Landracing Forum
East Coast Timing Association => ECTA General Chat => Topic started by: DahMurf on May 20, 2008, 12:20:15 AM
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Grab your favorite beverage, this as always, is a long one!
Well we showed up with our planned classes to run which quickly got snafued after Steve Knecum showed up with his A/F entry. Panic sets in! I know his bike has already broke 200 and the best I’ve done is 184.5. The goal for this meet is to just leave with a record. I haven’t had one for our team in 5 years. Ultimately the goal is to get a record over 200mph with this configuration for my long sought after entry into the 200 MPH club. But right now that’s the desired end result and I’m just trying to leave with one record. My 184.5 run last meet was good enough for a record had I been running in the A/F classes. So I showed up ready to run in the A/F classes. A quick chat with Steve and he graciously confirms that he doesn’t intend to run up all of the classes. This is a relief as my base class, the A/F-1350 class is one of the higher records and right now I don’t know if I can run it!
So up to registration to do my 3rd class change into the A/F-3000 class before we even start running. Tonya in registration loves me! I say hey, I’m a girl, I can change my mind! LOL The current class record is 176.470 which is the lowest of the A/F records.
Up to the line we go for our first run. There’s a lot of people in line so we have to wait through prestaging for a while. Having only made one run on the bike since the last meet I’m a bit of a nervous Nelly. We decide to go all systems go but I’m not entirely feeling up to the job. I tell Todd don’ t panic if I run it slow and away I go. It’s a bit cool this morning & my helmet is sliding all around on my head. I’m trying to adjust while accelerating and hanging on. This is not working very well. I decide the heck with it and do the best I can. I didn’t get a chance to ride down the track on Friday, which I would have liked to, so I guess I wasn’t feeling real comfortable. I ended up running through the traps at 143. I didn’t even bother stopping for my time slip I just went right back into line.
We wait about 2 hours for our next run. I’m kind of not feeling well (wa wa wa) and I’m getting nervous again. I tell Todd I just don’t know, I’m not even sure if I’m going to keep running today. Lets just see how this goes. Away I go again. The helmet is staying in place better this time. I’m accelerating at a reasonable pace. I’m headed right for to areas of patched pavement with a seam going through the middle. I’m not comfortable with this track position so I roll out a little and move over a little. I get back on it and through the traps I go. Shut down goes well and out on the return road I glance at the GPS and it says 191! That wasn’t so bad! Off to impound to claim my first record in 5 years for our team and my first one ever over 100mph! Woo Hoo! I set it at 191.709!
I change classes to A/F-3001+ which currently sits at 184.991. This should be an easy one right?! We pull logs, check bottles, eat a burger, do a sprocket change & back in line we go. Again with the nerves. What is up with this. You’d think by now I wouldn’t be nervous! I’m still not happy with the track position from last run so I’m going to focus more on it this time. So away we go. I’m a little softer in the lower gears to get my position set better early on. Run is going well, feeling good, running where I want to be. Seems a little longer then last run but I figure I’m just getting more comfortable. Shut down is a breeze. Out on the return road, glance at the GPS and it’s reporting 181??? Huh?? 181?? That can’t be right? Hmmm… Back towards impound & Todd heads me off & points me to the pit. Well I guess the 181 was correct. Bummer. So what went wrong? Maybe I spent too much time looking at my track position & didn’t get it wide open. Go to pull the log to confirm and we didn’t get the log. Bummer. Well that was our last run for Saturday. But hey, I got a record and I’m feeling good! Todd thinks it’s probably me not having the throttle open. Tomorrow’s another day.
On the way out of the track Todd and I slowly drive up the track in the truck. I give him a blow by blow of my 191 run so he can understand my issue with the track. Just prior to this I had also discussed it with DaveO. Dave tells me I know the spot I rode right through it. It’s no big deal, didn’t shake the bike, you’re fine to hit it. Wow, that’s a relief. As we run down the track with the truck we put the tire right where I’d run. Nothing. No bump, no pull. In fact, this is one of the better places to run. Awesome! With the two tar patches it tends to draw you in so I’m relieved it’s smooth. It looked deceiving at speed and I didn’t want to chance it. Tomorrow I’m going to run right through it!
So Sunday morning we wake up to Burt Munro flying down the beach. No this wasn’t a dream, it was on TV! This is a sign that the day is going to be a good one! It’s one of my favorite parts of the movie & really gets us going. Grab breakfast & some ice. Run into Steve also getting ice & check in on his progress Saturday. Things are going well for them and then he says so we changed classes to A/F-3000! NOOOOoooo…...
Crap! He looks at me like what? I say shoot, that was the record I just set. He says oh no it was? I thought that was an old one. Ok, no harm no foul. The meet hasn’t started for today and if I was going to loose a record this is the best way to find out while I can still do something about it! He tells me they’re moving to gas classes so I’ll just stay where I’m at. (by the way, they’re being extremely sportsman like. They owe me nothing to tell me their plan but are gracious enough to give me room to try for one record. That’s a class act in my book.) I’ll try to bump my current class up a little and go back to my rightful base class of A/F-1350. That record is 191.897 so now I’m feeling I have a shot to top it!
Back into line we go. It’s a nice cool morning and we’re getting ready to roll. Slight tail wind, works for me! Again with the nerves! Really, this is getting old! Ok, off we go. Repeat of the last run. Down through shutdown to the return road and the GPS reads 179? What the heck is going on??? Back to the pit we go. HAVE to get this log!!!! So I go to pull it and apparently hit the reset button by accident with the nitrous line. DOH!!!! We needed that log to see what’s going on! Maybe I just didn’t pin it again? But what can I do. Back to the line we go.
This time I’m doing the drag racing approach. Elbow in the air to make darn sure I’m getting wide open. Todd’s like come on already, you have to get this wide open if you’re going to get the speed!!! Second to that I’m going to hit the button and not just rely on the progressive controller. Todd ensures we’re recording before we run. We HAVE to have this log!!! Before I launch I say ok, wide open & on the button, ok, pin it & stick it, pin it & stick it, got it! Away we go. Run is going good. No doubt throttle is pinned. 5th gear, stick it! I don’t know, not really feeling any punch so we’ll just see. Through shut down to the return road & no gps. Must have shut off. Todd flags me back to the pit & hides my time slip. Lol 181 AGAIN!!! 3 in a row dead on the money. At least I’m consistent! He goes to pull the log with me chanting don’t loose this log, don’t loose this log!!! He gets the log and it’s not me!!! Wide open from 2nd gear. Only one little blip where I had to adjust my grip to reach the nitrous button! Darn little hands.
Ok, we are NOT getting nitrous. We haven’t for the last three runs. Weigh the bottles to confirm this fact. Now we’re trouble shooting. Grab my wiring schematic, which proves to be one of THE most valuable tools we brought. We basically checked all of the components in the nitrous system. The trouble was found in or around the window switch we were running. We were using it primarily as a safety item. Since my RPM’s were clean we decided it would be safe to bypass the circuit and figure the problem out later. We bypassed the circuit (man did I do a good job with the wiring as all we had to do was unplug from the switch & plug the two loose ends into each other *patting myself on the back*) double checked with a quick blast on nitrous & we knew we had it! Button everything up, add fuel and back in line we go.
Down in the staging lanes we run into DaveO. Give him the low down, get the “I told you not to put all that crap on your bike” look but it was short lived since we got it fixed so quick! LOL Again I’m nervous. Dave looks at me and just says breath. Just breathe. You can do this. I’m not sure why I was so nervous. Maybe just because I knew I was on the verge of being able to pull it off. Because I knew the stakes were high. Maybe because there were 10-15 different racers studying my setup and headlight mount closely. One guy even laid down on the ground to get a good look. Faster racers then myself with faster bikes! A lot of pictures were taken, Todd thinks 200 easily. I guess I was starting to feel like this is it. They’re all coming back next meet copying my setup and I better get it done now! LOL Honestly I’m flattered that so many people were intrigued by my build. It’s a great compliment. Personally I’m thrilled with it. My bike is rock solid at speed and I’m feeling good about it.
So up we move in the line. Again I set up with the drag racers stance. I want to make darn sure I’m getting wide open. I decide to run this one on the progressive controller only. (I didn’t really share that thought with Todd or Dave tho!) If all goes well I should be in the 190’s. Depending on where I top out will judge if and when I need to hit the button to bring the nitrous on 100% sooner on the next run. I’ll make this run, up the record a bit, make a class change to get me back into base class where I’d like to set my highest record. Ok, ready, set & away we go. I get just about to the little right hand bend, which is right about my shift into 2nd. I guess I cut it short a little and got on the paint line as the back end got a little squirrelly. I’ve done that before so I just let out a little until the bike settled and got right back in it without even thinking twice. I’m tucking, I’m holding, I’m spotting my line, ummm I’m leaning, hmm, must have a little cross wind, ok we’re straight, we’re rolling. Keep your head down, chin bouncing off the tank, tether cord taking on a lot of wind, noticing through the peripheral vision that it’s about up over my head! Shift into 6th & I pop up a little but I pull it right back down, we’re doing good, hold it hold it, we’re moving, yeah we got some juice this time, chin bouncing off tank so I know I’m low, hold it down, here comes the traps, don’t let off early, here we go, we’re through, roll out, oops held that a little long but that’s ok, scoot up a little, exhale, light front brake, spot your line, off the brake through the corner, we’re on the straight, breath, switches off, wow that run had some shebang!!! No doubt we got the juice that time! Woo hoo we’re back in business!! Roll it out & get off the track. Exhale, deep breath, exhale. Ok, what’s the GPS say. Umm GPS, crap, it’s off again. Well that felt good. I at least got the record. That had to be a 195ish run so I’m headed for impound. Good! We’ll do our class change & and get that 1350 record where it belongs. Ok, 10mph in the pits, slow it down. Whew, that was fun! Ok there’s Todd in the truck. He’s flashing the lights, go to impound. Yeah I was, I know I got the record… but.. everyone is there… ummm wait 2 fingers, 2 fingers, 2 f i n g e r s…. huh ? What, wait, no, stop, shut the bike off, time slip coming at me people flocking around…. All I see is 202….. F’IN YEAHHHHHH, YEAHHHHHH YEAHHHHH WOOOOOOOOO “F” I DID IT…. NO SHT… AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (ok, Deb’s from Joisey and has a potty mouth, now you all know!!) I’m beating on the tank, heck have I even pulled my shield up!?!?!! Joe Timney comes over & grabs the bike & puts the kickstand down, afraid I’ll drop it! LMAO!!!! People are hugging & kissing & I’m not even getting my helmet off!! Holly crap I DID IT I DID IT!!!! Whewww that rocked! Big kiss from Todd, congrats from Dave, Tonya, Joe, Donna, Keith.. and, and, and… it just keeps coming, it’s all a blur! Colin’s little girl runs up. I swoop her up for big hugs! I look her in the eye & say we did it girlfriend! She’s such a doll! A few more hugs and we’re off to the impound table! Don’t forget the paper work!!! Do the paperwork!!! LOL I’m at the table my hands are shaking! Crap I have to write, I can’t even think! Are you sure it’s the record, you looked, you’re sure! Alex already looked it up & has the record sheet half filled out! Good thing as I can barely write my hands are shaking so much! I’m so excited!!!!!! New Record!!! WooHoo!!! Up to the trailer I go. Oh yeah, and I’m doing another class change!!! LOL I’m so fired up I can’t even write, or think, I’m messing up the whole line! I give the clipboard to Tonya & luckily she can read my scratch!!! LOL Todd took Jon W over to check over the bike so there’s not doubt it was legal. There was no doubt, but we wanted to take that extra check! Ok, we’re good. Back to the pits to pull logs and get ready for the next run. We’ll get a burger and get back down there. Ok, we need to make a few calls.
Fast forward and we’re finally down in line ready to make that run. It’s getting pretty darn windy. Mostly a tail wind but often a strong cross wind. I’m not so sure about making a run in this. I’ve met the ultimate goal and I don’t NEED to risk it. I WANT the run, but I don’t NEED the run. I wait it out with the rest of the gang. I’m thinking I’m not going to take the run but I’ll still wait to see. Turns out they call the meet due to the strong cross wind. That back-up run & the 1350 class will have to wait until next meet.
There are so many people to thank for helping me achieve my ultimate goal. Anyone that has ever spoken to me about racing or what they do or why. Each and every one has had a positive influence on this endeavor.
First & foremost my husband, partner, master fabricator & crew chief Todd Dross for well… everything! Thank you for being such a secure and supportive man, for putting your goals on hold to help me achieve this one and for being proud and not threatened by me running faster then you!
The rest in no particular order…
DaveO for the friendship, support, encouragement, top secret speed & tuning advice, for believing in me, helping me try to be calm and just plain putting up with me on those days when you just wanted to strangle me! You’re like the brother I never had!
Warp12 racing (Warp12/Shane & gsxrgirl/Racheal) for the friendship, support, encouragement, sponsorship and for taking the time to get to know us well enough to know when to help and know when to step back and let us work (without being offended by that need of ours!)
Ali, Shiphteey, for all of the advice, coaching, street time & track time.
Tiger Racing for sponsoring me the equipment to properly outfit my bike for this Land Speed attempt.
Thunder Composites for the sponsorship, friendship & support. It makes it fun to have you in our court!
Schnitz Racing/Ryan for the awesome PNC-3000 controller that was the icing on the cake for my Nitrous setup. It really pulled it all together for us!
Scott Guthrie Racing for believing in me and giving me the means and trust to know that I could handle going over 200 mph and for being a friend, for forgiving me and for continually giving me useful tidbits of advice.
To John Beckett for having the vision to start the ECTA. To Joe Timney for jumping in early on to help make it work and then for buying it along with Keith Turk to keep us running! To Tonya Turk & Donna Timney for all of your hard work to give us complete and accurate results and history and so all the T’s are crossed & the I’s are dotted to keep us running. To all of the volunteers that work their tails off so we can run and stay safe, I thank you all!
This has been a fun ride and it’s far from over. Todd and I will be racing for a long time to come. My entry into the 200 mph club was the goal at hand and that’s been accomplished but that’s not the end of our career. It’s just the end of this chapter.
Thank you all for sharing in this, allowing me to share this with you and for actually making it to the end of this post!
A more inclusive list of sponsors and people who have contributed to my project since the beginning can be viewed on our web site at http://twinjugsracing.com/sponsors.htm
And one more thing, everyone LOVED the pink accent Spider Grips! Just a little touch of pink! ;)
Debbie
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A couple of pics:
(http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p224/DahMurf/Maxton%20May%2008/100_5191.jpg)
(http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p224/DahMurf/Maxton%20May%2008/100_5264.jpg)
(http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p224/DahMurf/Maxton%20May%2008/100_5238.jpg)
(http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p224/DahMurf/Maxton%20May%2008/100_5239.jpg)
(http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p224/DahMurf/Maxton%20May%2008/100_5243.jpg)
(http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p224/DahMurf/Maxton%20May%2008/100_5246.jpg)
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You will have the same support at B'ville. when you get there, as you have enjoyed at Maxton.
CONGRATULATIONS, Deb
FREUD
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congrats and well done you little beauty :-)
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Great Story, I was on the edge of my seat from the start, :-o even though I already knew the outcome. It is about the journey. Congratulations on the record and your 200 MPH club entry, Naked, that is an accomplishment. 8-) 8-) 8-)
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Deb, thanks for sharing the moment. A great story and something you have worked hard to achive. You did great and now the rewards are yours. You will always remember the blur during and after the run, The friendships and those who have pulled for you to make this happen are as happy as you.
Great job lady rider. :-D :-) 8-)
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Super story Deb, well written and exciting. I guess I went to the wrong meet.
Congratulaions, only four hats to go to equal KT, then you become Ms. Ace.
DW
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Great write-up and great work this weekend, see you in June. -Dean
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Deb,
Thanks for sharing the great story and write-up, a HUGE congrats to you and Todd!
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Wow, now I'm really sorry I wasn't there this past weekend. Very moving story Deb. I'll tell you how moving when I see you and Todd in August and hopefully give you a big hug for what you've accomplished,
Sum
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Congratulations Deb, good job. Your as good a writer as you are great motorcycle rider. Wish I could have been there. Looking forward to seeing you guys at Bonneville.
And how about Steve Knecum ,that was incredible sportsmanship, that could only happen in LSR.
Fred
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Congratulations must be a marvellous feeling!
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Great story Deb!!
Congrats!!
Walt
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congratlations for the achievment 8-), a well written report that really captured the moment :-)
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congratulations deb. that was a heck of a performance. you and todd are great people and it couldnt of happened to a better person. hopefully i will see you next month.
charlie
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Deb ... I am thrilled for you ... Congratulations ...
Joe
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Thanks everyone!! (mostly for making it to the end of my post! :-o )
I'm going to pass on replying to each of you individually, believe me I have a response for each one, but then that would make another chapter in the book! :-D
Thank you all for the congratulations! With each post I feel that much more blessed to be in this sport and all the more humbled for my place in it!
I just can't tell you how excited I am that we will first step foot on the salt (most likely in Aug!) with us both wearing our green hats! For those of you that didn't see "that" run, I'm planning a couple more 200mph runs this year so there's always the chance at a repeat performance! ;) Next time it will be executed with much more poise & confidence now that I know the nitrous shot isn't going to knock me off the bike! :-o 8-)
Deb
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One more thing I wanted to share…
Todd and I really felt this meet was a flash back to a few years ago. The meet wasn't as crowded and runs were plenty. We were able to stop, eat, tune in the pits, get back in line & make multiple runs. It was really refreshing.
To me it was nostalgic to achieve my entry into the 2 club under conditions that were reminiscent of how it used to be when this first became a goal. The induction ceremony was small, almost intimate, short & sweet. Made up of people I've known & raced with for years. It was really awesome and the conditions made it even more special.
Here’s my induction welcoming group. Each person has a special importance and significance to me!
(http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/narider/Maxton%20May%202008/100_5243.jpg)
(back row l-r)
DaveO - my mentor & coach 2nd only to my husband!
Charlie Anstaett - fastest speed of this meet at 256.798, 2nd fastest racer & vehicle (bike) at our track!
Joe Timney - ECTA President – watched him get in the 2 club!
Thomas Cronan - watched him grow up at the track & get in the 2 club!
Keith Turk – ECTA Race Director & 2 club president!
Phil Campbell – Got in the 2 club this meet! The first person I got to welcome into the 2 club!
Todd Dross – My best friend, partner, husband, crew chief and biggest supporter! You’re the best baby!
(the ladies in the front)
Tonya Turk – ECTA - logistically does everything, fastest Lady racer I know – watched her get in the 2 club!
Another thing that is cool is that this meet was our 8 year anniversary for the first time we attended an ECTA meet. It was exactly 6 years since Todd earned entry into the 2 club and one year since my top speed and wreck. Apparently May has significance in our race program! (I'll have to remember that for next year!)
Now that I’ve achieved “the goal” a quick reflection back over the last 8 years of our racing finds Todd having made 16 new records 4 of which still stand. I’ve also achieved 16 new records 13 of which still stand! So basically that’s an average of 2 per year! Not bad, not bad at all! ;)
We’re closing “this” chapter of the book but there are other goals and so much more we want to do. My BeeQueen will race the remainder of the year. Mostly in the same configuration but we would like to remove the headlight and then add the full fairing just for some comparisons. But first we’ll try to achieve his true top speed without melting him down!
Todd put his goals on hold for me. His are steep, following in the footsteps of his hero’s, but certainly ones we think can be achieved with hard work & team work! (and now that my bike made it to 200 he trusts my wiring so I can help there too!)
Onward & upward!
Deb
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Congrats Deb, 200mph naked is a blast. We should ask Tonya to have some more girl 200mph club shirts made.
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It was a special day. Sorry Trillium & Jody weren't there - we missed you guys! Deb was, of course, spectacular.
As I sometimes hang out at the timing slip table, it's fun to see how racers grow over time. There will come a time when Deb will pick up a 202 time slip and say, "Something's wrong with this bike. I was expecting 2XX that run. Damn, that's disappointing". I, of course, will likely never see a 200+ timing slip, so I really can't relate. But I've seen this progression many times, and it's about how our racers keep pushing themselves. I'm guessing it's because of the money, big endorsement deals, etc. Or not.
Hugs to Deb - see y'all in June
Dan
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Scott, great words and comments,that's why LSR is such a great sport regardless where the event is held. The newer people have only gotten a small taste of what we have been doing for years. The volunteers at each venue keep it alive and never get enough thanks.
Debbie is only one of a lot of dedicated people that loves the sport and races and works it with the attitude that makes it work. We are looking forward to meeting Deb and Todd at speed week. Scott hope to see you on the salt as well. Keep up the support and fast bikes. :-D
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Thank you so much Scott & Ellen! Your friendship and support has meant so much to us!
Receiving the John Beckett award was such a wonderful surprise to us. Every time I glance
at the award I remember where we got started and how it was when John ran the show.
We've all come a long way since then!
Todd and I are so excited that we will finally be able to make it to Speed Week. We're ready
to take it to the next level (ironically with us that doesn't always mean the ultimate fastest
speed! :-D ) and we can't wait to meet all of the great folks that have been friends from a
distance and helped us in so many ways!
We also can't wait to follow our ECTA racing friends around the salts to try to learn the ropes!!!
We'll be the nats following Scott & Ellen as well as Jon & Nancy around the salts for sure!
Deb (http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p224/DahMurf/Smileys/banana.gif)
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Okay, Deb -- I'll ask the big question that nobody else is brave enough to ask:
Where'd you get the dancing banana?
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Okay, Deb -- I'll ask the big question that nobody else is brave enough to ask:
Where'd you get the dancing banana?
"right click" on it then click on "properties". It is in her secret folder in photobucket 8-),
(http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p224/DahMurf/Smileys/banana.gif)Sum (http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p224/DahMurf/Smileys/banana.gif)
(http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p224/DahMurf/Smileys/Jumping_cones_2.gif)
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(http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p224/DahMurf/Smileys/eyebrows.gif) Sum has found my stash!
I've been collecting for quite some time now! I have a lot more on my hard drive. I upload them as I want to use em!
All are "borrowed" for my own personal reuse. Of course now that you know, feel free to "borrow" them too!
:-D
Deb
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The cones are still the best because as most of us know there's some meaning there too!
Pete
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I finally got around to reading this thread further.
As usual, Scott, well said. You are a most eloquent spokesman for our sport and never fail to capture the true emotion we all feel, but few can express like you can.
Deb, you done good. I am sorry I wasn't there to share in the experience.
I know this is a big deal, because I know what it was like for me.
But even more, it must mean a lot because I haven't seen Todd on here breaking your chops!!
Walt