Standby.

Team Solitaire Rider Ben Evans

I had to catch up on sleep this morning, namely the sleep I lost on my return from Atlanta.  I was booked on an early evening flight, but my wife convinced me to go to the airport early and go standby on the morning flight.  So I woke up early, checked by bags, wait bag (I'll get to that), and proceed to gate 1,467 at the Atlanta International Airport.  I didn't get on the flight, so I waited and waited and waited some more.  The end result was that I got home two hours earlier than I would have but spent six extra hours in the airport.  Thanks, honey.

If you can help it, don't fly Air Tran.  I have the run-of-the-mill 9800 Ogio gearbag, the one I travel with every weekend without issues.  But the pleasant lady at the Air Tran ticket counter would not let my "oversized" bag go without collecting $60.  Based solely on principle (and the fact that my bag was hammered and I have a new one at home), I took everything out of it and threw it away, citing that it was my wife's bag.  The lady's face was priceless as I took out my boots and dirty gear and transfered them to my smaller OGIO bag.  It was just the principle of the matter, because I know that bag is not oversized.  I felt like Captain Chaos.

On to this week.  I am at home but Jesse and JR are meeting our new team rider Ben Evans and his father, Dave, in Corona this evening.  Ben is suspension testing with MB1 tomorrow and riding his Oak Hill race bike on Thursday.  Ben is a great kid and an excellent addition to the Team Solitaire family.  He will be racing the amateur nationals before joining the pro team at Millville in late August.

That's a wrap.  RC 

ATL

Greetings from room 445.  I am back at the hotel in Atlanta after a solid night for myself and my teammate Kyle Partridge.  I had some trouble in my heat race, crashing in the first corner and remounting quite far back.  I came through the pack quickly and had to make some very rough and tough passes, culminating in the final corner, to pick up ninth.  

The main was solid, as I started a bit back but came up as high as tenth.  With a few laps to go, I made a mistake and lost tenth to Jason Thomas.  I picked it back up and applied some pressure but ultimately finished 11th.

I head home first thing in the morning and look forward to getting back to AZ.  It is going to be a good, hard work week.  RC

The Daily Show

It has been a good week thus far.  I did some riding on Tuesday, and I felt very good.  I am getting ready to go riding again this morning to finish tuning up for Atlanta this weekend.  I really need to concentrate on my starts, so I will burn up a clutch today  no doubt.

Yesterday was great.  I don't usually ride my motorcycle Wednesdays, so it leaves the day open for lots of other fun stuff.  I went on an early morning mountain bike ride at the White Tank State Park competitive trail.  My friends Cody Conklin and Matt Frye were also pedaling along for the ride.  All in all, we spent well over an hour on the bikes navigating some very treacherous terrain.

After cycling, I drove to Peoria to meet with my chiropractor/accupunture therapist Glenn Micheels.  I just started doing accupunture a few weeks ago when I injured my finger, and it has proven very beneficial.  I prefer Eastern medicine to Western in most cases, but both have value obviously.  

The last stop of the day was at the park.  My son and I hit up the slide, the swings and even dabbled in the monkey bars. Crazy.  Anyway, that was my favorite part no doubt.

I need to get going and put down a couple of motos this morning.   All the best.  RC.

Rowing Rowing Rowing

I enjoy Monday's during Supercross season because there is not too much going on.  I get to spend most of the day at home with my family, which is good right now because we are launching "Operation Toilet Training" with my son.  So far today we are one for three.  Not bad if we are talking baseball stats, but in the real world it's a lot to clean up.

Anyway, my trainer Seiji Ishii (www.coachseiji.com) had me get a rowing machine to use at home for cardio training.  The good folks at Concept 2 rowing hooked me up with a sweet machine which now resides only feet from my desk in my office (a little cramped for space right now).  Anyway, today I had a heart rate test on the rower and I can honestly say that I suck at rowing.  My @$$ hurt the whole time I was exercising, but I am sure once I get more accustomed to it the pain will subside...like developing a callous I suppose.  This rower is trick though, it has a full on interactive computer that I am just beginning to use.  Pretty soon I will be virtually racing people on the internet from the discomfort of my rowing seat.  And since I am a racer, that is good.

The other project going on at CTF (Clark Training Facility) today is that pavers are being put in as my driveway.  This is super exciting to me, probably not so much to you.  I have been waiting a while so I am pumped to have a real driveway instead of just dirt.  Welcome to civilization.

Tomorrow is a ride day so I will be out early and home late.  Talk to everyone soon.  RC

Houston Supercross Results

Hello from Houston.  Tonight was a better night for me, and Bob also posted a solid result.  I posted eighth quickest qualification time, finished sixth in my heat and 12th in the main.  Bob finished fourth in the heat race and seventh in the main.

The story of tonight was the weather.  It is a good thing that Reliant Stadium is covered because it would have been dirty.  It rained harder than I have seen in a long time.  It rained sideways, as the wind was relentless.  Then, around eight o'clock a tornado touched down less than a mile from the stadium.  The winds in the pit area wreaked havoc on many teams, including ours.  We lost a 10 x 20 canopy, but Factory Connection, Wonder Warthog, Pro Circuit Kawasaki and a few others lost their full canopy.  Those things cost over 20K...I know that because I have an old one and have priced a replacement.  

Anyway, I am back at the hotel and need to get some sleep before I head home early tomorrow morning.  Thanks for reading my rants.  RC

Kiniry Smashes Em

Bob likes to smash things.  Seriously, his favorite thing to say is "I'm going to smash it".  You can substitute "it" with "him", "them" or other suitable noun.  Well, last night Bob smashed it for sure.  Going through the first corner he smashed his way from a mid-pack start all the way up to fourth.  He made a quick pass into third in the next turn, a spot he would not relinquish for the duration of the main event.  Despite pressure from the likes of Dungey and Metcalfe, Bob pulled off the first podium of his career and gave Team Solitaire our first as well.  In the process, he earned $1000 bonus in $2 bills from Rich of KingdomCrown.com.  Happy smashing Bob!

RC

Mayday, mayday.

I was minding my own business, riding with my newly acquired Amateur rider Ben Evans, when out of the corner of my eye I saw it.  It was a plane that appeared to be in distress.  It was shaking violently, kind of convulsing if you will. Moments later it hit the ground and came apart in about a thousand pieces.  It wasn't a real plane, at least in the sense that it was carrying passengers or cargo.  It was real in the sense that I could touch it and it flew, albeit not very well.  It was a remote control plane, according to the owner worth over $20,000.  

We all ran to the scene of the crash to see if there was anything we could do.  You know, pick up the pieces, search for the black box, maybe put out a fire or pillage the wreckage.  I couldn't resist but cracking jokes about driving up a remote control fire truck or calling a remote control helicopter to help with the victims.  We looked for the fictional black box before wearing out our welcome with the owner of the previously pricey plane.  And I thought motocross racers wasted money on toys...

RC