I left the house in the middle of the night (4:30 am) on Friday, going through dense fog (but, thankfully, no traffic) on Hwy 73 and arrived at the Starbuck's on Trancas Canyon at 6:00. Gassed and caffeinated, I was off again. I took the usual route out of town (PCH from Santa Monica, through Malibu, to Oxnard, cutting over to 101 at Las Posas Road) and followed Hwy 101 to San Luis Obispo. I then took Hwy 1 from San Luis Obispo to Monterey. The farther north I went, the more bikes I saw. PCH at Big Sur was a wonderful sight with all the motorcycles.

Sometimes, all the planning in the world doesn't prepare one for everything. When I called Laguna Seca to find out about the conditions at Fox Hill, I was informed that there were no campfires permitted on the ground. I (thought I) properly prepared for this condition when I picked up a nifty BBQ. Little did I realize that the hill was On Top of The World (tm) with no protection from the afternoon winds coming off Monterey Bay.

I arrived at the site a little after 1 pm. There was plenty of room to pick a good site. The view is incredible from Fox Hill. You can see nearly the entire course except of course for the Corkscrew which is just a short (1/2 mile?) walk away. Yes, it was breezy when I arrived but the exhilaration of the view masked the environmental conditions. After setting up camp, I soon realized I would not be able to cook safely for fear of wind blown ash setting the whole hill ablaze. I had cold hot dogs for dinner.

I was also informed by the ticket office that there would be showers available on the hill. Well, not only did showers not materialize, but I had to walk nearly to the Corkscrew for running water just to wash my face. By dusk, I had grown weary of the wind and had decided that my expectations exceeded reality. I called my wife, Nancy, and told her that I would probably be coming home early. I also called Steve Smith, a friend who was going to join me on Saturday morning, leaving him a voice mail message of the conditions here on site, and let him know that I might not be here when he arrived.

Sunset was very welcome. I had a long day, getting only about 4 hours sleep, riding 400 miles and sitting in a 20-30 mph wind for eight hours. My ensuing night on the hill resulted in one of the best nights of sleep I ever had in my tent. I was "out" by 9 pm.

I got up at 6 am to a beautiful morning. Knowing that the conditions would not hold, I called Nancy and confirmed my revised plans. She encouraged me to stick around and watch at least one race. I was able to have a good cup of coffee and breakfast at the site. I retrieved a voice mail message from Steve who, upon hearing my message, decided not to come. I checked the racing schedule and found out that there was an AMA Superbike race at 12:30. I bought a grandstand ticket at Turn 4 and stayed for the race. I'm glad I stayed. The race was great. Turn 4 was a great place to sit as there was plenty of action. From that grandstand, I could see Turns 2, 3, 4 and 5.

The race was over at 1:30 and I was packed and on the road a little after 2:30. The wind had picked up again. Amazingly, it was very calm down on the race track, sheltered by nearby hills. On my way out, I had intended to take a new, scenic road (G17) at the suggestion of Jim Bollingmo, but accidentally turned onto G20 instead. G20 took me to G16 (which I had been on a few times, even at night) and led me into Greenfield. G17 would have to wait for another day. I came home on Hwy 101 and made great time. I arrived in the driveway shortly before 11 pm.

Fox Hill would be a great venue for the races if I waited too long to plan, didn't want to spend much money, didn't worry about showers and planned on eating out. Something to file away, possibly to try again. Next time, hopefully, my expectations will be more closely aligned with reality.

Sunday, I watched the World Superbike Races on Speedvision.

Two days, 863 miles.