Just one of those days.

July 4^th brought us to Pocono for a day on the east course. Mike and I head up for some coaching time and the option to play. Craig is sitting this one out while Jack is on vacation nursing a bruised thumb that was injured during a picnic volleyball game. I had another explanation of how the injury occurred. Since none of the team members were there to witness it, we really don’t know for sure. Anyways, Pocono East is not one of the best tracks the east coast has to offer motorcyclist. The advantage is that it’s close to home and it is pavement and a chance to ride which is always a good thing. This will Mike and I first time testing out the patched section of the track that it desperately needed. Looking over the coaches list a few days before the event we discover some familiar faces and we trade emails and phone calls to set things up. Really all Mike and I want to make sure that lunch is covered. With a very low signup for the Blue group, Glen replaced the Blue group with a car group, which he has done in the past. Something we get to take advantage of later.

The drive to the track is an adventure in the ever changing weather. I leave in cloudy skies, then sunshine, and then as I get close to the track it turns into heavily overcast skies. Mike calls me along his trip because he had rain over night and rain from his house to Reading. This is not turning out to be as good a day as we had hoped for. I arrive at the track and the clock read about 6:15am. There is a line of about 4 vehicles in front for me. Glen is in the TPM rig, with Andy at the front of the line and with 2 vehicles between them and me. I step out and walk up to Andy and say hi, we talk for bit and by 6:30am, Glen rolls in first with Andy right behind. The other 2 vehicles sit and the guard has them sign in but they don’t move. In typical Pocono fashion something is eschew. As the guard approaches me, I sign in and he tells me I have to wait until 7am to get. I inform him I’m part of the TPM staff and he lets me in, but not with some sort of disgruntled resistance. Welcome to Pocono, I wonder why I bother coming here.

I find a spot in the paddock and cone off a spot from Mike. The paddock we get is small so the spot get taken quickly. I say Hi to others and go back to unloading. With the foul weather I thought the day was bad enough but the chain of event about to unfold makes the weather a non issue. I had picked Mike’s bike up on my trip to Summit last weekend. Since I was using Mike’s trailer it left him no option but to get his bike to the track. I had used straps that ratchet for Mike’s bike instead of the usual pull kind. As I undo the one strap, with the intent of just backing it off a click or 2, the strap releases and the bike tumbles off the trailer faster then I can react. Since the other strap is still attached the bike pivots on that strap. Now I have a friend’s bike with the front tire on the trailer and the rest of the bike on the ground, not a real good feeling. I call for help and Joe T and other guy come running. We right the bike and I unload mine and put Mike’s bike back on the trailer to examine. The result is a half busted shift lever, not usable in this state. I head off to hunt through the TPM trailer for part but come up empty. Mike arrives, which I’ve been dreading the whole time, and I explain to him what happened. Mike was very cool about it which I’m very, very grateful for. After some more searching we end up with no spare parts that will fit. Mike’s idea is to use a worm clamp to hold it together for the day. I talk with Glen about a rental bike for Mike in case the clamp doesn’t work. Mike does a quick test ride and all is well, thankfully.

Mike and I suit up and the day has one more surprise for me. As I go to zip up the suit the zipper breaks. Now I have a zipper that only is on one and basically useless. So off comes the suit and I try to fix it. Michele comes over to help but no go. I run over to the TPM trailer for loaner suit and off to the track I go. Today we have 2 white groups, 1 red with a few blue group riders in it and a car group. Mike gets tagged with White 1 and me in White 2. As always Gallo does not put Mike and I in the same group. I guess he just doesn’t want to get blamed for putting us on the track together. With a damp track, unfamiliar suit and the mornings events I take it easy for the first session. I help a few riders and after the session head back to the paddock to repair the suit. With some trimming the zipper is fixed, for now. Off comes the loaner suit and on goes my suit. Now trying to get in suit with out the zipper going fully down and opening up becomes a frustrating task. After 3 attempts and some major frustration on my part the suit is on and it’s time to ride. Later I did add some tie wire to the bottom of the zipper to prevent the zipper from opening and as not create the same level of frustration again. I guess it was appropriate that my frustration resulted in firework on this day.

With the cooler temps and the dampness in the air we cycle though the groups with a few minor incidents. Both bikes and cars are on their best behavior. Mike and I do our coaching duties with and take advantage of the dry track when we can. We each do a few hot laps now and then but never find each other when doing so. We run though the groups and before we know it the clock it’s time for lunch. We head over to Omar’s truck for some burgers and Mike tosses the hotdogs he got on the grill for our contribution to the consumables. CBRBob, Rita. Michelle and her brother and Ralph and his wife all hang out and eat. Lunch on most days is always too long and we as coaches are always eager to get back on the track. Funny how at Pocono East there is no that sense of urgency to get back out there and ride. The new pavement did clear up some of the problem area but in the process it created another one that was more dangerous. Pavement was laid to cover bumps the entry of the turn over the bus stop but when they joined the pavement to the existing pavement they create a bump now at the apex. For cars this is not an issue because that wheel is light and they have 3 other to compensate. With bikes this is not such a good thing.

With lunch done and we get ready to finish out the day. The weather looks bleak for the rest of the day. Rain is reported to be moving out way and judging from the clouds it very likely. We get a few sessions in before the skies open up and the rain starts. With a freshly wet track the group is informed to take it easy and we head out. The rain is a great tool to learn from. It teaches you to be smooth and inputs are issued in a very controlled manner. Rain makes power a non issue and traction a primary concern. Granted traction is need no matter what conditions but in the rain it’s easier to lose. As the rain falls the car guys pack up and head for home. This reduces the car group to only Michelle. Feeling sorry for Michelle, Mike and I elect to take our cars out act as fillers in the group. Ok that’s the official answer, but truth be told her we wanted to drive out cars on the track for a while now. I head over and get out of my suit to drive and follow Michelle in her Mustang up to the grid. Michelle is taking along Carmella upfront and TPM coach Steve in the back seat. Andy’s brother Bruce jumps in with me and we get the ok to take the track. Mike tags along behind a bit later. The Mustang is setup for this while Mike’s and my car are, lets just say, are not. I get the first lap in and the brakes start to fade and by lap 3 I have very little brakes and end up going long off the back straight. I loop it around and head back onto the track. Lap 4 comes and I brake again at the end of the straight and the pedal goes to the floor. Once again we go long and I loop it and return to the track again. This time I slow up as Mike catches up and I pit in and call it day. I drive through some puddles on the way back top the paddock to cool the brakes off a bit. We arrive in the paddock and the smell of burnt brakes material covers the area around the front of the car. Mike comes in a bit later with burnt brakes but not quite as bad as mine. Michelle idles in with her Mustang happy as can be and ready for more. We now have 2 cars that are in much need of a rest and some major cool down. With a few sessions left in the day the coaches trade off on who goes out as the riders all fade to a few dedicated ones. The day ends with the smell of damp leather and satisfied riders. We all pack up and get out of paddock.

Mike and I plan for dinner with Glen, his mother, Dominic, and Terri. The local place called Woody’s is the place of choice for dinner. Woody’s has good food and is a small place. To set the stage, I will say dinner with Glen always seems to end up in a unique adventure. This time proves to be just one of those times. First we start off with a waitress that is on her first night. This ended with long delays, spilled drinks and even longer delays in getting all our food. Conversations ranged from stories of our past to today’s events. We spent about 3 hours there and left with full bellies and very tired bodies. Mike had a 2+ hour ride home that required a stop in Reading for some sleep before finishing the trip home. I had a 45 minute ride that was very hard to say awake for. I’m sure Glen Terry and Dominic were feeling the same way. Needless to day the next morning came far too soon and was a relaxing day spent trying to stay awake by any means possible.

With another adventure added to our list we store this day in our head to later tell anyone while we are sitting on the porch in our later years.

George Benes

Team Xcedrin #929