Schwantz school

[Cider]

Just got done with the Schwantz school in Alabama--two straight days of rain, and now that everything is over the weather is gorgeous. Oh well, at least I got some killer rain experience (and one session was a downpour) for no extra charge.

Barber Park is a fun track, btw. It feels like a roller coaster. And the museum--well, words cannot describe that place. It's moto-mecca. I postponed my flight until tomorrow afternoon so I can get some more time there.

Oh yeah, the instructors voted me "most improved rider," so I won a free set of Michelin tires, my choice.

[swampduc]

Nice. I just did the school a couple of weeks ago. Had a blast, in spite of the rain.

[El Matador]

Nice. I just did the school a couple of weeks ago. Had a blast, in spite of the rain.

 I want
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 I want
 I want
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 I want
 I want
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 I want
 I want

*throws fit*

[zooom]

Barber is a REALLY nice facility...the grounds with all the weird and cool sculptures everywhere and whatnot are as interesting as the museum in certain ways....when I was there doing a school, during one of the slow drills, I got a chance to look at the different weird sculptures positioned amongst the trees around the track as well...my whole bane during that stint though was that transition patch bumpiness towards the inside of the apex on the racing line of museum turn ( I call it that because different schools and whatnot call it different numbers)....and I wish there was a way to open up the final turn onto the front main straight smoother and swoopier....but not so much I guess...makes me feel bad for racers who get a meatball penalty to go through that pit lane like that...

anyways...great facility....can't wait till he expands it to get WSBK there!

[Cider]

Yeah, Museum corner was tricky, especially when there were two rivers running across it.  Ditto for Charlotte's web.  I was surprised by how much grip is available in the rain, though.  And when the track was semi-dry, it felt like a special treat 

[Cider]

After the first day of riding, we had dinner in the museum.  The director gave us a tour of the basement, where they do restorations and store a bunch of bikes that aren't on display.  Mitch Boehm was helping out with the school, and he had a cool story for nearly every bike.  It was definitely one of the highlights for me.

My favorite?  A custom 5-cylinder, 2-stroke Kawasaki in the basement.  The director started it up and revved it a bit--what a wonderful sound!







They are collecting Lotus racecars, too:

[Cider]

Moar sickness:













Gary Eagan's bike: