High jinks at Thunder Hill

Vroom vroom VROOOOM! That was the noise filling my ears all weekend. In the span of one week I attended two racing events - last weekend it was the Moto GP in Laguna Seca, this weekend it was the AFM races at Thunder Hill. Both were loads of fun. The thing I find intriguing about motorcycle racing is that it's very, very technical. You go to these events and hear people talk about their bikes and all the modifications they've made, the special parts they've added to make it go faster. The conversations are usually over my head, but what's clear is that these people have an unusually detailed knowledge of mechanics. This is necessary to succeed on the track, because something as small as a half turn of a dial here and there can be the difference between speeding away or hanging at the back of the pack.

It's a lot of fun camping out at the track. I got to help Mickey with some small things, like putting tire warmers on the bike and whatnot (yes, the tires are pre-heated to make them grip the track better). The highlight was learning to ride the pit bike, which is a teeny version of a motorcycle, and the slow bike races that took place Saturday night. A group of racers and race officials created this event where you had to ride your bike as slowly as possible without touching your foot to the ground. The last person to the finish line won, and they even had an official podium ceremony with champagne! It was hilarious. A couple pictures below - they are blurry because my camera is on the fritz again. Or perhaps the blurriness conveys my mental state that night - it *did* take place after a few rum 'n' cokes!