54 - Winston-Salem, North Carolina and a few more Stockcar Races

At 10:30 on Thursday morning, five months after I began, I pulled into Winston-Salem and rode to my friend Allison's house to say hello to my dog Max.  The furry frisbee dog had lived the good life while I was gone, but I'd missed him very much.

Howdy buddy!

He posed next to the Goldwing for a photo.

While on my trip, I'd arranged to rent a room in Winston so I'd have a place to call home-base while job searching.  I arrived and pulled the Goldwing in the garage and then took my cruiser for a quick spin around the neighborhood.  What a totally different machine!

Ahhhhhh....... relaxing in my man-chair.  Shortly after this picture was taken, I stacked a pile of recent newspapers on the window sill and didn't move for 72 hours. 

On Saturday, I hopped on the Goldwing once again for a 100 mile trip to Charlotte to watch a NASCAR race.

It just goes to show that good people are everywhere, not just in remote areas far from home.

I bought a ticket from a scalper and went to enter the track.  Turns out, my good ticket was too good.  It was in the clubhouse.  The clubhouse has a dress-code.  I didn't have a collared shirt, and the cheapest at the track cost $75.  I'd blown my budget on my "good" ticket and got really bummed out.  I walked back to my bike to try to find a biker to lend me a shirt.

Steve parked his bike in one of the last remaining bike spots.  I walked over and asked if he had a collared shirt in his saddlebag.  He did not.  Without hearing my story, without knowing about the last five months, without anything but my simple request for help, he dialed his wife and asked her to bring a shirt for me.

She arrived fifteen minutes later as cheery as could be and offered the shirt to me with a smile.  What nice people!

While Steve and I waited for his wife to arrive, I found out that days earlier, he'd just sold his motorcycle business and retired.  Excel Motorsports had been his passion for years.  He ran his shop with a big heart.  Unlike those SOB's at the Anchorage Honda Dealer. 

Check out my Excel Motorsports Polo below!  Steve insisted that I keep it.  Sweet!

Once inside, I found the bar in the clubhouse that overlooked the front stretch.  Who walked in but Steve!

He bought a round and then took me to sit with him and one of his former employees, Brian.  The three of us had a great time watching the race and Steve picked up the tab all night long.  Thanks Steve!

Brian was about my age and had raced for over 20 years.  Having just recently retired (from racing, not from working,) he had all sorts of cool stories about his racing career.  He'd run for years in Massachusetts and even had a factory ride from Kawasaki riding three-wheelers on dirt tracks.  He'd moved up to Modified's and run those in Carolina.  Finally, after getting married and starting a family, he decided to put his extra money into a kid-fund instead of a blown-motor-fund.  Good call Brian! 

 

 

Keith from Oregon had really left me with a good vibe... and my own marble collection.  Keith rides a gorgeous Heritage Softail and left me with sage words of riding advice.  Before mailing this to Jocelyn, I had to photograph it and send the picture to Keith.  Thanks Keith(and thanks to Joss for the great introductions to the fine folks at the Candlelight Tavern.)

After attending the Bush Race in Charlotte on Saturday, I took off for Asheboro, NC on Sunday afternoon to see Modified's run at the Caraway Speedway.  Another weekend, another short track.

 

I couldn't arrive home and then just park the bike for good.

 

I spent the next three days relaxing. Reading, writing and making phone calls. Sitting down for more than ten minutes is far from enjoyable.  I find myself getting up to stretch, move or tweak some painful part of my body.  The entire time I was on the road, I did exercised every time I got off the bike.  Sometimes, I even did exercise while riding.  Though I doubt the term I coined will catch on: "Motorcycle Aerobics"

So after a few days of letting my spine acclimate to having lumbar support and a nightly mattress, I hopped back on the Wing and rode to Martinsville, Virginia for the NASCAR Truck and Cup races. The next two nights were great racing, great people meeting, and even great tent sleeping.

After arriving on Saturday morning, I quickly found a family that lived just off turn four and secured a spot in the backyard.  They'd planned on filling the yard with parked cars, but a motorcycle and orange tent suited them too.

Check out the maylay on the front stretch during the Truck race.  The guy to the right of me is from Alberta, Canada and took a five week vacation to join the NASCAR circuit.  Surprisingly enough, his wife didn't join him.  He left Alberta and had been to five consecutive racing weekends.  What a great guy to sit next to.  So Dennis was scheduled to go to Atlanta the following weekend, but was heading home instead.  He offered me his tickets at pennies on the dollar, even though he could have sold them above face value.  Thanks Dennis.  I decided not to go.  I'd been on the road long enough.  The adventure is over.

The guy on the left is a true race fan.  He's even sticking with Junior after his move to Hendrick Motorsports.  I will not be sticking with Jr. as he joins the enemy. 

After the race, I walked to the hill and partied until the wee hours.  The folks I met at this tailgate were really nice.  The Budweiser chair is HUGE, and a lot of people stopped by to check it out.

The next morning, I got up and began walking;  walking and walking and walking some more.  After two hours, I finally found my $20 ticket.  Most tickets fetched far above face value, but I finally found one for a third of face value.  Not bad.  It was a hot day, great for racing.

 

Remember Donald Flock from Darlington?  It was nearly five months after I'd met Donald and he'd given me the shirt off of his back.  I wore it to the Cup race in memory of Tim Flock and as a thank-you to Donald who left quite an impression on me.  Donald celebrated his 60th birthday with me.  I'd not yet begun my blog and wasn't able to give him the address.  I hope I'm able to get in touch with him to let him know that I not only made it to Alaska, but that I made it back.  He'd be proud.