I want to thank John Noonan for his generosity and help at the El Mirage meet last weekend. He went above and beyond, and I can’t thank him enough, so I’m making it public here.
I had hoped to trailer out my bike for this meet. Unfortunately, I had pushed the schedule too tight, and when the valvejob wasn’t done on time, the plan fell apart. I’ll leave more room next time.
Anyway, I had the time set aside, and wanted to race, so I contacted John. He had mentioned last year that he had a 2008 street Hayabusa that was SCTA legal that I could ride if I ever needed to. Despite the fact that he was busy as heck running his business, and working on two of his race bikes for the meet, he agreed without hesitation. I booked a flight and rented a pickup and got the bike on Thursday. He and Bones (also a first-class gent) worked late that night finishing up and getting to the event.
On the lakebed, he was extremely helpful, and made sure I had all my paperwork in order. Because this was an M-class bike, the record was within reach at 187, as no one had yet brought out a purpose-built bike. For comparison, the Bonneville record is 223, held by the late Fred Vance.
The conditions were good, and I went 190 on the limiter. John’s street bike, with just pipe and mapping, is a beast. John (and Bones, and Jim Higgins) all helped me get the bike through impound on Saturday.
One more person I need to thank is Dave Consalvo, who agreed last year to let a guy he’d never even met fly out and ride his bike at El Mirage. This enabled me to run my rookie meet and license up for this year. Also, he held the 187 record, and was the first to congratulate me. Land speed racers are good people.
I had a great weekend, talked with a lot of friends and made some new ones, and I owe it to John, so thanks.
Dean
