LORAZEPAM
leave my monkey alone
On the weekend of July 25, I went to the superbike races at Mid Ohio Raceway in Lexington Ohio. It was a pleasant ride up, taking mostly backroads.
I managed to find a campsite in a fairly level spot, but not much shade was to be found. I will have to say that camping at the races is radically different than than your typical rally. From the time we set up camp, till the guy fired off a few gunshots at 3am, we were treated to the sound of rev limiters and floating valves coming from various points around the campground. It almost sounded like camping in jurassic park, with dinosaurs calling to one another.
The races are combined with qualifying, the various classes doing different things at different times, so that there is always someone on the track. I found the qualifying laps interesting, watching how the riders drafted each other and followed lines to see how each other took the turns, as well as how to set up for a pass. Once the races started, there was plenty of action, with battles raging for position up and down the field. I found the smell of the racing fuel and the sound of the motors to be something you just can't miss, and now watching the races on TV will seem so sterile from now on.
I have to admit that I was hoping for a really great showing from the ducati front, they sounded so good, compared to the UJM four cylinder bikes, but alas, they just didn have the muscle down the long back stretch to keep up.
Overall it was a great weekend, and I would recommend a weekend trip to the races to anyone. I also discovered on this trip that my Givi 36 liter bags will hold 30 pounds of ice and a case of beer each. Attached are some photos. I wish that I could have used the photographers access points to get them without the fence, guess I will have to find a way to get a press pass next year.
http://lorazepam.smugmug.com/gallery/23003
I managed to find a campsite in a fairly level spot, but not much shade was to be found. I will have to say that camping at the races is radically different than than your typical rally. From the time we set up camp, till the guy fired off a few gunshots at 3am, we were treated to the sound of rev limiters and floating valves coming from various points around the campground. It almost sounded like camping in jurassic park, with dinosaurs calling to one another.
The races are combined with qualifying, the various classes doing different things at different times, so that there is always someone on the track. I found the qualifying laps interesting, watching how the riders drafted each other and followed lines to see how each other took the turns, as well as how to set up for a pass. Once the races started, there was plenty of action, with battles raging for position up and down the field. I found the smell of the racing fuel and the sound of the motors to be something you just can't miss, and now watching the races on TV will seem so sterile from now on.
I have to admit that I was hoping for a really great showing from the ducati front, they sounded so good, compared to the UJM four cylinder bikes, but alas, they just didn have the muscle down the long back stretch to keep up.
Overall it was a great weekend, and I would recommend a weekend trip to the races to anyone. I also discovered on this trip that my Givi 36 liter bags will hold 30 pounds of ice and a case of beer each. Attached are some photos. I wish that I could have used the photographers access points to get them without the fence, guess I will have to find a way to get a press pass next year.
http://lorazepam.smugmug.com/gallery/23003
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