Intentional Destruction of Laboriously Engineered Artifacts
Part I

By Sam Q. Fleming

Army of Darkness had finished the 2014 WERA National Endurance season in strong form by winning the last three races of the season and, as it was, the last three races of the series.  After decades of continuity, WERA’s national endurance series was overtaken by the evolving socio-economic climate of motorcycle racing and there would be no endurance events in 2015.  Since our team had “officially retired” from racing a decade prior in 2005, we probably should have taken the elimination of our favorite series as a strong hint that AOD, as well, should hang it up.

However, we still had two fully-prepped S1000RRs, and although we’ve had a tumultuous relationship with Brunhilde and Eva, their transmissions were not chipped, their cam chain tensioners had not dissolved, their valves had not dropped onto the pistons and their steering head  frame welds were uncracked.  We had a trailer full of potential in search of a venue for expression.  Some of my less fiscally-minded teammates suggested international contests which I rationally declined by diplomatically pointing out that they were fucking delusional.

Intentional Destruction of Laboriously Engineered Artifacts
Part II

By Sam Q. Fleming

We left NOLA with bellies full of grilled oysters and hearts full of false confidence.  We had taken a decisive win and performed well as a team with no obvious issues we needed to address before the next round.  Of course, in racing one is only as good as one’s next event.

Cresson Texas is 1,400 mile Interstate burn from DC but our fourteen year old Powerstroke Van and equally aged trailer made the long trek without undue mechanical adventure.  Some of those highways were part of the original Eisenhower public works project that started in 1956.  The Romans had a great recipe for concrete which was lost for a millennium or so.  Roman concrete is still intact in some places over 2,000 years after it was laid.  Of course, the Romans didn’t have triple trailer semis rolling down the Appian Way either.  The concrete used for the foundation of modern highways has a working life of 50 years.  Fifty years sounds like a long time until your transporter is bouncing across Arkansas and you subtract 50 from 2015 and you recognize that the expiration date on that milk was a decade or so ago.  Halfway to Cresson seemed like a tough place to comprehensively overhaul the imbalances between the Federal Highway Trust Fund, fuel taxes, and crumbling highways, so we made due with doubling up the cargo straps on the tool box and trying not to chip teeth when crossing the overpasses.