Look Ma, I'm Flying

Seems to be a trend on this trip. The guys at the Firestone dealer in Chappell,NE helped out my brother when he got stuck with two flat tires a few weeks ago. Good people to do business with.

Turning 4000

Up and over Independence Pass. One of the most beautiful roads in America.

The Other Sister

This goes with the last post. Yes, they're twins.

Old Friends

Haven't seen these two in 20 years and yet it was like it was only yesterday when we sat down to chat. That's what makes great friends.

Disappointment

We all know that things change but sometimes that change is so harsh that it hurts. The road from Glenwood Springs to Aspen used to be a meandering two lane country road. Now it's a four lane freeway. The open ranch land is now filled with resorts and condo complexes. The old train tracks are now a bicycle path that's paved and striped so no one will ever know the history they're riding on. Sometimes too much is just Too Much.

Night Stop

I admit to a fondness for older motels. Like English motorcycles they are often not "perfect" but they have an undeniable charm. The Frontier Lodge in Glenwood Springs has been one of the best. Clean, spacious, and a shower that would knock you into the next county if you turned it up full blast. Plus coffee and fresh bagels in the morning. A lucky find.

Douglas Pass, CO

Yes,it's as steep as it looks. An extra hour of driving but worth it.

Tough Guy

Had lunch with this rider. Three states and 1200 miles on an XR400!

Monday Morning

Dropped Beth at the airport and started the final trek east. Avoiding I-80 I am taking US40. Camped out in the Unita National Forest for the night. Bright and sunny today.

Salt Lake City

It'a 95° here and snow capped mountains in the distance.

Big Dig

We have the day for sightseeing so we visited the Brigham Canyon Mine. Over 1mile deep and 3 miles across it's the biggest (and richest) hole in the world.
Every kid had a fantasy about digging a hole to China, these people are doing it!

Lunch

Real Mexican food by real Mexicans. Los comidos muy bueno!

Fond Farewell

This is the wooden tent we stayed in the last two nights. Notice the air conditioner on the side. What a relief after a day on the salt. I will definitely try to reserve one of these for next year.

Got Salt?

New England has nothing like this in the winter. We cleaned off all this and will do it all over again tomorrow as a precaution. You can practically hear it eating away the metal.

Next Year

As soon as we got back from lunch Beth dove into the rule book looking for classes to run next year. I think she has drank the Bonneville kool-aid.

Packed Up

With the wind against her she wasn't able to go as fast today. The best time for the week was 93.2mph.
However, we definitely set a record for SmilesPerHour!!

At The Line

Ready to make her last run to break 100mph.

50cc Racer

This bike started life as a 50cc Honda C110 pushrod 50cc. It set 6 records this week with Stacey's dad John riding it.

Giro Bike

A 125cc Sears looking for a record

Video Of Beth Running

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBf1TjY0dXM&sns=em

Here's a video of Beth starting her run. The starter had to run over and put down her face shield because she was holding the throttle and the clutch. Then she was off and the Chevy was no match for the Mighty Moriwaki. She was just flatout gone!

Her speed was 93.2mph - Tomorrow morning we are going out early (6:00am) to catch the cool air and try to break 100mph.

Waiting To Go Fast

Inching ahead while we wait our turn. The cross wind had been gusting 20-25mph but has died down so we don't have to worry about being blown off the course.

Smiling When It's All Gone South

Kurt blew his engine at 178mph. He was laughing and saying, "That's racing!"
I want to be that cool when I grow up.

Shade Tree Engineering

I made a shield for the rear shock out of a piece of mirror plastic I found in the dumpster and a couple of ty-wraps.
We adjusted the clip-ons so that Beth could get lower and more streamlined.

Tech V

Joyce gives us the final inspection sticker. We are now free to run as much as we want and as fast as we want.

Deviation

The wind blew over the canopy last night and wrecked it. It knocked over the bike too but the only damage appears to be a broken clutch lever. Luckily it's one of the few spare parts I brought with me.

Turning 3000

The sun is coming out so the salt will dry and harden. The temperature is still cool (80's) so the conditions are good for going fast.

Weather Report

Rain this morning which will slow things down a bit. Cooler and a nice break from the sun and heat. Should blow past us soon.

End Of Run

Can you see an 83.35 MPH grin? Her first words were, "That was great, next time I can go fast!"

When I said that she was supposed to take it easy she said that she was, only 12,000 rpm when redline is 14,500.

Looks like tomorrow will be a blast!

And Go She Does

That little black dot is Beth. I'm doing 65 in the truck and she's pulling away from me. This is supposed to be an easy trial run.

Off The Line

There she goes.

On The Line

Getting final instructions from the starter.

Graduation

Beth gets her Rookie badge

Rookie School

What to do, when to do it, and how not to screw up.

Tech IV - PASSED!!!!

Houston, we have liftoff. The leathers passed and the magic tech button was attached. All the to-do items have been checked off. Next stop is the Rookie Rider meeting.

Midnight At The Oasis

After dinner we were up until midnight gluing the edges of the patches. Hopefully this will be the final hurtle to leap.

A Home Of Our Own

This is the pit area for us. The guys that fixed the bike invited us to pit next to them. We should be able to glue the leathers tonight and run tomorrow.

Tech III - PASSED! !!!

The bike is ready, now we just need to fix the leathers. They liked the barbed wire but we need to seal the edges.

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

Honda Harry and his crew lept at the chance to help us out. They welded up the steering stops, cut a chain guard, and had it back together in record time. When I asked how I could help they suggested that I should stand back. Good people are everywhere!

Tech II - Failed

A new to-do list.
Steering stops to wide for the class we got bumped up to.
Inadequate drive chain guard.

What to do? What to do ...

Barbed Wire Leathers

Sure to start a new trend in New York City and San Francisco. We fixed the leathers by safety wiring leather over the textile panels. Ill put them on eBay when we get back and let the bondage crew fight over them.

Desert Sculpture

This is the Tree of Utah. It's just a very big (100' tall) and very weird thing in the middle of the desert. Maybe it migrated from Burning Man.

Back To Wendover

When they said, "Go straight on I-80 for 100 miles." They were not speaking metaphorically!

Fixing The Leathers

We're in Salt Lake City at Charles Custom Upholstery getting the leathers fixed so Beth can race. I'm going to be depending on the generosity of others.

To-do List

Safety wire the head of the axle bolts as well as the nuts.
Replace the rubber valve stems with metal ones with metal caps.
Preposition the steering dampener bracket to allow full lock to lock movement (curiously reducing the dampener effect ).
Class designation not displayed (but they assigned me to a different class anyway ).
Leathers must be ALL leather, no perfs or textile inserts.
.

Look Ma, I'm Flying

Swapping metal tire plugs for the rubber ones that might fly out under the awesome power of the mighty Moriwaki. The to-do is not so bad. Tomorrow we will drive to Salt Lake City to find someone to modify the leathers. Time for a shower.

Tough Day In Tech

Went through tech this morning and came out with a to-do list. Nothing major but things that will take the rest of the day. Both leathers were rejected. Hard to stay patient and positive in the heat and disappointment.