a day at the races

not an inferior machine

our hero

first lap

I didn't think it was going to happen this year even after all the talk and planing we did,but we did it, that's right Nate and I made it out to the Gene Romero west coast flat track series and raced in the open class(we found out later that this is a pro class),on an" inferior machine".this is a bitchen story,we show up just when the gates are to close to riders and registration,the first person we encounter is the kid we got the bike from(Nick).he lets us park in there little group and we start to unload the bike and get ready for practice.Ive got butterfly's in my gut big time and cant believe we are even here doing this(its like the first time you paddle out to a new break or a heavily local break).everyone we ran into was way cool and some what concerned about Nates choice to run in the open class on the 500 since it was his first time out on a track with 9 other rides(and these fuckers where fast).with that in mind we start getting the bike ready to hit the track and wouldn't you know it the fucker will not start,no spark!!!!so we trouble shoot it and find out its the plug wire(we know going in that the wire was fucked but didn't replace it do to funds or the lack of said funds),by now we got our neighbor intrigued and he starts digging in to help us out,must be a Yamaha thing cause he was on a 500 also,fully setup to race flat track not like our slightly modified TT500,cool dude came up from Reno to race and blow his engine on the second practice(Rick#59E)that was to bad.well with the help we got from Rick and some others that gathered and offered plenty of advise but not a hand it fired right up and we just made the practice laps,it was really bitchen watching Nate pull out there for the first time after being on the other side of the fence watching and talking about runnin a bike out on the track,it brought a tear to my eyes I was real proud of Nate then I snapped back to reality just in time to see just how fuckin fast this class is and how slow our bike was(Nate was holding his own out there but the bikes got no balls),this had me concerned for Nates safety.we didn't go to the races thinking that we where going to win or even place but i wanted my homie to do good and go home in one piece,after the first practice laps i meet up with Nate in the pits to reflect,WOW!!!!we look at a few things and realize "it is what it is"and figure lets have some fun and we can always build a faster bike when funds permit.second practice laps go fine and hes gettin more comfortable out there and riding the bike for what its worth,the other riders are giving him a nice birth around him as they pass and pass they did.Nate did fuckin awesome on the track considering he was on an "inferior machine"(words from the guy doing the tech. inspection).in my personal opinion givin a more suited machine he would do great and after some more laps on the track i think he may win some heats.after the timed laps Nates 3 seconds back from the leader and going to run in the"B"heat in ninth.so we are just kickin back in the pits and Gene(Romero) comes by to tell everyone that the parade lap and national anthem will start in 5 min.go to fire the bike up and guess what?yup you got it the fuckers not startin,the plug wire from hell strikes again,so we tear into it one more time and jerry rig the fucker to work for the rest of the night.got it fixed just in time to run(but we missed the parade lap,bummer),Nate finished dead last in both heat races but made the main(Gene wanted to give the fans a show and more riders in the main made for a good show,so everyone ran).we are all stoked at this point and I just plan fucked up and that's all there is to it,I didn't go over the bike for the main and he trow the chain on the second lap(fuckin stoners),I felt really bad about that till I realized that fuck man we did it,we came out here and just fuckin got some even if we where not going to win or place,we had fun and we had support from people we love and respect.all in all we learned a lot and Cycleset will be back!!!! I would like to thank Nick #28 for the use of his hot shoe and our club for the support and for coming out to cheer for our very own Trainwreck.