Kicking up some dust on the Left Coast

April 22nd marked the start of the racing season for The Motor Men.  Yankee Springs TT was flanked from both sides on Sunday morning as the A-Train was driving 2+ hours from the East side to make the race and the Diesel was coming from the Windy City to the West.  Between the two of then they managed a total of 5 hours of sleep and 300+ miles to make their start times.  That's dedication!

A-Train arrived on the scene first and was planning a point and shoot type race.  He got there with just enough time to catch up with guys like Bellringer, JLO, Lakomoto and of course Dub 9.  He even ran into Masher and his family right before warm ups.  A-Trian had signed up for Elite instead of Expert and when he was asked why his response was, "Well, there were 36 guys in my Expert class and only 29 guys in Elite.  So I did some math and figured out that if I raced Elite I was guaranteed a top 30 finish."  But really A-Train was pressed for time so he out classed himself on purpose and signed up in the elite just to get an earlier start time.  But he waited until the last minute to register so he wouldn't get in anyone's way.  Plan worked out perfect as he started 30th out of 31 riders and finished 29th overall.....1 spot better than he thought he would.  After the race he met up with Tank Evans to say hi and then it was off to the car to pack up and head home.  No time to hang and chat or even find Diesel.

Diesel didn't need the morning salute though as he was greeted by Dud 9 and briefed of the morning's events.  Sure he would have liked more sleep and a shorter drive but his youth comes out once a year in Chicago and the city talks about until his return. So after a long night of spirits and fatty foods, Diesel went to work on the course.  He tore it up and let close to nothing on the trail.  He stuck around for a few minutes after to check his results but ultimately packed it up and proceeded to make the 2 hour drive back home.

Although the A-Train finished close to dead last in Elite, his 2 lap time of 1:44:17.3 (51:24 and 52:54) would have placed him 17 out of 36 in his Expert class.  He was quoted later saying, "I was definitely out of place at the starting line.  Pretty sure I was the only one not on a plastic bike and probably the only one on a full suspension.  But it was fun and I made it home in time to take the offspring to their friend's bday party.  But not a bad day on only 4 hours of sleep.  Was out late last night bowling, defending my team's 2nd place standing during the last night of playoff's"

The Diesel did his single lap of 51:38 fast enough to place 4th out of 30 in his class finishing only 45 seconds behind the podium.  He was caught later saying, "Maybe if I would of had more than an hour of sleep and 4 or 5 less Red Bulls and Vodka last night I would have made the podium...."

So the first race of the year is finally out of the way and our merry little duo looks ahead to this coming Sunday at the Pontiac TT.  A-Train hopes to hang onto the mid pack in Expert with a better night's sleep and some fresher legs.  The Diesel will be shooting for a podium finish in Sport with plans of a better night's rest and much less drinking.