Road Trip

By my friend, Cassidy

Well it was that time of year again. Time to load up the motorcycle and then head off to the motorcycle races at Pittsburgh International Race Complex located in Wampum, PA over the weekend of August 23-25. It is located north of Pittsburgh and a hair north of Beaver Falls. This trip marked our third year going. Prior to this location we went to Indianapolis, IN for the motorcycle races held there. That European series no longer stops there.

The plan was for my friends and me to meet up with another friend that lives in the Pocono Mountains. That place was convenient for me as well as my NYC friends. As my riding mates retire including myself we kind of spread out. The NYC friends are still employed as they haven’t reached social security age just yet. Anyway the trip with the added mileage to the Pocono’s was 445 miles for me. As I approach 70 I can no longer do that kind of riding on a bike without a windshield so I rode my very un-romantic and very practical Honda Silver Wing scooter. Before you readers say ‘what a scooter?’ keep in mind it has a 600 cc engine and is capable of exceeding 100 mph so it is a very capable tool to have in the tool box plus I can pack a whole bunch of stuff into the under seat storage area. I named it Audrey after Audrey Hepburn. Recall the movie Roman Holiday.

It would not be a motorcycle trip without a rain storm and as in years past 20 minutes outside Pittsburgh the skies opened up. The cloud burst was so great, I completely lost sight of the vehicle in front of me not 20 feet to my left. As quick as it started, it stopped and by the time I got to the motel I was completely dry. Hey I was on a dryer going 70 mph in sun shine and 90 degree temperatures.

Friday morning we head over to the track. Our weekend ticket included a lap of the track after the Saturday races. I will leave it as some people are not only rude, not capable of following instructions, inconsiderate and downright stupid asses.

As we walked around the pit area we got re-acquainted with teams and racers we have met in the past. It is good to be remembered. It is even better when they remember your name. I will not go into great detail regarding the people I chatted to however I will say these folks are the ones that posses the magic dust that make these Super Bike motorcycles generate nearly 200 horse power capable of sending these bikes to nearly 200 mph.

One thing the U.S. series possesses is an international flavor. Racers throughout the classes hail from Spain, South Africa, England, Australia, Mexico, Columbia, El Salvador and Canada. As one of the South African racers noted racing in the U.S. is living the dream. Hell watching him race is a dream come true for the spectators, me especially.

The U.S. series is televised (tape delay) on Fox Sports 2. I know the announcer and the expert commentator. My friends and I attended the road race school owned by the expert commentator and the announcer was one of the instructors at the school. They know their stuff and it is great to chat to them. Obviously we refer to the expert commentator as coach. Note too that he coaches current racers and three of the four he coaches won their class. So yeah he knows his stuff. Great guy too.

Saturday rolled around and things get serious as there is qualifying and then race one for each class. Sunday is race two for each class so that day is every bit as busy as Saturday so there was not a great deal of chit chat going on. It is just watch and sometime learn something.

One thing about Saturday is the more wealthy teams recruit models from local modeling agencies to be umbrella girls. Yeah some may think it sexist however over the years these models use the pictures in their portfolios so they can get modeling gigs going forward. Say what you will but those girls are out working to make a living at their chosen profession.

So anyway we meet up with the two girls employed by Monster Energy Drink. Both had impeccably applied makeup. I didn’t ask however I did wonder if they did it themselves or if there was a makeup artist somewhere in the Monster Energy truck. Monster by the way supplies the costumes they wear so I am guessing they request models that can wear the costume.

Poor girls, they weren’t at all sure what they were supposed to do. When we met up with them they were, as I mentioned before, taking turns with their camera so they could add them to their respective portfolios. We get to talking and me, the more or less, outspoken one of the bunch when it comes to chatting to umbrella girls, racers and mechanics, ask them if they knew what they were supposed to do. The answer was ‘not quite sure’ so I start explaining their duties. I show them how to hold the umbrella, how to stand, where to stand when near the rider and the bike and where to go once they have to leave the starting grid. I also explain to them that they will have to pose for pictures with lots and lots of men and on occasion women of all ages and sizes. As a joke I suggested they have a roll of paper towels or a box of tissues handy to wipe the drool off themselves..

In the spirit of if you only knew, one of the girls says to me I think you were an umbrella girl in a past life. I confess that I auditioned for a position of an umbrella boy for a female racer and that I have been attending races more years than she was alive so I’ve watched and learned over the years.

We caught up with the girls again on Sunday morning so I asked them how their day went. Both said I made it much easier for them with the information I passed along. Once again the one girl asked if I was an umbrella girl in a past life. If she only knew -then too maybe she sensed something. As we know women have a sense for such things.

Something I would like to add to this and something that bodes very well for the sport that I so dearly love. An importer of small racing motorcycles offers 32 bikes in two different sizes to race in two classes. The bikes are on a first come, first serve basis to young racers to rent for a weekend. The rental fee which is $1,000.00 includes the bike, fuel, tires, tools and any and everything needed to get the racer through the weekend. The racer has to provide the riding gear. Oh yeah the racers in one class age six through nine. The second of the two classes is for racers aged 10-13. Yes mom, dad, grand dad, grand mom, aunt, uncle, or possibly a neighbor serve as pit crew.

I had a chance to chat to some of the parents. One thing I did find refreshing was the parents I spoke to and others were definitely not the typical soccer, baseball, football, hockey, cheerleading and whatever sport elementary, middle school, and high school student would partake. They were supportive of their kids and did not act like instant ass holes if something went wrong with their child during the race.

Okay so you may be thinking $1,000.00 is a chunk of change for a weekend however think about the costs involved with the other sports. I know hockey is not cheap and pee wee foot ball is up there as well. I have friends that have kids and grand kids on travel teams and they too aren’t cheap.

What I found absolutely hilarious was I chatted to this young lady racing in the 10-13 year old class. Damn she had blond hair down to her bum and a mouth full of braces. I asked her how her race went and she goes on just like the guys racing professionally. Things like I was really going good and imagined a podium finish but my tires dropped off and I could no longer hold my line and had to settle for fifth. Very, very mature and well spoken which bodes well for the sport as it could do with more women competitors as well as a steady flow of up and coming talent as well.

Thank you all, and an extra special thanks to Kandi for operating this blog.

Cassidy  

Oh I nearly forgot. One night we had dinner at the famous Pittsburgh sports bar/restaurant Primanti Brothers. The claim to fame is whatever one orders ends up between two slices of bread. Yup, fries, onion rings, coleslaw, etc, etc. One of the guys took the whole thing apart and then formed his own side dishes. Of course it was washed down with Iron City beer. [Editorial comment: the best place to eat on the planet!]

Cassidy gave me a photo from her travels of the Monster Energy girls, but somehow I screwed it up and lost it! My bad.

A little backstory about my relationship with Cassidy. We e-mail back and forth almost daily. We have never met, but have been doing this for a few years now. My e-mails after an outing were essentially what you now read here, a story and some pictures. She was literally the only visitor to Kandi’s Land before I started the blog. She is reasonable, caring and often offers a different viewpoint that I hadn’t considered. She also likes to write. This floor, for how ever long it exists, is always hers. Thanks for always being there for me, many times just to blow off steam.

from Kandi's Land https://kandis328772669.wordpress.com/2019/09/09/road-trip/
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