Well we have had 4 weeks off, and I can say that I got to do some relaxing in this time. Two weekends ago all of us decided to go to the lake and spend a few days. Ang and I went over on Saturday. We got the boat out, and she invited some of her friends over. We got the tubes out around 1 p.m. First on the tubes were Brandon, Michael, and myself. Dad was driving the boat. All of us got beat up pretty bad. Dad wasn’t very generous when he was driving the boat. At one point he went as fast as the boat would go. I knew if I fell off that it wasn’t going to feel good. We finally talked Angie into getting on the tube. Before she jumped in the water she told Dad that he better be easy when she is out there. He wasn’t too bad with her, which surprised me. The first time he turned the boat hard right and her tube went to the outside, when she came back over the wake I kicked the tube out from under her. She started yelling at me. She got on again, and we had some more fun with her. Ang fell off again, and Dad floored the boat and started going in circles to throw me off. He was successful.

After a couple of hours we went back to the house to eat dinner. It was someone’s birthday. Our crew guy Robby was having a birthday, so we got him a cake. Ang and I went back out on the lake again with her friends Chris and Jacklyn. Chris always talks smack to me, so I was going to get his butt off the tube if it was the last thing I did. So Ang was driving the boat, and the guys were in the water. She did a good job driving. Chris got thrown off several times. The funniest part of the evening was when Ang was driving the boat. We forgot to get the buoys off the outside of the boat. Ang went around a turn and water got under the buoy, and it slapped her in the face. She complained a little saying that her eye hurt, but I didn’t think anything about it. I thought she was just being a girl. Ha, ha. Well about 12 hours had passed and Ang had a black eye. I started laughing at her. She was freaking out.

The next day my son Tristan got to go to the lake with us. We got there earlier because we both wanted to try to wakeboard. Ang did it one week prior and got up the first time. I was proud of her. So she was first. The water was a little cool at first because it was morning. She got in the water and got ready. I just knew she was going to get right up. Well she didn’t. She tried about 7-8 times with no success. She was angry to say the least. She is a lot like me. She finally got into the boat, and Tristan was next. It took him a few times to get the hang of it, but he got up. So now it’s my turn. I got my board on and jumped in the water. It also took me a few times. After I got up I wanted to see if I could get over the wake, and I couldn’t. I fell. Wakeboarding is pretty challenging, but I am sure we will be practicing and will get the hang of it before too long. We had an awesome time at the lake.

Two weekends ago, we raced in Chicago. On Thursday, Don Schumacher had a huge party at his house on the lake. It was beautiful. Ang met me there because she flew into Chicago, and I rode with Steve because I spent the week with the guys in Brownsburg. I really enjoyed the party because it gave us time to relax and hang out. On Friday and Saturday we struggled with the motor we had in the bike. It just didn’t like us, and we didn’t like it. Finally on Q4 it blew up. That’s not a good thing but better in qualifying than in eliminations. Steve and I talked about what motor to put in for Sunday. We have had great results with the “slimshady” motor, so we elected to put that one in. E1 we ran low e.t. of the round. I finally thought things were turning around. I also had a great light to go along with it. E2 I had to race Andrew Hines. I was ready, and I guess a little too much ready. I went -.044, which is very uncharacteristic for me. I have been racing a long time and in the last three years have only mange to have a hand full of red-lights. I think that is a pretty good record if you ask me. I was pissed and so was Steve. He had every right to be. Even though if I would have had a perfect light I still would not have won. Chicago was a weird race for the bikes. No one really shined as far as performance. The Guideras came over Friday night to ask me a few questions about the Buell. I gave them some advice then went over to their pits and helped them out with tune-up. I guess it worked considering they won the race.

I want to say that this DSR/Nitro Fish Suzuki team is ready to win. We go to every race to win. Those Wallys are getting harder to come by, but I can guarantee you this that we are trying and we are going to get one soon.