the Angeles Crest Highway, one of the finest pieces of tarmac you'll ever leave a darkie on), then down the backside into Lancaster (this road RULES!), across the Mojave on 14 (in a brutal crosswind), then past Willow Springs Raceway and up into the wind farms above Tehachapi, bucking some of the coldest, meanest headwinds i've ever encountered in 38 years of riding. all told, we saw snow on the ground much too much today (Grapevine, Wrightwood, and Tehachapi), and i'm convinced more than ever that an S1W is NOT the perfect machine for doing the ton into a 40-mph headwind, but still, with heated undies and a Starbucks nearby, i'd do it all over again. FB | ||
| Pdxs3t |
Welcome Ferris, always enjoy reading your writings! Jim | ||
| Pdxs3t |
Not only is Ferris pretty good at telling a story or two, he is a pretty good photographer too! Here is one of his photos on the cover of a Battle2win issue! He also did a great artical on the bike!  And yes Ferris, I still have this issue! | ||
| Ferris |
hey Jim, it seems like all my yappin' has chased the SoCal gang away -- maybe if i stop talking they'll all come back? FB | ||
| Ferris |
ps: notice how i cleverly managed to get Conder's S1 to balance long enough without a sidestand to snap the pic? FB | ||
| Ferris |
pss: his scoot looked considerably less photogenic about an hour after the above shot was taken, after a "wheelie gone bad". see the pic in the Battle 2Win piece of him doing the big, smoky burnout? what you CAN'T see in the pic is the fact that the left side of the bike is freshly rashed, and his left arm is bleeding in several places. still, he was game for one last photo op, and if it looks like he's screaming at the top of his lungs in the pic, it's because he is. only not for the reasons one might think. FB |
