It Sure Is Fun Playing In The Dirt

   Wow what a day! My buddy Junior, from Hampton Roads Harley, has been telling me for some time now he'd get me out on the dirt drags running his Buell. Well that came true today. We set out early this morning heading to Surry Virginia, home of Slade's Park.
   We met at Juniors and chowed down on some good ole Bo Jangles then we got straight to work. This little Buell has some serious character folks. For starters the motor is just some kind of crazy, we're not going to get into details ha ha. The swing arm has been stretched 6 inches and converted to a rigid, all done by Junior himself. We had to make a sprocket change and mount up the paddle tire and then we were on the road!
   When we arrived at Slade's there wasn't much time for screwing around. We off loaded the bike and I suited up for my one and only practice pass. Now just a little background, I've never raced in the dirt before. I get out to the line and stage. Bringing the bike to about 3500 rpms i throw the clutch out and off i go. Left, right, left again, this thing is a handful! Well to make a long story short my first pass was a little nerve racking, enough to where as I waited for junior to come get me at the end of the track my knees were shaking.
   With the first pass out of the way I realized there wasn't much to it. Yes it got to me some but at the end of the day it's still a motorcycle and I'm still the rider. The call for first round was made. This time I get to the line I have to go big or go home, because the Triumph in the lane next to me was a long time veteran. We stage, the lights fall and I'm off again! Floating the front tire and keeping it as straight as possible I cross the line for the win. What a rush! There's nothing like tearing down a dirt track on a Harley, it's just insane!
   Into the second and third rounds we ran into some technical issues. Second round we tried launching from second gear, which proved to be great until about 30 feet into the run. I caught some good traction and the motor just fell on its face. Third round I was ready to show these guys i came to do business. Again I staged up against an old pro. I killed the launch taking the hole shot! I was running it hard but when it came time to shift I kept hitting the button, but it was a no go.
   I may not have won this event but I secured a spot in that Buell's seat for the rest of the summer.

   I would like to make some special thank yous. First I want to thank Junior for the awesome experience. It's not often someone says, "Here take my bike and run the piss out of it!" Second I would like to thank Slade's Park for continuing to offer this great chance to have some fun. I would also like to thank Greg Mobley and all the great folks at Beach Ford for the amazing deal they got me on my new 2012 F-150. If it wasn't for them there's no way today would have happened! I saved the most important for last. I want to thank my wonderful girlfriend for being so understanding of the racing thing. She's a keeper!

Thanks to everyone!

See you at the track!!!