For years now I've been telling myself that I'll get back onto the track (Portland International Raceway). This year, I finally made my move and got a Norton Commando track-ready for the local Sounds of the Past series.

The bike is a 750 I got a couple of years ago. The previous owner had done lots of work to the engine: high compression pistons, hot cam, ported heads, misc other bits. Most of my work was in safety wiring and sorting out the Amal carbs (which were finally tossed aside in deference to a working Mikuni). I also put on a Roadster tank and seat in place of the Colin Seely tank and Dunstall seat the bike came with - just in case... And I did *lots* of cleaning and polishing.

You'd think with just the little bit of work I had to do that I'd have to spend maybe a couple of weekends out in the garage and that would be it. It's funny how things kept turning up - big stuff like swapping between the Amals and the Mikuni a few times before deciding that one of the Amals really was screwed up, all the while being plagued by Mr Lucas' POS bullet connectors and the resulting erratic running which seemed like either bad timing or too rich jetting. That killed a weekend, not to mention my spirits.

Or little stuff, like forgetting to polish the front rim, or having to scramble to rent a truck the Friday before, or trying to figure out where to mount the rear number plates. Hell, just putting the numbers on the plates nice and straight took the better part of an otherwise nice evening. All in all, I probably spent a month's worth of weekends plus most of the weekday evenings out in the garage. Fortunately Carol is *very* supportive of this renewed passion of mine.

The big weekend dawned with our typical Pacific Northwet liquid sunshine. Saturday was open practice, and I figured it would be somewhat relaxed. I got to the track late, found out that they now run a tight schedule, had to hurry though sign-in and tech, and missed my first practice session. While waiting for the next session we had a few cloud bursts move though, so the track stayed good and wet. The second practice session was timed perfectly to coincide with a heavy squall. I lasted for about 15 minutes, tires slipping and sliding like they were on marbles, before I pulled off in disgust. I could feel the rain running into my boots just from the rain, but after having to plow though Lake Erie on the exit road, my feet were swimming.

We lucked out for the third session. The rain held off, the sun came out and the track dried off nicely. I got in a full 20 minute practice session with all but the last couple of laps dry and sunny. Having had a good run and seeing the thick, black clouds rolling in again, I packed it in and headed home.

Sunday, race day, high clouds, but mostly dry. We hurried to the track, got setup and teched, and waited for warmups and racing to start. My warmup session went well, except for having little 125 GP bikes blast by like hornets. At least I didn't feel bad when a BMW and a Trident roared by - one on either side of me, like a pair of WWII fighter planes avoiding a blimp.

I was gridded near the back for the first race (Open Vintage). The green flag dropped and I was surprised to find myself shooting past several riders and into mid-pack. I managed to hold my own and started gaining on a couple of bikes. I passed a Slippery Sam Replica and was about to pass a very clean Atlas when they red flagged the race. Last lap, so no restart. I think I finished 5th out of about 11 bikes in the class.

The second race was after lunch, which included another heavy shower. We were the fifth heat, and fortunately the track dried out again. I got a horrible start this time - I wasn't watching the flagger and all of a sudden everyone was going. I won't be doing *that* again! I spent a few laps following the same Slippery Sam Trident and Atlas I was working on in the first race. I knew they were braking much earlier than I was, but I wasn't quite sure where they'd go in the turns. After I got by the Atlas, and then the Slippery Sam Trident, I made good time. I was gaining on a Weslake Commando, but only got him in sight before the race ended, with me finishing fifth again.

Not shabby for my first time out in ten years... That night I was laying bed with my eyelids stapled to my forehead and couldn't get to sleep until midnight or so. I had forgotten how much fun racing is. Next SOTP race - June 9th in Seattle.

You can contact Ralph at ralph@swmerc.rain.com

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