Superhero, Pete Licht, called me and asked if I wanted to ride his FZR!

I hadn't road raced in almost a year but, I've been missing it terribly - 
Dirt's fun but, it ain't road racing. If you pretend as hard as you can 
and try not to think about road racing then you can have a great time doing 
it but, there's just no comparison.

Anyway, I pulled on my leathers, hopped on my street bike Saturday morning 
and rode the 370 miles to Sears Point. I made it with with enough time to 
grab a couple afternoon sessions and try and shake the cob webs out.
 
I was wasting alot of energy out there and apparently forgot how hard you 
can get on the brakes on pavement but, my lap times weren't what I was 
expected so, I tried to focus on riding within my limits, having a good time 
on Sunday and bringing Pete's bike home in one piece.

...Grrrr, "Tried" being the key work - I was really hoping for a win! 

Sunday
Kristine showed up with the truck Saturday night and we drove out to the 
track together Sunday morning. This was gonna be the first time she's seen 
me road race!

450p
Despite my no points status I got gridded on the outside spot on the front 
row. When everyone finished their warm-up lap and was gridding up I noticed 
I was the lone FZR out there! 

"Oh yeah, they allow gray market bikes in 450p this year ...crap."

Pete's FZR is a great bike but, it's 16 years old and all the bikes around 
looked almost new and, I assume, alot faster. Crap, crap, crap.

I put my head down a revved it to a sedate 10 grand, the green flag dropped, 
I snapped my fingers off the clutch as fast as I could and got the holeshot 
of my life! What the hell?

After that I'm not too sure what happened - there was passing and being 
passed back. We were gridded with a couple other classes and all the bikes 
looked the same to me so, I had no idea where I was or who I was dicing with 
but, I had a good time and assumed I finished toward the back.

When I came in Joe and Carla were grinning like I had just won the lottery.

"How did it go?"
"...Er, fine I guess. I've got a few things to work on."
"You won!"
"What? That's impossible"
"Yep, you won!"
"...but, Ross definitely passed me." 
"He was in superdino!"
"No"
"Yes!"

Scoring said I was actually 4th but, joe and Carla hadn't seen anyone pass me. 
It was pretty damn exciting for a few minutes though.


450sb
This is usually the "Also Ran" class for a FZR but, I got KFG'ed up to 18th
on the starting grid, on the outside on row 4, instead of DFL which was 
really cool 'cause it gave me a shot at showing Kenyon my tailpipe ...if only 
for a second. Of course, that still meant getting a great start. For some 
reason I looked ahead at the three rows in front of me and knew I'd get it.

10 grand again, the green flag dropped and I catapulted into the front row 
and was in 3rd or 4th by turn 2. I knew I'd never be able to hold onto that 
for long - my laptimes in 450p suggest a more mid-pack or worse finish in 
this class but, at least I was in front of Kenyon!

The rear tire lost a little grip since the first race and I did what I could 
to block / be annoying but, I didn't have alot to show 'em. I ended up 
crossing the line in 11th. 


Then Kristine and I said our goodbye's, loaded up and drove out to Pete's 
to return his bike and see how his head was feeling after high-siding in the 
hot pit Saturday (Tee-hee!).

Thank you Pete!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!