Wednesday, November 23rd 2005 - 09:16:14 AM
A lot has happened in the last year. Actually I take that back. As far as the race season goes, nothing happened. I couldn’t afford to race since I had no sponsorship and Frankie has been busy getting his business off the ground. Little by little he has been building it up and God is providing for him. I hope to get back on the track in 2006 and race the 250 one more season then move up a class. If anyone wants to help out please let me know. With about eight races a season and a cost of about $250-$300 a race weekend, it can add up. I don’t usually go down to Buttonwillow because of the distance but that still leaves six races at Sear’s Point and Thunderhill. I’m telling you that once you’re bitten by the race bug you’ll be hooked. My family came out to one of my races and even my mom had a great time. You could be a part of it. The smell of high octane, the sound of roaring engines, the bbq’s, and more. Come on out and watch me race!
Thursday, March 10th 2005 - 09:59:42 AM
This year may not see much race action from SLR. Frankie and I are still a team and we even might be at the track, just not on it. I recently bought a house and it's tough enough coming up with the mortgage every month. 'Doesn't leave much left for race fees, tires, travel costs, and all that other stuff. We don't have any real sponsors yet so all expenses come out of our own pocket.
Frankie is moving into the tire business and is representing Tomahawk tires. He's got a nice little setup including a 28 ft trailer, a pneumatic tire changing machine, and a dualie to pull it all to the track. I'm hoping to run his tires on both my race bike and street bike. For those of you that don't know, Tomahawk makes those colored tires you see for custom applications. Every tire goes through a structural integrity test that no other tire manufacturer uses. You should give them a try because they are relatively inexpensive too.
Well, keep us in your prayers and we hope to see you out there.
Monday, October 4th 2004 - 05:27:38 PM
This is supposed to be a race report, but I think it's going to end up being more personal than action based. I was so focused on my shifting and turning that I really didn't pay too much attention to who was passing me anyway. I know that there was a little dicing between Leigh and I, both in Sunday practice and in the race.
Let me start with saying that I like Sears Point better than Thunderhill. At least my bike does. Sears is so smooth, so curvy, so technical. The straightaways didn't offer much in the way of passing room, so I wasn't as discouraged with everyone zooming by me. My bike was able to negotiate the corners with aplomb, and the new Dunlops only added to the positive experience.
I already started saying something else, but let me start again by saying how excited I was that my whole family was there to cheer me on. From my mother all the way to my six-month old niece. No mother wants to see her child in danger, so I know how tough it was for my mom to watch. But she did, and even if she was cringing the whole time, she also seemed genuinely interested in the action. My whole family was asking questions, and I think that some of them actually caught the racing bug.
I want to thank Sean for his riding advice; 6th gear, 12,000rpm all the way up through turn one. Drop two when you're upright just before turn two to stay in the power band.
I want to thank Kevin for the Boricua hookup. I think tailgating made for a much more enjoyable experience for my family.
I want to thank Frankie for checking in with me even though he couldn't make it.
I want to thank all of you who wished me well even though you couldn't be there, and maybe next year you can make it out to a race.
Lastly, I want to thank God for keeping me safe. I didn't win the race, but I came back in one piece.
Monday, September 6th 2004 - 09:23:41 AM
Hurray!
One more race successfully completed for racer 872. That's me, AL. Racer 772 is Frankie. Only four more races, and I will achieve expert racer status.
Friday was very windy. I got to the track at around five o'clock pm, and it was a comedy show trying to set up my tent. I strapped everything down to everything else including the truck that Nina so graciously let me borrow, but not without chasing things down the lot, and picking up crates of tossed over tools a few times.
On the track I was virtually breaking in a new engine. The 250 seemed to be running strong, but I think it was having trouble pulling the 200+ lbs that was me. If I lose about 60 lbs, I think I can get more out of my engine. I was also racing a bit conservatively.
Not much to report in the way of race action. I had an excellent start, and passed about six or seven people even before turn one. My friend Leigh drafted off of me for about the first half of the race, then made her move on what I think was lap four, turn one. Then all I saw was her backside for the rest of the race.
I would like to thank Frankie, Rose, Lix & Tami for trackside support. It is fun to be out there, but it is even better to share the experience with friends.
Next Race-- October 1-3, Sears Point.
Monday, August 30th 2004 - 11:46:01 PM
I have good new and bad news.
The good news is that Frankie and I got the motor back into the 250, and it sounds great! It's like a new motor. It was rebuilt top to bottom by Eric at NorCal Motorsports. We were able to reassemble the bike without having any bolts left over. It is a most satisfying feeling. We did have to bleed the front brakes though. Just a little safety wiring, some gas, slapping on the plastics, and I'm ready to race.
Now the bad news.
For some reason I though that the deadline to enter a race was the Wednesday before the race. It may have been the case at one point, but it was not so this time. I missed the deadline. I was so intent on getting the bike ready that I didn't look on-line, or at the reminder card that AFM sent me.
I thank Felix for bringing me and the motor out to Yuba City, I thank Frankie for all his help in getting the bike put back together, and I thank Eric for working so hard to get the motor running. I'm only sorry that I wasn't paying enough attention to make this race.
But hear this-- We will be at Sears Point for the October 1-3 race. That is the last race of the season. I hope that friends and family will be able to come out, watch, and support Frankie and I. We could use a little help getting ready though. Check the prayer request page for some of our needs.
Saturday, August 7th 2004 - 10:36:21 AM
Now I'm sure you're used to hearing this, and you've probably given up on SLR, but someday we will get on the track. We've missed yet another race.
Here's what's going on. The Ninja 250 had the entire top end redone, and hopes were high for a strong motor. Testing on the track proved that to be wrong. The motor was sent back, and the bottom end was suspected to be the problem. Initially, nothing wrong could be found, but when the motor was being reassembled it was discovered that a link in the timing chain was missing.
So now the motor is ready, but not in the bike yet... Not in time to make the August 7-8th race at Infineon. Frankie had some business to attend to out of town, so he didn't sign up to race either.
I have aquired a small 4'x8' trailer that can possibly eliminate some of the hassle of getting the team together. Frankie and I live about an hour apart, and it is difficult to connect sometimes. Now all I need is something to pull the trailer. Why did I get a trailer before I got a vehicle? Notice I said "aquired" a trailer. It was actually a gift certificate of sorts... a store credit if you will.
If anyone has a spare vehicle that they wouldn't mind donating to the team (me) it would be greatly appreciated. It would be a good and holy cause for the glory of God and His Shining Light Racers.
Friday, June 11th 2004 - 01:22:09 PM
I am really bummed now.
I'm bummed for a number of reasons, but I'll try to keep this to motorcycle related ones.
I'm bummed because my race bike motor is in the shop, and will not be ready for this weekend's race.
I'm bummed because the backup bike I could have used has been sold.
I'm bummed because I have missed four races this year so far.
I'm bummed because my family has shown little if any interest in my racing.
I'm bummed because no one seems to ever read these news posts, and no one ever e-mails me.
I'm bummed because something that I want to do for the glory of God seems to be plagued with setbacks.
If anyone has any encouraging words for me, I really could use them. I'd appreciate your prayers too.
Sunday, May 30th 2004 - 12:41:56 AM
Well, to all of you that showed up this weekend, hoping to see some Shining Light Racing, I must apologize. My teammate Frankie, had recently got a new 28 foot trailer, and had to rig it with tie-downs and chocks for our bikes. I wasn't able to help him until this weekend, which of course was too late for us to be ready to race this time.
We spent a good portion of this Saturday measuring, drilling, and outfitting the trailer for at least two bikes. Man does it look good. If anyone is interested in sponsoring us financially, by paying entry fees, gas bill, tire costs, or whatever, we would be very grateful. It can be a lot of work, and can be financially draining to have a race team.
My 250 is disassembled and headed for the shop. Satan is going to try to keep us down with all these setbacks, but we shall overcome with the power of God. It is our mission to represent Christ. Our goal is to be able to make all the remainder of the AFM races, and move on to bigger things next year.
We don't really care about getting podium finishes, we just want to represent Christ in a positive way.
Saturday, April 24th 2004 - 04:36:44 PM
Well, the first race, or at least my first race, of the season, which was actually the second race of the AFM season at Sears Point, was rained out. Saturday's practice was full of sunshine, but then the clouds rolled in on Sunday, raceday.
It started off bad when Shining Light Racing (SLR) showed up on Saturday instead of claiming a pit spot on Friday. We set up in the way back end of the pits, raced over to tech inspection (which ended up being the only racing we did) and even had to make two or three trips back to tech inspection in order to get cleared.
Then we needed new tires on our bikes. God bless the pit crew. Mind you, I personally had never changed the tires on the 250 Ninja that I was racing, but the crew consisted of Frankie's eight month pregnant wife, his nine year old daughter, and his sister who was trying to keep an eye on her own daughter. It was a challenge and a learning experience for us all, but we ended up missing our first two practice sessions.
I had never been on the track except for a parade lap, and that really doesn't count as practice. Thanks to Leigh and Vic for lending us tools and stands that we didn't have, too.
So come raceday, we got through five of six practice sessions, but I missed mine for reasons that I won't go into. At the riders meeting we were told that they would use the "7 drops on a brick" method to determine if it was raining too much. Not five minutes after that announcement it started coming down pretty good, and I decided to pack it in and not race at all.
That's the short version of what happened. Hopefully next month's race on May 28th and 29th will prove to be better. By then we should also have the trailer set up.
'Hope to see you out there.
AL