Since my favorite squidboy was racing for the first time in 9 years, and since Mars Pathfinder had killed my 4th of july weekend and I had some time to burn... I decided on a whirlwind weekend at the track. On the other coast. Landed at JFK airport at 6 45 am, and found Sweetie, (new owner of Pickle) who drove me to my 'rents house. They were a little surprised to see me but Mother made the best breakfast and my favorite foods. Showered, changed and headed for Bridgehampton. Somehow FOUND Bridgehampton - this track is not clearly labeled. Went in and tried to find an Audi. I GUESSED there wouldnt be more than one, but I dont know what they look like, and Sweetie was looking for a newer one, so we totally missed it. Pretty much found Paul L. just as he was getting back on the track for the rest of Penguin School. *Drat! I'd hoped to get there around lunch so I could hang with them for a bit.* Found Steve M in his oh so fashionable leathers that matched the CBR600F3 he owns, but not at all the KawiGreen Ex500 he was riding... (eww.) and told Paul and Steve that I'd be at the pit and see 'em when they were done with class. Got to watch Paul and Steve follow the teacher and then *wait wait wait wait* for the rest of the class to follow... looked like they were getting pretty personal attention. The only problem for me being at a track is that I really want to ride, and I didnt have a bike and I was getting all antsy about it. Set up my new tent, decided I liked it even better now - the nitelite from REI - not as much headroom as Catness's new tent, but its long and has lots of space at the feet...and for the price (120$), couldnt be beat. I found out later, two broadshouldered people have to be kinda friendly. Oh well. :) Paul and Steve get off the track finally, and we start thinking about dinner. End up in Sag Harbour, (its me, Paul, Steve, Ed MacFarland, and Sweetie) at this pretty good Mexican place whose name I've forgotten... We get back, and Catness shows up. Sit in her tent for a while, talking and eating strawberries for dessert (steve, they were AWESOME berries) and then decide to go to sleep. It rained in the middle of the nite, so the rainfly had to be put up. Fortunately, its easy to do at nite with this tent. I think we manged to get catness's on inside out... i'm such a failure as a pit tootise. I could NOT WAKE up in the morning to go get coffee and bagels and stuff like I'd promised. Fortunately, Steve and Ed did that. *thanks you two! I really really need to eat in the morning.* Bagels and Lox and strawberries for breakfast. I didnt want to do cornerworking, since I'd never DONE it before, and didnt know a damn thing, but they were so short, I ended up in a corner with Kit. Turn 7. NOTHING ever happens in turn 7. One of the more surreal moments on this trip, getting to ride on the back of the ChickenHawk, carrying Catness's stuff, and trying not to lose my Team KneeDragon hat, going from Turn 1 to Turn 6... hey! I got to ride around most of bridgehampton as a BoB! Well, my knees were kissing my chest and I pretty much was wrapped around catness holding her tank to try and keep my center of gravity lower (I'm a Lot Heavier than she is). But it was fun! Putt putt putt 'round the track... wow! look at those turns...blind, treelined, gorgeous...whoooooeeee Practices started, and I tried to time Paul L going thru turn 7 in the practices, but for some reason kept mixing him up with some other rider on a 600fsomething... (yea, I KNOW, look for the number, but I'd see the helmet and leathers first...) Steve was obvious on his ugly green bike in his white and purple and floursecent green leathers, UNTIL you noticed that there was ANOTHER guy on the same penguin bike with white and blue leathers in the same pattern... shoot. Good thing Steve sits the way he does - THAT I can recognize from just about anywhere. The races start, and this is all a blur for me. The only things I remember are during the 25 minute endurance race... that weird sense of anxiety and then BAM! two bikes hit each other right in front of me. *fear fear* thank goodness the ambulance is right there, I wont have to deal with any broken bones or whatever - both riders are up, first bike is right in the middle of the track - Kit is waving some flag, i dont see it. *is it clear? oh man, who's idea is it to wear white shirts so I'm so totally visible that they cant do anything other then see me and hit me?* Damn, this 600 is heavy! the back wheel is locked - its in gear and the only way I know how to lift a bike like this involves putting my back to oncoming traffic. Not a good idea. I pick up the handlebars and prepare to drag it off the track when someone jumps the fence, grabs the back end and helps me lift it. We have the back wheel up and roll it off as far as we can to a berm and just dump it over. I dont see the second bike.. did it go off the track? I jog down the straight, past the rise I saw from my station and see the bike, smack in MIDDLE of the track, right past the rise where Kit and I and any racer coming down that straight cannot see it. This is the scary part. I dont know what to do. I want that bike off the track, but to get there, I have to GET ON the track where no one can see me. Kit cant see what's happening to stop the racers. *panic panic* rule one, keep me safe. rule two keep riders safe. I'm breakin' rule two 'cause to do it would break rule one. Just as I decide I've got to run back and TELL her its there where she cant see it, I see her waving a red flag and see the bikes coming over the hill slowly... some other racer comes out on the track with me and we heave this bike (whose rear wheel is totally locked up) right off the track and hide it behind another berm...) panic panic, riders down are ok, I grab the foot pegs and other debris off the track, check for oil and come back and just about collapse. I think this was race one. all right, my stomach hurts so much from sheer fear of someone else getting hurt that I can barely breathe. I do not understand how cornerworkers do it. Its too damn scarey. By the end of race 4, I've got to take a break - eat something, drink something - get away from the track. I end up going back to the pit to get some water and food and find Steve relaxing before his last race and force him to sit still while I work out some of my aggressions on his shoulder and back muscles by giving him a backrub... I miss race five that had an advanced life support call in a further turn and remind myself that motorcycling is a dangerous sport. Racing is a dangerous sport. But, you know, life is the real danger, no one comes out of that alive... Race 7 is steve's last race. He's been pretty consistent so I dont have to pay attention 'til about 2 minutes go by and then I see him just about 6 or 7 seconds later. I missed him on one pass and paniced, thinking I hadnt seen him at all, wondering if he'd gone down, and sat near Catness to hear the radio in case I heard his numbers. THOSE two minutes were long long long... then, two minutes, 7 seconds later, there he goes, dicing with another ex500. *relief!*sigh* Its a long hot day and there are a lot of crashes, tho no more in my turn. turn 3-4 and turn 10 were hit hard... The last race had me holding my breath for just about all of it.race 12 and t13 were combined, which meant Paul L was in a race with a gazillion bikes at the end of a Long Hot Day. I didnt have the stopwatch any more, but I was counting seconds to see him come by, just about ever 110 seconds I'd hold my breath til I saw his helmet fly by... There was a fairly bad mixup with three bikes in turn 3, and I was never so glad to see that goofy helmet and white bike/leathers go by... I'd never ever ask anyone I knew who rode to give it up, and I certainly wouldnt ever ask someone who raced to do the same - doesnt mean I wont hold my breath, and doesnt mean that I dont worry. You worry, you take a deep breath, and you go on with it... The thing that almost makes it worth it is during the victory lap, all the riders come by the turns, and we wave and give them a thumbs up - its like when you pass another rider on the street and wave - all the racers wave, beep their horns, stick out their foot and acknowledge the cornerworkers. That's SO COOL! I'm glad they do that, and I'm glad they are having fun and made it and that we could help. The last race was over! Paul and Steve did well. Steve really well, considering he'd not been racing in 9 years, and held the record now for Not Crashing a penguin school bike. 7 bikes rented, 5 bikes crashed. We waited and waited for Paul's trophy announcement which they held over 'til Sunday, and then headed out to dinner again in sag harbour. the wait was excruciating, except we kept being pleasantly distracted by Steve's friend Janine, who'd flow by, talk to us and then try and find another resturant for us to eat at (I think we waited an hour and a half for dinner...) We were all so tired at this point that goodbyes were said right there, and Steve and I headed back to Lynnbrook that evening. All in all, I really enjoyed being at Bridgehampton. I miss my home island, and got to see my folks, and hang out with just about the coolest neatest folks I've ever met. The babes at Bridge have to be seen to be believed *oh WOW! are they gorgeous* and just talking to folks was a blast. Willow Springs, Aug 23rd, my friend Yves is racing an ex500...