Journal entry- Racing; birthdays; tall grass

The question I get is always the same: "What kind of bike do you ride on the street Ted?" And the answer I give is equally redundant- "If I only had the time to ride on the street!" This year for me has been a busy one to say the least, with working the normal full time day job at Suzuki Cycles of Georgia/Moto Britalia, traveling across our great Country chasing the Thruxton Cup Challenge Championship and of course spending on average one weekend a month instructing with the Schwantz School; I have little time to do anything else. I think my lawn at home is now more like a wheat field and I'm having a hard time recognizing my kids (one of which is as tall as me now). But, such is life, and I'm not complaining because things are going well for me right now. I have managed to win 7 of the first 9 Thruxton races and in the process have raced and won against guys like Doug Polen, Jay Springsteen, and even Gary Nixon. It's kind of cool to get phone calls from guys I grew up riding with in N.Y., who I haven't seen or heard from in 15 years, that say there is talk of my racing.

Some other interesting events have been happening as well. My Grandmother, Dorothy Cobb, turned 100 years old on June 28th! That sure is a long time and I can't help but wonder about all of the changes she has witnessed in her life. Speaking of change, I had the opportunity to race a Ducati 999 over the 4th of July weekend at Road Atlanta. The bike is owned by our good customer and friend Melvin, who has a fleet of cool bikes! I started the race from row 6 (WERA grids by points) and managed to finish 3rd in the short 6 lap sprint. Not too bad for the first time racing it; my fastest lap being 1:32.55 compared to the winner Aaron Clark's best time of 1:32.29. My bike was having a hard time finishing the turns at Road Atlanta and I know with a better geometry set up I can go faster. It was also cool seeing Opie and Lee racing that weekend as well, both of them having success in their races as well.

My next 2 races will be at Mid Ohio, back on the Thruxton, and with the right outcome, I could wrap up the Championship (and a trip to England). For anyone who is interested, the races are July 16th/17th. Make sure to stop in the pits, look for the Moto Britalia trailer and say hi; I'm bike #150.

If and when I can get caught up, I'll let you all know about some street riding stories; but for now, that will have to wait until the racing season winds down.

See you at the track!

Ted "Cannonball" Cobb