The Oracle
Registered
Me, Ben (bsrigley), and my buddy Dan all went to Keith Code's wheelie school in Tampa, FL. It was most excellent and this is a trip report...
We flew down on Friday, Dec. 12 and arrived in Tampa around 10:30PM. Our hotel was 2 miles from the airport and it took us about 40 minutes to get there! This was because the mapquest directions we got weren't worth crap! Anyway, we rode across some long-assed bridge (like 6 miles each way) then finally pulled into our hotel. BTW - our rental car was a convertible Mustang... I figured a convertible would be flye in Tampa... It ended out sucking bigtime, since there were 3 of us and lots of baggage. Not to mention that it was too cold to keep the top down! ARGH!
When we got to the hotel, Ben had his girl meet us there and we went out for drinks. The night ended for me and Danny around 1:15AM and for Ben around 2:15AM. The wake-up call came at 4AM... UG! We had to get up so early, because our class started at 6:30AM and was 45 minutes from our hotel.
We trucked out to Lakeland and got into the groove at class. The machine that they use has a small wheelie bar type setup. Except, the wheelie bar doesn't catch and stop the bike... Instead it has two adjustable (for wheelie angle) safety catches. The first cuts off 2 of the 4 cylinders when you pass a certain angle. The second slams the rear brake on. Together these safety devices assure loop-free wheelies.
Anyway, they start you out with it set to only allow a 1 foot wheelie and adjust the device for higher wheelies as you progress and show throttle control (it progresses differently for each rider).
Me, Ben, and Dan all ended out finding the balance point and riding out our first gear wheelies very nicely. Ben was able to catch second and ride out some of his second gear wheelies. One wheelie was so perfect, he almost caught third and ran it out too. But, the track was to short.
All-in-all this class was well worth it and very fun. Each of us learned some important points about wheelieing. The class was definitely worth every penny for Ben, because he would have looped his Busa on one of the wheelies when he caught second and gave it to much gas, he went past the balance point and actually had the bike past 90 degrees before the rear brake slammed on and sent him for a nasty ground slapping reflector breaking ride!
During class, LongbowIP dropped in and watched for a bit and then headed out. He was scheduled to take the class the following day. However, I doubt the class was on since it was pouring the next morning... Sorry bro! And, we missed ya at B.B. I hope you feel better man!
After wheelie class, we hooked-up with my buddy Toe who lives in Tampa and went out for a couple of beers... We made our way to Bahama Breeze (which serves the BEST seared tuna and Konch (sp?) soup you have ever tried). There, we met up with more friends and Revlis. Revlis was cooler than I imagined. I knew he was cool from all of our conversation online, but he went a step further. If you are ever in Tampa, look him up and tell him that Rip sent ya!
After Bahama Breeze, we went to Odyssey 2001 Club and got busy watching VERY scantily clad ladies become unclad. That was fun, but those places kinda give me the creeps. Anyway, the story would normally end there... But, funilly enough, it was just beginning...
Ben and I split the club around 1AM and headed back to the hotel. Danny stayed behind with his brother and visited the VIP room... When we got back and settled into bed (different beds you sugarbritches), I felt some bleeding in my mouth from my recent wisdom teeth removal. Well, it turned out, I had been bleeding all night long and swollowing it. I bled a steady rate for about 6 hours... Now I understood why I was feeling off. Because I have hemophilia, I decided this could be serious and decided to go to the ER. Ben wouldn't let me go alone, so he tagged along and we met Danny returning in the lobby and he went too. To make a long story short, I was in the ER receiving Factor VIII (a blood clotting formula) and general treatment until 8AM.
We had to wake at 10AM for our flight out. So... Over the previous two nights, we had received fewer than 2 hours of sleep each night! Talk about running on reserve tank!
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
-Vaughn
p.s. I hope y'all enjoyed it.
We flew down on Friday, Dec. 12 and arrived in Tampa around 10:30PM. Our hotel was 2 miles from the airport and it took us about 40 minutes to get there! This was because the mapquest directions we got weren't worth crap! Anyway, we rode across some long-assed bridge (like 6 miles each way) then finally pulled into our hotel. BTW - our rental car was a convertible Mustang... I figured a convertible would be flye in Tampa... It ended out sucking bigtime, since there were 3 of us and lots of baggage. Not to mention that it was too cold to keep the top down! ARGH!
When we got to the hotel, Ben had his girl meet us there and we went out for drinks. The night ended for me and Danny around 1:15AM and for Ben around 2:15AM. The wake-up call came at 4AM... UG! We had to get up so early, because our class started at 6:30AM and was 45 minutes from our hotel.
We trucked out to Lakeland and got into the groove at class. The machine that they use has a small wheelie bar type setup. Except, the wheelie bar doesn't catch and stop the bike... Instead it has two adjustable (for wheelie angle) safety catches. The first cuts off 2 of the 4 cylinders when you pass a certain angle. The second slams the rear brake on. Together these safety devices assure loop-free wheelies.
Anyway, they start you out with it set to only allow a 1 foot wheelie and adjust the device for higher wheelies as you progress and show throttle control (it progresses differently for each rider).
Me, Ben, and Dan all ended out finding the balance point and riding out our first gear wheelies very nicely. Ben was able to catch second and ride out some of his second gear wheelies. One wheelie was so perfect, he almost caught third and ran it out too. But, the track was to short.
All-in-all this class was well worth it and very fun. Each of us learned some important points about wheelieing. The class was definitely worth every penny for Ben, because he would have looped his Busa on one of the wheelies when he caught second and gave it to much gas, he went past the balance point and actually had the bike past 90 degrees before the rear brake slammed on and sent him for a nasty ground slapping reflector breaking ride!
During class, LongbowIP dropped in and watched for a bit and then headed out. He was scheduled to take the class the following day. However, I doubt the class was on since it was pouring the next morning... Sorry bro! And, we missed ya at B.B. I hope you feel better man!
After wheelie class, we hooked-up with my buddy Toe who lives in Tampa and went out for a couple of beers... We made our way to Bahama Breeze (which serves the BEST seared tuna and Konch (sp?) soup you have ever tried). There, we met up with more friends and Revlis. Revlis was cooler than I imagined. I knew he was cool from all of our conversation online, but he went a step further. If you are ever in Tampa, look him up and tell him that Rip sent ya!
After Bahama Breeze, we went to Odyssey 2001 Club and got busy watching VERY scantily clad ladies become unclad. That was fun, but those places kinda give me the creeps. Anyway, the story would normally end there... But, funilly enough, it was just beginning...
Ben and I split the club around 1AM and headed back to the hotel. Danny stayed behind with his brother and visited the VIP room... When we got back and settled into bed (different beds you sugarbritches), I felt some bleeding in my mouth from my recent wisdom teeth removal. Well, it turned out, I had been bleeding all night long and swollowing it. I bled a steady rate for about 6 hours... Now I understood why I was feeling off. Because I have hemophilia, I decided this could be serious and decided to go to the ER. Ben wouldn't let me go alone, so he tagged along and we met Danny returning in the lobby and he went too. To make a long story short, I was in the ER receiving Factor VIII (a blood clotting formula) and general treatment until 8AM.
We had to wake at 10AM for our flight out. So... Over the previous two nights, we had received fewer than 2 hours of sleep each night! Talk about running on reserve tank!
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
-Vaughn
p.s. I hope y'all enjoyed it.
