October 22, 2007 – Looks like I’m done racing at Willow Springs.  I’m bummed because I love that track, but I’m really looking forward to racing in Texas.  There are several tracks to choose from and there have been some fantastic riders that have come through CMRA.  Can’t wait until next year to get the season started!!!

June 16, 2007 - Flew out to CA again to race.  Ken wasn’t racing because he recently had shoulder surgery, so I got to play w/his 250 and my R6.  I was having a pretty good day and getting my lap times down.  It was a really windy day, but on the R6, I don’t have to worry much about the wind…but on the 250, it’s a different story.  You have to really focus on putting all your weight on the front and holding that thing on the ground, and I guess I just don’t have enough weight.  I was actually doing a pretty good lap and was about to catch up to and pass about 4 or 5 guys when I turned into Turn 8 and was down before I knew it.  There was a huge gust of wind and it totally took me out and I hit the ground HARD w/my right shoulder and slid off the track and tumbled in the dirt.  Had to visit the ER, but nothing was broken, however, I was in a ton of pain.  My entire right side was bruised up and I couldn’t move my shoulder.  I had also slammed by left thumb and it swelled like a balloon.  Unfortunately, I did not get to race the next day.  The good news is that Ken’s bike doesn’t seem to be hurt too bad.  Just need to replace a few parts and then take care of the cosmetic damage.  I do feel REALLY bad because he had just painted the bike in April. 

April 15 – I moved to Texas early this month and flew to CA for the races.  Ken raced his 250, so that left me w/only the R6 to race.  I got 16^th place…got ok lap times considering I didn’t get to practice on Saturday, but obviously not that good compared to the 15 guys in front of me!  I’m making improvements though.

April 14 – GOT MARRIED!!  Ken Ryder and I got hitched at Willow Springs at the start/finish line…in our leathers!  I’ve added a couple of pictures.  I almost didn’t make it due to horrendous weather in TX the night before, but I got there w/a couple of hours to spare.  I was supposed to get there Friday and then practice all day.  Oh well, I’m just happy I made it at all.  It was such a fun evening.  We had one of our race buddies, Steve Slaughter, become deputy commissioner for a day so he could marry us.  My Matron of honor (Candice Hurley) is a fellow motorcyclist and Ken’s best man (Carlos Arzola) is a fellow racer.  After the short ceremony, we did a parade lap and had other racers participate on scooter, mopeds, etc.  It was awesome!!!

February 17^th - Saturday was a beautiful day (a rarity at Willow Springs) with little wind and abundant sunshine.  Practice went well, as I hit my fastest lap time ever in my 2^nd practice session!  My fiancée had fixed the suspension on the R6 and I was able to really turn the R6 in – what a difference that made.  Also, with some fine tuning from Jim Lindemann (http://www.le-suspension.com/), I was set for some consistently fast lap times (at least for me). 

Sunday (18^th) was not as sunny, but it was pleasant.  I raced in the 600 Super Stock class, with 41 people on the starting grid (yikes!).  I finished 23^rd, and had extremely consistent times.  I actually beat a guy that used to coach me on the FZR 400.  Oh yes… it was a huge confidence booster!!  My second race was 550 Superbike, of which I raced on Ken’s Aprilia RS250 (www.sponsorhouse.com/Members/kenryder).   We actually had 2 starts because of a crash in lap 2.  I finished 11^th, but I didn’t get any practice on the 250, so I can’t complain.  It sure is a drastically different ride than the R6, though.  Immediately after that, I raced the R6 in the 600 Modified Production class, with 32 on the starting grid.  Once again, we had 2 starts because of a crash in lap 2.  I finished 24^th.  My rear tire was shot by lap 4 because I nearly had a get-off in Turn 4, but saved it and just took it easy, but didn’t loose any positions. 

Ken had his first track get-off in Turn 4 (right where I almost crashed), but he’s fine.  He was avoiding some yahoo from taking him out and tapped the front brake…and tucked the front.  The bike is pretty easily fixable, and his soreness won’t stick around for too long. On a positive note, he also got his fastest lap times ever and had some awesomely consistent times.  Way to go!!!

Well, it's 2007 and I'm ready to get started with the new race season!!  Ken and I took the FZR motor to Hypercycle to have it worked on (it decided it didn't want to play any more in September).  The goal will be to have that ready for the WSMC race weekend 1/20-1/21.  I hope so, because I miss my Fizzer!

I am loving the R6 though.  I continue to widdle away at my times on that bike, which makes me VERY happy.  We just need to do some fine tuning on the suspension and I should be able to shave some more time off.  I can't wait!! 

As for 2006, I ranked 75th of 327 ranked racers - not bad for only racing 6 of 12 weekends!  I'm hoping I will have better luck for 2007 and race all weekends.  My goal for this year is to finish top 20  - wish me luck!!

I had it all planned out...race the FZR 400 and the Aprilia RS250, and practice on my new Yamaha R6 (it’s a 2003, but it’s new to me!). I got 2 laps of practice in on the 400 before it decided it didn`t want to go any further. I lost power and it was making some bad clanking noises. So much for that. I guess it’s time for a rebuild.

As for racing the RS 250, that didn`t happen either. About an hour before one of the races, my boyfriend noticed the throttle cable just wasn`t right. It turns out it was totally shredded and hanging on by one thread. It’s a good thing he noticed, because that could’ve been ugly.

I did get a little practice (3 sessions) on the R6 and had a great time. It is completely stock, so the suspension needs work, but I got my fastest lap time ever during practice. Since I couldn’t race the other bikes, I decided to race the R6. About 5 of us were battling for 20th place and I must admit it was one of the funnest races I`ve ever had! I ended up passing one of the guys down the straight but couldn`t get the other guy, so I ended up with 21st. We are currently getting the suspension worked on and I hope that will help out my times so I can be much more competitive. I`m really looking forward to next race weekend!!

Had a great race weekend - got 4th place in 500cc Superstock and got my fastest lap time ever! Looks like I`ve gotten rid of the crash ghosts and I`m ready to get down to business and chip away at my lap times.

On March 18th, during practice, I crashed in turn 6. I dislocated and broke my finger when it got smashed between the clutch lever and the front fairing during a severe “tank slapper”. Then, the brake lever hit the front fairing and I was thrown off the bike. I was pretty bruised up and sore for a few days, but received no other major injuries. I should be able to remove the splint on May 1st and am told it will be about 6 weeks until I have full motion of my finger. My goal is to race in June (the 18th - if not before...) if I can get the bike fixed by then. I should be able to get a trackday in by then either on my race bike or street bike.