:lol:

OMG Dickie....Knee down in this weather ????????????????????????????

or are you really Ruben Xaus and dare not tell us ?

i wish!

no, but quite tall so its not much of a problem especially if you get off the bike alot.

well monsters definitely do 130. to be fair it really was downhill with a bit of a tail wind but it got there all the same.
can't see any reason why you wont be able to get up to 140+ on the desmodue bikes by the time you lose some of the weight and get a big bore kit on?

any advance on 140?

do i hear 150 ?

Once upon a time, on a quiet road in Chelmsford...........Ducati speedos... :lol::lol::lol:

Not a chance on the gearing I intend to run, but I will let you know when its done, I will give it a blast up the old runway at work, trouble is somebody put a roundabout about 2/3 the way down it so have now only got about 3/4 mile to play with, either that or its see me mate at Dalton Barracks and see if I can use their runway, it use to be good enough fof Williams F1. Either will save me having to worry about the bike being road legal.

So, dickie, is your 999 just languishing in the garage now that you've switched your affections to the Monster?

:sniff:

only for the time being. as soon as the monster is race ready it will only be used on the occasional trackday and obviously the races. gagging to get the 999 out but weather and roads will have to improve a bit first. you coming on a burnham run then one hot sunny sunday??

you coming on a burnham run then one hot sunny sunday?? [/quote]

For sure.

And it doesn't have to be hot or sunny. Although there were witnesses to you laying down reason after reason why you didn't want me to come on the Burnham run. Fordie et al heard you making excuses about how NOT welcome I would be.

I'm thinking now I'm going to buy a Monster this year, to commute to work on. I measured the route today - 4.5 miles from my new gaff to work. Would buy an off roader or (somebody shtop me!) scooter but the hill up a country lane back to my house would be a 'lean forward, squeeze yr butt cheeks and rock, type of ride on a scooter. It's steep, man :o
So I think I may as well buy the monster and get used to riding it before next (2006) season. Also, Joanna and Nicole are doing CBT on March 5th so they can borrow it for practice.

It's a PLAN :D

Rock on Roofie, get on Desmo Due for 06 :D

Have already U2U'd Chris Bushell. Apparently the list for 2006 isn't open till September. Ali reckons it will be well oversubscribed but where there's a will there's a way.

And I'm seriously thinking my prestige road bike may be the MV Augusta. The red and silver jobby. There's something about those boys, how they design bikes just how a girl likes 'em. So I have to buy a Monster if I'm going to stay in this club. :devil::frog:

You can have mine when I'm ... err ... finished with it :lol:

So this will be 'bag of bits' on e-bay right???:lol::lol:

No, I'll have Dickie's 2nd hand one cos we know he's gonna buy a new one for 2006 - he can't help himself :lol::devil::P:devil:

well, havnt done much to the bike really as pretty much just waiting for stuff to arrive.

doing my acu course at snetterton this saturday though so had to take off most of the road stuff (lights, lindicators, bit of wiring) amazing how much just those few bits weigh - 4 kg! bellypan arrived today also so will try and chuck that on tonight. not very happy about having to add weight but there you go.

happy with the tyre decision which was finally resolved at the AGM. i think it suits most of the people.

not much else to do really juat waiting for exhaust to arrive, chuck that on along with the rearsets get it serviced, dynoed etc stick my numbers on and away i go.

sent my entry form off today for cadwell. a 12 lapper no less!

hopefully after this weekend i will have all my memberships confirmed and will be able to concentrate on trying to ride.

do still need a canopy/awning thing i guess. save me getting soaked/sunburnt waiting for my races.

getting there. slowly.

got my ACU licence through today. great feeling. had i been told 6 months ago that i would have a race licence, a ducati 'racing' bike, and be less than 2 months away from my first race i would have laughed. but here i am. cant wait just to get out there now.
got my seat unit which is being sprayed up this week and should be ready to collect saturday.
just waiting for my exhaust now really and a few other mods that need doing to the bike.
hopefully will all be done in time for brands on the 25th and rockingham on the 27th of this month to get used to it in race ready mode. :bouncy:

desmodue cadwell metting report........................

before i write anything else, the first thing i must say is that racing is brilliant. if you are thinking about doing desmodue maybe next year, stop thinking about it and start planning it.
you dont need to spend loads of cash or to be one of the top riders to enjoy yourself, so just do it!.

after a few nights of last minute preparation, the bike was trailered up and ready to go on friday night for the three 3 hour drive up to cadwell. its quite incredible how much stuff you need to take up with you, and we weren't even camping and i had no spares! myself and my pitbitch (emma, my wife)
arrived around 8.45 and went staright to our b and b and out for something to eat.

saturday morning greeted us with grey skies and heavy rain. nice! we trunddled off to the circuit and tied up with some of the others who were there from friday nigh. tp, mike and lizzie, dave and annette, and later on mike atack. we sheltered in dave and annettes vast 'marquee' resplendent with strip lighting, heating, and most importantly hot tea.
the drumming of the rain on the roof didnt raise my already soggy spirits. when there was a break in the weather we did manage to get my modest awning up, and get the bike off the trailer and under cover.

scruitineering was the next step: took the bike and myself all kitted up down to the bay to get everything checked over. all was fine apart from one loose screw which had to be done up. i had made a big effort to ensure everything was done by the book and a cursory glance and check from the scruitineers gave me my necessary sticker and all was ready for our unofficial practice later in the day.

as the time for our practice approached so the weather improved and as we went out we were greeted by a dry track and warm sunshine. it was my first time out on the woodland circuit and the much talked about first bend hairpin didnt actually seem too bad. i took it easy at first and although it was unofficial they did give us some times and i put in a 55.30 i think. nothing special but felt happy with the layout so i was content with that.

back to the b and b that evening, out for a meal in louth and early to bed before my first race on the sunday. woken up a couple of time during the night and greeting in the morning by heavy thunderstorms. got ready and went downstairs for my light 'racers' breakfast. cornfllakes, 4 x o.j's, pot of tea, 4 slices of toast, sausage, bacon, 2 eggs, beans. sorted.

arrived back at the track about 8 am to get ready for first practice at approx 9am. rain had stopped, nothing much to do to bike apart from just check over everything and re check tyre pressures.

1st practice: went ok, track still wet, but drying and had stopped raining. no times given.

quaifying practice :
10 mins quaifying ,3 laps needed to be completed to get on grid. took the first 3 easy to warm tyres up avoid any mishaps and ensure i made the race. then tried to up the pace a bit. got stuck behind a group who were slowing me down a bit so hung back to try and get a couple of quick ones in. there were a couple of incidents, first at barn where (and i stand to be corrected on any of this) nick, phil and duncan all went off at the same time and at the old hairpin where michael winter went down.
i didnt manage to do a good lap as it turned out and actually went slower than saturdays practice with a 55.7 to put me 21st on the grid. all the fallers barring duncan were ok along with their bikes and would make the grid. my heart went out to duncan who along with the rest of us had spent alot of time and money getting ready for this day, and now wouldnt make the grid. after clearly being gutted he did seem to be in slightly better spirits later in the day and i'm looking forward to seeing him out there at the next meeting.

was i happy with 21st? yes. i hoped i wouldnt be in last spot on the grid and i had skidlids, dave harris and dominic alongside me so i was in good company.

race1:

no idea if i had a good start or not at the time but i recon i lost maybe a couple of positions, i could have gone into the first bend quicker but wanted to get round so didnt push as hard as i could have. noticed an incident on the start as someone wheelied and hit someone else. no idea who it was at the time as i was concentrating on my own riding. later found out chris butcher had lost it and knocked into tony perrin. both riders ok. had a bit of a battle trying to get past skidlids, i could get past him on the straight due to having more power from my 620 to his standard 600, but he could use his better skill to always get it back at the hairpin.
he eventually pulled away but lost it on hall bends a couple of laps later on. again rider ok. i did come up behind michael winter but was again struggling to get past. thought i would have a go coming out of barn for the line but it was not to be and he beat me by 19/100th of a second. dominic outbroke himself into the hairpin and unfortunately took mike atack out in the process. dominic had passed me earleir at the old hairpin pushing me wide, which was not a problem as far as i was concerned but he put his had up in recognition which was a really nice touch. very much appreciated.

with a couple of fallers higher up the grid i ended up 19th.


second race:

again a so so start, was passed by dave harris and spent the next few laps trying to pass him, again having the legs on the straigh but losing out at the hairpin, eventually got past and made it stick. could have pased quite a bit earlier i recon elsewhere on the circuit but wasnt sure if i would have made it. with hindsight and speaking to dave i should have gone for it. after passing dave it was fairly eneventful for me till the last lap when to my surprise i coulsd see michael winter about 8 bikes lengths ahead of me. i would get him this time. i was closing down all the time until arriving at barn i was only about 3 bike lenghts behind. i took a wider line in to try and cut in, get on the power quicker and outdrag him to the line. i was closing fast but it was not enough and he beat me this time by 4/100th's of a second!

ali, chirs butcher, and dave reilly had off's ahead of me thus moving me up to 18th.

so a 19th and an 18th. not ground breaking, but i finished both races with myself and my bike intact and even overtook one person. that was my aim before the meeting so i will settle for that.

aims for next time: qualify better
improve on 18th place
beat michael winter
be more aggresive on my passing.

NO MORE MR NICE GUY!

N.B the moment i realised i was a racer? race 2 first lap, going up the mountain and through hall bends everyone made it through and we were all snaking through single file equally spaced. looked superb back from where i was in 20th or so. would have made an amazing picture.



[Edited on 5-5-2005 by dickieducati]

Dickie

Nice account of your race - almost makes me want to do it - small matter of being way too slow might get in the way!!

They must have been fast if you were 18/19 I saw you at Brands & you were shifting

Good luck at the next one

Cheers

Chris

been thinking and disecting my racing for a few days now and the more i think about it the less satisfied i am. it met my pre race expectations but now i feel i should have done much better. trouble is, i'm just in that middle third where probably everyone feels the same as me.
we also have a few people still to start their first race, all of whome could be quicker than me.
will be interesting to see how many and who actually improves over the season.

gutted that im missing castle coombe, still snetterton is not too far off i suppose. i just want to get back out there and see if i can right some of my wrongs from the first meeting.

me and a few others i guess.

Dickie I think all of us have been thinking about the race and what we could have done better.

It's just natural - it is a shame that you won't be at Castle Combe though.

Still, the long race is at Snetterton so get working on your fitness - 30 minutes!

I would have waved to Mike Atack, but my arm was too flappy :o

Always nice to be nice I say :lol::lol:

so.............

qualified 18th as opposed to 20th
came 13th
beat michael winter
still not agressive enough on passing.


overall pleased with the weekends racing, really liked the longer race, although was quite pleased to have a break in the middle due to dave's unfortunate off.

qualified 18th but had i got my finger out a bit more, ie 0.5 second, would have been 12th on the grid. still it put me one row nearer the front than in my first races.

start was nothing special neither was my entry into the first bend, could have been alot more commited but survival reactions kick in and would rather get round than push for an extra place as people are all over the place on all sorts of lines. in future can everyone be a bit more predictable so i can use the line i want and gain a few places! ;)

managed to gain a couple of places and come the restart was placed 16th on the new grid.

start was better as was first corner and again managed to gain a couple of places early on before getting caught behind nick and just couldn't get past him. i was quicker in a couple of places but not enough to make it stick and let myself down badly at the esses each lap (one of my worst bends on any circuit) where i just cant seem to get it right and nick is very good. was trying to line something up for the last lap but either didnt see the last lap flag or they didnt use one so as i was thinking about it the chequered flag came out. came 13th after a couple of the front runners had off's and one disqualification. so reasonably pleased. again could have been more agressive in trying to get past nick but he rode well and the only error he made into russell forced me off line too so i was unable to capitalise on it.

so 13th. still not where i want to be but going in the right direction and after having ECU problems with the bike only a week before and getting it back on the wednesday prior to the race was glad to be out there and running well.

feel much more confident as to where i can run now. there are people ahead of me that i know i can beat and will.

i have said before that i am a gradual improver and i hope it continues that way. others such as ali (superb race and a well deserved 3rd) and tp seem to be right up there straight away. could be quicker than me full stop but i would like to think i can close the gap.

really looking forward to donington even though i havnt ridden there yet. just looks like the sort of circuit that i will like and will suit me.

aims this time:

definitely qualify better than 18th.
be more agressive still out there.
finish..............top 10.

the finish is a big ask but its the next step and i am better than some of the people ahead of me. i just have to prove it.

From what I saw at the weekend Dickie, youre only one late breaking overtake away from being up there in the top 10. Once you get one under your belt then they'll be no stopping you....

13th - well done mate. Just keep working at it and you'll get there, it's the same ethos I'm using and it's working for me.

It's good to see you a bit happier with your results.

:D

how it can change from one race to the next....................

qualified 20th and got two 23rd places. hardly worth turning up really! were it not for the fact i know i can do so much better i would probably chuck it in. but the fact is i can and will go better. hopefully this will be my worst result ever.

taking the positives:

i have at least got my first wet races out of the way and was gaining in confidence towards the end.

i managed a couple of decent overtaking moves which is something i have been struggling with

IT IS GOING TO BE DRY AT BRANDS.

**************************************

well done to all the guys who did so well up the front, commiserations to those that had off's, glad you are all relatively ok.
and thanks to all those who came to support. it really does make it worthwhile.

Oh yes, hopefully it will be dry at Brands. Cause I'm not gonna buy any new tyres anyway :lol:

I feel like you Dickie, I hope this weekend to be my worst ever result: a DNF and a 26/26 position :D

Just making up the numbers eh!?! From someone who is a regular in those positions - Cheers buddy! ;)

well someones got to be, i just dont want it to be me! ;)

Unlike those that pushed their luck too far or were taken out by same, you DID finish low down the order!
 

Oh dear what a shame, that means you're now officially circulating with the rest of us that you so casually and insensitively dismiss as "Making up the numbers"! Shame on you :mad:

never actually said people in those postions were making up the numbers.

it was still 'hardy' worth it though when i was looking for alot more.

am i happy finishing where i did ? no
was it a lot of time, money and effort for little return? yes
will i apologise for wanting to do better? no
do i think anyone who has the balls to go racing is making up the numbers? certainly not.

brands report...........

much better for me, qualified a best of season 10th which i was well happy with. for once i thought i did myself justice in qualifying and could have gone a bit quicker with a clear track.

kind of thought i would throw my good grid postition away at the start of each race, which i duely did. :( my starts are ok but i lose out on the first couple of bends. i now know why this is and will sort it out.

finished 13th in race 1 and 16th in race 2.

bit dissapointed losing places but at least i know why and still my best performance of the season. enjoyed some good overtaking and race 2 in particular was great fun. even non biking friends spectating said it looked like proper close racing; being overtaken then taking them back etc.

still lots to learn but im sorting out some problems and coming upon others but improving all the time and i recon its getting more competitive so overall im happy.

still looking for the elusive top 10. brands really was my chance with my qualifying position but i'll keep at it. cadwell maybe?

negative points

- sorry to see another rider (tp) have an off and get injured; hope you mend soon tony.
- bike failures, in particular to ali's bike, and also to lins in race one.

plus points

- tremendous support from DSC members, thanks to all who came and hope you enjoyed the racing.
- ducati uk being in attendance, great publicity for the series and ducati as a whole. how good did that look at a club meeting :D

and last; but definitely not least; congratulations to Geoff Spencer, the first Desmodue champion. supremely consistant great riding, thourougly well deserved.

dont know of your plans for next year Geoff but would love to see you out there with the no.1 plate.

so the season is over.

somewhat earlier than i anticipated as i didnt race a cadwell. gutted, really wanted to be there for the racing and the whole end of season bit. but due to various reason it was not to be.

what did i achieve?

wanted to get through the season with myself and the bike in one piece - done it.

wanted to improve as the season went on - i recon i did. qualified 10th in my last meeting and came 13 th and 16th.

as opposed to 21st and 19th and 18th finishes in my first race.

wanted to learn more about racing and skills required to do well - definitely. picked up some things that i would not have known about at the start of the season. and that will make a big difference to my racing next year.

wanted to grow in confidence and feel i belong in a race- definitely.


overall i havnt set the world alight but i know i have improved and feel really confident i can continue to improve next year. its been a great experience with great people out there both racing and giving tremendous support throughout the year.

im really looking forward to next season and work starts now to get the bike and myself prepared for next year. its a great feeling already having a reasonable base from which to start, meaning im already at least 5 months ahead of where i was this time last year.

thanks to everyone who made it such a great series especially to chris, monty, and michael who put in so much hard work to get it off the ground.

one last thing........................anyone out there, especially novices; still wondering if they fancy giving it a go or not. JUST DO IT. you really will love it. its an experience like nothing else.

if anyone wants any thoughts or advice about getting started feel free to u2u me and i'll help where i can.

Well done Dickie - it's been a pleasure :)