puredanger.com Blog

Attention, attention – Cleezmo is moving! To be more specific, I’ve taken advantage of the ridiculously easy-to-use program known as iWeb, and have built a website for Seda and I. The new site is:

www.jeffandseda.com

In addition to my blog page, we’ll have photos and other stuff that is made possible not by my programming prowess, but by the uber simple Mac software.

Check it out! And big thanks to Alex for hooking me up with bandwidth for the last year or so!!!

Cleezmo out…

After our PC crashed last week, and after several mostly failed attempts to get it back up and running, we decided to leave the Microsoft bus and get a Mac. We are the proud new owners of a Macbook Pro, and so far it is sweet!

Now I just have to learn how to do all the cool stuff it can do. Look for a GarageBand recording and a better web page in the near future. Oh yeah, and I’ll be using it for job search as well…

UPDATE: The irony is just too funny. In my second day of owning the Mac, I installed Microsoft Office for Mac. When I went to register the software on MS’s website after installation, and I entered the ID# of the software (taken directly from the info screen on said software), I got an error message saying “Product ID not valid”. I tried 2 more times, and got the same error message, despite the fact that I was keying in the exact numbers and dashes on the screen of the program. Classic. This is why I got a Mac!!

Okay, so this is a bit late, but better late than never, eh? In December I submitted an article to my most-favorite motorcycle news/racing website, www.superbikeplanet.com. They have a series called “A Face In The Crowd”, which are articles submitted by readers/fans of the site. I was lucky enough for them to post my previous submission, “The Shop”, back in February, and they liked this one, “Finding The Flow”, as well. So I’m 2 for 2!! Woo Hoo!!

The link is here.

Most readers of my blog certainly know this, but in case a random search for “cleezmo” has brought a stranger here, I’ll state it matter of factly: My name is Cleezmo, and I play bass. And, more importantly for this particular post, my current arsenal includes a 1990 Peavey Dyna-Bass 4-string, and a 2000 Modulus Quantum-5 (five strings, as the -5 implies).

Now, for those not in the know, a Modulus is an amazing instrument; it’s not cheap, but it’s worth every penny. In auto terms, it’s a Porsche 911 Turbo with new tires. My old-school Peavey, by auto metaphor comparison, is an extremely-clean, low-miles Miata. It’s a fine sports car, but it’s no Porsche. I’ve used this car analogy numerous times since I bought my Modulus in early 2002. People would ask me “So, do you ever play your Peavey anymore?” all the time. My reply would be: “If you have a Porsche and a Miata in the garage, and it’s a beautiful day outside, which one would you drive?” The German car, of course. (more…)

The last track day of the season for me was a few Sundays ago on October 14^th at Gateway International Raceway. This was the final of four track days put on by the MCRA, and despite a smaller number of riders, was a lot of fun. And the weather was perfect, sunny and 80 degrees in October!

As usual, I was doing Control Rider duty in the Novice and Intermediate groups. I’ve really tried to adopt more of an instructing role in the Novice group vs. the Chaperone role we generally do with the Intermediates. This means that I’m trying to seek out guys and gals who look like they need some help with the race line or getting around the track. I then get them to follow me for a few laps, showing them the proper lines, follow them for a lap to see how they are doing, and then move on to try to find another rider in the same situation (or get in front of them again for a refresher if they don’t improve).

I felt like this was the best job I’ve personally done in terms of helping out the Novice riders. Every session I’d work with one or two riders, I talked to at least one rider at pit out at the end of every session, and I had a few riders coming over to my pit area asking follow-up questions throughout the day. It’s pretty rewarding seeing someone who was riding really rough in the morning riding smoother and more confidently at the end of the day. Also, we see a lot of the same riders at all of over events, and it’s pretty cool to have seen the progression in skill level and speed of a lot of the Novice riders from our first day in May to the last day in October. Some made really, really big strides in their riding.

As usual, we had a race at the end of the day, where I was once again on Pole position due to my early registration. I got a good launch, but wheelied a bit off the line – actually I carried the front wheel about a foot off the ground until I shifted into 2^nd gear. Nice for show, not so good for getting to Turn 1 first! Also as usual, the top 2 guys pretty much checked out from the rest of us after 1 lap, turning crazy times like 1:06s and 1:07s. I was in 5^th place for the first few laps, but by about lap 7 or 8 I caught and passed the 4^th place rider between turns 4 and 5. I was able to put a few second gap on him for a while, but he slowly caught back up to me. When I hesitated to pass a lapper (my buddy Dave on his Buell), he dove underneath us both into Turn 8, and I was cursing myself for waiting to pass. I got around Dave on the front straight, but by then the 4^th place rider had put a little gap on me, and I only had 2 or 3 laps left. By then my rear tire was fairly greasy and I had slowed to the mid- 1:11s, so I was not in a good position to chase without taking some risks.

I ended up with 5^th, so it wasn’t terrible, but I really, REALLY wanted 4^th! Oh well. The positive was that, from a lap time perspective, I was right back in the zone of 1:10s that I had finally broken into in September. In fact, my first flying lap was a 1:10.50, and 11 of my first 12 laps (in an 18 lap race) were all in the 1:10s. The last 3 or 4 laps my times dropped off (because my rear tire was spinning up everywhere) to 1:11s, and a 1:12 on the last lap, but that just means that I recognized the tire situation and adjusted my pace accordingly, so there’s no shame in that.

So now the GSX-R goes into hibernation for the winter, and I’ll try to put a few more miles on the new Tiger 1050 in the garage before winter sets in…

As most of you probably know, Seda ran and finished the Chicago Marathon on October 7. Just one more reason to say My Wife Rocks!!

She trained religiously for 5 months for this, and was in great shape to complete the run. In addition, she raised over $3500 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as a member of Team In Training. She really put forth a lot of effort in both her training and her fundraising, and I couldn’t be more proud of her.

The marathon itself was strange – it was actually cancelled at the 3 hours 30 min mark due to excessive heat (88 degees). Seda was able to finish, but was literally forced to walk most of the last 5 miles (see her note below).

The fun part for me (other than seeing Seda run, of course) was that my good buddy Ben was also in Chi-town to support his friend Mike in his marathon, so we hooked up and were cruising around town together, trying to get from checkpoint to checkpoint to see both Mike and Seda, who were about 30 minutes apart in the pack of 40,000 runners. This was a blast, as we hadn’t seen each other since last December. At one point we were literally running for 15 minutes, in our cargo shorts and backpacks, trying to get to Mile 17 before Mike crossed the line! Good thing we were able to catch cabs the for the other stops! We saw both Mike and Seda at miles 5, and 10, then Ben and I split up at Mile 17, as at that point Mike and Seda were far enough apart that if Ben stayed with me to see Seda, he’s miss his next check point.

It was really cool seeing so many runners – literally, the pack went on forever! Ben and I saw the pack about 1/2 mile in, and it’s just crazy, a wall of people that does not end. Ben has run Chicago twice, so it wasn’t new to him, but it was eye-opening for me. At the end of the day, I must say that I was inspired to try one. After further review, I think I’m going to train for a 1/2 marathon next year, but I’m making no commitments for a full one yet  ; )

I’m so proud of Seda for hanging in there and finishing! She Rocks!

For those of you how might have missed it, here is the email she sent out post-marathon:

Dear All,
 
As most of you already heard, the weather during the 30^th LaSalle Chicago Marathon was less than optimal. It got hot, really hot!
 
The race started nicely, I saw Jeff and Ben at mile 5 and 10, and Leyla, Ozgun and Ahmet between miles 7 and 8. Then I saw Jeff for the third time at mile 17 and he cheered me up, motivated me to keep going with a smile on my face. The heat started to get a lot of runners by then… As I passed the 21 mile mark, they announced that the race was over and we should stop running. During the announcement they also said that there were buses waiting for us at the next aid station and we would be taken to the finish line by bus. I kept hearing no more timing, no more racing, stop running… I kept telling myself that I wanted to finish it by myself. I could not believe this was happening. I continued running/walking to find Jeff – as I passed mile 17 he told me that he would be at mile 23. I passed the aid station but did not see any buses and started running slowly at least up until I found Jeff. Between mile 23 and 25 I walked with Jeff and Leyla. Since I wanted to finish the race running I started running again to finish the race.
 
I am honored to have run this race in memory of John Landin, as well as all the people whose names were on the ribbons many of you sent. It was a weekend that I will never forget. Thank you all for your support, calls, emails, thoughts. All of them helped and I thought of you all during my 5 hour 27 minutes run/walk.  
 
I am still sore and avoiding the stairs. Here is a really fun You Tube link that sums it nicely: http://youtube.com/watch?v=m-hCuYjvw2I
 
Have a wonderful week,
 
Seda

We had our 3rd MCRA track day this past Sunday at Gateway International Raceway, and it was a blast!

First off – full props to all the trackday participants. We’ve had some issues at the past couple events with riders riding over the limit, bikes coming together on track, etc. – just too many “incidents”. So the club responded by implementing a few additional rules to keep things safe for everyone. The riders responded well – we only had one red flag (stoppage of a session due to a crash) all day, compared to 4 or 5 at our last event! Big improvement.

As a Control Rider for the Novice and Intermediate sessions, I help both chaperone and instruct riders in those classes. I made a mental note to try to help at least one rider in every session I was out in, instead of just cruising around chaperoning. It worked, I think – in every session I would have 1 or 2 guys follow me for a couple laps, showing them the race line and trying to get them to follow it. Results can vary, but I saw definite improvement in a couple or riders, and that’s the whole point, so I felt good about that.

After riding every single Intermediate and Novice session until lunch, after the lunch break I sat out a bit. I did about 4 laps in the first Expert session just to make sure I got a few laps in at near race pace for our club race at the end of the day, and after that I did a few sessions as a CR, but not every one. It was 90-something degrees and I wanted to make sure I had energy left for the 25-minute race at 4:30.

I had pole position in the race – because I was the first rider to sign up for the race months ago. I actually got a great start in the race – I was 3rd exiting Turn 2, and was still with the front group by Turn 6. The first two guys – wicked-fast J. Quillman and J. Selbert – were gone within a lap. But here’s where things got interesting..

At the last two events, I was able to hang with the lead group (or, well, the group fighting for 3rd, behind the 2 fast guys who had sailed off into the distance) for about 1 1/2 laps, and by that point I’d lose touch with them and would just ride my own race. But this time was different.

After Selbert and Quillman had checked out, there was a group of 3 riders battling for 3rd – and I was right with them. They’d pull me a bit on the front straight (they were riding a 636, 750, and 1000, and I was on my 600), but I was able to close up in the corners – mostly Turn 2 and Turn 6. I stayed with them for 2 or 3 laps, and thought “I’m still with them! That means I can STAY with them!” Never underestimate the mental aspect of racing, kids. Because from that point on I was stuck to them. I had the same mental conversation at the 1/2-way flag – “I’m still here, I can stay with them”.

Despite a couple small mistakes (getting a little sideways exiting Turn 2 once, and getting in a little too deep into Turn 7 a couple times) I was able to stay about 1/2 a second behind the group FOR THE ENTIRE RACE. I was riding hard, no doubt, but I was not out of control.

At the end of the race I got 6th, but it may as well have been 1st, because it was such a huge mental victory to be able to stay with the fast guys for the entire race. I knew I’d gone faster then my best lap before, but I didn’t know how fast. I was in for a pleasant surprise. My previous best lap at Gateway was a 1:11.5 or 1:11.6. Well, a 1:11.6 was the SLOWEST lap I turned in this race! I was turning consistent 1:10.2s and 1:10.4s, with a new personal best of 1:09.9. That, friends, is progress.

It may have been the new tires, it may have been the new brake pads, it may have just been getting a good start and believing I could stay with them. But for whatever reason, I went faster then I’d ever gone before, and was completely stoked at the end of the race. Completely exhausted, yeah, but stoked.

Another bonus for me was that Seda was the one taking my lap times. She was so excited/happy for me to have reached one of the goals I set before the race, it was great having her there. It’s funny, she asked me what my goal was before the race and I said ”I’d like to get a 1:09, but if I can turn 1:10s consistently I’ll be happy”. Well, I did both, and she was almost at happy as I was! 

Thanks to the MCRA for putting on another great event. We have one more left, on Sunday October 14th – should be fun! 

Also, I thought this pic Seda took of my dad and I was great. 

The annual Hop in the City beer festival, put on by Schlafly beer (aka The Saint Louis Brewery), was a couple of weeks ago, on September 15. The short review - a fantastic time as usual. The longer review:

For those not familiar with this event, every year Schlafly brews 40 different beers for this festival. They put a couple giant tents up in the parking lot of The Tap Room restaurant/brewery, hire a couple local bands, and charge $25 for each participant. Your $25 gets you a tasting glass to keep, a full menu of all the beers, and unlimited access to all 40 tasty brews from Noon until 5:00pm. Truly a bargain, in this authors opinion.

Every year they brew a new festival beer for this event. This year’s beer was a French style, that, well, I wasn’t a fan of – too fruity. But it was the only beer I tried that I didn’t like!

We headed to the show this year with our pals Craig & DiDi and Mike & Melissa. Melissa was our designated driver, so needless to say we owe her thanks and a Team Player salute!

The weather was perfect, the beer was great, and the 2nd band was good, so it was a stellar experience as per tradition. On a side note, the first band was a punk-ish group, full of angst. Really, it just didn’t fit the Beer Festival vibe. I mean, seriously, how can you be full of angst and angry at the world when you have 40 outstanding beers to try, it’s sunny and 70 degrees outside, and you have 5 hours remaining of this situation?

Great beer, good people, great weather – truly a great way to spend a September Saturday. Now we start planning for next year…

I spent most of Labor Day weekend in Hastings, Nebraska, racing at Motorsports Park Hastings. Although it was a LONG drive to get there, it was definetely worth it! The weather was beautiful both days, and much fun was had by all.

There were a few STL racers representing - Dad and I vanpooled with my Buell-racing buddy Dave (his van, my trailer), and there were several other STL guys there who we pitted with, so we were among friends. Saturday was a practice day, which was great for Dave and I, as we’d never been to this track before, and it took a few sessions to get it down.

The track is really fun, a mix of all kinds of turns and very smooth with lots of grip. The front section from turns 2 – 4 is all about speed, including a right hander you take flat out in 4th gear (easily 110 MPH+), then the middle and last section are very tight, technical sections that reward precision. These two tight sections are broken up by another couple of medium-fast 4th-gear corners to keep it interesting. The technical sections really require hitting your marks – if you blow Turn 5, for example, you find yourself completely off line for Turn 6, which means you don’t get a good drive into fast Turn 7. Make one mistake in a slow corner and you just ruined your lap time! A track map is here for those interested.

By the end of Saturday I was turning consistent 1:38 lap times, which felt pretty good considering I’d never seen the track before, plus I felt really good on the bike. Then I checked the fast guys’ times – 1:32s and 1:33s. DOH! Stupid 600 expert class…

Sunday I was entered in 4 races, and did okay; 9th in GTU, 6th in HWSS, 14th in MWSS, and 9th in MWGP. In my first race I turned a 1:37.8, so I was a little faster than Saturday. My best lap time of the weekend was a 1:37.21, which I turned on the last lap of HWSS. In my final race of the day, I got a little tired, and was turning consistent 1:38s (instead of the consistent 1:37s I was doing earlier in the day) and recorded a best of 1:37.7. But I had no real drama (other than one slide in Turn 2 during practice Saturday), so I couldn’t complain too much – although it would have been nice to get a 1:36!

Not to make excuses, but I was have a few small problems with the front end of the GSX-R. First of all, the fork seals were leaking, which meant that the damping was suffering a bit – hard on the brakes, the front end would dive more than normal, resulting in the rear tire wagging around. Not the fastest way into a corner. I was also having braking issues. On the warmup lap and the first lap or two, the brakes felt perfect. But in every race, after about 3 laps, I was getting serious brake fade – I was having to really pull the lever hard to get the bike slowed; instead of just a little pressure, I was pulling it back probably twice as far towards the bar as normal. My two braking fingers were actually the only sore muscles I had on Monday!

As we were packing up on Sunday, I spent a few minutes taking to a faster rider who had followed me in a few races, and was turning 1:35s and 1:34s. He said “Basically, you’re braking just a little bit early in EVERY SECTION”. He said he caught me a few times, but it was really hard to pass me in the middle or the exit of a corner – he said the only way he could pass was on the brakes. The positive from this was that I figure with new brake pads that work the way they are supposed too, I should be able to drop my times a bit. I ordered a new set Tuesday…

Overall I had a great time – it felt really good to get back on the GSX-R and racing again. Now I look forward to our last two MCRA track days at Gateway in STL, September 23 and October 14.

Van Halen held a press conference this week announcing a new tour. Eddie, Alex, Dave, and Eddie’s son Wolfgang on bass. They have 25 dates planned in the U.S., and envision playing in Europe after that and then recording. And yet, I’m not sure that I care. Wait, yeah, I don’t really.

Now of course, Back In The Day, I was a HUGE VH fan. Still am, really. I have the CDs, and I’ve seen them live probably 5 or 6 times. I saw them when they toured with Gary Charone, for cryin’ out loud. I’ve always given VH, specifically EVH, the benefit of the doubt.

But I was always more of a fan of Sammy vs. Dave. And the last time I saw them, with Bill K. at Scottrade Center a few years ago, Eddie was clearly drunk, the show was pretty sloppy, and Sammy and Mike looked like they just wanted to finish the show and get out of there. It sucks to see your heros flail about like that – really bummed me out.

And now they have reunited, again, with DLR. I just don’t feel it, I guess. I actually have no real desire to see the show. If someone handed me tickets and said “Yo Cleez, check out the show”, of course I would, but I don’t see shelling out $50-ish for a nosebleed seat for this tour. Sorry homies, you lost me. All I can see in this tour is a lackluster performance and one last pay check for the guys. And don’t even get me started on the whole “I’m really a guitar player, I’m just playing bass in this band for now” issue. If Wolf plays with a pick, I just can’t go..

Maybe I’ll be wrong. Maybe Ed is cleaned up, is playing like his old self, and the band just kills it live. That would be cool, but until I hear or read something to that effect I’m not buying a ticket.

I love Van Halen. I’ve loved them since I was 15. But I think most of us who love VH actually love what VH used to be, not what it has become. So if an STL date is announced, and I never thought I’d say this, I’ll most likely pass.