I don't know about you guys but I cant keep my mind on anything other than being on the track. I cant focus on my job or anything else for that matter. I keep dreaming about racing (day and night) and I find myself only talking about one thing.....yup, you guessed it....RACING.
Am I the only one going through this????
no.. you're not the only one. :)
... and you don't have to race to go through the same thing. ;D
Dawn :)
In all my life, I never dreamed I'd get involved in something that was so all-consuming. I used to be a pretty easygoing, well-rounded individual... now everything revolves around THIS. And I don't think I'd trade it for anything.
;D WOW, got another one!!! any one shocked :o ???
(i know no one is gonna believe this)
I used to chase skirts pretty heavy ;D
.....seen one, seen em all.... just AINT EXCITING no mo !!!
......." go away, kid, ya botha's mey !!! "
..." thats a pretty scent, ever smelled POWER MIST ??? NUTEC ??? ;D
Master P,
i wanna say "you'll get over it" but i try not to lie directly....
if you think it's bad now, tho.... wait till next winter.... :-/
Chef
it is the only thing that gets me to sleep at night.
i've been so anxious lately that i envision myself going around the track to help myself fall asleep.
takes a few laps tho. ;D
so, i'm right there with ya brotha,
Benj.
race-on God willing.
Pierre, it is what I refer to as "The Black Hole of Racing". Do not fight it, resistance is futile. ;D It goes something like this:
Get street bike :)
Ride
Do a track day :D
Think about riding
Take a school ;D
THink about racing
Race "just a few times" ;) :D ;D
Think more about racing
Get a better bike :o ;D
Think about racing all the time
Get a bigger truck ::) ;D
Must go racing
Get a bigger trailer :P ;D
Racing....afbmgmoidoicoxc
Get more go fast parts ;) :P ;D
Race, race race racer ace raceraceraceracerace
Pay for more track time. ;D ;D ;D
I'll have the racing with my racing...
etc, etc, etc
Hey P! We're goin' nuts here! We got an inch of snow yesturday, but Stumpy still had to take the 929 to work today. I've been working on the Team Stumpy site (link in my signature if you'd like to check it out) so that's been keeping me occupied. Tonight Stumpy is plugging in his brand new(!) Power Commander he received last night so he'll be happy for about a minute. Then I think he'll change the oil on the XR50. This pitterputtering around the house at night just drives me nuts!!! Luckily I tape 2wheel Tuesdays!!!!!!! See ya at RA!!!
Yeah, I'm in same boat - talking racin, dreamin racin, gonna be racin before long...
Someone had a quote in their sig file once that pretty much sums it up:
"Racing makes heroin addiction feel like a vague desire for something salty."
H is probably a lot cheaper, too. ;)
Thorny,
at this rate, we really ARE gonna need a bigger boat!!!
and Super_Dave is gonna have to get a couple more of those lil "special" school buses so when we're all fresh off the boat and on our way to the "loony bin" we can all fit
:-[
i vote Dawn to drive my bus..... or the (oh so) previously " well-rounded" individual.... Kim (thought we missed that, hunh)
;D
QuoteI've been working on the Team Stumpy site (link in my signature if you'd like to check it out) so that's been keeping me occupied.
I'll check it out in a minute... I just started working on mine...its still a rough draft
www.roboprobe.com/PIERRE_RACE_PAGE.html
dont laugh at the first part of the URL...its my dad's company. He does robotics.
AAARRRGGGG!!! I'm going NUTS over here! I want the weekend to be here NOW!!!!
Hope the credit card holds out for the entire summer
Hey your site is a good start! However, your dad's site is great!!!!! Robots are fun! Why do you not have a Pierre Helmet Cam yet???? How fun would that be!!!!
QuoteHey your site is a good start! However, your dad's site is great!!!!! Robots are fun! Why do you not have a Pierre Helmet Cam yet???? How fun would that be!!!!
I did my dad's site too...I'm working on getting him to build me a bike-cam. I bet I'll have one set up in the next month or so.
I dig your site....really nice!!!
Cool!! That will be awesome...just make sure it doesn't weight too much...you don't want to give up any HP ;D! Is Greg coming to RA? Maybe Stumpy will have a logo for him by then....
Ever since about a month before my first track day, it's all I think and talk about. My work I think has actually suffered some, so I gotta keep reminding myself that no sell=no race. ;) My wife and friends make me take a day or two off once in a while from talking about racing. It's the standing joke around here..."If Bryan doesn't talk about racing every 5 minutes, his tongue will beat his brains out." ;D By the way, if you read my article in RRW, you had to see the "I guess all those sleepless nights thinking about starts paid off." :) Welcome to the all-consuming, ridiculously expensive, high risk, low cash reward hobby that is motorcycle road racing!
QuoteBy the way, if you read my article in RRW, you had to see the "I guess all those sleepless nights thinking about starts paid off." :) Welcome to the all-consuming, ridiculously expensive, high risk, low cash reward hobby that is motorcycle road racing!
I saw your article, but havent had a chance to read it. Congrats on making it to RRW...Thats AWSOME!!!
you guys think that's bad....
even before me and nate started going out (almost a year and a half ;D) he's been talking about racing, and he only started racing this year lol.... not that i mind though ;) not at all ;D You tend to learn quite a bit from all that talk... now he's got me talking of racing, and i cant even ride yet! i even draw comics of me racing (and beating nate ;)(you're going down ;D))when i get bored....
addicted? no, of course not... i'm not addicted... never... (taps arm like heroin addict about to shoot up)::)
-jennifer
Quote"Racing makes heroin addiction feel like a vague desire for something salty."
H is probably a lot cheaper, too. ;)
See above quote.
hey Chef,
i in fact have been thinking about buying a
short-bus probably when we go expert. you
can certainly get a ride in it anytime...maybe we
race SD around the track ;D
Benj.
Ha Ha Gilbert...Arnie gets to drive the truck!!!!
I'll license you on the bus, Benj...
I was in the same boat for years. I raced, and was completely preoccupied with racing, etc....
That all ended in 1993. That year, I did the full AMA series in 600 and 750 Supersport, raced in "Honda Challenge" races, did the regional championship thing, and started my school...
At the end of the year, I let all of my subscriptions lapse. I had done it all by then. I wasn't going to read or see anything that amazed me because either I knew the people, I saw it, or I did it.
But, I still do this... Because it's fun and the people are good. 8)
im there with ya Pierre.
ordered some parts, picked up a sub frame today. just bought a new seat off ebay. Getting the beast back together for Blackhawk !!!
I am glad to hear that all of you are as sick as I am. This thing we call roadracing has totaly consumed my mind as well as my wallet.
Does somebody have a 12 step program for us? I am already getting ready for the meetings " Hi my name is Tobias and I'm a roadracer"
Hello my name is Benji, and I too am a
roadracing addict.
hey, somebody make a T-shirt for this, we will
all buy one i'm sure. something like
"Roadracers Anonimous" with a 12 step program
on the back.
Step 1: Go racing
Step 2: Race some more.
Step 3: Keep on racing.
etc, etc, etc,
maybe Russ Voigt...@ Flipside Graphics...i'll call him
Benj. 8)
Drinking problem? What drinking problem? I drink, I get drunk, I fall down, no problem...
Racing problem? What racing problem? I spend, I race, I fall down, I spend some more, no problem. ???
skateboarding is more fun than roadracing :)
I too have had roadracing effect my job and freindships thru being focused soley on racing.
I was chewed out by my boss when I got my 1st street bike, he said that he had a vested interest in me (he sponsered my 10,000 hour Tool & Die Apprenticeship) and couldn't afford to have me get hurt or killed riding a motorcycle! Five years later when I got my roadrace license I couldn't even tell anyone at work because my boss would have flipped out if he heard about me racing motorcycles. Not being able to even talk about roadracing to fellow workers was very frustrating. Eventually the owners son (vice president) saw me going to a race one weekend with my race bike and told everybody at work, so the secret was out. To this day the upper management will not even acknowledge the fact (to me) that I roadrace, but I suppose that's better than getting chewed out.
I also had to learn to not talk to my freinds about racing so much, unless they asked, because they got sick of listen to roadracing being the only topic I would talk about. I also found that some people, including some non-racers who ride motorcycles, get really jealous of the fact that I race and they don't! Really sucks when you talk about something you have a passion for and others take it as rubbing it in their face. I think alot of those people are just jealous of the fact that they haven't chosen to be involved in something themselves that brings this much excitement into life!
QuoteNot being able to even talk about roadracing to fellow workers was very frustrating.
I hear ya! At my work, people could care less about anything "race" related. They only like Football, Basketball, Baseball. They usually totally ignore me when I start talking about roadracing. Oh well, I'm not doing it for them
You know what I get alot..."You just talk about racing so you can sound cool." They just don't understand how consuming it is.
QuoteYou know what I get alot..."You just talk about racing so you can sound cool." .
Yeah - that's it, just to look cool. ::)
Next time whip out the RRW article - No better yet, get several copies and wallpaper your work space.
They're just jealous that they don't have the 'nads to try such a sport.
Dawn :)
Good idea...RRW wallpaper...lol. Whoohoo. <Beavis and Butthead> Damn I'm smooth! <Beavis and Butthead> ;D
They're just jealous that they don't have the 'nads to try such a sport.
Dawn
well said Dawn. i like your choice of words. most
people don't even believe me when I tell them
about racing. I think they expect us all to be on
Speed Vision and race for some factory.
that'd be cool tho ;D
Benj.
QuoteI hear ya! At my work, people could care less about anything "race" related. They only like Football, Basketball, Baseball. They usually totally ignore me when I start talking about roadracing. Oh well, I'm not doing it for them
I find it amusing that there are so many 'armchair athletes' out there that aren't involved in anything, but they sure have a strong opinion about those that are. I just want to tell those people to get a life when they start ridiculing some athletes' performance (at whatever level the athlete is competing). I have overheard a number of those same people criticizing motorsports competitors as not being athletes and more or less saying that anybody can give it the gas.
When those of us involved in roadracing talk about a roadracer we see on TV at least we have somewhat of a more realistic idea of what that person is facing and the talent, developed ability, and physical conditioning it takes to compete at the top levels of motorsports.
I too have had the "You just talk about racing so you can sound cool" scenario happen quite a few times. Since I don't "look the type" to roadrace motorcycles I have told people I race just to see their shocked reaction more than anything. Now I have gotten to the point of talking very little about racing motorcycles (unless asked) even around the street rider guys for the reason of not wanting to sound like I'm bragging. This can be so difficult once you've become addicted and it becomes an "all-consuming" part of your life.
Mabey, just mabey, those non participators will actually get involved to some degree themselves someday and learn what it is that we already know; when your involved in racing, your truely living life!
In the movie Le Mans, Steve Mc Queen says, "Racing is life. Anything that happens before or after? It's just waiting."
I no longer have any friends who aren't into racing in some way. "Normal" people don't rate with me. Work, get paid, buy 30-pack, watch baseball. This is considered normal, and I'm the lunatic. What a waste of a life.
I may be coming out the far side, because I only dream about racing three or four nights a week now. The rest of the time, I have normal, symbolic dreams like anyone else. (The furnace of a huge building fails, everyone is freezing, and it's up to me to fix it. What could that symbolize? Who knows, who cares. Time to go rebuild my blown engine...)
The only thing that horrifys me about this addiction is knowing that someday I'll have to stop. What the hell would I replace racing with?
K3
QuoteIn the movie Le Mans, Steve Mc Queen says, "Racing is life. Anything that happens before or after? It's just waiting."
I no longer have any friends who aren't into racing in some way. "Normal" people don't rate with me. Work, get paid, buy 30-pack, watch baseball. This is considered normal, and I'm the lunatic. What a waste of a life.
I may be coming out the far side, because I only dream about racing three or four nights a week now. The rest of the time, I have normal, symbolic dreams like anyone else. (The furnace of a huge building fails, everyone is freezing, and it's up to me to fix it. What could that symbolize? Who knows, who cares. Time to go rebuild my blown engine...)
The only thing that horrifys me about this addiction is knowing that someday I'll have to stop. What the hell would I replace racing with?
K3
Well, Stevie, looks like you forgot about that big right hander at the end of the old straightaway. ;D
(It isn't the speed of my life that scares me, it's the sudden stop at the end ;D).
QuoteThe only thing that horrifys me about this addiction is knowing that someday I'll have to stop. What the hell would I replace racing with?
K3
Who says you have to stop?
Gary Nixon is still fun to race with.
You might change how you do it, but you don't have to stop. So, don't restrict yourself so much.
After 1993, I was exhausted. I put together my program for 1994, focusing primarily on AMA. I wanted a ride. The season started as a struggle, but I got the opportunity to do some development work on some vintage race motorcycles as the rider. It was an opportunity.
Bottomline, I get more press world wide and nationally doing well on a vintage bike that I ever did racing modern stuff nationally. And the things that I understand about a motorcycle chassis...well, a lot of that comes from riding bikes that had a different chassis design...one that didn't work as well as todays machines.
As long as you keep learning and having fun...why stop ever?
QuoteI too have had the "You just talk about racing so you can sound cool" scenario happen quite a few times. Since I don't "look the type" to roadrace motorcycles I have told people I race just to see their shocked reaction more than anything. Now I have gotten to the point of talking very little about racing motorcycles (unless asked) even around the street rider guys for the reason of not wanting to sound like I'm bragging. This can be so difficult once you've become addicted and it becomes an "all-consuming" part of your life.
Mabey, just mabey, those non participators will actually get involved to some degree themselves someday and learn what it is that we already know; when your involved in racing, your truely living life!
Mike:
I think what you need to do is start showing people you race in a very indirect way. Start by placing a picture of yourself racing in your work area or in your tool box. If you have some wood, bring that too. Have some business cards made up with a small picture of yourself, name, phone number and racing statistics. When you're talking to a "non-racer" ask them to give you a call sometime and whip out your "business card." If they ask what's this, tell them that you had them made up for potential sponsors, but tell them since it has your number on it, just use that to give you a call.
You may open a few doors and some actually may show further interest in our sport.
Just an idea!
Dawn ;)
Exactly, Dawn... which is why I have this big rectangle drawn out in dotted lines on my cube wall alongside some of Jack's best work! (don't laugh - we all need something to dream about)...
I'm trying to put together a "team outing" for my department at one of the Blackhawk weekends (maybe the Wegman). I realize I'm very fortunate to have coworkers who are so supportive of my new passion (well, at least they're curious) and thought it would be a cool way to share the excitement. Plus, you never know who may "know somebody who knows somebody".
QuoteWell, Stevie, looks like you forgot about that big right hander at the end of the old straightaway. ;D
"Can you tell us what happend with the Delaney shunt?"
"Usual problem at Le Mans. Slower traffic got in the way."
Don't get me started. I can quote that movie line for line.
QuoteMike:
I think what you need to do is start showing people you race in a very indirect way. Start by placing a picture of yourself racing in your work area or in your tool box. If you have some wood, bring that too.
At my work alot of the people have something that interests them set as the wallpaper on their computer and also have pictures in frames set out as well. I have a picture of myself racing set as my wallpaper on my computer at work (the only picture I keep at work) and have had more people make comments how I'm just showing off (though strangely the endless pictures they all have of their families aren't used for showing off?). I've just gotten to the point of keeping the experience somewhat to myself now and only talking about racing to the few other racing enthusiasts I know, and not to the numerous 'armchair athletes' out there.
We have a guy here at work that gives us motorcycle riders a hard time. There are 5 of us here with bikes, and one on the way, but I'm the only racer. I just tell that one loser to wear knee pads to work cuz if he has a problem he can b l o w me! ;D
Hey all you guys who get a hard time from people who think you are just trying to be cool because you race or talk about racing 24/7? Own it! You are cool!!!!!!! Don't be ashamed!!!! Fair weather riders who don't understand racing are dull. And if they do understand and still talk crap, they're jealous. And they can own that.
Ok I'll go back to my office chair now.... ;D
QuoteThere are 5 of us here with bikes, and one on the way, but I'm the only racer. I just tell that one loser to wear knee pads to work cuz if he has a problem he can b l o w me! ;D
WORD, BROTHER! LOL!
Ok, so people know people that can race cars....
My wife's 90 year old grandfather that has Alzeimers can drive a car...
I race bikes.
I worked with Dale Quarterley for quite some time. Some of you have no idea who that is, and that's fine...
Anyway, Dale was racing his superbike to pay for his car racing. What a deal, eh? So, I asked him, "Dale, which is more fun: cars or bikes."
"Cars." "Really," I said. "But bikes are more exhilarating. There's nothing like trying to hold open my Superbike in sixth gear going into the Gravity Cavity while it's shaking around." Nuff said. Most normal people can't think about what we do. And we go around and to it like it's normal.
It is fun.
Anybody that road races and doesn't know who Dale Quarterly is (except Nate cuz I know you are really young ;D), can see me after class for the big paddle with the holes in it! Shame on you. :)
Found an old (very old) race report about Quarterly. Nice guy. Met him once when I was a kid.
<From the Internet>
Two great days greeted the start of the 1994 AFM season. Good weather all around, great racing for the first day out, and no major trouble on the track. What's a little oil after all ??? All of the 1994 Die-Hards were treated to a great show by AMA ace Dale Quarterly. After leading and the pitting in an earlier race, he treated everyone to 11.99 great laps in Formula Pacific. Then just after Turn 12 he pulled off the course to let the series regulars collect the points.
1994 very old? Ouch!
If you want to see Dale, he's in the Vanson catalog and on the website for the Vanson car racing suits.
Dale does very well in the NASCAR Busch NE series... probably the hottest racing series really.
I graduated H.S. in '93...lol. 10 year reunion in June...ouch.
Dale Quarterly was awesome. Loved the Ninja Turtles deal. By the way, I graduated in 81. 20 yerar reunion was 2 years ago. Major ouch!!!