Warchild
Benevolent Dictator
Well, we are back, and I suppose I will have to admit, this year's trip simply wasn't as much fun as the previous two we've made, and it was indeed the weather that really put a damper on things. That said, weather on the actual race day (Monday, May 28th) was as perfect as it gets.... blue sky, bright, searing sunshine and temps in the mid-70's. Glad for it on race day, no doubt, but by then, much of the trip was badly marred by horrendous weather the first two days of Practice/Qualifying.
Here in the waning afternoon sun, Driveway Cat stands guard over the two bikes in the garage, all packed and ready to depart some time around 1am on Friday, May 25th:
We fortunately avoided rain until we reached Pendleton, OR, where the skies opened up and the temps plummeted downs to the low 40's. It stayed that way the rest of Oregon and most of Idaho. Around 50 miles past Twin Falls, the rain finally stopped, but it was still overcast, windy and cold. It was so crappy, I didn't bother to break out the camera the entire ride down.
Day One Qualifying:
Woke up to overcast skies and rain. And wind..... heavy, HEAVY wind. Here I am standing at the start of Vendor Row... I am so happy....
We had "Paddock Patio" tickets, and among the benefits are that they serve you lunch under the shade of one of the grandstands towards the end of the straightaway. Here's what it looks like under those grandstands on Day One.... wasn't a whole lot of need for shade that day:
The rain and low temps made for some fun times during Practice and Qualifying. In this Superbikeplanet.com photo below, the two Aprilia's of Max Biaggi and Eugene Laverty head out on Day 1 Practice session:
By the end of Day One, Lauryn and I grimace after a day full of non-rain, high gusty wind, temps in the 40's..... bleech!
Day Two Qualifying:
At the start of the day, it was more rain and wind, but not quite as bad as Saturday. Here's a superbikeplanet.com shot of Marco Melandri blasting down the front straightaway during early Day 2 practice session:
Well, it's starting to dry out a little... here is Pit Row for AMA Superbike, where we had seats directly behind Ben Bostrom and Roger Lee Hayden, who ride for the National Guard/Michael Jordon Suzuki teams:
Lauryn and I are trying to stay upbeat in the rain, showing off our Paddock Passes before walking down Pit Lane:
Things were looking up by the time we got back to the hotel.... starting to see some decent sunshine, and we score awesome, premier parking spots immediately outside our hotel room exit - hopefully, all of this is a sign of the predicted good weather for tomorrow!
Day 3: Race Day!
As Lauryn dons her HJC helmet for the ride out to the racetrack, her Miller temporary tattoo stands out in the sunshine!
FINALLY.... sunshine! After 3 days of non-stop rain/clouds, this was a glorious sight on Race Day!
Amazingly enough, Lauryn and I were among the first motorcycles to be parked that day... check out the weather for Race Day - woo-hoo!
Lauryn wanted a photo of the Instructors for the Yamaha School of Champions, who take fans out on the racetrack for a Superbike Hot Lap. left-to-right behind Lauryn are Nick Ienatsch, Mark Schellinger and Ken Hill:
The Yamaha School of Champions has a lot of training aids, including their famous "Leaning YZF-R6" that Lauryn tries out here... since the bike isn't actually moving, sitting on it at this extreme angle is much harder than it looks:
Ah, yes.... the Ducati Umbrella Girls..... they finally came out in the sunshine....
Lauryn captures World Superbike Race 1 winner Carlos Checa as he is putting on his sunglasses after coming off the podium:
The Ride Back to Washington:
Now for a lengthy ride back home, but unlike the ride down, we were blessed with stellar weather for this return trip. We blasted west out of Salt Lake City just after 3am, and here we are refueling at West Wendover, Nevada as dawn approaches:
Taking a break and stretching our legs somewhere near Mountain Home, Idaho... gotta love the big blue sky in the High Desert!
Here we are at our last refueling stop in Baker City, Oregon. Actually, Lauryn still has over 100 miles to go after we arrive in the Tri-Cities, so this is the best part of a 1000-mile day for her.... I am very proud of the motorcycle rider this young woman has become, you can tell she is all business when she's on the bike:
While the weather was marginal early on, it was still a killer time... always is, whenever Daddy and Daughter can have a motorcycle adventure together!!! We are both committed to going again next year, regardless of the weather!
Here in the waning afternoon sun, Driveway Cat stands guard over the two bikes in the garage, all packed and ready to depart some time around 1am on Friday, May 25th:
We fortunately avoided rain until we reached Pendleton, OR, where the skies opened up and the temps plummeted downs to the low 40's. It stayed that way the rest of Oregon and most of Idaho. Around 50 miles past Twin Falls, the rain finally stopped, but it was still overcast, windy and cold. It was so crappy, I didn't bother to break out the camera the entire ride down.
Day One Qualifying:
Woke up to overcast skies and rain. And wind..... heavy, HEAVY wind. Here I am standing at the start of Vendor Row... I am so happy....
We had "Paddock Patio" tickets, and among the benefits are that they serve you lunch under the shade of one of the grandstands towards the end of the straightaway. Here's what it looks like under those grandstands on Day One.... wasn't a whole lot of need for shade that day:
The rain and low temps made for some fun times during Practice and Qualifying. In this Superbikeplanet.com photo below, the two Aprilia's of Max Biaggi and Eugene Laverty head out on Day 1 Practice session:
By the end of Day One, Lauryn and I grimace after a day full of non-rain, high gusty wind, temps in the 40's..... bleech!
Day Two Qualifying:
At the start of the day, it was more rain and wind, but not quite as bad as Saturday. Here's a superbikeplanet.com shot of Marco Melandri blasting down the front straightaway during early Day 2 practice session:
Well, it's starting to dry out a little... here is Pit Row for AMA Superbike, where we had seats directly behind Ben Bostrom and Roger Lee Hayden, who ride for the National Guard/Michael Jordon Suzuki teams:
Lauryn and I are trying to stay upbeat in the rain, showing off our Paddock Passes before walking down Pit Lane:
Things were looking up by the time we got back to the hotel.... starting to see some decent sunshine, and we score awesome, premier parking spots immediately outside our hotel room exit - hopefully, all of this is a sign of the predicted good weather for tomorrow!
Day 3: Race Day!
As Lauryn dons her HJC helmet for the ride out to the racetrack, her Miller temporary tattoo stands out in the sunshine!
FINALLY.... sunshine! After 3 days of non-stop rain/clouds, this was a glorious sight on Race Day!
Amazingly enough, Lauryn and I were among the first motorcycles to be parked that day... check out the weather for Race Day - woo-hoo!
Lauryn wanted a photo of the Instructors for the Yamaha School of Champions, who take fans out on the racetrack for a Superbike Hot Lap. left-to-right behind Lauryn are Nick Ienatsch, Mark Schellinger and Ken Hill:
The Yamaha School of Champions has a lot of training aids, including their famous "Leaning YZF-R6" that Lauryn tries out here... since the bike isn't actually moving, sitting on it at this extreme angle is much harder than it looks:
Ah, yes.... the Ducati Umbrella Girls..... they finally came out in the sunshine....
Lauryn captures World Superbike Race 1 winner Carlos Checa as he is putting on his sunglasses after coming off the podium:
The Ride Back to Washington:
Now for a lengthy ride back home, but unlike the ride down, we were blessed with stellar weather for this return trip. We blasted west out of Salt Lake City just after 3am, and here we are refueling at West Wendover, Nevada as dawn approaches:
Taking a break and stretching our legs somewhere near Mountain Home, Idaho... gotta love the big blue sky in the High Desert!
Here we are at our last refueling stop in Baker City, Oregon. Actually, Lauryn still has over 100 miles to go after we arrive in the Tri-Cities, so this is the best part of a 1000-mile day for her.... I am very proud of the motorcycle rider this young woman has become, you can tell she is all business when she's on the bike:
While the weather was marginal early on, it was still a killer time... always is, whenever Daddy and Daughter can have a motorcycle adventure together!!! We are both committed to going again next year, regardless of the weather!
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Looking foward to next years report.
