Well, it's been a little while. July was a slow month...

Not really. It only seemed that way.

First, on the literary front: I've sent Hell's Own Ride to another agency (one declined as too busy). I expect a rejection in two more weeks :)

I've started another novel, called Ilse, about a Wendish girl and her brother, whose father and uncle are trying to get them to blend into Saxon Germany on the eve of the Northern Crusades... but historical fiction it's not. Ilse makes a bad decision and kills herself with a family heirloom - that won't let her die. It's the beginning of a fantasy epic novel, about 190,000 words. You know how bad I am at early estimates of size, so... we'll see.

Okay, on the personal front, I'm down about 55 lbs on this weight-loss adventure. That's translated into some direct performance on the race track.

July races at Vegas were hot, hot, hot. My boss from Chicago and his nephew were visiting Vegas, and they came out to watch and offer moral support... very cool. I took fourth, ninth, and first in A-Superbike, A-Superstock, and HW Senior Superbike.

The bike had started making a rhythmic chunking sound - usually a sign of chain stretch. But what caused the chain to stretch? I changed the bearings in both wheels and the chain and sprockets - noise fixed. The bearings weren't terribly worn-feeling to my hand (but we're talking about 160 HP to a 10mm-wide by 20-mm outer bearing), but I tossed them. The bike feels way more stiff - and paradoxically feels like it's sliding more (because it is stiffer). That's a neat feeling, and yeah, I guess riding in the dirt helps me feel more comfortable when it happens on the racetrack.

So, the bike's nice and tight again, and I go off to Fontana - 50 lbs lighter than when I sucked wind there back in January and decided I HAD to lose weight. Wow, what a difference...

I couldn't afford practice time there this weekend. As it was, it was a $670 weekend between diesel & gas, room, and entries. If I'd practiced one day, it would have cost me another $270 for trackday fee, plus $410 for tires... two days, and I'd have been around $1500 total. Not really in my budget right now, because of the 426 motocrosser/motard project I committed to in June.

So... no practice. Sunday morning, there was water on the track from a leaky sprinkler, and we didn't have the first practice session. Only one practice session (made slightly longer, thanks WERA), and I was running 1:43 laptimes - two seconds faster than in January.

Ugh. Not much hope... the track felt strange, slick to me, no grip. My pitmate Tiras threw a digital pressure gauge on my tires, and suggested I add a pound to each. Thanks, Ti, that was the ticket...

First race, A-Superbike. I suddenly had the sensation of speed drop away from me, and I got a good launch - up into the first grid (it was a 'gap start, meaning there was a gap in the grid between the two classes on the track), and from there, it was an exercise in getting used to sliding leaving corners on my old tires. Something clicked for me, and I began to drag knee around the track - a good sign that my head is extended and shoulders out. Once again, the bike became alive under me, and the sliding predictable... by the third lap, I think I have figured out I'm braking too early for the turn 12 - and get passed on the brakes as I started to move my braking marker up (brake later). Yep, I was braking too early.

I couldn't recover the grid spot - made a run for it in two laps, and some debris (cones) on the track let me close right up under a waving yellow (no passing allowed if it's waving), but just couldn't steal the spot back.

Back in the pits, I see I ran a 1:39 in this race, then see I had four very consistent 1:39's. I'm a bit happier.

One race to rest before my next start, then I'm out again. This was A-Superstock, and I'm pumped up, excited by the improvement in laptimes last race. The flag goes up, and I'm WAY deep in the front by the turn-3 chicane. Third gear through the chicane, and I'm into fifth by the turn 5/6 carusel, and I slot in nose-to-tail, dragging knee hard, gassing hard in third, sliding the bike on the exit. By turn 12, I'm braking WAY deep, and THIS TIME I have the turn one chicane on the banking Figured Out.

Turn One. You're doing 160 MPH, looking at it... the secret is downshift early, point the bike to the bottom artificial curb, and bury the throttle while you dive down the banking, then muscle the bike through the chicane. I had the rear spinning all the way to turn three... wow. No sensation of speed, just accomplishment, and I finish this race in third, ahead of a few Experts (they're not in my race but in their own). Very consistent 1:38's - low 1:38's.

Immediately, I grid back up for my last race - HW SSB (over 40, over 749cc). When the flag goes up, I ran away with the race, and nearly caught the back of the Expert pack (this was a two-wave start, we started about 30 seconds behind the first wave) by the end of the race. I'm 14 seconds ahead of the next guy to cross the finish line. Consistent high 1:37's, and not at all bad - I'd like to be in the 1:36's, but that would have taken more practice and fresh tires.

But what it really means is, I am the points leader, with an insurmountable lead, for HW Sr Superbike, and an honest-to-goodness class champion. I will be promoted to Expert next season.

Back at Arroyo (ASMA), I am a threat in every class I'm in - but I lead the Unlimited Superbike class by one point. It's between me and Jim Wolkens - as long as we both finish fourth or better, whichever of us finishes in front of the other two of the next three weekends in that race wins the championship.

I WANT that championship - it'll have been one I really earned against very equal competition - three other racers as fast/faster as I am, and one pretty darned close.

I'll try to update again in two weeks.