The Free Radical

2010 Season: Over before it started?

2010-03-11T14:52:00.000-05:00

I injured my right knee just before Christmas, playing basketball at the gym. I was just killing time while my wife finished up on the treadmill. Went to change direction, planted my foot, but my knee kept going. I felt a pop, then some searing pain, and I was on the ground. I suddenly realized, as the high school kids I was playing with stared down at me with clueless expressions, that I was the old fat guy writhing around on the gym floor! I ended up with a torn ACL, and tears in my lateral and medial menisci. I put off the surgery so I could go to Gulfport for my job, and to get my interview with Josh and Melissa done. There was no way in hell I was missing that trip!

Anyway, I finally had the surgery done this past Friday. They grafted a piece of my patellar tendon, with a bit of bone on each side, into the center of my knee to replace the ACL. Doing that required that they drill holes in my femur and tibia, to thread the graft into. Then it's fastened on each side with screws. The surgeon ended up trimming off a little bit of one of the menisci, but the other one had already started healing up pretty well.

Pictures of my knee, post-op, follow (Warning, kinda graphic!!).

Basically, I'm looking at 6 months of intensive rehab, so track season this year may not happen at all. I'm going to make every effort to recover as quickly as possible, but it just has to heal, and that takes time. The pain isn't terrible right now, surprisingly. A portion of my lower leg, from my knee to about halfway down my shin, is still numb to the touch. I assume the surgeon may have nicked a nerve during the operation. Hopefully, feeling will return in that region eventually, but for now, I'm perfectly content for it to be numb! I'm also on Percocet and Ketorolac, and just came off of Oxycontin on Tuesday. So yay for drugs, I guess, but I hate taking pills, so I'll be getting off of those as soon as possible. The Ketorolac will run out tomorrow. After that, I'll probably switch to Ibuprofen, if I still need an anti-inflammatory.

Therapy already started Monday. I'm doing a handful of muscle-activation and range of motion exercises for now, and a couple stretches, just at home. I go back in for another assisted session tomorrow, then have my post-op with the surgeon on Wednesday of next week. The staples should come out then, and my leg will look a bit less gnarly.

All of this simply continues the pattern of my on-track activities for the past few years. In 2008, I got married in May, which pushed my track season start back to August. In 2009, we bought a new house, which again delayed my start until August. This year, depending on how quickly my knee is rehabilitated and I get clearance from my doctors, my track season may be delayed until August or later.

This brings me to an interesting decision. Last year, I spent all of my track time trying to knock off the rust from the previous year, and saw precious little gains in terms of improving my riding. In fact, I saw no gains at all in terms of lap times. So once my knee is good enough to ride again, I will have to decide whether it is worth the time and expense to go to the track for a few weeks at the end of the season, or just to shelve it all for this year and come out swinging in 2011. The bike needs new tires, a new exhaust, and a few other tid bits before it hits the track again anyway, so I might be better served just waiting, doing those things over next winter, and getting the most out of it next year. But boy, is that ever depressing to contemplate.

Sheesh, 2011! I'll be hitting the track on a seven year old bike! I'll try to massage a few more ponies out of her, but chances are, I'll be increasingly outclassed. As much as I hate to think about it, eventually, I'm going to have to upgrade equipment. Still, I'm not particularly worried about that until I'm starting to race seriously. No sense in blowing money on equipment when the rider isn't up to it, right?

But anyway, there's plenty for me to do in the mean time. I'll be rehabbing the knee, then once that's good enough, getting back on the mountain bike. I was in the middle of a weight loss program (and having some success!) when I dorked up my knee, so I'll need to get back on track with that, as well. I'll do my best to keep this site up to date with my progress, and hopefully I'll have some more interview and article content to post as well!

Until next time...

~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL

Interview with Josh Hayes and Melissa Paris

2010-03-04T12:21:00.001-05:00

Be sure to head on over to R6Live.com and read my recent interview with Yamaha AMA pros Josh Hayes and Melissa Paris!

http://www.r6live.com/content.php?r=82-R6Live.com-Exclusive-Interview-Josh-Hayes-Melissa-Paris!

Also, don't miss OnTheThrottle's coverage of their recent back seat rides in two Ohio Air National Guard F-16s:

http://www.onthethrottle.com/content/view/554/1/

Toyota, meet Tucker.

2010-02-06T01:35:00.001-05:00

The road of automotive history is littered with the burned and twisted wreckage of men, vehicles, and companies. Often, they were brought to their untimely end not by the consumer or natural market forces, but by the power of corrupt government officials, auto manufacturing giants, and lobbyists.

Consider the story of Preston Tucker, an endlessly innovative American entrepreneur, engineer and automobile designer. After conceptualizing and designing for 15 years, he produced the 1948 Tucker Sedan, a vehicle so far ahead of its time that it threatened to turn the established auto industry on its head. The concept vehicle featured such innovations as a padded dash board, side impact and rollover protection for the cabin, driver-centric instruments and controls, a subframe-mounted engine assembly, fuel injection, disk brakes, seat belts, and most famously, a third headlight which would pivot to light a vehicle's course through turns.

All of these ideas were unheard of (for cars) at the time, but are commonplace today (with the exception of the turning headlight, which is available as an option on some high-end European cars). In fact, many of them are government-mandated. But in post-war America, the major automakers had not produced a noticeably new or different vehicle since the war started. They were in the business of selling the automobiles they wanted to build, not necessarily those that the consumer wanted to buy. So when Preston Tucker came along with a sedan that could singlehandedly decimate Detroit, they had to kill it.

At the unveiling of the first Tucker prototype, saboteurs cut into the rear suspension of the car with a hacksaw, causing it to break, rendering the car immobile. Negative press following the event colored public opinion against the new vehicle, despite its status as a prototype.

Tucker persisted, making radical changes to the vehicle's engine, transmission and suspension systems. The vehicle, now nearing production, was continuously improved to not only match, but far surpass anything coming out of Detroit at the time. Finally, the Big Three could wait no longer, and in a conspiracy involving Senator Homer Ferguson of Detroit, launched a mostly-contrived SEC investigation into Preston Tucker. The ensuing slanderous media frenzy and concurrent (and equally slanderous) government action proved to be too much for the fledgling automaker, and it folded, having produced only 51 complete vehicles.

Fast forward to January, 2010. The media coverage surrounding Toyota's recent wave of recalls is bested only by the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, and the Saints going to their first Superbowl. A largely undiagnosed problem with the throttle systems on some Toyota models has, in a few cases, led to uncommanded acceleration, slow return to idle throttle, or other speed control issues. But if you peruse the media coverage regarding the situation, you would think that the entire Toyota fleet is careening wildly off the road, plunging their hapless drivers to their fiery deaths at the bottom of a ravine, like some poorly-scripted action movie.

Not surprisingly, it seems that even the number of crashes caused by the problem is in dispute:

First, the LA Times reports:

Sudden-acceleration events in Toyota and Lexus vehicles have been blamed for at least 19 fatalities and 815 vehicle crashes since 1999.

But the Associated Press, courtesy of The Advertiser says:

A private firm said it had identified 275 crashes and 18 deaths because of sudden, uncontrollable acceleration in Toyotas since 1999.

Since 1999, the actual number of reported complaints (not limited to crashes) related to "vehicle speed control" for Toyota vehicles to the NHTSA is 2,152. Divide that by the 2.3 million vehicles covered by the recall, and you get a failure rate of about .087%. The fatality rate works out to .00083%. This is far lower than the 1800 or so people who actually did die a fiery death in the 1973-87 GM pickup trucks fitted with ill-designed "side saddle" gas tanks. The fatality rate for this obvious, preventable design flaw was about .03%, or more than three times higher than the alleged problem with Toyota accelerators. GM's own study of the problem indicated a failure rate in accidents of a whopping 19%.

But while GM was forced to settle numerous individual and class-action lawsuits to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, a recall was never ordered. Former transportation Secretary Federico Pena was forced to stop the NHTSA's investigation, and the Justice Department brokered a deal for him to sign with GM that effectively precluded any further action against GM regarding the issue.

Interestingly, almost no mention whatsoever has been made of a popular GM vehicle, the Pontiac Vibe, also being affected by the same recall. The vibe was built in a joint venture with Toyota, but remains a GM vehicle, and is affected by the recall. But while information regarding the Vibe's recall is decidedly difficult to find, GM's special offers for Toyota or Lexus owners aren't. Perhaps understandably, the Big Three are working hard to take advantage of Toyota's problems. But this takes on a more sinister light given the following.

First, consider the person spearheading the investigation (and maliciously flubbing the public statements) about the recall: Former Illinois representative, and now transportation secretary Ray Lahood. Lahood is a liberal Republican product of the Illinois political machine, brought to his current post by virtue of his being good friends with Rahm Emmanuel. He has decidedly little experience in the realm of transportation, though he reportedly has significant financial ties to the industry he's supposed to be regulating.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar has basically said that the DOT's job is to be a yes-man to the White House, and that Lahood is a good candidate for the job (source: WSJ). In addition, he's in charge of regulating a vast amount of federal stimulus money, including having a hand in the bailout given to GM and other US auto manufacturers (except Ford). Interestingly, while Toyota's sales and stock price plunged precipitiously, based in no small part on Ray "The Other Joe Biden" Lahood's misstatement before Congress, the Big Three automakers are posting substantial gains.

Let's see how this all adds up. The government essentially owns GM and Chrysler now, which is great for the Democrats in control, because now they can capitalize even further on their unanimous labor union support. A foreign automaker, who routinely slaughters domestics in sales figures, has a statistically minuscule problem. The same government launches a barrage of investigations, negative press, and almost libelous comments against said automaker, causing their sales and stock to plunge.

Toyota, meet Tucker. Toyota certainly has the capital and savvy to withstand these disproportionate attacks, but the intentions of Toyota's assailants have not changed.

All of this is not to say that Toyota doesn't have a problem with the recalled vehicles. The problem, while statistically small, should be investigated and fixed, to ensure the safety of Toyota drivers worldwide. But the public should be wary of the conflicts of interest held by the government in this case, and what has swiftly become a witch hunt by the media.

~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL

Giddy as a Schoolboy

2009-07-21T13:12:00.003-04:00

My wife and I had the privilege of attending this past weekend's AMA round at Mid-Ohio, a track I had only previously experienced from the inside of the fence. I surprised my wife (the most wonderful woman in the world) with tickets and paddock passes Friday night, and we made the trip up early Saturday morning. It's rather odd, but despite my consuming passion for motorcycle roadracing, I had never previously attended a sanctioned motorcycle racing event of any kind. But the wait was well worth it, I assure you, as we picked one of the best racing weekends in recent memory to attend.

The weather was perfect, the people were friendly, and the racing was spectacular. From our vantage point in the grandstands at the end of the back straight, we witnessed some of the closest and most exciting racing the AMA has seen in some time. The seats (despite their state of disrepair) provided views of the entire back straight, through the Esses, and past where the riders shoot under the Honda bridge. It was an eye opening experience for me as a rider to watch the fastest riders in the country navigate the same course on which I have turned numerous laps, and I was able to pick up a few pointers that will certainly help me the next time I'm on track there. Not the least of which is that I need to stop being such a wuss going through turn 1!

The overwhelming highlight of the weekend for me, though, was our time in the paddock. Though I was pretty much star struck and dumbfounded on Saturday, I eventually got up the nerve and talked to several of my favorite riders, which was simply an amazing experience. I spoke to Josh Hayes (who ended up winning both Superbike races that weekend) twice for a short chat, as well as Ben Bostrom, Neil Hodgson, Josh Herrin (who was actually staying at our hotel!), and a slew of others. After getting hosed down with champagne by Tommy Hayden after race 2, I congratulated Hayes on his double victory, and he actually took the time to stop, give me a heartfelt thanks, and shake my hand. Truly a class act, that guy. I've always liked him, but after meeting him this weekend, he's made a lifetime fan of me.

Two days later, I'm still buzzing and grinning like an idiot from the experience. I was amazed at how friendly and approachable most of the riders were, and I'm grateful to have met them. True to common perception, it seemed to me that the factory Yamaha guys (riders and crew alike) were the happiest in the paddock. I have to say thanks to Josh Herrin in particular, who took the time to personally address the autograph on his poster to my wife and I. Great kid, and I hope he continues to excel. He and his teammate Tommy Aquino put on a great show in both Daytona Sportbike races. Meeting and speaking with the somewhat controversial but undeniably likable Johnny Rock Page was great as well, and I was sorry to hear of the penalties levied against him by the AMA.

The overall experience for this first-time attendee was incredibly positive. I enjoyed every minute of the weekend (minus all the walking, of course), and can't wait to do it again next season. We will be attending the Indianapolis GP next month, but even the MotoGP circus will have a hard time topping our AMA weekend.

Stay tuned for further commentary on the state of AMA racing in general, as well as a long-overdue update on my race bike build!

~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL

Scratching the Itch

2009-05-29T14:00:00.001-04:00

Since the completion of my street-to-track bike project has been decidedly delayed (we finally closed on our new house on Wednesday!), and the weather has become decidedly summer-like, the itch to hit the track has become nearly unbearable. I could only read so many more track day stories and race reports from my friends without going insane! So it was that on a whim, I had a look at the Sportbike Track Time forums to see if anyone was selling their spot to the already-sold-out KTM Ride_Orange day at Mid-Ohio. For this event, KTM would be supplying the bikes (brand new 990 Super Dukes), the tires, the fuel, and all that, and all I had to do was show up with my gear and ride! Sounded like a perfect way to scratch the itch to me, so when I found someone who was selling their slot, I snapped it up without hesitation.

The Bike

The Austrian company having been famous for it's off-road bikes for years, KTM has more recently forayed into the world of road-going bikes with a modest line up of adventure tourers, supermotards, streetfighters, and even one open-class racebike. The SuperDuke would fall under the streetfighter category. With minimal fairings, a riding position almost like that of a dirt bike, and aggressive styling, the SuperDuke is a certain kind of beautiful, in the eyes of some beholders.

Powered by a 75° v-twin motor displacing 999cc, this KTM produces a modest 119 HP but a beefy 74 ft lbs of torque. For reference, that horsepower number is easily attainable on most modern 600cc inline fours, but the torque number is nearly twice that produced by the fours. In fact, beefy is a word that could be used frequently when describing the SuperDuke. Power is transferred to the rear wheel via a six-speed gearbox and a stout-looking 525 chain (I would have guessed it was much heavier). 48mm (beefy!) WP Suspension front forks lead down to muscular Brembo 4-pot radially mounted brakes, which clamp down on 320mm rotors. The gas tank boasts an impressive five and a half gallon capacity (including reserve). The forty bikes provided by KTM for the event were fitted with a variety of tires, including Dunlop Sportmax GP-As, D209s and D208s, Pirelli Diablo Corsa IIIs, and Michelin Pilot Powers.

The Ride

The day dawned warm and humid, mist and fog rolling over the gentle hills of north-central Ohio, as it usually does in the warmer months. The weather forecast promised a heavy chance of rain, but there was no sign of it as the day began, with partly cloudy skies and a gentle breeze blowing through the paddock. After registration, I finagled my way into sharing a garage with four other guys (which would later prove fortuitous), unloaded my gear, and began suiting up. The riders' meeting advised us of the basic setups of the bikes (for a 175 lb rider, standard-shift only, no adjustments to be made through the day as we'd be sharing bikes between sessions), and KTM's damage liability policy (not quite you-break-it-you-buy-it, but...), as well as the usual routine of flags, pit procedures, and passing rules.

My group was the first to take to the track, and I mounted a brand-new (0.0 miles on the clock!) black SuperDuke fitted with Pirellis. Sitting on the bike, I noticed that it was long, tall and comfortable, the cushy suspension and wide, high handle bar leaving you sitting nearly upright. After adjusting the brake lever to the furthest position out, I cranked the motor over and we proceeded out onto the track.

And now for something completely different.

Veterans of Mid-Ohio will tell you that the first session of the morning is frequently treacherous, as the morning dew on the track surface, particularly on the technical back section, can make things quite slick. The amount of sealer used on the pavement at this track, while necessary to prevent the harsh winters from degrading the track surface, make it almost unrideable in anything but dry conditions. This, coupled with scrubbing in brand new tires, made the opening session particularly tricky for all of us. I was tucking the front and sliding the rear in nearly every corner, the mushy suspension not providing enough feedback to know when a slide was coming. Fortunately, the combination of compliant suspension and steering geometry also made it fairly easy to correct the slides, so nobody crashed.

My initial impression of the 990 SuperDuke was somewhat mixed. The strong points were certainly smile-inspiring, as the torquey v-twin motor provided power just about everywhere in the rev range, and the phenomenal front brakes slowed you from speed with excellent initial bite, feel and power. The wide, high bars made steering inputs easy and direction changes fairly effortless, despite the 410 lb dry weight of the bike. The bars also had drawbacks, however, as it was somewhat awkward to hang off the bike in the corners and still modulate the throttle. With more seat time, I might have been able to adjust my riding style a bit to help alleviate this problem.

Limiting all the bikes to the standard shift pattern (down for down, up for up) also presented a challenge for many riders in my group, who normally run GP or reverse shift pattern on our personal bikes. Several times in the first session I found myself shifting the wrong direction coming out of a corner, the bike protesting loudly as it was revved far past its intended range. The rev limiter, set at around ten thousand RPM, came on well before the bike stopped making power, and engaged with all the subtlety of a brick wall.

Coming from the perspective of a 600cc supersport rider, getting around the track on the KTM was an entirely different experience. I'm used to machines that carve corners like a scalpel, handle effortlessly, and let you know at all times what is going on between the tires and the pavement. Transitioning from a middleweight sportbike to the SuperDuke was akin to driving a go kart vs. driving a golf cart. Both can be made to go fairly quick, with the right coaxing, but the feel is so diametrically opposed as to deprive the operator of confidence when transitioning to the latter. After the first 20 minute session, I was left wondering what I had gotten myself into, and wishing hard to have my R6 back!

Ride it for what it is.

I went out for my second session determined to find out more about the bike, and let it show me how to ride it. I mounted another black SuperDuke, this one with nearly 2400 miles on the clock, and fitted with Sportmax GP-As that had been scrubbed in a bit and were at least lukewarm. Between the better rubber, warmer track, and my new mindset, I began to have a bit of fun on the big KTM. I discovered that the motor started putting power down as low as 2500 rpm, alleviating the need to shift so furiously as I do on my R6. As I shifted less, I gained more speed, allowing the bike to lug itself out of the corners, and enjoying the distinctive sound of a big v-twin growling beneath me.

A small group of loudly protesting riders had convinced the KTM techs on hand to tweak the suspension on all the bikes a bit, adding a bit of compression damping and increasing preload slightly. These changes made the bike much more responsive to control inputs, as if someone had given the bike its morning coffee and it was now fully awake. The bike was now able to more or less hold a line, and turning in while on the brakes was no longer a dicey proposition. Five laps into the session, I found myself having quite a bit of fun with the bike, particularly on corner exit, where you could wick up the throttle and get the rear to slide just slightly. And the sound of the motor was proving to be intoxicating, even with stock exhaust silencers fitted.

The clouds had started to gather somewhat during our second session, and just as I slipped on my helmet for our third, the skies opened up. The track marshals threw the red flag to bring in the riders from the session that was still running, but not before two people crashed on the suddenly slick track. So lunch started early for us, as the officials decided to cancel the third session entirely. I was completely disappointed, as I was just coming to terms with the SuperDuke, and wanted to see what I could do with my riding style to get even more out of it.

Fun in the... Damp.

Following our extended lunch, a riding instructor was sent out on track to see how much of it had dried since the rain let up. He came back in and gave his blessing, so after a brief riders' meeting, my group was sent back out on track. We spent several laps following the riding instructor, getting heat in the tires and scoping out the damp areas, trying to create a dry line through the corners. Riding at this reduced pace allowed me to appreciate the easy handling and overall good nature of the KTM at less than full pace. I came to the conclusion that the SuperDuke would be a fantastic street bike, with its easy handling and fat torque curve. The gobs of suspension travel would certainly be a plus in urban environments, and the bike was definitely surefooted when there was any traction available at all.

On about the fifth lap, myself and a friend got the go-ahead and charged past the instructor, eager to get a few decent laps in before the session was over. Once back up to pace, I still was left wishing for more suspension feedback, as the bike would frequently slide a bit before I knew it was happening. On the straights, the extra-long throttle throw made getting it wide-open a bit of a pain. Shifting while on the straights was somewhat comical to observe, as the throttle required such an exaggerated movement to go from on to off and on again (and the bike wouldn't shift any other way, at least without the clutch, and who wants to use that, anyway?). Several riders, myself included, reported having problems shifting into 5th and 6th at times, and I caught a few false neutrals. These problems might subside slightly once the bikes are fully broken in, but it was a frustrating problem to have nonetheless. All teething problems aside, I was really starting to come into my own on the SuperDuke, and very much wanted to get another full, clean session on the bike to really put it through its paces.

Vroom! Rain! Whoop! Bam!

The clouds had darkened again when we took to the track for our fifth session. Track officials had assured us that at the first hint of rain, they would throw the flags and bring us off the track, so I was paying special attention to the corner workers as I warmed up my tires and started putting in laps. There were a few drops of rain on my visor, but nothing to be really concerned about, so I started putting in laps and working with the bike.

I passed the instructor and chased down a (usually) faster friend of mine, passing him on the brakes going into turn 1. As I ran up to the chicane, more rain drops suddenly appeared on my visor, and I slowed to a moderate pace for turn 4. Exiting the turn, the instructor came back by me and the rain stopped, so we both charged hard down the straight. But just as we went through the kink by the flag stand, the orange and red debris flag came out, and the rain started in earnest. The instructor and I both checked up, had a look at each other and slowed dramatically for turn 6. In proper wet weather form, I slowed way down, let off the brakes completely, and tipped into the corner just behind the instructor. Just after I tipped in - whoop, BAM! I was on the ground. No warning, no slide, just me, the bike, and the pavement, getting friendly in ways I don't enjoy. My right leg was trapped under the bike as we slid off the track, coming to a stop in the grass, about six feet from the pavement. I wrenched my leg free and trotted away from the track into the sand trap, just in time to have another rider crash in exactly the same spot and come to rest just a few feet from where my bike lay! Then I looked to my left and saw another rider was down in turn 8, and unbeknown to us, a fourth had crashed in 10! So much for throwing the flags at the first sign of rain; 4 riders had crashed in 30 seconds!

My gear did it's job well, and I was unscathed from my lowside. My brand-new suit is now properly broken in, and I'll have to get a small hole on the right forearm patched. My right boot kept my foot and ankle intact, grinding down on the plastic protecting my ankle and lower leg. The bike was similarly lightly damaged, with only a couple scratches and a broken front brake lever to show for our off-track excursion. Once the rest of the bikes were safely by, I picked it up, pulled the grass clumps out of the bike, and rode it back to the pits. The rain became more intense as I pulled into the pits from my ride of shame, and event officials made the decision to call the day.

Right tool for the job?

In today's sport bike market, there are race bikes that are produced for the street, and street bikes you can take to the track. While the SuperDuke falls solidly into the latter category, the average track day rider would still certainly have a blast on it. And the practicality, comfort, and... er... crashworthiness of the bike certainly add to its usefulness during the rest of the week. Hardcore track riders, used to their razor sharp superbikes, may be unimpressed, but the KTM certainly does fine on the track, ridden like the bike that it is, rather than the bike you wish it was.

~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL

It's a long, long preseason...

2009-05-18T11:24:00.005-04:00

(Yeah so anyway, back to the racing...)

Seems like every season, for one reason or another, I get a late start. It's always some silly excuse, like getting married in May of last year... Well, this year it's buying a new house. My wife and I are moving (on up) to the East side of the city to a house that's double the size and four times as nice. So that's thrown a bit of water on my preparations for this year's track season for the moment.

But plans are still moving forward! I've already purchased new, track-only bodywork from Catalyst Composites, a new racing suit, and a host of other odds and ends to make this season everything it can be. The bike, after not getting a lot of TLC last year, was in need of some in-depth maintenance. Waiting in the wings are new wheel and steering head bearings, new spark plugs, fresh brake fluid, new throttle cables, and new front brake caliper seals. For this year's modifications, she'll also be getting a new exhaust, handlebar grips, the aforementioned bodywork, stronger engine case covers, a spiffy paint and decal job, and a camera system! I hope to be able to produce some pretty sweet videos to share with you all over this year.

As you might have guessed, the goals for this year are to make the bike race-worthy, get a lot of experience and have a lot of fun, with the aim of getting my race license by the end of the year. I've sworn off of riding on the street anymore, and have sold just about all of my street parts (headlights, street plastics, etc.). I'll also be working on improving myself physically, so that my fitness no longer detracts from my riding. I'll still be way too big for a 600cc bike, but at least I won't be huffing and puffing 4 laps into a session anymore.

Despite my jam-packed schedule, I will do my best to keep this blog updated with the latest happenings and progress as I edge toward track time this season! I'll be posting reviews of the products I'm using this year, as well as keeping you all up to speed on our new house. Check back soon!

~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL

A Feeling of Unsatisfying Vindication

2008-11-23T17:28:00.004-05:00

My apologies for the brief break in posting. I was politically wearied, I admit, by the election cycle, and decided to take a break for a bit whilst the country settled down.

But rest assured, The Free Radical was not dormant! I've been watching with detached interest as the economy continues to stumble despite enormous government efforts to correct it, as Obama continues to fill in the blanks for his White House staff, and the world waits with bated breath to see what wondrous things the Chosen One is going to bring about after beginning his term in office.

It's not often I reference a Jodi Foster movie, but watching Congress try to control and improve the economy right now is a bit like a scene in Contact. Foster is traveling in the machine through space/time, and the seat she was strapped into (which was not included in the original design for the machine) is shaking violently and giving the impression that the machine is coming apart. Finally, she releases herself from the harness, and suddenly the ride is smooth, as it was intended to be.

Over the last several weeks, the Federal government has created all sorts of new "stimulus" programs meant to aid and stabilize the struggling economy, and yet the economy has paid them no mind. Word is that over half of the $700 billion stimulus package is already gone (or will be shortly), and yet there has not been a noticeable shift in the momentum of the economy. In fact, if one is to use the stock market as an indicator of the overall economic picture, it would seem that the more Congress tries to do, the worse the economy continues to get. They can cinch the straps down all they want, but the ride just keeps getting bumpier.

None of this is particularly surprising to conservatives. We have long contended that the answers to the nation's problems are almost never more government. We have pointed to the abject failures of public education, social security, welfare and drug policy enforcement as concrete examples of this truth. But big government likes nothing more than bigger government, and so they have lulled the people into a state of apathy. And now they have apparently decided that they know better than the people, passing bailout legislation despite overwhelming public sentiment opposing it.

The initial bailout bill is not working as advertised. True to form, the liberals' answer is more bailouts. And all of this coming from the already-slim wallets of the American taxpayer. It has been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.* If that is so, how long will this particular strain of governmental insanity continue? As conservatives, we can hope that the negative public sentiment towards these bailout measures will carry through to the midterm elections, facilitating the removal of some of the long-established liberals from their thrones in D.C.

Those of us on the right who saw this coming are likely going to have every chance and reason to shout "I told you so!" when all this is over. And yet, that is a truly unsatisfying vindication, coming as it is, at the expense of our nation.

*Actually a quote from feminist author Rita Mae Brown, not Einstein or Benjamin Franklin.

Much more on all fronts soon!

~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL

Concession and Pragmatism

2008-11-04T23:46:00.002-05:00

Well, that's it then. At long last, the nearly two-year presidential election cycle is over, and the last man standing is Obama. McCain was as gracious as usual in defeat, as one would expect. Those who I was liveblogging with were somewhat less gracious, you might say.

And now it is a matter of where we go from here, as conservatives, as the Republican Party, and as Americans. Let's hope that we're somehow able to limit the damage that I believe will come from the impeding Obama presidency. Even more importantly, we need to start finding and advancing people now from within the conservative movement for candidacy in 2012. To be clear, McCain lost this election because he wasn't the right candidate. We cannot afford to make that mistake again in the future.

More in the way of a recap later.

~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL

Sculpting Another Election

2008-11-04T22:26:00.002-05:00

The talking heads in the media are once again trying to sculpt the results of the election with their coverage of the electoral race. All of the major media outlets called Ohio some hours ago, with only a scant few percentage of the precincts reporting, when Obama led by a 2-1 margin. But it's not even close to being over yet! The gap has closed to 5% as of this writing, and by the looks of the county electoral maps, may close further yet.

The morons in the media still know nothing. They're already saying things like "roll credits" and talking about "how Obama did it," while many states are still complete toss-ups.

It ain't over 'till it's over, but the media is doing its best to make sure you think it is.

~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL

Local Election Rundown

2008-11-04T22:23:00.001-05:00

Another State and Local update, this time on the offices up for election:

Ohio Attorney General: Democrat Richard Cordray looks to be taking this one home, currently leading with 58 percent of the vote.

U.S. House, 3rd District: Republican incumbent Mike Turner looks to have survived an unexpectedly strong opponent, currently taking home 54 percent of the vote.

U.S. House, 8th District: Republican incumbent John Boehner looks to take a convincing win, bringing in two-thirds of the vote.

More updates as these races become official.

Local Issue Rundown

2008-11-04T21:29:00.001-05:00

Taking a short break from the national scene, here’s a quick rundown of the State and Local issues being decided tonight:

Issue 1: To provide for earlier filing deadlines for statewide ballot issues. Looks like this one is going to pass, currently leading 70-30.

Issue 2: Authorizing the state to issue bonds (read: go into debt) to pursue environmental interests. Looks as if this one is going to pass as well, ahead 75-25.

Issue 3: A constitutional amendment underlining the water rights of private property owners. This one’s going on the books, currently up 70-30.

Issue 5: State referendum allowing government regulation of the payday lending industry with regards to interest rates and fees. This one looks to be over as well, passing 68-32.

Issue 6: Constitutional amendment to allow a casino to be built near Wilmington, Ohio. This one’s going down to the wire, it looks like. Currently a near-tie, 50.3 in favor, 47.7 opposed.

Issue 52: School levy for Dayton Public Schools. This one is something of a surprise, looking like it’s going to pass, for the first time in 16 years. Currently ahead 58-42

More small-election updates later.

The first call of the night!

2008-11-04T20:30:00.002-05:00

You heard it here first, people! None of these journalistic idiots know anything. Every major news outlet I've been watching (which is to say, nearly all of them) has called states, un-called them, re-called them, and basically thrown their aprons over their heads and run around in circles.

So the first call of the night from THE FREE RADICAL, posting live from Worldview Election Headquarters, is that the media doesn't have a clue what is going on.

Saying nothing, like never before.

2008-11-04T19:09:00.005-05:00

That seems to be the theme of the media tonight. If I read one more idiot journalist gushing over the "historic election" and the "record turnouts" today, I think I'm going to toss my laptop across the room. These people are really college-educated? Every election is historic, and we've had record turnouts every election for as long as I can remember! Seriously, if the talking heads in the media can't come up with anything better to write about, they really ought to look for another line of work.

~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL

Oh great, this could be awhile...

2008-11-04T18:35:00.005-05:00

This from the Columbus Dispatch:

"Nearly half of Montgomery County voters were expected to use paper ballots Tuesday, Nov. 4, which could delay the count, the board of elections director told the Dayton Daily News this morning.

He said paper ballots will take longer to count and "we expect the count to continue into Wednesday afternoon," said Steve Harsman, director of the Montgomery County Board of Elections."

Like I said earlier, if you're too dumb to use the voting machines in Ohio, maybe you shouldn't be voting...

~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL

The Power of Suggestion, and a Manufactured Financial Crisis

2008-11-04T16:39:00.000-05:00

Do me a favor, and go type "The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression" into Google. If you include the quotes, you get about 65 thousand results. This phrase was brought back to my attention during the presidential debates this year, as it was dutifully trotted out by Obama as a means of depicting a bleak economic picture of our country. Leaving aside for a moment that our current economic woes don't even begin to approach the level of the Great Depression, and that every metric I've seen has its equal in far more recent times, I'd like to focus on the effect of the words in that phrase.

I recall first hearing those words being tossed about during the 2004 presidential election cycle, when FrankenKerry first started droning on about how Bush was heading us all straight for the dustbowl. The assertion was even more absurd then than it is now, but that didn't stop Kerry, and others on the left and in the media (wait, did I just repeat myself?) from repeating it ad nauseum.

Even after Kerry lost, the phrase really didn't go dormant. Leftist pundits and politicians continued to bemoan the ailing state of our economy, exaggerating, misinterpreting and sometimes inventing various figures to support their doom and gloom prophesies about our finanical future as a nation. It became something of a litany. Each day, from the major newspapers, networks and websites, more horrible news about the economy would break. The media played on the public's misunderstanding that any decline in a market is a bad thing, and started capitalizing on what was originally only a correction in the housing market. Unemployment rates, though still low, rose slightly, and talking heads across America tore their robes and smeared ash on their faces.

All of this negative press, I believe, was not without purpose. Continuing to assert how horrible the economy was eventually convinced the American people. This effectively scuttled confidence among consumer and investor alike, both of whom pulled back the reins on their spending and investing. These actions further depressed markets and provided more fodder for the Chicken Little media. It was a snowball effect of the worst degree, and was having the effect of a viral infection on the economy.

It would be easy to explain all of this away as simply another instance of the media only reporting the bad news, because that's what sells, but in this case I don't think that's the explanation. Markets rise and fall all the time, and the various statistics go up and down along with them, but I don't recall ever seeing such coverage and analysis of each inane report that comes out regarding the economy. Why all this focus, all this effort to try and spin the economy in a negative direction? Why are they trying to actually make this "The worst economy since the Great Depression?"

Simple. Because it's nearly impossible for a political party to retain control after they've been blamed for economic downturn. This "throw the bums out" mentality has been a documented presence in electoral politics for well over a century, and the Democrats desparately needed it to win this year's election. With conditions in Iraq improving, they had to have something to point at and say they could do it better, so it was time to use the power of suggestion, through the media, to manufacture a financial crisis.

I will not disagree that we were facing something of a slow-down even without the media's influence. But I believe that, in order to ensure the success of their chosen candidate, the mainstream media did everything in their power to escalate and accelerate that slowdown into the "crisis" we face today.

The irony is that if Obama is elected tonight, and is able to enact many of the things he's talked about on the campaign trail, that crisis is very likely to worsen severely.

~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL

Style vs. Substance

2008-11-04T13:31:00.003-05:00

In the whirlwind of rhetoric and talking points leading up to any election, it is not uncommon to find one side trying to turn around a point often raised by the other side. This election year is no different. We've seen the McCain campaign try mightily to steal the moniker of "change" from the Obama campaign and portray McCain and Palin as the true agents of government reform.

But one rather unnoticed turn has come from the Obama campaign, which has, for some time now, been criticizing McCain for attacking Obama on style, rather than substance. Indeed, this charge has been repeated throughout the left, especially in the liberal media. And yet, whenever the topic of a possible Obama defeat comes up, the only possible reason liberals can come up with is racism. It couldn't possibly be that the American people would look at Obama, disagree with what he says and what he stands for, and vote against him. No, the only reason anyone would ever vote against the Most Merciful Lord Barack Hussein Obama (praise be upon him... er, wait, what?) is that they're evil, backwards racists.

Nevermind that he's half white. Or that the other half is very likely of Arab descent, not African.

But the larger point is that the Obama campaign has, since its inception, been run primarily on style, not substance. The first year or so of his campaign featured nothing but empty speeches and soaring rhetoric, completely devoid of any substantive content. And largely, that theme of campaigning continues today. To be fair, I've been somewhat disappointed that the McCain campaign has not put forth more specific answers to the issues in this election, but how can you criticize someone for attacking Obama's style, when that's basically all he's made of?

Further, almost all of the attacks I've seen from the Obama campaign against McCain have been stylistic in nature. McCain's being too negative, or too personal, or bringing up things too far in the past, or making too big a deal out of Obama's voting record... All of these are stylistic rebuttals, and yet Obama's charge is that McCain attacks only on style?

~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL

I has a sticker!

2008-11-04T12:47:00.005-05:00

One of my vivid memories of the electoral process as a kid was when my mom would take me with her to vote. I remember it because she always would get two of the "I voted today" stickers, one for me, and one for her. Looking back, it was as if she was demonstrating to me, even at an early age, the importance she placed on voting. So every time I go vote today, I still look forward to getting that sticker, and I faithfully put it on my t-shirt, just like I did when I was four.

Voting today was somewhat less of an ordeal than voting in the primary. My polling location is at an elementary school on the not-so-nice side of town. Let's just say I am deeply in the ethnic minority there. In the last presidential election, I made it to the polls after work, about a half an hour before the polls closed, and was stupefied when a DNC campaigner held the door open for me to go in! During this years' primaries, it was clear that the polling personnel had no clue what they were doing, as they struggled to find me on their lists, then tried to make me vote on a Democratic ballot, then tried to tell me that if I voted in the Republican primary, that I could only vote for Republicans in November. Insert face into palm and sigh deeply...

Today wasn't so bad. I didn't endure any of the lines that are being reported nationally, and the poll worker found my registration without incident. My voting machine worked as advertised, and I appreciated the slight upgrades in the software they appear to have made since the last election. If anyone claims that these machines are confusing now, they don't need to be voting (or driving, or dressing themselves) in the first place. The Obama supporters were an adequate distance from the polling center, handing out stickers on the street in front of the school. The worst distraction I experienced was when the school children came in from recess while I was voting, and started singing the Barney song. I hate hearing about all that love and harmony while I'm voting against a school levy...

Stay tuned throughout the day to this blog and Worldview for live blogging throughout the day (and well into the night, I'd guess).

~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL

The Danger of Obama: Taxes

2008-10-18T18:40:00.000-04:00

As promised, I'd like to go into more detail about why I believe the election of Barack Hussein Obama (yeah, I said it) would be dangerous and harmful to our country.

Obama (despite his oft-repeated assertion that he is something new and different) has put forth the same old tax plan that those on the left in this country have been pushing for years. In a typical play on the class envy of the average American, Obama claims that he will be taxing only the "rich", and that Joe Schmoe will not see a a tax increase, but instead will enjoy a tax cut.

As usual, the flowery rhetoric of Obama is completely lacking in any economic common sense. I will put aside the fact that the tax increases proposed by Obama essentially constitute a substantial hike in the taxes on small businesses, since this has been very well covered. But since I am something of a simple man, I will present the matter simply. I can't think of a single middle-class or low-income American who employs a a single worker. It is irrefutable that the responsibility of employing America's workers and creating new jobs is solely the station of those who control the companies, corporations and businesses that make up the U.S. economy. Raising taxes on high-income Americans can only have one effect, and that is to hurt job growth in an economy already struggling with rising unemployment.

[As an aside and speaking of jobs, the most recent Obama propaganda I've seen on TV features a downtrodden auto worker talking about how his friends are losing their jobs, and he's concerned about the future for his grandchildren. The ad goes further to assert that John McCain simply "doesn't get it" and that McCain's friends are getting rich while the speaker's friends are losing their jobs. This is blatant class warfare, untrue, and absolute rubbish. I wish I could speak briefly with the person in the commercial (though I'm sure he's a paid actor), because I would tell him in no uncertain terms that it is his fault alone, and that of their friends, that they aspired no higher than the manufacturing jobs that they are now losing. Manufacturing is a dying industry in America, and has been for decades. If you really, truly want the same crappy jobs for your kids and grandkids that you and your father were able to get as high school dropouts or worse, I would tend to question your benevolence towards your progeny.]

But I digress. What sense does it make to increase the taxes on corporations, investments and the wealthy, in an economy that is already ailing? One mantra of the Obama campaign is that they're going to aid job growth in this country by "ending tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas." That's sounds great, but then why would you increase taxes for companies who do business here? Somehow, I just can't see how a tax policy even more punitive than our current one is going to spur economic growth.

Allow me to address one other myth: Corporate Taxes. I've got news for all the mindless drones on the left: Corporations don't pay taxes. I know, I know, just when you thought they couldn't get any more evil, now I'm going to tell you they don't even pay taxes?! But it's true, and I'll explain it to you. Unlike private individuals, companies in business to make money don't have discretionary income. They only have two categories of money, which are costs and profits. Taxes are costs, and like any other costs, must be rolled into the price of their products. If taxes on corporations are raised, they must roll that increased cost into the price of their products. This raises the cost of living for everyone else, but has little direct effect on the company, particularly if what they are producing is a staple (read: oil companies). If the price increase required by the tax increase would cause the company to not be competitive in their market, their only other choice is to try and cut other costs, like employee salaries, entire positions, or decrease the quality of their product. Any way you slice it, the average American is still getting hosed by corporate taxes.

Every day for the last several weeks on the news, the lead story has been what the stock market is doing. Record falls in the market indices were used to push for an economic bailout plan that the public didn't want, and if you listened to most of the major news services, you'd have though that the sky was not only falling, but that it was covered in sharp objects laced with anthrax. But in the midst of all this, Obama is advocating a tax plan that will raise the capital gains tax rate to as high as 28%. Investors are already wary of buying anything, fearful of a further market downturn and uncertain what is going to happen, with large domestic companies failing, and an ambiguous bailout plan having just been pushed through Congress. Now Obama's going to tell them that even if they do invest, and are somehow able to make money, the government is going to take nearly a third of their profit. What possible positive effect is that going to have on the stock markets? Further removing any incentive to invest in America's economy, at a time that it is already weakened, is a certain recipe for disaster.

So there you have it. Obama's tax plan is far more than ill-advised, it is dangerous and harmful to our country. It cannot and will not result in any economic growth, but will instead gravely harm the very people it is purported to aid. A vote for Obama this November is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, a vote against our country.

~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL

Wavering Enthusiasm vs. Diehard Resolve

2008-10-13T14:57:00.002-04:00

Like many conservatives in this election cycle, I have found myself riding alternating waves of excitement and disappointment over the prospects of the Republican nominee for President, John McCain. He is an admitted centrist, a moderate Republican whose bragging about reaching across the aisle may endear him to voters on the fence, but simultaneously raises the eyebrow (and sometimes plants forehead in palm) of true conservatives. On the one hand, his military service and leadership experience is remarkable, and certainly unrivaled in the current election, but on the other he has advocated and espoused policies on immigration and the environment that are sharply at odds with my own.

Allow me to whine for a moment. It almost seems unfair! Election after election (since I started paying attention to politics at age 7), conservatives are seemingly forced to settle for a candidate that is seemingly reluctant to carry the conservative mantle. Meanwhile, liberals are so fortunate as to have their pick of rock-solid leftists, and are usually also given a heaping helping of charisma as well (the obvious exception being FrankenKerry).

The young idealist in me is inclined to agree and side with those conservative friends of mine who have thrown in the towel in this election, or worse, decided to vote for Obama out of some sort of reverse-psychology protest. And I acknowledge that the last time we had a president as inept as I believe Obama will be, he was followed by one Ronald Reagan, so that ended up pretty well for the country, right?

But when I consider these courses of action, I keep running back up on one giant problem with their reasoning. I love my country. And I don't mean that in the pop-culture, politically expedient manner that most celebrities and politicians say that they love it. I mean I love my country. I go to work every day in her service. I love our history, what we've overcome, what we've stood for, and what we offer to the common man. I love our national compassion, our work ethic, our innovation, and our attitude.

Because I love my country the way that I do, I want nothing but the best for it. I cannot stomach the thought of handing her over to someone who does not have her best interests in mind, or else has ideas that I believe would be harmful to her. And I believe wholeheartedly that Barack Obama fits that description in nearly every aspect.

His stated plans for taxes, health care, defense spending, social security reform and others seem to be looking out not for the best interests of us as a nation, or of the citizens as individuals, but instead for the perpetuation of government. His proposals stand to weaken our security, take more money from the people, hurt our economy, and lay the foundations of a truly socialist state. My posts over the next few weeks until the election will go into these aspects in greater detail.

And so, despite my enthusiasm over the McCain campaign wavering from time to time, my resolve to do what is best for my country remains. Sometimes, doing what is best does not include doing what is perfect, or what you would prefer in an ideal world, but doing what is least bad, in some ways. I retain hope that in a future election cycle, a candidate will arise that will represent what I and millions of other conservatives believe more closely. But in the mean time, we are only given the choices we currently have, and must choose what is best for our country from those choices.

At the end of the day, it seems no matter how much frustration and disagreement I have with John McCain over domestic issues, the alternative presented by the DNC is exponentially worse. And while it may not assuage the idealism of the conservative base to vote for yet another moderate Republican candidate, it is still what is best for the country. I cannot, and will not, vote for someone who I know will harm my country in myriad ways. I ask my fellow conservatives to put aside their idealism for another day, and do what is right and pragmatic, and join me in voting for John McCain this November.

~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL

Track Day Report: Putnam Park 9/27/2008

2008-10-04T20:59:00.012-04:00

Track Map

Swiftly following my breakthrough day at Mid-Ohio, Free Radical Racing loaded up the bikes again and set off for Putnam Park Road Course in Mt. Meridian, Indiana. The track day was being hosted by Cycle Options, an organization I normally don't choose to ride with because of their rather-- er, lax administration of their track days. But it was my last chance of the year to revisit the track where I got my start, and also the track I had left over a month ago with my tail between my legs, having scared myself senseless in a near-crash coming out of turn 10.

But I came ready to conquer this time, with a set of race tires still mounted on the bike, another in reserve, and my trick suspension bits freshly dialed in by Jason Etter of the Department of Suspension. I was riding a wave of confidence from my meteoric progress to-date, and had the added bonus of knowing that, this being the last track day of the season for me, I had very little to lose if I crashed the bike.

My wife's probably not all that happy to hear that last bit, come to think of it...

We arrived at the gate before dawn (a first for me), and yet there was already a considerable line to get in! After the usual ritual of setting up our pit area and drinking a Frappuccino during the rider's meeting, I made the executive decision to sit out the first session. At the rider's meeting, I had glanced over my shoulder to see a seemingly endless crowd of riders. Given my previous experience with Cycle Options, I decided to watch the first session and see how crowded the Advanced group would be, before I went out into it, and see if there were any riders I needed to be concerned with, from a safety aspect.

But not to worry, while the other two groups were packed chock-full of riders (and the track marshal wasn't even splitting them up as they went out on the track), the Advanced group was small enough, and everyone out there seemed to be riding fairly professionally. And riders coming in from their first sessions were reporting that the track was pretty grippy right from the start, which is always good news when you're running race tires without warmers.

I went out for the second session of the day (my first) and slowly felt my way back into the track and into my tires, and finished out the session turning one hot lap of a 1:23.86. Everything felt good, and I was highly impressed by the difference in the feel of my suspension since Jason had tweaked it at Mid-Ohio. Putnam is a significantly less smooth track, so suspension plays an even larger role in turning a fast lap. Properly tuned suspension can be worth its weight in gold at a bumpy track.

I went out one more time before lunch, working on settling into a rhythm, finding my braking and turn-in markers, and generally getting in the habit of turning clean laps. I settled right down into a groove, ending the session with a satsifying 1:22.29.

At any track, I've found it useful to mentally divide the track into its natural sections, and work on each of those sections individually to improve your lap times. It's easy for a rider to go into mental overload, especially as a newer rider or at a new track, trying to improve everything all at once. At Putnam Park, for instance, I take turns 1-2-3 as the first section, then 4-5-6, 7-8, and finally 9-10. Each of those sections will have individual aspects that I try to work on, but I never try to work on more than one section at a time, when I'm trying to lower my lap times. When I feel I've made progress in that section, I'll put it all together and see what it has netted me in my overall lap time.

The first session after lunch was quite productive for me, as I was able to put in 12 laps in a row, the most of any session all day, and really work hard on improving sections of my laps. I started pushing my brake marker deeper towards turn 1, which has been a perennial problem area for me. I was able to move that brake marker to the end of the rumble strip on the left side of the track, and then throw the bike into a tight line through the turn, still scrubbing off speed from the front tire. Having gotten what I wanted out of that section, I started working on opening the throttle earlier and harder exiting turn 4, to take advantage of all my new-found grip from my race tires. In that same section, I was working on carrying more speed into and through 5, and keeping the throttle open as far as I could through 6. (This is one of the secrets of Putnam that is often overlooked because if it's apparent ease, but a fast rider can make up GOBS of time here). I was fairly satisfied with my lines through 7-8 and 9-10, so I just spent the rest of the session committing my new-found lines to memory, and turned a 1:22.59 as my fastest lap. My lap average, though, had fallen considerably as I started to gain consistency, regardless of whatever traffic I was running into.

The next session, I started to put it all together, and to good effect. Directly after my warmup lap I put my head down and started pushing a bit, and was immediately in the mid- and low-22s. After sifting through some traffic, I got clear track for a lap and turned in my fastest lap to that point, a 1:21.41. The last time I had turned a lap in the 21s, I had nearly crashed doing it, so this was something of a milestone for me, and a testament to the awesome new Bridgestone rubber I was using.

At the start of the day, I had set a personal goal for myself of seeing a 1:19.xx. While not an incredible lap by any means, it would certainly represent an immense psychological triumph to be in the same "decade" as the really fast guys, who are running 1:15s or better. In my next to last session, I started really trying for that goal, and despite being hampered by traffic for much of the session, managed to claw my way down to a 1:20.88 on my last lap.

I was stoked! The bike felt good, I felt good, and I was, for the first time ever, leaving Randy and Daryl (who used to blow my doors off) behind me consistently. Turning 19s seemed perfectly attainable, all I needed was one more session and some clear track to do it.

I headed out for my last session with a single-minded sense of purpose, got out on the track, and went to business. I warmed up the tires aggressively, wanting to get every lap I could out of the session to try and make my goal happen. As I came onto the front straightaway at the end of my warmup lap, I did a swift inventory of all the things I needed to do right to make it a good lap, and then set about doing them.

Coming over the rise after the pit exit, I wound the bike out through 5th gear, wringing the throttle for all it was worth. I kept my head low, eyes just above the windscreen, and waited for my brake marker. Just as I came up to the rumblestrip on the left I popped up into the wind, getting on the brakes hard as the red and white stripes flashed by, clicking a couple downshifts and tipping the bike right towards the turn 1 apex. I dipped my shoulder in low, planting my knee on the ground just as I was trailing off the brakes, and scrubbed speed with the front tire over the ripples midway through the corner. Letting the bike drift back out to the left for just an instant and standing it up only slightly, I tossed it down on my right knee again, this time just picking up the throttle. Through the apex of turn 2, I got on the throttle with some aggression, picking the bike up for only a split second before dipping down to the right one more time for the turn 3 kink.

Rolling off the throttle just long enough to flop the bike over the other way, I tossed myself left into turn 4, dialing up as much throttle as I thought my rear tire would allow. I sucked the bike down hard to the left, my knee slider skittering over the pavement, my head and inside shoulder reaching for the rumble strip, as the power of the bike started to carry me wide again towards the right side of the track. Exiting the corner, I straightened up and tucked in at full throttle for just a second, drifting back to the left to set up for turn five. I stabbed the brakes momentarily at my previously chosen skid mark and barreled through five, squaring off the corner slightly to miss the bump in the middle line. No aggressive throttle yet, as the rumble strip at the exit rushed towards me menacingly. Standing the bike up just a bit as I got out of five, I opened the throttle hard and kept the bike headed right, to and through the apex of the turn 6 kink.

Keeping the throttle open as far and as long as my intestinal fortitude would allow, I clamped down hard on the binders for the "bus-stop" turn 7, hooking a downshift just as I was about to tip in. I slammed the bike down onto my right knee and looked for the apex, opening the throttle just as I crossed it and feeling the torque of the bike rocket me forward towards the exit. I stood the bike up just as I came to the rumble strip, short-shifted into 3rd gear and pounded the throttle to the stops for just an instant before braking for the long, left-hander that is turn 8. Settling into my well-practiced and proven line around 8, I apexed slightly late, grinding my knee slider over the inside rumble strip and rolling on the throttle smoothly as raised the bike back up and hurtled towards turns 9 and 10.

With the throttle pinned hard and the front tire just skimming the ground furtively, I set up to the left at the entrance of turn 9, just trail braking a bit and making sure I hit my apex as tight and soon enough to put me on the preferred line through the double-apex right that is the 9-10 complex. I settled the bike over onto my right knee and put in just enough throttle to settle out the chassis, letting myself drift out to the short rumble strip between 9 and 10. Sucking the bike back down into 10 I looked for the apex and started opening the throttle with a vengeance, waiting for any sign that the rear tire was going to let go. It didn't, I hit the apex and drive hard onto the straight, hitting my upshifts to 4th and 5th gears just right, at 15000 RPM.

I knew I had put in a fast lap. I knew just from the seat of my pants that it had to be my fastest lap I had put in all day, and I just couldn't wait to see what time I had pulled! So I broke my general rule, and looked down at my lap timer as I hurtled down the straight at 130 mph, and was greeted with... A BLANK SCREEN!?! A stream of obscenities not repeatable to my mild-mannered readers issued forth from my mouth, drowning out the scream of the bike and almost surprising even myself.

I tore back around the track, riding mad and sloppy, and went into the pits. I practically screeched to a stop next to the track marshal, and politely inquired what had happened to the lap timer beacon. He informed me that one of them had run out of batteries, and that the owner of the backup had packed his things and gone home. I wasn't all that thrilled to hear his answer, to say the least, but I wasn't going to waste pefectly good track time, so I set back out around the track and put in several rather determined laps, making quick work of several other bikes in the process. Those on hand who witnessed the last half of the session said that they were quite taken aback by my sudden aggression, particularly with my swift overtaking of a black R1 who was some distance ahead of me at my reentry to the track.

Despite the heartbreak of not really knowing whether I had broken into the 19s, I was somewhat content to know that at least those watching said I had gone much faster, and I had pushed the bike harder than almost ever before, and still not reached the limit of my new equipment. However, the circumstances of my final track session of the year have left me with a somewhat unrequited feeling, and the overwhelming desire to go back out and try it again. But for those of us in the Midwest, the season's over for awhile. The mornings are getting cold, the leaves are turning, and it's time to bed the bikes down for the long winter. Spring can't come soon enough!

~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL

Track Day Report: Mid-Ohio 9/23/2008

2008-10-02T19:23:00.001-04:00

Track Map

I assume I've kept you all in suspense long enough. Time to hear less about politics and more about what really matters in life-- going really fast around a racetrack!

Tuesday, September 23rd was my third and final track day of the year at the famed Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course near Lexington, Ohio. The 15-turn, 2.4 mile course has a little bit of everything, from the amazingly fast back straight to the Esses, long corners, short corners, fast stuff, slow stuff, and quite a few blind and off-camber corners for good measure. It is certainly a track that can teach you a WHOLE lot about riding a motorcycle at speed.

Previous to this season's excursions to Mid-Ohio, I had only visited once previously, in 2006. I was still fairly new to track riding, and certainly didn't know much about what I was doing, so I bumbled along through the day and finished with a best lap time of 1:51.53. What I thought was reasonably quick then has suddenly become a rather placid warm up lap for me now! Such has been the pace of my progression as a rider this season.

On my first trip to Mid-Ohio this year on July 1st, I made immediate progress, besting my previous personal record in only the third session of the day. That afternoon, I arranged for someone to get some chase footage of me around the track, both to show me what I could be doing better, and to take home to show to family and friends. The resulting video can be found here. With the video bike behind me, I put my head down and started clicking off laps fairly well, dropping my times into the 1:47s by the end of the day.

Between that track day and the next at Mid-Ohio on August 12th, I had finally been able to upgrade my long-abused stock suspension. Thanks to Sportbike Track Gear I had a brand new Elka rear shock, and Matt Carr at Ducati Indianapolis had rebuilt my forks into something significantly more track-worthy. I felt I had reached the point where I was struggling to progress further, and this was partially due to a bike that wasn't giving me the feel, feedback and traction I needed, and was thus hurting my confidence. With these upgrades and increased determination, I dipped down to a 1:45.23, and more importantly, got the long-awaited bump into Advanced class.

[As a note, I was accompanied to this track day by my father, an aspiring (and might I add talented) photographer, whose work can be seen at the top of this page. He can be reached at f51gtracing@f51gtracing.com for future engagements. A further sampling of his work can be found on his SmugMug page.]

This track day was to be another joint venture between myself and my friend Paul, accompanied by our wives Jenny (his) and Katie (mine). Though to be honest, to simply say my wife comes along is completely untrue. Katie is the official Free Radical Racing coach, chef, nutritionist, photographer, pit crew, rig driver, cargo loader, logistician, mental health specialist, accountant, assistant mechanic and the founder and charter member of the Free Radical Fanclub. She's the reason the whole operation happens, and I owe every corner of every lap to her.

We arrived at the gate to the track just as the sun was coming up. Uncharacteristically, I had been nearly unable to sleep the night before at the hotel, for no apparent reason. Nonetheless, I didn't feel tired, and assumed (rightly) that adrenaline would carry me through the rest of the day.

We were one of the first few through the gate, and proceeded to hurry down to registration to get our garage number and begin setting up. Talk around the already-packed garage was that the morning sessions would find a rather slippery track, as overnight temperatures in the low 50s F and high relative humidity would leave quite a bit of dew on the track, despite the previous several days of clean, dry conditions. After the riders' meeting (and more warnings about slippery sections of the track), I consulted briefly with some of the faster riders I knew from previous track days, several of which said they'd be skipping the first session.

No matter to me-- I paid for track time, not to be a spectator! So I took to the track anyway. I had mounted up my first set of race tires, a set of Bridgestone BT-002 race-takeoffs, and was eager to try them out after only having the chance to briefly scrub them in on the street. The unfortunate thing about race tires is that they take longer to reach operating temperature than do street tires. Couple that with an already cold and damp track, and I found myself riding on what felt like marbles for the first couple laps of the opening session. Gradually, I started to get some heat into the tires, and five laps into the session I was finally able to get a little lean angle out of the bike, and brought my times down to the 1:44s immediately.

My goals for the day had been fairly conservative. I wanted to work primarily on consistency, being able to turn the same lap time over and over again, to prove to myself that I was reliably fast, not just fast on accident. As such, I spent the remainder of the morning and the first couple sessions of the afternoon turning 1:44s and :45s, but improving my lines and technique in various parts of the track. I was slightly unhappy that my lap times weren't falling on their own, but encouraged that I was starting to really understand how to put in a good clean lap, and repeat it at will.

Finally, at the insistence of Jeff, my friend who had shot the chase video for me previously, I went out with him and his two friends to "play". I am riding a 2004 Yamaha YZF-R6, a revolutionary middleweight bike for its time and still a very capapble track weapon, especially as I have it currently modified. Jeff rides the 2007 edition of the same model, and has the edge on brakes, acceleration, and suspension in that regard. His two friends were equipped with a Kawasaki ZX-10R and a Yamaha YZF-R1, both heavyweight horsepower giants more than capable of running away from me on any of Mid-Ohio's several fast straights.

I've played with 1000cc bikes before, so I knew the drill I would need to run in order to keep pace. Get every bit of corner speed I could out of my little 600, drive hard onto the straights, and brake like a man possessed at the end of them. That said, when we got out and started having fun, I didn't really feel like I was working hard. I was playing with them, as we fright-trained through slower traffic (wait, since when is there traffic slower than me?!), showing them my front wheel going into corners to let them know I was there, and trying new and inventive ways of passing where I could. I was pushing the bike harder than I ever had previously, but somehow it didn't feel like I was pushing. I came into the pits grinning from ear to ear (and sweating profusely), and was rewarded with a 1:42.98 on my lap timer!

Throughout the day, Paul had been progressing rapidly as well, and was trying to make the bump to join me in Advanced class by the end of the day. Finally, he had worked out a deal with one of the track coaches that the latter would follow him for the final Intermediate session, and if he rode well enough, let him ride in the last Advanced session immediately following. Paul rode well, the instructor gave his blessing, and Paul pulled up beside us to go out for the final Advanced session.

Being fairly satisfied with my progress on the day, and generally just intending to enjoy myself, I had decided to ride with Jeff and friends again, and just go have a bit of fun to close out the day. Jeff had said that he was going to take some video of his friend on the ZX-10R, and I intended to harass them mercilessly for the whole session! But then at the start of the warm-up lap, Paul (benefiting from the increased cold traction afforded by his street Pirellis) elbowed his way past the Kawasaki and took off. I laid back a bit, as my tires weren't yet up to temperature, and watched as Paul put his head down and charged off into the distance.

As my tires gave me their quiet signal that they were ready to go, I looked up to see Paul some several corners ahead of me. I muttered "oh hell no" in my helmet and put my head down as well. I made quick work of the ZX-10 in the back section of the track and went to work reeling in Paul, who rides an R6 very similar to my own. I proceeded to turn my two fastest laps of the day, a 1:41.81 and a 1:41.71 back-to-back, and found myself right on Paul's rear wheel as we entered Thunder Alley. I kept the throttle pinned through turn 12 and stuck my front wheel right up inside of him in 13, to let him know I was there. Now we could play! I didn't have the right position to actually complete the pass, but I intended to try it again on the brakes for turn 1. But to my surprise, as we came onto the front straight, he sat up and waved me by! Oh well... I spent the remainder of the session just having fun, tossing the bike around and wringing its neck like you can only at a big track like Mid-Ohio.

Paul and I both came back to the pits exhausted, but happy and satisfied with the day's work. I had dropped my times a full three and a half seconds, gained a whole lot of consistency, and gotten comfortable running the pace I was running. On the season, I dropped nearly 10 seconds from my lap times! And more importantly, I had a helluva lot of fun doing it! There are still several areas where I can improve at this track, namely in corner exits and ironing out my lines at the end of the esses, and I think improving those areas will net me some sub-1:40 lap times next season. Can't wait 'till spring!

~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL

The Much-Reviled Single Issue Voter

2008-09-21T16:13:00.000-04:00

Yeah, that's me.

I'm one of those simpletons, a Bitter Clinger, as Barack Obama would characterize me. I will vote in this election, as I did in the last election, on a single issue alone. There has been much talk about single issue voters this election, and much of it negative. We're portrayed as ignorant, poorly educated, mindless evangelical drones who care only about one aspect of our favored candidate, be it abortion, gun control, gay marriage or school vouchers. What's worse, from the perspective of most media pundits, these issues are supposed to be unimportant, or else already won by the liberals in the government. How dare we, the unwashed masses who went to public schools and got jobs where our hands get dirty, choose our candidates based on their stances on issues that don't fall within their worldview as something important?

In my recent discussions with liberal acquaintances of mine, I've discovered that they honestly feel those of us on the right, who opposed McCain in the primaries with some vehemence and now support him outspokenly, are rather shallow of intellect, and care only about winning (well, yeah, winning is pretty important). On the other hand, they view themselves as intellectual superiors, choosing their candidates based on some transcendent understanding of things far above the minds of us plebes, and a broad agreement across a variety of policies.

But I would challenge any of them, and indeed anyone from the left, to demonstrate to me how any issue, or any collection of issues, is more important than the single issue on which this voter is making his decisions. The simple fact is that in this era, national security is more important than anything else at stake in the coming election. Truth be told, it always has been, but we were more than fortunate for a good 40 years or so to not have to worry about it so much as we do today. But today, at this critical juncture in American history, we face an enemy so evil and bent on our destruction that we must elect government officials who are going to stand strongly in our defense. If we lack security, nothing else matters. We can continue to bail out Wall Street giants, send out stimulus checks, reform social welfare programs and improve our education and healthcare systems, but if people who are bent on our destruction are not stopped, it is all for naught.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The primary purpose of any government is to ensure the sovereignty of its nation, and to protect its citizens from foreign attack. Everything else is a far distant second.

While I do not agree with Senator McCain on a variety of issues (economic policy and environmental policy come to mind), I trust him infinitely more than Obama to do what is necessary to defend our nation and its interests from foreign attack. I believe that a President Obama would leave us incredibly weak and vulnerable to aggressive rogue nations like North Korea and Iran, and to new, anti-American alliances like the one forming between Russia and Venezuela. The world is only getting more dangerous by the moment, and we need a president who is prepared and resolved to do anything necessary to ensure our survival in it. John McCain fits that description, and Obama simply does not.

So call me simple, or uneducated, but that's the single issue I'm voting on. And it will continue to be so, until we have two candidates who are equally capable of preserving our union.

~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL

From the shadows, emerges...

2008-09-14T00:21:00.000-04:00

[Cross posted from A Host of Contributing Factors]

Yeah, here I am.

My on-again, off-again flirtation with political writing has again reared its ugly head. There was a time, some years ago, when I was a walking talking-points memo, a repository of political discourse far out of place with my station in life. I dabbled in podcasting for a bit at the advice of close friends, but I found its medium to be insufficient to effectively express myself. Around that same time (shortly following the 2004 presidential election), I became increasingly disillusioned with politics in general. The election had yielded us a moderate president who was stellar on a single, overarching issue, but basically lacking in nearly everything else. I was, I admit, a bit emotionally drained from the drama and fighting of the previous six months of campaigning, and I looked at Washington, my generation, and the world as a whole as being too big, too complicated, and too far gone to solve.

And yet, here I am again, doing all the proverbial "arguing on the internet" that my new marriage and employment schedule allow. I have held off of solo writing (well, I had a LiveJournal some years ago, but I was rather bitter and lonely at that time in my life...), preferring instead to participate in the epic displays of intellectual might known as... message boards. I hid there, in a way, stirring the pot of angry liberals and taking pot shots here and there when someone would make a particularly asinine comment. I almost have the feeling, at times, that what I'm doing there is almost unfair. After all, arguing with facts and logic, as I do, against those armed only with several pages of emoticons and a vocabulary restricted to what they can type to their homies on their cell phones, is something like fishing in a kiddie pool. With a hand grenade.

But nevertheless, I stayed far clear of making any forays into the world of political writing proper (well, as proper as blogs can be considered to be, anyway), because I've always found myself to be much more gifted in the discipline of dialogue, but somewhat uncomfortable and unsuited to monologue. To say it more directly, I am not a creative person. I would much rather let someone else plunge into the waters of public discussion, and then come swooping in with my own replies and rebuttals. Far easier than actually coming up with your own subject matter, your own topics to research and points to raise. So yeah, in short, I was being intellectually lazy.

But something has changed this year for me that has driven me not only back into arguing on the internet, but to even try my hand (er... keyboard) at writing my own things. More accurately I suppose, several things have changed.

I would not be here typing this rambling nonsense if the Presidential tickets were Romney-Tancredo and Clinton-Daschle. But two things have brought me, and thousands of others like me, back to the table of discussion for this election. First, the Democrats accidentally nominated Barack Obama as their nominee for president. I say accidentally because, watching the primaries, it seemed as if, at the last moment, they realized their mistake and tried to reverse course, only to find it was too late. Obama coasted to the nomination on pure momentum, all the while getting beaten and bloodied by a clearly experienced (and equally ruthless) Clinton campaign. I believe, for reasons I'm sure we'll cover later on, that the election of Barack Obama to the highest office in the world would be a dangerous and grevious error for our country, and one the consequences of which may prove eventually mortal to the survival of our nation. See here for a taste of what I'm talking about.

My second motivation to return to this wild, silly, confused and contentious arena we call American politics is the rebirth of the McCain campaign, of which the nomination of Sarah Palin is the primary example. For months (unable to fully take my fingers off the pulse of the political scene) I watched and scratched my head as McCain, apparently fully able to take advantage of an early start to the campaign over his Democrat rivals, seemingly floundered and bumbled his way about the country, not really doing anything of note, at all. I was actually starting to believe the assertions of guys like Michael Savage, who insisted that McCain was nominated to lose the race for the GOP on purpose. But then, something happened. The McCain Machine fired up, opened up the gun case and unleased with all barrels on the Obama campaign, with an aggression and purpose that I haven't seen out of a Republican since, well, never (I was a bit young for politics when Reagan left office).

So count me among the growing demographic of conservatives coming out of the shadows, heartened by a candidate showing every mark of a true leader, as well as a true resolve to hit our esteemed opponents from across the aisle right where it hurts. A few months ago, I was going to hold my nose, close my eyes and pull the Republican lever. Now, I can't wait to pull it, and want to do everything I can to convince everyone I know to pull that lever with me. Even my mother-in-law.

Till next time...

~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL

On burning things. Plastic, rubber, gasoline, liberals' puny little minds...

2008-09-14T00:04:00.001-04:00

I've finally broken down and done it.

I'm starting a personal blog. I should have done it a long time ago, as friends, family and other interested parties are often asking for updates, pictures and stories from my forays into the world of motorcycle road racing. But on a larger scope, I'd like this to act as the catch all for all things going on in my life, for my random and often, well, radical political musings, and generally all sorts of interesting things. I truly wish I had done this sooner (say, last December before I proposed to my wife), but it's never too late to start. And now that I've made the obligatory opening post, let's get down to business.

~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL