Pretty grey here on the out skirts of Philly. I have come down with a bit of a cold and need to kick it before next week. I am hoping and praying for no rain for our race at Summit Point next weekend. That track is affectoinatly known as "Slippery Point". No throttle or brakes and you still end up tipped over there. So thats what I have been thinking about and trying to finish this season off strong.
Rather sad I cannot make the next ASRA Thunderbike National in Illinois. I have no mechanical support and I cannot drive out there 16 hours, unload the trailer, practice, qualify, and race on my own. I have tried it before and have won, but theres only so many times you can go there.

With as much drama as one season could hold for a competitor, I still find myself fortunate. Frotunate because I am a racing a BMW. A BMW mottorycle with a community/family that is eager to help and ride great distances to share in this small window in our lives. Without all of you I would not have even half the success I have had on our BMW motorcycles.

If you dont mind me saying, for those who know me better, you know exactly where I am coming from. Some people ask "how do you d0 that on that big ol'..." Ability has bit of bearing on how I can ride sucha long wheelbase machine, but the rest is having the oportunity to feel like I am sharing this with family. I never had anyone to share my abilities with growing up. Any sport I played I excelled at, but still no one came to watch. I quit alot, even at all my coaches attempts to get me to stay. Most of the time I just went through the hardships of making the team just to hangout with friends, then quit once the season started. NOW, nothing makes me happier than doing the best I can for a riding community that has shown me more support than I have ever had. There is a really cool feeling of knowing that getting around the track quicker to show whomever it is on pit wall that "hey, Im still in that position or further" is motivating. I never knew that this machine could change my life off the track as well...

N8!

Finally home, driving home in puring rain, after 5 races today, for 4 hours... lol Whew!
This weekend was a learning curve, first thing I learned is I made the bike to tall for this track with the setup in it from Barber. The swithcbacks and changing direction so rapidly with such a high center of gravity made the bike tank slap a bit and I was eating rear tires like fuel. So a bit of rear shock/geometry issues. Either way, this little rinky dink track at I think 1.5 miles with 12 turns as I recall, is suietd for go karts and Motards. 6 races total, 5 wins and a second. The next thing I learned is to not over do it on Ibuprofen, Aleve, and Creatine gel (to early) to combat a slipped disc. It was rather painful for a bit, but as they say down south "we got er' dun!"

The second came with just running it in to hot into turn 3. The R1200S is just as forgiving as the R1100S. Even with your knee on the ground you can have the front brake on and tuck the front more controlable than any other bike I have ridden. The cylinder head saved me 3 times this weekend. running it in deep on the brakes, losing the front enough to bounce the head off the ground and upright me to keep going. We did put it on the pole for Unlimited GP qualifying, a litre bike class, on a half wet half dry track. The R1200S was great and allowed me to get my feet back in the wet.

This weekend was bare bones and fun. No tech, but my friends and BMW riding community are getting me through this season! (just remember to pump the brakes back up... LOL)

Drew, your the man!

N8!

Sure enough, Shennandoah Circuit is here. Main Line BMW and i are looking forward to anotehr great weekend. This weekend i am going to concentrate on bike set up and body position more so than I usually do. To ride the Boxer fast you have to have a comprehension of centers of gravity. Bod position is key as you need the necessary feedback to feel what the front end is doing through the Tele-lever.

I am ready and I am going to the front!

I look forward to seeing all that can make it and sharing with those of you supportes online!

N8!

Another Wed. before a race weekend and just trying to put tohether many "to do" lists. One list is making sure everything is in the trailer since I have been flying solo here and there, another "to do" is actually doing on the track, lol. This track coming up (Shennadoah) I know I have complained about in the past, but it is a gerat training track. the amount of turns that you have to connect the dots is amazing. I would expect the 600's to get er' done way better due to wheelbase, but... :) The new R1200S is really a blessing from BMW. The bike has alot more development to go, but the best time of my weekend at Barber ASRA (1'34.9) would have put us off the last row in the AMA FX race there.

I have been trying to find a bit more to do then worry and wonder about things on and off the track which tend to take a tenth of a second or two away here and there. There are 4 rounds left in the CCS series, we have been running well despite drama and mechanicals, lol My true focus is development and gettin the ride heights/ geometry right. From there I am really counting on San Jose BMW's Chris Hodgson to do what he has always done, make a faster R1200S!

It's pretty neat to see the bike run wide here and there and have a bit of trouble in a corner with curbing and cylinder heads, but no matter how much I come back boggled on how to decipher the bike and track, our BMW riding community is always very supportive and positive. Then with no adjustment to the bike, but adjustemnt to my focus and a better positive attitude that rubs off from the BMW riders there and online, geez I just go out and put down a fun/competitive lap time that is better than when no one is there! lol

So this weekend I am going to really ocus on the bike more and reinforce what theFreddie Spencer riding School has engrained in me which has made me even more successful, body position. Body position and centers of gravity are so key to feedback which dictates lap times and staying even safer! :)

Ok well a mt.bike ride then some PS2 should shape up this evening before loading the race trailer all day tomorrow.

Oh yeah, Peter R. your wifes a keeper, shee lets you play PS2 with me when she is like ready to burst anyday and lets you ride all over the place and hangout, LOL We are all looking forward to the arrival this week buddy!

N8!

I know, I know it's been a week. Thank you to everne for their emails wondering what's up!
I have to say I have been reflecting on just how great it is to be a part of this Conquest in my life. I guess Im getting older, lol. There are windows i truely beleive now in our lives to be a part of something. Whether it's histroy making or not, something productive not just in a business or financial sense, but a personal sense. this is really just a cool feeling to beable to have this BMW motorcycle community involvement outside of racing.

I had a great breakfast with some great riders/people in Frenchtown, NJ yesterday. To be able to just sit around and hangout felt great! We were able to talk about everything under the sun and not have to breach the racing subject to much. i thought that was cool because they are content with my efforts to prove our machines and are also up to speed on whats been happening not just through here.

I want to add a really awesome entry into my long list of neat people I have met. Though this person I have not formally met, but I have received an email in reference to questions I had about the new Moto-ST series. Steve McLaughlin, the R90S BMW pilot that won the 1976 Dayton 200! His emails weer just as though he was siting BS'ing on the front porch, reinforces everything any has said about the guy to me, genuine.

I have to say that that reminds me of when I was in Germany in 2004 for the Boxer Cup race the following weekend at Sachsenring (tough track!) My plans in life were to teach US History. i have always loved how and where we came from in this great country. So while I had o race in multiple countries in the Boxer Cup, I always made a point of seeing something that had to do with our history and theirs, over there. To make a long story short, on a tour of Dachau Concentration Camp outside of Munich, I entered this last rom on the tour. Everyone else there was pretty tired and didnt bother with this room full of patches and insiginias worn during the Second World War. I this room was this older gentleman wearing a Screaming Eagles 101st jacket with his back to me. I dont know why other than my love for oral history, I asked him "if you dont mind me asking, were you here, did you liberate this camp...?" He proceeded to tell me his beginning to the end of his tour. I said 'Man that sounds alot like "Band of Brothers" (the best WWII documentary/series ever). Just then another gentleman came up and said proudly "yes it does because this is Don Malarkey!" NO KIDDING! I just shook a hand that had so much history pass through it. The accurate and epic history that the "Band of Brothers" went through is something we should all see. To be able to meet Mr. Malarkey there in Germany was amazing! An original member of the "Band of Brothers".

Hey that totally beats being blown off by Johnny Bench at 7 years old asking for an autograph, LOL.

Ok, well this weekend coming up is another Shennandoah round of the CCS Mid Atlantic Championship. This track is hands down the most dangerous track in the country, but I would just like to hopefully add a little bit to my points lead to defend our # 1 plate on the BMW. This track is so small and rinky dink that it is great for spectators, you can see 3/4's of each lap, but pretty cruddy for the riders. So come out and hangout, you can do everything and go anywhere but on the track, lol

I would like to thank 1) the BMW motorcycle owners for their unparalleled support 2) Main Line BMW 3) BMW NA/AG 4) Suomy helmets 5) Vanson Leathers 6) Team Pro Motion 7) House Industries 8) Spectro Oils 9) Trackside Racer Supply (Pirelli) 10) BMW of Atlanta and Zach!!!

All are key ingriedients if you wnat to go fast!

N8!

WOW, I dont know where to start! From reading the beginning of my last post to sitting here now... I will say that the BMW motorcycle owners community never ceases to amaze me!!! From Elsie in D.C. who basically rides her RT hours upon hours away to help take care of logistics in the pit area to Jose who rode up from Miami just to hangout, and everyone else in between, amazing. Well it showed just how much I dig their support.

I entered 13 races to A) redeem BMW's reputation of reliability and B) to prove to myself that the mechanical failures that have happened more than once were the stciking points of why i have crashed. 13 races which included National Thunderbike. 7 wins, 1 second, 2 thirds (National Thunderbike podium), a 4th , an 8th (destroyed rear tire), and there is one more missing. I have to look?! Sorry. My highlight was the Unlimited Superbike race. I wish I was that fresh for the National Thunderbike race, as I was for Unlimited Superbike. We finished 3rd after having to chase down a CBR1000. Then the 4th in Unl. Supersport wasalot of fun. I was getting crushed down the straights, but was able to us the awesome telelever front end to go way deeper on the brakes and carry more cornerspeed, then get on the gas earlier. Pulled to within 3 bike lengths on the final corner, just to get motored to the line by about 20, lol. 4th nevre felt so good! LOL

I will say again that the whole weekend was great due to Main Line BMW's belief, BMW NA's belief in the marketing return, the BMW motorcycle owners community, Zach from Atlanta who is the best technician I have ever had in my career, period, Bobby and BMW Atlanta.

On an even better note, my buddy Tyler who had a pretty in-depth surgery to have a rod placed in in spine to help with his Cerebral Palsy, is finally on his way home from the children's hospital. I have been thinking of you buddy, and I know our BMW riding community said prayers for you! I was shocked by how many people actually read this blog, lol. Wish i could have more to say, Im still pinching myself.

N8!

We're a bit closer to this big weekend ahead of us, and things are not as ready and focused as I would like. The bikes are coming along slower than expected, but I will shrug it off. It's not nearly as bad as it has been in the past. I have a great technician working on the bikes and and an awesome one in Zach coming to the track. Its funny how it strikes me each time that i type here how I have to be reserved and tactful, but a blog seems to have a pretty general consensus about how one should be able to vent and have fun. This season has come close to topping any roller coaster I have ridden in life.

The BMW motorcycle has change my life. On the track I feel is self explanatory. Off the track, the machine has changed the way I look at people, machines, and again just life in general. I mean I have learned the value of not judging a book by it's cover. My typical athletic self growing up always wanting to win and never picking (for lack of better terms) the fat kid for my gym team in school. WELL the FAT KID has prevailed in the R1100S vs. the rest in 2005 and the leaner meaner R1200S has fulfilled it's pre-conceived notion I have always had. Through the K1200R I have found a better way to challenge my knowledge of chassis and riding. Again, the BMW motorcycles have shown me the value of not judging anything by it's "valve" cover.

We know how busy this weekend is going to be and I look forward to a team working as a team with a strong passion to be up front and letting the competition know our agenda.

A very positive note is how I have been contacted by more than one Buell racer interested in learnign about the R1200S in the new Moto-ST series and asking me which dealres nationally would like to be involved for their market area. Gratifying.

Ok off to play PS2 MotoGP 4. Go ahead and laugh, but it is an awesome way to stimulate the rapid problem solving/decision making process that racers resolve each lap on the track. Its wub, twu wub! ;)

Nate

I'm back at the Woodstock Coffee house here in Woodstock, Georgia. Let me just tell youse guys something. I just went mountain biking with the service manager of BMW Atlanta motorcycles... HE KICKED MY BUTT up and down these hills and single tracks! It was great time, he said it was actuall a good time (27 min.). We did the 4 miles of gnarly off road riding. We stopped once and drank a bit of water then on for some more border line hand breaking on tree's riding!

I also just wanted to say "Talladega Nights" with Will Farrell is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen! You have to go see it for a good laugh. You dont even have to be in the mood for a movie as funny as this one.

I cant wait to see my race bkes finished at BMW of Atlanta this week. It will be a relief going into this big race weekend at Barber Motorsports Complex.

The BMW Motorcycle Owners Club of AL. and GA. I know will be a very inspiring addition to this weekends schedule! I wish i could make it to the BBQ joint they frequent on Thurday evenings, but I found out the track opens on Thursday at 7 p.m., and we have a lot of setup to do.

Till the next time,

N8!

Another day in Georgia and its still hot, lol. What was I thinking - it's not going to get any cooler anytime soon. I have to keep up on my fluids and get as much in me before this race weekend coming up at Barber. With the points situation in the regional pro series CCS, I have a decent handle on the championship so far, but I never get comfortable. With the opportunity of double the points this weekend at Barber for CCS, it's called a Twin Sprint weekend. Double the schedule, a chance to race the same classes twice. So 12 CCS race and qualifying/national ASRA race.

It looks good that my R1200S's will be ready and they will be the workhorses. The R1150S Thunderbike will be relaxing in its glory in the shade. The BMW R1100S (now 1150) has been the bike that has brought me the best exposure in my career. The new R1200S is just awesome. With better set up I look forward to racing in the 600 class more. I will be getting in touch with GMD computrack here in Atlanta soon and now that I was finally let in on how SJBMW has achieved the front spring rate they have wothout having custom springs made... I can hopefully get going in a better direction.

I hope to see this goal of mine to expose the true potential of BMW motorcycles even more and not be hindered by an seemingly West Coast vs. East Coast thing. There is no rivalry and information regarding better results through testing/development on the R1200S should be shared for the common cause! lol

On a great note, my buddy Tyler at the Ronald McDonald House (children's hospital) is doing a lot better and his breathing tube has been removed. He is breathing on his own and should be out if ICU tomorrow! WOOHOO, buddy! Just remember to not be stubbourn and listen to your doctors! OK - I know what you would say... "take your own advice pal!"

N8!

Just went for a ride (mt.bike) and now just catching up here ta the Woodstock coffee house here in Woodstock, GA. I dont even drink coffee at all, but this seems to be the only place for wireless. Just got another update on my buddy Tyler's post surgery condition. Tyler is at the Ronald McDonald house in Wlimington, DE and had a rod put in place to help due to his Cerebral Palsy. He is an amzing young man and I know his spirit and attitude towards life, and it is very difficult to not want to talk to everyone and just be out of that place. Just praying fora quicker recovery. Ty has run into just a bit of a problem with fluid building around his right lung making it harder to breath,so his tube will not be removed just yet.

Im on my way to the BMW of Atlanta motorcycle dealer to see the progress on the bikes and hopefully I can breath a little easier myself once I see our machines looking good. There is a dealer out west that builds phenominal BMW race bikes and has 30 years experience in doing so. Their testing and development seems to come in leaps and bounds. The common goal Of our Conquest to prove the BMW S bikes capabilities, hoepfully it is a common goal and not just mine and BMW's, but te ability to share in set up and go fast parts would expand the exposure and in return result in what every dealer wants, #'s. Pretty simple equation if you ask me.

We all have different definations of "team", for the majority I think it is self explanatory. There is no "I" and "me" I have been raised "we" and "us". There seems to be some opportunities in the future that would have the bet results through a teamwork agenda, not a personal one. Nothing feels bette rthan when I shared with those who helped me achieve the top of the podium during the National Thunderbike race at Daytona this past march. Everyone laughed at the seemingly overweight, underpowered BMW R1100S. When all was said and done i had a chance to look down on Gatorade Victory Lane at Daytona Intl. Speedway and see the faces of those that helped me get there, the faces of those that were not there in person (Czecher #3!), and those who were eagerly awaiting to here the results of this 30th anniversary moment. 1976 was the last time a BMW won a National race with a Hall of Famer (AMA) SteveMcGlaughlin on a R90S. I woul not be able to type this without a team and a vision of bigger goals than just what is in front of me...

Ok well, Im looking forward to the little shindig this evening for Bobby's (BMW of Atlanta) mothers Birthday. She is great. The Screamin Chief (Mr. Daytona) and Co. may be around for some MotoGP 4 on PS2 later also... "Its on like Tron" if Scott thinks he can beat me at MotoGP 4, LOL

N8!

It sure is a hot one today in GA.! I left my grandparents this morning and it's not the best of feeling (I miss them)... I hope to see them again soon and I will try and get there before Daytona in (Oct.).
I will be leaving for Munich in on Oct. 1st and I cant wait! The Conquest of proving our new S bikes performance has been greatly aided by BMW AG's beleif and support. Now I just need to get my head on straight and think about the remainder of my season. Barber in particular!

Im trying to get some of my aggresiveness back on track. ride smart is always the firs motif, but I have never been a pushover out there, not built that way. There has been some great news on springs for the front, it look slike they are being made, but may not be in time for Barber. Like I have stated before, Barber does not agree at all with weak spring rates.

Th primary focus right now before I can get my rce face on is knowing the bikes are ready. I have all the faith in the world in Bob (tech) at BMW of Atlanta. Also looking forward to the exhaust systems remus and Laser are developing. Remus I have see already just not run yet, Laser we will see?! Either way it is a great amount of interest now I need to fill in the blanks at Barber!

I will be leaving this little coffee shop soon and meeting up with a family here in Ga. i have not seen in years. Each summer I went to visit my Grandparents in Fla. (3 times) this great family from Ga. would always be there. Amazing how much time has gone by, I was like 13 or so when I first met up with the Oglesby's, lol!

have a good one!

N8!

Great morning here in Fla. visiting my grandparents. It is really setting in that there has been no good excuse for not seeing them the past 5 years... Have been putting on more and more miles each morning on the mt.bike and just feeling great about the upcoming National race at Barber next week. ALL my parts have been overnighted from Germany thanks to the punctuality and beleif in our program and machines performance!

Im really excited to hear about the great report of Tyler Sinnwell's surgery in DE from his Dr's.
Tyler, who has Cerebral Palsy, and I had a great opportunity to spend time with each other in 2002. At the time I was just starting racing and going to school at night. During the day I worked (if you can call it that, it was more fun than anything) as one on one with Tyler all day at school. At the time he was an 8th grader and for to meet up in the morning and do what I could for him in class and take notes and just get through the day and have fun too!

With racing and the direction I have been very fortuntae to go in with this career, I have lost touch a bit with the Sinnwell family, until I was recently invited to Tyler's graduation party form HS. I was very excited to see how much he has grown and that he is still the fun loving young man he always was. Tyler does not look at his life as disability or inability, he has the cando anything attitude that is very motivating! His aspirations are to become a sports commentator.
After Barber is over I will heading over Ty, stay focused buddy and dont get to frusterated your not 100% right away after surgery!

Some more good news, GMD Computrack of Atlanta has been able to get custom springs cut for our R1200S! Barber is ultra hard on front tires even with a decent set up in the front end, but a stock spring rate at that track would definatly keep us from that top of the podium, just being a realist! lol So I am pretty excited and just need to really get that front end set up ASAP!

My competition knows Im coming! BMW of Atlanta are going to giv eme some great bikes and tech support. Main Line BMW has never lost sight of the conquest and the return has been great in our Philly area! To the BMW Motorcycle Owners Club of GA. and AL. that can make the races next week, I hope to change the minds of the other spectators with you as to "you cant judge a bike by its valve cover!"

Take care,

N8!