The legendary Laguna Seca, plus something you probably haven’t seen

This weekend I went to a Grand Am Rolex series race at one of the coolest tracks I’ve ever visited.

Situated in the hills outside Monterey, surrounded by what looks like a military testing site based on the explosives signs, Laguna Seca twists and turns around a central hill. From the sizable hill, which creates the famous "Corkscrew," the whole track as well as the ocean can be seen. Unlike a Nextel Cup series event, where a lot more is on the line, the atmosphere was relaxed. With stands in a few key places and a perfect shaded hillside for viewing the twists and turns, everyone could find a spot to watch without being too crowded. I even took a quick nap under a tree during a caution.

As I was leaving the race a motorcycle cop pulled up to talk bikes, which I was happy to do.

We talked about touring, Beemers, the KTM and Buell enduros, and about how the crash bars protect bike when it goes down. We talked about laying a bike down and the technique for picking them up (usually with the help of a bystander). Shortly after that a trailer came around the bend, inching closer and closer to the cop. I figured he was a good driver and had it under control, but I figured wrong, the next thing I knew the police bike was on its side and the cop was jumping off. I couldn’t believe my eyes, a trailer had just knocked this officer on the ground. I thought, do people really hit cops? My "radar" is always on, often making me think that Crown Vic is under cover… Anyway, the trailer had the winning 997 from the sports car class which had lost the points for the win because it was caught revving too high (above the factory limiter), so this team was having a long afternoon already. I was only able to snap one pic with the bike on its side which I’ll put up next time I get to a computer.