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Thursday - August 26, 2004

Abbreviated update this week. I've been bedridden by paralyzing chest pains for the past couple of days. First I thought I was having a heart attack since my father has a history of heart problems at a young age, but the pain doesn't leave my upper-left chest area. Long story short, the doctor thinks I have some sort of inflamation, possibly hernia-induced, so I'm on some anti-inflamatory prescription stuff that we hope will do the job. It seems to have kicked in and I don't feel too bad right now.

Photos from Deal's Gap last weekend and VIR full-course Monday are online. We only shot Friday at Deal's Gap, and not much at that...there weren't many people out. I tried to go shoot Saturday, but when I got out there around noon it was sprinkling with a total of 6 bikes between the store and the overlook. No Lexus' or sportscars. Sunday we had to leave and head for Virginia.  I was told that there was an accident that shut down the road Sunday, possibly a Viper.

VIR full-course was pretty damn fun. That was the first time that we did a full-course VIR. The AMA pro racers don't even like this layout because it is so fast. The cornerworkers said Duhamel was sailing about 40-feet (distance, not height) off the ground coming down the turn 10 hill in full-course testing. I didn't expect to enjoy it because I'm not big on high speed stuff, and I was riding an Aprilia Tuono, which doesn't have much wind protection. I had more fun than I've ever had for a first time track. It usually has to grow on me, but within about 3 laps I was feeling pretty comfy. We were afraid the high speeds would make for some chaotic crashing, but we had zero major incidents...the ambulance never budged that I know of.

We should be around the Gap this weekend...if my chest doesn't start kicking my ass again. Next weekend is the big AMA races at Road Atlanta and we'll probably get to go shoot those for a story Neale Bayly is working on. It will be our first major race shoot. We should still have a man or two covering the Gap while Keith and I are at the AMA races.

Thursday - August 19, 2004

The hurricane-induced bad weather totally missed us last weekend, and a surprising number of enthusiasts came out to enjoy the cool weather. Friday the 13th was pretty chilly, and there were several accidents, but Saturday was way busier with far fewer incidents. (that I know of) Sunday started off kinda dead, so I only shot for a couple of hours then got bored from standing around and decided to take my girlfriend's sportbike out for some fun. (How many guys can say that?  She's the greatest ;) It got a little busier later on in the day, so I'll probably get chewed out for not getting any shots of the late arrivers.

Monday Randy Chase from EliseRoadTrip.com made his way through the Gap late in the day.  This guy bought a new Lotus Elise but they couldn't deliver it to his residence in California, so Lotus talked him into flying over to Atlanta to pick up his car, then drive it back to CA! He made plans to specifically hit Deal's Gap and the Cherohala Skyway since he had heard so much about it. He's a CHAMP race car driver and shifter cart driver, and he was very impressed with our roads. He was also a very impressive driver, and the Elise is a very impressive car. (1,965 lbs, 190hp) I couldn't stay with him on the Skyway on Lori's CBR 600 F4.