Salt, Speed and Dust – Chapter 5

Run Two

“Overcome fear, behold wonder” – Richard Bach

The morning sun was just peeking over the mountains as we drove back to the salt flats.  We got off the highway and onto the access road to the salt.  Bonneville Speed Week is a scene out of a volume of Americana.  There were hot rods everywhere.  Mostly “Rat Rods” – custom fabricated machines that started out as Model A and 1932 Fords and other cars from the pre-war era and wound up as lowered, flat black Chevy V8 powered open-wheeled examples of American cool.

“This is how we won the wars and sent a man to the moon,” Chris said sincerely.  All these guys who know how to build machines, toiling away in their garages learning and making these creations.  The comment included all the custom-built machines racing for speed.  Some low budget, and some 2500 hp one-million-dollar machines like the Speed Demon; a marvel of high tech engineering that looks like a rocket on the ground.

These same minds and the ones orbiting around them are the ones building high tech machines used to defend us, make our lives better, and to entertain us.  To see them express themselves at Speed Week in Bonneville is a sight to behold.  It’s worth a trip one year as a spectator to see what goes on there.  Alternatively, there are many movies and YouTube videos about Bonneville Speed Week where you can see the machines – the ones that race and the ones that don’t.

One thing we came to realize is the salt is hard and fastest in the morning before the sun comes up very high.  When the sun comes up and starts to beat on the salt, the salt becomes slippery.

The line to get on either course was long.  You could wait over two hours for a turn.  I had to stay on the short course, course 2, until I got my license to go over 175. 

Another rider rode the red bike.  A guy who was supposed to be my riding coach with a lot of experience on the salt had to cancel last minute.  He recommended another guy he knew named Randall.  Randall had a 23-year-old son, AJ, who wanted to take some runs at it.  Chris agreed, so we could learn faster and compare notes after each run.  We could also learn about the differences between the stock bike and the turbo bike.

AJ had made a successful first run the day before like I did and we both lined up again for our second run.  It was day two; a Sunday.  I was extra careful getting started to not break the wheel loose. I hit the shifter by accident, as it was too high, and I hit neutral.  I had to lift my heel off the footpeg to get on top of it to shift down.   I stepped down to second gear, then third.  The bike obediently accelerated as if it was no big deal.   The salt flew under me.  My goal was an average of between 150 and 175 on any mile stretch.  At mile two I averaged 167. 

I rolled it off, not picking my head up too early into a 160-mph wind, and gradually turned to the right toward the return road.  Of course, it wasn’t really a road, just a line marked on the vast flat plain of salt with flags and cones.  I was thrilled.  I thought that I could get to 200.

A big goal has to be broken into steps to get there.  When you accomplish a step, you are allowed to celebrate your progress.  Inside me, I did for a few minutes.  When we got back to the starting line though, it was back to business.