Warchild/Daughter World Superbike Adventure!

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Dang, I saw your bike there today at the CMA tent, and was wondering who it belonged to. It would have been cool to meet you. Maybe next time. Glad you had a good time.

 
Here's a few more Saturday pics.... inside the Yamaha tent, here is Lauryn getting a photo-op on the actual YZF-R1 that Ben Spies used to capture the World Superbike title last year:

BenSpiesR1.jpg


Also outside the Yamaha tent were all the current models.... Lauryn claims this white R6 will be her next bike, but as you can clearly see towards the bottom of the picture, she is already on her tippy-toes, so this ain't gonna work unless we can get dog-bones to lower the bike by about 1.5"-2.0"

LaurynR6.jpg


As they typically do, Ducati spent mega-$$$ to set up "Ducati Land" just inside the Final Turn before the Start/Finish Line. Here is Lauryn in front of the entrance... it was, admittedly, pretty neat:

DucatiLand.jpg


Sunday, May 30

Today was Parade Lap day! I thought it would be neat to take Lauryn out on the track, but the fact is, the 25-mph pace made it all a bit tedious. Still, it was pretty cool to ride the track in its entirety.

Here's Lauryn next to the FJR, in line for the Parade Lap... we were on the first row!

parade1.jpg


There were a metric buttload of riders signed up for this Parade Lap:

paraderiders.jpg


Parade Lap begins.....

parade2.jpg


Lauryn turned around and shot the riders behind us in the Parade.....

parade3.jpg


The final turn ("Release") before the mile-long straghtaway.....

ParadeRelease.jpg


On the final stretch to the Start/Finish Line... pretty awesome!

ParadeStartFinish.jpg


After the First Qualifying Session on Sunday, fans were allowed to walk the paddock and check out the garages of their favorite racers... here's a shot of the factory Xerox Ducati team working on Noriyuki Haga's 1098 bike:

Haga_garage.jpg


The HANNspree Ten Kate Honda factory team, working on Johnny Rea's CBR1000RR:

HANNspree.jpg


The factory Kawasaki team, working on the bikes of Tom Sykes and Chris Vermeulen:

Vermeulen-Sykes.jpg


Roger Lee Hayden's satellite Kawasaki team:

HaydenGarage.jpg


Daddy and daughter enjoying the trackside sun towards the end of Sunday....

TracksideSun.jpg


Next up: the Main Event: Lauryn goes for a 2-up Superbike ride, and Races finally begin!

 
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Thanks for sharing! Looks like you had some real quality time with your daughter, that's just priceless.

I hope to be able to do some trips like yours with my little girl once she get's a little older and finely wears down her moms resistance to her getting more involved with her dad's bike riding. B)

 
Monday, Race Day, May 31

This was a heavy-duty day for Lauryn for many reasons... to begin, she brought her Ninja to the track, and wanted me to capture this fact on film. Here's her 500cc machine parked in a sea of liter+ bikes:

Day3NinjaGirl.jpg


Today was the day Lauryn gets to ride a superbike on the track piloted by one of the Yamaha Champions Riding School instructors. For the 2-up rides, the School uses brand new FZ1's that are surprisingly stock, except for the exhaust canister. The stock bazooka that comes on the FZ1 will badly drag on right-hand turns, so the school had to replace them with GYTR canisters.

Here's one of the FZ1s that the School uses:

2-upFZ1.jpg


Before the instructors give their pre-flight briefing, students are outfitted with proper racing leathers. Here Lauryn wrestles with her boots after donning the Alpinesters 1-piece:

Leathers1.jpg


All done... waiting for the pre-flight briefing:

Leathers2.jpg


Here's the new Superbike rider standing next to the white/red FZ1 that she is about to take out on the track!

Leathers_FZ1.jpg


Below is Lauryn seconds before donning her helmet and climbing onboard the superbike.... that's my girl; no fear, here!
bling_cool.gif


Final_superbike_wait.jpg


And now, two YouTube videos of Lauryn - one of her departing on the hot lap, the second covering her return!

On this first one, CRANK UP your speakers at the 0:40 second mark, and listen to Lauryn's bike scream down the straight-away!




Below, Lauryn is waiting for the rest of the 2-up riders to finish before hopping back into the van and heading back to the Yamaha Champions School:

Endof2-up.jpg


Now we are back in our grandstand seating area... we had fairly killer seats, immediately in front of "Release", the final turn before the Start/Finish Line:

Grandstands.jpg


Our seats gave us an awesome view of this final turn.... here, James Toseland and Johnny Rea lead Noriyuki Haga going into the final straight-away:

Race1.jpg


There it is.... thanks for coming along! 4 days, 2300 miles of riding, World Superbike Racing.... and Daddy/Daughter Memories of a Lifetime!

DaddyDaughterParty.jpg


 
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Thanks Dale, great fun following you two though this adventure. Boy oh boy was she hyped when she got off that super bike, that grin was so big I thought the chin bar on the helmet was going to fly off. :yahoo:

 
Dale, this has been by far one of the coolest threads on this forum in a long, long time. What an awesome trip that must have been!

As an aside, how old is your daughter now and at what age did she start getting interested in bikes? I've got 2 teenage boys that haven't expressed even the slightest interest in riding, if you can believe it. Their friends have told them that "motorcycles are for old guys. Like your dad", (meaning me). Gee-fucking-thanks, kids. ;) And, coincidentally, I've got a cherry 2006 Ninja 500R in the garage in desperate need of a rider...

 
Some great memories on this trip! Glad you had such a great time and thank you for sharing them with us! :)

 
Dale, this has been by far one of the coolest threads on this forum in a long, long time. What an awesome trip that must have been!
It was indeed... in fact, we have decided to make it an annual pilgrimage! B)

As an aside, how old is your daughter now and at what age did she start getting interested in bikes?
She is still 19 for a few more days... turns 20 on June 11th.

She was about 7 when I noticed that she would always watch keenly whenever I would work on the bikes or take off for a ride. She started riding fairly seriously with me when she turned about 9....

She has attended several motorcycle Gatherings with me over the years, including the 2004 WFO in Moscow, Idaho. I suspect she has well over 10,000 miles of pillion experience (primarily on the ST1100, CBR1100XX, and the FJR), before getting her motorcycle endorsement last summer.

 
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could be your offspring in any way whatsoever!
Until I read again her words:

Later, at Wells, Lauryn exclaimed: "Dad, WTF?! That was some gnarley shit!" :weirdsmiley: :weirdsmiley: :weirdsmiley:
And I realized it surely must be.

I have been fortunate enough to meet the Warchild offspring and will admit I could not believe that such a cute little girl came from those loins....... Until sitting in the restaurant and she was commenting on her burger ..... What she said I cannot repeat but it was Sooooooooo Warchild ..................... I actually fell off my chair laughing (W-A-Y better than "That was some Gnarly shit").

You get a chance to talk to her, she her life attitude, and there is no doubt at all the connection with Big Daddy! Great thread, excellent pics, Looks like fun was had by all and that is a good thing.

Brian R.

 
Forgot this one cool photo.... the rear tire of Lauryn's superbike after completing her hot lap......
bling_cool.gif


FZ1tire.jpg


 
Really cool stuff!!!! What a chance, getting taken around at speed!!

As an aside, I like her boots. I've got a pair of Tour Master Solutions that have seen daily use, including a crash, for close to 3 years now, still all-day comfy, still waterproof. (The crash involved a toe scuff in a left side lowside, hyper-extended my foot, but I'm positive the boot kept it from breaking my ankle. The crash scuff is on top of the boot, and some of the stitching on the shifter pad was torn. No other damage. That's actually the same crash where you had asked in the thread how my Joe Rocket Phoenix III gloves held up, and I'm still wearing those - although honestly, they need to be replaced. They're just so comfortable, I hate to toss them, but there are wear holes, etc!!!)

 
Having met Lauryn years ago, I'm not at all surprised at her abilities or bravery.

Go dad, go daughter.

GZ

 
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