jet lag
it's a busy week, the days rolling into one another without pause. coming back to the hotel, i've passed out while waiting for felix (my overseas' races room mate) to finish using the internet (only one lan line in the hotel room, and i don't carry a spare router with me). in my full uniform, outside of the covers, only to wake up at 6 the next morning for a quick shower before suiting up and doing the whole thing over again.
from our hotel in mito, it's about an hour to drive to the circuit, three renta-boxes traveling in a caravan through the slight hills here. it's so green and lush, absolutely amazing. i would love to live here one day, riding my buell and/or vintage harley, rumbling my way past the old buildings and rice fields.
this morning i checked out of our hotel, packed up our cars, and headed in to the race under cloudy dark skies. everyone is tired, and i'm feeling run-down and jet-lagged like i've never experienced before. after the race, we'll pack up as quickly as possible, stuffing 13,000 pounds of material into our old flight cases, and then driving through the night to get to our new hotel near the Narita airport. it's only about 2.5 hours to drive, but in the dark, everything looks different and confusing here. a shower, some luggage re-arranging, and maybe i'll head over to the bar known throughout the paddock only as "The Karaoke Bar" for a beer or two. I have an early morning tomorrow, also, at the airport by 7AM for a 3.5 hour morning flight to Beijing, a short layover, and then a 14 hour long haul down to Melbourne. i'll wait 4 hours at the airport for the rest of the team to show up, and then a 2 hour drive to Phillip Island. all in all, at least a full day of travel to get to the next race, and then i've got to figure out how to do my laundry in the bed and breakfast converted farmhouse place we stay at. on wednesday, the party starts all over again.
it's strange, a team mate mentioned that he's moving to WSBK today, saying that he's tired of living in this town. it doesn't matter where we are in this world, the town remains the same. a traveling circus, now with it's show slightly tarnished with the probability of going to one brand next year. this news has been circulating all morning here, and it's important to note that one brand does NOT mean one tire, or control tire. to me, it signifies a tiered system, with top riders getting top material, and the rest suffering from the natural trickle down effect. this is nothing new, it happens in 125/250, also. either way, it's a bit depressing because for me, part of the mystique and the magic of these races is that anything should be possible. it's blue sky stuff. or was. the luster is leaving, and the upheaval throughout the 125 and 250 paddocks is only just beginning.
i'm not sure how today's race will go - wet, dry, both - the weather is an unknown at this time. we'll be ready, i'm sure, because we bring the same game and the same level to every race. in this regard, i'm upset that our results aren't more consistent, but at the end of the day, we as a team can only do so much and then it's up to the riders to get the rest of the job done. speaking of work, it's time to prep and pack some more.
Thanks for sharing so much with all of us.
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